Why does it take so many hours to brea in arc preamps and amps?

BTW, having a "long" break-in time isn't necessarily indicative of Teflon caps. I've had ARC gear that claimed a 500 hour break in with nothing fancier than Wima polypropylene caps.

Most of my experience with break-in (as opposed to warm-up) is with speaker crossovers, and caps. Replacing a cap takes at least 24-72 hours for them to settle in and give you a "final" version of the sound.

I wish I understood the physics. :) I understand one hypothesis that is often stated as likely is placebo. I understand why it’s such a possible and easy answer but to me it’s not enough.

Like other things in Audio, it remains an area not fully explored. I hope someday there will be results that better explain what we perceive.

Best,

E

@georgelofi

Yes, it was on a red warning sticker on the outside of the DAC 8. Well, not a sticker so much as a big red sheet taped to the outside. Clearly they intended buyers to see it before making up their minds. 

That DAC is long gone, and I had purchased a floor model from the local dealer, so I can't tell you if I thought that was real or not.

It not only claimed 500 hours for the DAC, but per input as well.

Best,

E

@dchang1981

I do believe this is possible, but not common. It needs time domain measurements, patience and LOTS of data.

Audio measurements are too often really simple things. Steady state sine waves, sweeps, square waves. There are a lot of tests which go ignored or under used. I'm not saying I have proof, but I am saying I think a good data scientist/engineer could eventually discover.

For instance, in speakers, dynamic range/compression is rarely tested by magazines, but it's one measurement I find describes a great deal of what I hear. Perhaps some day I'll come up with cap sound measurements and they'll name it after me. :D :D

But proof, no. Experience, somewhat. I'm not really interested in forcing the issue on anyone though. A skeptical open mind is always a good thing.

Best,

E