Break-in factor rqd for new cd player?


Anyone know if there is a 'break-in' period rqd for a new CD player to sound its best?

I just purchased a new CD player- the excellent Audio Aero Capitole 24/192, and my initial impressions (only the first hour of play) are that it does not seem to be giving me quite the same performance of the floor model (well broken in) that I initially borrowed. Of course there are always contributing factors- i.e. dirty power in the middle of the day from the lines as opposed to later at night, when I was doing most of the testing of the floor model; switching power cords and interconnects may be a factor as well- do they need to 'settle down' after being moved?

Anyone with any impressions on this? will it improve over time, or should it be performing as well as possible right out of the box- i.e. is there a 'break-in' factor with digital? I should note that this player does has a subminiature tube output stage, which my previous player- Sim Audio Eclipse, did not (although I don't know if this would affect anything or not...).

Thanks!

Sutts

sutts
Sutts- Yes, burnin is definitely required. I wouldn't be concerned for about a week (20 to 80 hours play time seems to cover most CD players, excluding SACD players it seems). Give it some to time before critical listening. Good luck.
I was talking to Stan Warren about this a while back and he said a good rule of thumb is 100 hours to get to 90% and about a month to get the last 10% to fully burned in. For those who do not know Stan, he is the S in PS Audio, and now modifies equipment in his spare time at home.
Thanks for the reassurance guys. Sugarbrie- I've got it set on repeat for the entire disc, and will play it 24/7 for about a week- that should do it. Already sounds a bit better after 4 hours...
Be a little careful running it on repeat for a long period of time. Some laser lenses are plastic, and although rare, have been known to get soft from heat build-up and warp. Just leaving the CD player on is OK. I would probably just put on some long 70+ minute CDs and hit play every time you go by the player and see that it is done playing.
Adsal, my CDP also took ~300 hrs. Sutts, check out the heat on the player's platter -- if there is a slight smell (don't worry) or the CDs you're playing are warm, follow sugarbrie's advice very carefully.
Happy listening!
I recently bought the Marantz SA/1 SACD player (under 3 weeks). Play time so far is about 30 hrs on it. I find the bass to be a bit extended but noticing more control and tightness as it breaks in. I talked to an engineer at Marantz today and he said atleast 600 hrs of listening time with this unit. I'll be dead by the time the unit breaks in.
Regular CD players are about 200 hrs for break in.
Hi,
I got similar experience when I brought home a new unit of Oracle integrated CD Player. The sound right out of box, was cold, edgy, lack of focus, and actually unbearable. My friend was "stunned" by its performance...no way categories it as high-end sound. After playing for about 200 hours, the sound slowly softened, getting focused, and relaxed.
There is sure to be a break-in period required for a digital source before it sounds its best. I think it would be difficult to provide a number for all digital products, but certainly 1 or 2 hundred hours is not an unreasonable amount of time. I am currently breaking in a Sony C-333ES SACD changer, and have had it running for about 8 hours a day for the last 3 weeks. There is no question that the unit is becoming smoother, and now starting to become richer sounding, too (Yes!). Also, the soundstage is projecting further out from the plane of the speakers, why this should be so I have no idea but there are no complaints from me about getting a bigger 3D "bubble" of sound out into the room. (The Sony is a great piece, by the way, and a good way to get most of the SACD magic without dropping a ton of dough.) Play that new deck a LOT and give it time, it's only going to get better. Happy listening everyone!
Play one of those pre-natal CD's, you know, Mozart for your baby? It might learn to upsample while it's breaking in.