There is some logic in what @lewm says. Rubber has a short memory. Just over night the Porsche will develop flat spots on it's tires so for the first several miles the car rides rougher until the tires warm up and the flat spots resolve. I do not know if this is the case for the rubber used in a cartridge's suspension. The MSL Signature Platinum sounded great out of the box. If there is a change I do not hear it. Same is true on warm up. Esls for certain break in as the diaphragms loosen they become more dynamic and will produce better bass. Cartridges being electro-mechanical devices could have a break in period but I do not hear it. IMHO purely electronic gear does not break in. It is what it is right out of the box and first impressions are always the right impressions as the human mind can accommodate to almost anything.
Cartridge burn-in
Hi to all analog friends here,
Any time I purchase a new cartridge, when I set it up and sit down to listen to it, I cringe a little. It always sounds stiff, harsh, glassy, shrill. Then, after a few days/weeks of playing, it appears to 'break in' and start sounding relaxed, more musical, sweeter, less straining, presenting the music with better flow and finesse.
Common wisdom teaches that the cartridge, being a mechanical component, needs to loosen up its suspension. So, the only way to really hear what the cartridge is capable of is to play it for at the minimum 20 to 30 hours (some sources even say 50 hours).
OK, makes sense (kinda). But an alternative explanation is also possible: whenever we replace our current cartridge with a new one, the new one will sound different. Maybe it is this different, unfamiliar sonic character of the new cartridge that is causing us to feel that the sound is harsh, metallic, unpleasant, strenuous? Then, after a few days/weeks with the new cartridge, our ears and our listening habits get adjusted to the new type of sound, and we grow to like it.
This gradual conditioning to the new type of sound is then called 'cartridge break-in'. But maybe the cartridge doesn't really break-in; maybe it is our ears and our listening habits that gradually break-in and get accustomed to the new sound?
What do you think?
Showing 3 responses by mijostyn
@lewm, flat spotting will occur in high performance tires if left parked for 30 minutes. As the tire cools down it hardens and loses traction. The colder the ambient temperature and the surface the tire is on the faster this occurs. This why tire warmers are used in racing. A cartridge's suspension undoubtedly heats up to some degree and obviously at rest it cools down in a position other than what it is in while playing a record. A theory based on assumption. May not be true at all but it is imminently plausible. On the other hand, I do not hear it. I did not hear the MSL change at all during the first 50 hours but @sksos did in an MSL that is almost identical. So either my hearing is not good enough to discern the difference or break-in is a psychological phenomenon. Take your pick. I think you would agree that if a cartridge breaks-in the difference between new and say 100 hours is not night and day but incremental at best. |
@lewm , perhaps I did not state my case correctly. Rubber has a memory. It's consistency also changes with temperature. It is highly likely that with continuous flexing it's temperature and consistency might change enough to move the resonance frequency slightly and possibly make a slight change in the sonic performance of the cartridge. I am not saying this happens. I am only saying that this is a plausible explanation why a cartridge might need to warm up, Mr Car Guy. |