Your opinion on burn in

South43; it may be that you're trying to unscrute the unscrutable. I turn my amp off at night and on in the morning so it will be "warmed up" for afternoon and evening listening sessions. However, even with the amp having several hours of being warmed up in standby, it still takes at least 15-20 minutes for my system to sound good. All other components are kept in standby 24/7 except when in use. I have attributed the improvement in music quality to the amp because it's the one component I turn completely off for 10-12 hours.

My point? Well, something is going on that makes music sound better after 20 minutes or so of play time. It could be the components-- any of them, or it could be "wires". I don't actually know or have any way of testing this, but it happens every night. I am a strong believer in initial "burn-in" of components and wires, but daily burn-in? An interesting question. Cheers. Craig

My MIT speaker cables took over a week to burn in properly when I first got them. Other components took various, but long, amounts of time, when new. I don't claim to have the subtle ear of many who post here (I am not saying this tongue-in-cheek) but have not noticed too much of a difference when turning my equipment on once everything is no longer new. There is a bit of difference -- but I'm not sure if my ears are burning in or if it is the equipment -- I assume the latter. But that burn in is nowhere near as audible as the initial period. The differences are smaller (to me) and I would rather face the smaller electric bill. Since my equipment is solid state, I can't speak for tube gear. Cheers ;-)

P.S. Since I think you asked, my system is fairly decent with Sierra K2 preamp and Danali amps and Montana KAS speakers. I had a couple of Bryston/Thiel setups prior to that and also didn't really notice much, if any, difference once everything was broken in initially.

South 43 - I believe once cables are burned in your done, the only time I worry about it is when I'm on vacation and come back or don't listen for a few days. I'll put a disk on and run it for a few hours. I don't notice any degradation, in fact it always sounds fantastic after I haven't listened for awhile, even cold, which tells me its my ears. I do think my system sounds better after playing for a while and I have tubes in the preamp and do not leave them on.

You know, your ears really do "burn in" for each listening session! I have noticed this each time I turn on one of my systems and start listening. Even if the tube amp and preamp have been playing for 45 mins or so, when I first sit down to listen, there is a quality about the sound that changes after I've been sitting there for 30 mins or so. It gets fuller, richer, no matter how long the equipment has been left on playing CDs to warm up. Another interesting phenomenon, and I believe I've read something about this on this and other forums (fora, really, but how pretentious):
if you are having a glass or two of wine or a couple of beers (and I assume this holds true for mixed drinks as well), the sound changes as the volume of liquid imbibed increases! Seriously! I actually find the sound degrades if I drink several glasses of wine or beer while listening. One or two enhances the sound, more than that and everything starts sounding thin and tinny.
This is bizarre but true, in my experience. I've been collecting gear and music and listening to music for 35 years, and drinking while listening probably for 20 years, and I noted this phenomenon quite some time ago.
Sarah

Pops I'm sort of leaning in your direction. I do find after a couple of days of non-use a smile comes when I fire up everything. My dac is a tube unit and I don't leave it on but I am thinking of changing that thought due to the digital circuitry. My thanks to all.

I have noticed that my system consistantly sounds better after 2 1/2 days of being left on. Sometimes I shut my preamp down at nights because it gets too damn hot. This doesn't seem to affect sound, but complete shut down definitely changes things for the worse. As to improved sound after 20 minutes or so, I would guess that it is your ears "warming up". Just like eyesight, ears can focus on sound, and it gets sharper with attention and effort. Also if you start at a lower to mid volume, and
raise the volume slowly, your ears adjust. If you start out too loud, it tends to "blow your ears out", affecting your ability to hear details.

I don't disagree with those who feel that it takes the "listener" awhile to adjust to "listening". I especially notice this phenomenon when going from one type of music to another, eg from smooth jazz (Diana Krall ballads)to serious rock eg, ZZ Top.

But I also notice it at the start of a listening session, and to tell the truth, I don't know if it's me adjusting, or the equipment warming up? Cheers. Craig

I walk around all the time wearing earmuffs to keep my ears at optimum listening temperature. I ONLY remove them to listen (and to shower).

Also, I only use a Holy Water based fluid in my VPI HW-17F.

I've spent more money on power cords than on the entire rest of my system and music collection combined.

Hello, my name is Grayson, and I am an audiophile.

Welcome, Grayson.

Gthrush1: Adding to that I clean my ears before each session with Aural DeWax fluid (available from them at $100/oz).

I admit I may be nuts but I think my equipment needs to be on a good thirty days to sound its best. I think that cables do need to burned in again after not being used for long periods but if you listen to your equipment occasional the reburn doesnt need to be as exstensive as the intial burn in.