McIntosh C-2200 Burn in time?


Just hooked up my new preamp. Have never owned a tube preamp. How long does it take for the Mac to start sounding it's best? Right now sounds a bit brite and the mids are thin and foward.

Also, has anyone noticed their Mac C-2200 picking up noise in the system? Have a lot coming through the speakers. Have a Mac MC-207 amp and Hyperion HPS-938 speakers. I know there is a bunch of Mac guys out there hoping I'm not the first one to have this problem!

Thanks
hawkeye43
This isn't exactly relevant, but I ran a tube power amp for a while, then bought a second to run them in mono. I had a channel imbalance for maybe 50-100 hours or so, then the two amps balanced out.

You shouldn't hear any noise if you are using balanced cables.
Figure a minimum of 50 hours and things should sound good by then; even better at 100 hours. THEN, start thinking about tube rolling if you can find some NOS Amperex Bugle Boy, Mullard, or Telefunken 12AX7 and 12AT7 tubes. Almost anything is better that the stock Chinese tubes. Upgraded tubes will bring your C2200 into another level entirely. You won't believe what a difference they can make. Also, seriously consider Herbies tube dampers - an absolute must to eliminate microphonics and bring greater clarity and dimensionality to an already outstanding preamp. Great choice you made with the C2200.
Hawkey I ended up replacing my tubes pretty quick. I talked to a lot of MC guys to gain more experience.

Let me know when you want to talk about which tubes to consider and where to buy.