Time/Process of Hooking up New Equipment

I have a new amp arriving today!

The install is not a difficult thing. But getting the 66lb amp out of its box and in the rack will be challenging.

My wife may be able to help. 
 

Very curious to hear the difference between the new amp and the old.

Even before break in, I should be able to hear the basic sound of the new amp.

And how it powers my speakers.

It is tubes and I know that breaking in will take some time. The manufacturer actually says it will continue to improve for 600 hours!

@ghdprentice 

It’s the ARC Ref 80S!

The most difficult was removing it from the box.

Then hooking it up and getting it in the rack space.

But that space is near the floor. So it was easy.

But it was absolutely HORRIBLE for the first hour.

It’s been about 2 1/2 hours now and just starting to open up.

And I am starting to hear what I heard at your place.

A purity of tone. Space between the instruments. Organic.

And the differences between loud and soft is pronounced and terrific.

A whole different world from my previous amps. 
The biggest drawback is that turning up the volume gets very fatiguing.

The wife is rejecting it, mostly, because of the new amount of information.

And a lesson for everyone hooking up a new tube amp is that the break in is vital to hearing what the amp is capable.

Playing it loud must, surely, get better with the break in.

Here’s a question: must you put a signal through a new amp, etc, to properly break it in? And does it do any good to just keep it turned on for the break in?