ok to break in phono preamp w/ non lp source?

With the investment you have in Vincent and Linn Classic you should opt for one of these.

They work superbly, I have one and it's saved me countless hours while greatly improving performance.

http://www.kabusa.com/preconlp.htm

It's only $79.95 and for top performance you can reinsert and burn in a couple of times a year.

07-27-12: Lewm
Albert, Thanks so much for letting us know about that KAB device. It seems to be quite a bargain at the price. I just ordered one.

You're welcome Lew.

Another option I've used with the KAB is connecting it's regular RCA output to pin connectors to accommodate a tonearm.

Start with an old pair of "throw away" AV cables, those that came packed with VCR and such.

Cut the RCA connectors off one end and connect the two conductors (center and shield) to proper size pins or alligator clips.

Now the KAB can be run through the tonearm cable at phono cartridge mount point. Don't forget to connect the tonearm cable into the phono stage to terminate the connection.

With a CD player (or tuner) on repeat you burn in everything in the chain at proper EQ and voltage. I swap CD software frequently, varying from classical to pop and hard rock.

I've accumulated several hundred hours burn in a relatively short time. Makes a huge performance improvement and saves countless hours of wear and tear on a cartridge waiting for the wiring to reach 100%.