Cain & Cain Abby , placement ,care and phase plugs

IMO the Abbeys are just getting listenable at 400 hrs! I would say 1500 hrs is more like it. I use lemon oil on the finish, Terry Cain recommends bowling alley oil. I haven't tried a phase plug but you could experiment with some hard paper or ? I've tried light foam or cotton around the outside of the "wizzer" with positive results. Placement is critical, if you use a sub, bring the Abbeys out into the room for better imaging and detail and they are not as boomy that way, also damping the cabinet by just putting something in the port seems to tighten up the bass if you don't go overboard. I think the reason a lot of people are turned off by the Abbeys is they have not heard them set up and broke in right. Hook em up to an old receiver tuned to a classic rock or hip hop channel on the tuner, wire them out of phase, face them towards each other, put a blanket over them and let them play at med loud level for a couple weeks straight, turning them off every couple of days for 8 hrs and then back at it. They will sound a lot different then. Try a 2A3 or 300B amp or the Almarro 205(800.) if you really want to hear what they are supposed to sound like. It will be a lot smoother sounding with a set amp. My Tripath chip amp with tube pre also sounds excellent with the Abbeys. Be patient, give em some time and then start enjoying. Have fun

I second Jalanc's response 100% - the Abbys take a long time to break in - I used the out-of-phase-blanket suggestion for three weeks while on vacation.

I have found them to be as critical to placement as any minimonitor I owned. Not having a rear port helps; they can be placed "close" to wall but should prefer to be moved out into the open a bit.

Trying a couple of different amps, I have to emphasize the importance of the amp match with the Abbys. I preferred the Fi 2A3 amp to other amps, but your taste might differ. The Pass should be a good start.

And most importantly - enjoy. They are beautiful in appearance and sound.

Rene

Enjoyed reading comments by Rene and Jalanc regarding the Abbys. I've got SuperAbbys and one Bailey and, after 44 years of owning all kinds of audio gear, I can honestly say that the Cains are by far the most enjoyable and rewarding speakers I've ever owned. Yes, I've heard and owned some wonderful (and expensive) speakers/equipment over the years, but I've never before experienced such an easy, open, and simple musical experience. I find that I can now ignore the audio components completely and just focus on the music. Sounds disingenuous, I suppose, but it's more true than not. I have no doubt that there are 100s of better speakers on the market (better amps, etc), but I have no need to think or worry about it. My SuperAbbys/Bailey are simply magical (in my listening room and with the audio equipment I'm using).

Thanks for the input , I will try the oop blanket (1000 + hours ?).Then I will play with placement. If anyone has any other input , feel free to add.The phase plugs any input + or - ?

Terry Cain told me to use orange oil or even ArmorAll, as he uses a lacquer finish on the Cains. I've had my S-Abbys/Bailey for 18 months now, I'm on my 4th (and final) amplifier, and 3rd (and final) CD player. I'm still very happy with what I'm hearing, and I'm not planning any system changes. Quite frankly, I don't find myself wondering about other components, though I have been considering some IC experimentation. Finally, I don't do rock at home, though it sounds quite good in the auto, but rather lots of jazz and solo instruments, as well as vocalists.

Good luck to you.

Arkproof, just curious: What amps have you tried with the Abbys?

Rene

"I will try the oop blanket (1000 + hours ?)."

Eeeks! That's 41.5 days of non-stop playing.

Be careful about how long and how loud your run any speaker's driver non-stop early on. Speakers are electro-mechanical devices and heat does builds up in voice coil and former. I don't think any high-end speaker manufacturer actually designs their drivers for that kind of extended use and heat build up.

I have the Cain & Cain IM-Bens(w/ Fostex FE-168 Sigmas) w/ a pair of passive Bailey subs. Initially, it took 250 hours for the sound to smooth out, but I could swear there was another big jump in perceived smoothness and naturalness north of 500 hours.

The first 200 hours, I took a 4 hours on, 2 hours off approach for a couple of days. Then, 6 hours on, 2 off. Finally, 8 hours on, 2 off. After that, they got 10-12 hours a day.

Sounds like a pain(it is), but I mostly work from home, so there wasn't much of an inconvenience. I just put on background classical and worked out of a downstairs room.

Regardless the journey, which is enjoyable, the end result is phenominal.