why performance increase after pause?

Sounds like your hittin the nail on the head, Davehrab.

I suspect it is the crossover. They suck up a lot of power which gets converted into heat which can be sizzlingly hot. Could be the particular speakers I'm using are more prone to this? I'm using a pair of Mission V63s with a pair of Velodyne subs. I have an old pair of Kef 105s I haven't used for a long time but I don't remember this phenomenon with them. But then I didn't listen to CDs with the Kefs. My turntable is also in storage.

Well, not quite. BTW, you capitalized a second letter there, Mapman. But seriously, I do notice a more dynamic sound in the first cut after pausing when the gear is at idle for maybe 5 min or so. Shorter or longer periods don't seem to make a difference.

Timrhu, send me a PM!( It'll be just between you and me)

Oh, so you've had us fooled until now? Nothing like representing yourself honestly eh, Elizabeth? I wonder, can your Bryston handle the truth? Davehrab, sure, I don't really care that much about it. I was just curious if anyone else noticed the same thing but it would be nice if performance didn't fall off that way. I'm using a Rotel RCD-02 I bought around 7 years ago. I think I'm gonna get me an Oppo BDP95.

I guess my humor's a little on the dry side. I find Elizabeth to be very knowledgeable and to the point. So I just assume she takes comments like mine light-heartedly.

Well the verdict is in. The BDP 95 exhibits the same phenomenon, only more pronounced. I now care a little more about it.

I leave all my gear on 24/7. I have extensively experimented with the bias and offset pots of my amps. Another thing I've noticed is (all my amps are class A/B) that when I've checked the bias setting immediately after getting all the gear "cookin", it is a few mv. or ma. down from spec. After letting it idle for a few minutes, it's back up where it "should" be. Also, getting the bias absolutely equal on both channels causes the amp to idle cooler even if the setting is lower than spec. I have an example of all the Ampzillas except Godzilla, an Acoustat TNT 200, a pair of LSR&D Leach Superamp monos, a Perreaux 2150B all professionally rebuilt and functioning as new. They all behave the same way. Could it be a function of the bias current being initially at a higher level off idle causing this phenomenon? Oh, I also have a couple of Bedinis. The 100/100 I have is very tolerant of quiescent current level. I run this amp at the high end of it's range for obvious reasons. However the other amps are, when at peak, also within spec. But this is always measured at idle. Turning up the bias at idle to compensate the drop, off idle, could be a solution as they will all tolerate that slight increase. That is, if this is the reason for this whole anomaly. Impossible as a yardstick since doing so will not cause the behavior to cease.