ARC tube CD players - Burn in

600 hours.. If that is all regular listening that is well OVER a YEAR of crap sound for a person listening for a few hours five days a week.
Run it 24/7 which will take almost FOUR WEEKS nonstop running to get to 600 hours.
Put the sucker on repeat and turn the volume down.. And forget about it running for a MONTH.

If the sound continues to be harsh the higher resolution CD player is bringing out deficiencies in your system.

Thanks all!

Would have no problem running a solid state player 24/7, but I think tubes are a different story. Spoke to Kal at ARC, and he did not recommend the 24/7 idea, which is why I haven't done that. But I am very close to trying anyway. I agree Elizabeth that it will take too long the way I'm doing it now.

I'll stick to this a little longer before running all the time. But I think the handwriting is on the wall.

Yashu -

give your player at least 500 hours. Then, start to critically listen. After 600 hours you are DONE!

About 3 months ago, I purchased an ARC CD8, which ought to be similar to the CD9. The paperwork that came with the CD8 mentioned that break-in should take up to 600 hours. So far, I have about 180-200 hours of music played on it. I haven't experienced fatiguing or harsh sounding music, however it took (still taking?) a while for the sound to open up, and the bass to be more present. I just listen to the music and try not to worry about the break-in.

Be patient, bear with it, and it ought to slowly sound better. One tweak I can recommend is that if the CD9 came with a 6550WE tube, replace the 6550WE with a Winged C 6550C. My CD8 came with a 6550WE. After changing the 6550WE to a Winged C 6550C, the CD8 is more musical, and the change is an audible improvement.