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Nordost sells a System Setup & Tuning CD which, besides having a "burn in" track, has lots of other really helpful tracks for setting up a system.
I think I ordered mine from Music Direct. |
You also might want to consider a used 2 channel receiver. You can then use the FM tuner for the music source.
Yep, good idea. Or even the NAD 5.1 receiver/CD/DVD I am selling. Just kidding... Not really...Well,sort of ;-) Most importantly, have fun and don't stress over something like this. I wouldn't let a tube amp run unattended, but then again, I wouldn't stress over getting 450 hours on a pair of speakers before I thought they were broken in enough to enjoy. |
Relax!
Check speaker connections for proper relative phase (+ to + and - to- on each cable from amp to speaker), and absolute phase (reversing or not reversing both left and right channel + - connections).
Just play music, and listen for sonic stability.
In time, all will be well, if you made a wise speaker choice.
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@nycjlee- Correct! As I said, "
out of phase(with each other)". |
Also, to be clear when you guys talk about connecting out of phase, we're talking about connecting one speaker properly + to + / - to - and the other pair in reverse + to - / - to +. Is that correct to cancel out the sound waves? Thx |
Buy an old stereo receiver and tune it to a rap station(a heavy bass genre). Place your speakers close together, hook them up out of phase(with each other) and facing one another, with a blanket over them. Much of the sound will cancel out that way and not drive you crazy.
When I had my stores, that's the way we always broke in new speakers, except we used FM interstation noise, but same principle. |
Adding to the earlier comments about the ability of the Yamaha receiver to handle the load that will be presented by the speakers you are purchasing, I would point out that marked on the rear panel of the Yamaha, next to the speaker terminals, are the words "A or B: 8 ohm min/speaker." Also, it does not have a specified power rating for 4 ohm loads. So I would definitely not use that receiver with speakers having less than an 8 ohm impedance.
Also, the Yamaha's frequency response is only specified down to 40 Hz, which might lessen its effectiveness in breaking in your woofers.
Finally, I would assume that like most aspects of its design the protection mechanisms it incorporates are designed to a (low) price point. Which means that if it fails in certain ways it could conceivably damage your speakers.
Regards,
-- Al
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What jea48 said, plus 1. Buy an old stereo receiver and tune it to a rap station(a heavy bass genre). Place your speakers close together, hook them up out of phase(with each other) and facing one another, with a blanket over them. Much of the sound will cancel out that way and not drive you crazy. |
I'm considering a decent used amp as well. Thanks for the input guys. |
I wouldn’t want to leave a tube power amp left unattended for hours on end. I also can’t see the clock running wasting tube life of the power tubes. Average life of power tubes being around 1500 to 2000 hours. The solid state amp sounds like the way to go to break-in the new speakers. Not sure I would go with the cheap amp you are considering buying though. Why not buy a better quality used amp for just a little bit more money. You also might want to consider a used 2 channel receiver. You can then use the FM tuner for the music source. If you have a B&M dealer in your town you want to check if he has any used equipment he has taken in on trade in. You can also pick up a great used 5.1 A/V receiver cheap.
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IMO I would use a SS amp to burn in. When I had my Octave and needed to break in new speakers I borrowed a SS amp to run them 7/24 for 450 hrs (approx 19 days). When I went to work I didn't want any
output
tube failures even though Octave has a fantastic protection circuit. I had several SED 6550 and EL34 failures but I did get my Octave just before the shut down the plant in Russia for quality problems. SED were the stock tubes. Not all tube amps have have protection circuits like Octave but use a resistor that will burn when a tube arcs over.
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Agree with Rich. Also, the Yamaha might not be up to handling the load presented by your new speakers, depending on what they are. What are the speakers? If they have an impedance of 4 ohms or less, can the Yamaha handle that without breaking down? |
You can run your tube amp for as long as you need to run it. There is no hard and fast rule. For myself, I turn it on when I wish to listen and I turn it off when I am done listening for the day.
Just make sure that your tube amp has plenty of clearance, so the heat has a place to dissipate.
As for your burn-in question. Why not just burn in the speakers in while you are listening to them and get to know your new speakers. If you must perform the burn in ahead of critical listening, run your amp several hours at time for X number of days.
I accept the need to burn in, I just never bought into having to burn in equipment for a large number of hours.
Rich |
