Do amplifiers have to 'run in'?

Posted by: Top Cat on 13 March 2001

Just a quick question. I suspect I know the answer to this, but roughly how long would one expect a brand new preamplifier or power amplifier to take to 'come on song'?

John

Posted on: 13 March 2001 by Mick P

John

My 82, XPS and Supercap all took about 3 weeks to run in. Strangely enough, the improvement was not gradual but it would remain the same for a few days and then the next day came the improvement.Then it remained static for a few days and then improved again.

You really do have to be patient but its always worth it. My XPS has really brought my system to life..it was a brilliant upgrade.

Regards

Mick........very happy with his system

Posted on: 13 March 2001 by Martin Payne

Mick,

if you think that took a long time, wait until you get a CDS-II. This takes 3-4 weeks+ before the sound starts to settle down.

After about three months you'll suddenly play something and realise it's taken it's final step forward.

It also seems to benefit from being powered down for an hour or two after the first month or two of run-in (tightens up).

As for run-in of amps - a well setup active system keeps on getting better for a couple of weeks warming up after switch-off. Must be longer for run-in.

cheers, Martin

Posted on: 13 March 2001 by Steve Toy

My amps need to be switched on all the time to be "on song," in addition to that they need about ten minutes of signal to pass through them before they really settle down. My amps are Densen pre/power. It's OK though, because today I listened to them through Credos and I found that, by the time the Densens were up and running, so were the Credos. Both lost their coldness and harshness. In fact the system sounded brilliant, using a naked CDX as source. The emotive content of the music was almost overwhelming!
In terms of actual running in, my Densens took about 2 days before they gave something of their sweet sound.

[This message was edited by Steven Toy on WEDNESDAY 14 March 2001 at 02:14.]

Posted on: 13 March 2001 by Stewart Cooper

John,

Consistent with most people's experience, after long periods of storage my 250 improves significantly over the first 3 days, and probably continues to improve over a couple of weeks. I think Mick may be correct about the kinetics, although other factors (such as diurnally varying mains quality) may also factor in.

Does your post reflect 'current' disappointment?

Stewart

Posted on: 13 March 2001 by Top Cat

...no, no, not at all.

I'm just trying to prepare myself for initial disappointment (if I'm buying new - I've never bought a 'new' high end amp before).

John

Posted on: 14 March 2001 by Andrew Randle

quote:
After Mana amp warm-up is no big deal.

I didn't know that Mana supplied their own heating systems. Alternatively, you could try my patented 135 electric filament heating system.

One could also state that Mana (from my limited hi-fi show experiences) modifies the sound so much to mask what the amps are doing.

In other words,

A) is the stand the slave to the amp
B) or is the amp the slave to the stand?

When does a *support* no longer take a *supporting* role? From what you repeatedly say about Mana, reads like "the signal coming out of my 250 is merely an expression of my Mana stands"

Does the addition of phases gradually add a foreign sonic signature to the set up?

Andrew

Andrew Randle
2B || !2B;
4 ^ = ?;

Posted on: 14 March 2001 by Tony L

quote:
For me amps take about 2 - 3 weeks, 2 with all day running while I'm at work.

There are IMHO two different factors, burn in of new kit, and warm up.

To my ears burn in takes ages, a component will continue to improve over a period of months, and as Mick states, not necessarily smoothly.

Warm up burned in larger Naim stuff (e.g. my 135s) takes to my ears about a week.

Speakers also seem very sensitive indeed to both factors.

I also use Mana, and hate the sound of the system when everything is cold. So there!

Tony.