Does a new cd transport require break-in time?

Burn in is just one of these myths. For speakers a few hours may be all that is needed, but speakers are mechanical components. In the case of electronics there is no theory that could explain why they would need break in.
If you want to test the hypothesis, comparing a product over the course of many hours is an invalid methodology, of course, because given humans’ short audio memory you cannot do a direct comparison over time, and time travel is yet to be invented. So what you would need to do is a double blind level matched comparison between a used item and one that is still in virgin state. Guess what?
In the case of a disc transport, it is my considered view that there are no sonic differences between them anyway. Their output is bitperfect and bitperfect is bitperfect. Anyone who wants to argue that they do have a sonic difference should show that bit by bit the files are actually not the same.
And that, of course, is the beauty of the digital revolution. Bits are bits, and that is good news, because the numbers in our bank accounts do not suddenly change because the bank uses a new hard drive that still has to be burned in.

There is a misunderstanding, but perhaps I did not express myself clearly. What I meant is that if something needs to be burned in over a few days or a few weeks, it is impossible to compare the ex post to the ex ante state. You cannot go back in time to when the very same unit was not burned in. Human audio memory is just not good enough to remember exactly what you heard days or weeks ago.

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Double blind tests are only part of the argument, of course. Starting point is that there is no existing physical theory that can explain such 'night and day' differences. The next part of the procedure is to look at measurements. Since these do not show anything of potential significance either, the listening test is the last part. Here, expectation bias is an amply documented problem, hence the preference for double blind. It is true expectation bias is only one of many potential issues, and it is of course true that there are many ways to mess up a test procedure/be dishonest. However, there is ample opportunity for those who believe that there is a difference, to do their own tests, document their methodology and demonstrate that there is difference.

True, but voodoo cults never can.