Amp Break-in Period

[tkyong1]

just purchased a new Primare I20 Integrated.

The Dealer suggest 100 hours run-in period and play at low volume or high volume is the same.

Question:

1. Is the 100 hours run-in period sufficient?

2. What is the sound different before and after run-in?

Please, I am a new bird need you guy (Master in hi-fi) some advice.

My-Set-up: Marantz CD4000 + Monitor Silver Connect + Primare I20 + QED Cables + Mordaunt-short 902.

[Beckman]

Read this:
http://www.infodotinc.com/celec/55.htm

[FLZapped]

Read this:
http://www.infodotinc.com/celec/55.htm

Nice, but has nothing to do with the topic at hand, unless the unit has been sitting on a shelf somewhere for 5 years.

-Bruce

[FLZapped]

just purchased a new Primare I20 Integrated.

The Dealer suggest 100 hours run-in period and play at low volume or high volume is the same.

Question:

1. Is the 100 hours run-in period sufficient?

2. What is the sound different before and after run-in?

Please, I am a new bird need you guy (Master in hi-fi) some advice.

My-Set-up: Marantz CD4000 + Monitor Silver Connect + Primare I20 + QED Cables + Mordaunt-short 902.

Don't worry about it. Plug it in and enjoy. It's a marketing trick to keep you from bringing it back incase you're disasisfied with your purchase. And if you are, take it back pronto, forget waiting the "100 hours" BS.....

-Bruce

[Beckman]

Nice, but has nothing to do with the topic at hand, unless the unit has been sitting on a shelf somewhere for 5 years.

-Bruce

According to the article the caps only have to be not used for 1 year.

[Beckman]

Don't worry about it. Plug it in and enjoy. It's a marketing trick to keep you from bringing it back incase you're disasisfied with your purchase. And if you are, take it back pronto, forget waiting the "100 hours" BS.....

-Bruce

If it was a marketing gimick why not say 1000 hours, or 6 months? 100 hours is only 4 days.

Hey, I would make an excellent high end audio sales person.

[RGA]

If it was a marketing gimick why not say 1000 hours, or 6 months? 100 hours is only 4 days.

Hey, I would make an excellent high end audio sales person.

It's a marketing trick sort of but to be fair I think the real reason this came about was that a lot of people who owned BAD soft dome tweeter speakers form the late 70s and 80s went out and bought new slim line very TIGHT and punchy bass products with piercing metal tweeters. Even if one considers this better - it would certainly take a little while to get used to this very very different sound. And people were probably bringing it back in droves.

People need an acclamation period so they reocmmend 100 hours which for many might be a couple of weeks. I don't see a problem because most outlets have a 15-30 day return period.

Amplifiers however? Well that's bizzarro. Even tube amplifiers today are ready to go in a few seconds - some tube amps seem to sound better well into it. But again could be an acclamation period.

Speaker dirivers were measured in one of the rags before and after 30 hours and were different very slightly so it's not an outright lie with speakers at least.

[FLZapped]

According to the article the caps only have to be not used for 1 year.

One year, or five, it still is inmaterial to the topic at hand.... -Bruce

[FLZapped]

If it was a marketing gimick why not say 1000 hours, or 6 months? 100 hours is only 4 days.

Hey, I would make an excellent high end audio sales person.

Heh, heh, maybe.

Well, it's 4 days provided one leaves the thing on 24 hours/day playing. I seriously doubt the majority of people do that. It's more likely that it is an hour or two per night after work.....

And most people would balk at something with an excessive time period, so it's a matter of making sure that it's long enough that the average person exceeds the store return policy.

-Bruce

[Beckman]

It's a marketing trick sort of but to be fair I think the real reason this came about was that a lot of people who owned BAD soft dome tweeter speakers form the late 70s and 80s went out and bought new slim line very TIGHT and punchy bass products with piercing metal tweeters. Even if one considers this better - it would certainly take a little while to get used to this very very different sound. And people were probably bringing it back in droves.

People need an acclamation period so they reocmmend 100 hours which for many might be a couple of weeks. I don't see a problem because most outlets have a 15-30 day return period.

Amplifiers however? Well that's bizzarro. Even tube amplifiers today are ready to go in a few seconds - some tube amps seem to sound better well into it. But again could be an acclamation period.

Speaker dirivers were measured in one of the rags before and after 30 hours and were different very slightly so it's not an outright lie with speakers at least.

This makes more sense than any of my theories!

[okiemax]

just purchased a new Primare I20 Integrated.

The Dealer suggest 100 hours run-in period and play at low volume or high volume is the same.

Question:

1. Is the 100 hours run-in period sufficient?

2. What is the sound different before and after run-in?

Please, I am a new bird need you guy (Master in hi-fi) some advice.

My-Set-up: Marantz CD4000 + Monitor Silver Connect + Primare I20 + QED Cables + Mordaunt-short 902.

Manufacturers may give amps a "burn-in" before shipping as a quality control measure. I don't know about the practices of all amp makers, but I have read that Bryston amps are burned-in for 100 hours. Based on statistical analysis, manufacturers may know most amps that are going to fail will fail during this period. But maybe a few aren''t quite ready to fail and are shipped out. So it might be a good idea to put a lot of playing hours on your amp early on just for insurance against having a failure occur after the warranty expires. If you notice the sound improving, consider it a bonus.