Reviewers often comment that it takes about 100 hours before a new amp
settles down and start to sound like it 'should'.

In this case, what constitutes 'burning-in'? Is it sufficient to just
leaving the power on for a week? Or does it have to be driving a load
(the neighbours are going to just love that)?

Maybe a couple of chunky resistors across the outputs would be ok?


--
Cheers, Des

On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 20:22:12 +0100, Des
wrote:

Reviewers often comment that it takes about 100 hours before a new amp
settles down and start to sound like it 'should'.

Given some of the hype and other snake-oil that reviewers appear to
fall for, I would treat anything they say with a very large pinch of
salt. A lot of what I read is techno babble. (For example, a
longstanding and generally well regarded reviewer demonstrated his
total lack of understanding of Ohm's law in one article I read.)

If the components in an amplifier are changing their properties over
hundreds of hours in a manner that is audible then the amplifier is
unlikely to be reliable for very long.

If the reviewers said that the vast majority of hi-fi electronics
sounds pretty much the same (which is probably much truer than they
would ever be willing to admit), except when it was deliberately
designed to distort the signal, then their ranks would be heavily cut
by unemployment. It's in their interests and that of their employers
to conspire with equipment manufacturers to exagerate/invent
differences between equipment that the reviewers can spout upon.

Selecting an amplifier, CD, DVD or tuner is much closer to buying a
piece of consumer electrical equipment (like a refrigerator) than you
might think. (Speakers, headphones and record decks are a different
matter - but they are electro mechanical.)


--
Chris Isbell
Southampton
UK

"Des" wrote in message
...
Reviewers often comment that it takes about 100 hours before a new amp
settles down and start to sound like it 'should'.

In this case, what constitutes 'burning-in'? Is it sufficient to just
leaving the power on for a week? Or does it have to be driving a load
(the neighbours are going to just love that)?

Maybe a couple of chunky resistors across the outputs would be ok?



Bugger that - just *use* the damn thing and let it 'grow on you'........

hello,

Ask a boyracer with a Nova. They all seem to have them fitted as standard
together with front fog lights that stay on in daylight. They usually
remove the back window and point the speakers backwards to try and get the
car to go faster.

"Des" wrote in message
...
Reviewers often comment that it takes about 100 hours before a new amp
settles down and start to sound like it 'should'.

In this case, what constitutes 'burning-in'? Is it sufficient to just
leaving the power on for a week? Or does it have to be driving a load
(the neighbours are going to just love that)?

Maybe a couple of chunky resistors across the outputs would be ok?


--
Cheers, Des

On Sun, 13 Jul 2003 21:49:04 +0100, "Keith G"
wrote:

"Des" wrote in message
.. .
Reviewers often comment that it takes about 100 hours before a new amp
settles down and start to sound like it 'should'.

In this case, what constitutes 'burning-in'? Is it sufficient to just
leaving the power on for a week? Or does it have to be driving a load
(the neighbours are going to just love that)?

Maybe a couple of chunky resistors across the outputs would be ok?



Bugger that - just *use* the damn thing and let it 'grow on you'........



That raises an interesting point. Maybe, what is being burnt-in is not
the hardware, but one's appreciation of the sound.

Which is a bit alarming, really. Do HiFi shops exist that allow you to
take the kit back if you change your mind 3 weeks after you bought it?







--
Cheers, Des

Dave Plowman wrote:
In article ,
Des wrote:

Maybe a couple of chunky resistors across the outputs would be ok?


No - like a car it needs varying loads on it. Start with simple
loudspeakers then gradually build up via ribbons to electrostatics.


Don't forget plasma tweeters :-)

--
Nick

"Nick Gorham" wrote in message
...
Dave Plowman wrote:
In article ,
Des wrote:

Maybe a couple of chunky resistors across the outputs would be ok?


No - like a car it needs varying loads on it. Start with simple
loudspeakers then gradually build up via ribbons to electrostatics.


Don't forget plasma tweeters :-)



http://www.ee.vill.edu/ion/p13.html ???

Reviewers often comment that it takes about 100 hours before a new amp
settles down and start to sound like it 'should'.

In this case, what constitutes 'burning-in'? Is it sufficient to just
leaving the power on for a week? Or does it have to be driving a load
(the neighbours are going to just love that)?

Maybe a couple of chunky resistors across the outputs would be ok?

So use it for the first few weeks and hear it improve.
What are you, so precious that you can't listen to it until it's
reached optimum?

It's all bull**** anyway. As has been mentioned, there are other
electronic applications much more demanding than hi-fi. If burn-in of
components or cables, cable polarity, or any of the other snake-oil
existed, they would have discovered them.

That raises an interesting point. Maybe, what is being burnt-in is not
the hardware, but one's appreciation of the sound.

No maybe about it.
I visited my friend's recording studio recently. He's spent a lot of
money. Built an impressive shed at the end of his garden. Put a lot
of expensive equipment in it. I was impressed by the sound. For 30
minutes. Then I realised that it really didn't sound as good as my
lesser gear in a better room.

"Des" wrote in message
...
Reviewers often comment that it takes about 100 hours before a new amp
settles down and start to sound like it 'should'.

In this case, what constitutes 'burning-in'? Is it sufficient to just
leaving the power on for a week? Or does it have to be driving a load
(the neighbours are going to just love that)?

IMHO yes leaving the power on helps, but it would be better if you listened
to music 'from cold' to find out if you can hear any differences as things
warm up. If not, then save some electricity and leave it off when not in
use!

I can think of some areas where changes occur in an amplifier over time.
These may be minor and in most amps inaudible, but it depends on the design
and the listener.

1. Electrolytic caps in PSUs. These 'form' over a very long time (weeks).
Would lead to better performance (ie better smoothing, more DC like
voltages) over time.

2. Temperature effect on electrolytic caps. In switched mode supplies too
much heat dries them out and they lose effectiveness. If you look at specs.
they quote life of say 10,000 hours. Most supplies last a lot longer than
that!

3. For coupling capacitors between stages (ie in the analogue audio path)
effects 1. & 2. would effect slightly the characteristics of the capacitor
to how well if passes signals of different frequencies. May or may not be
audible.

4. Transistors warm-up. Again for analogue stages the transfer function of a
transistor will vary with temperature, depends on the design how well this
is compensated for.

HTH, no 'rules', just listen with open ears.

Regards,
John