SACD players require break in time?

[jamison]

I bought a Pioneer Elite DV-45 dvd player because it played both SACD and DVDA discs. My last player only played the dvda. When i first got the player i noticed it had a decent picture and sound with dvd and dvda's. WhenI started to play sacds through it, I noticed they sounded flat dull and without any life.I thought whats going on here this is not very good. i talked with several people on here who said this model had poor sound. Well i stuck with the unit and 6 months later it seems sacds just came to life. they sound open and airey where they were dull to begin with. My big question is do these players require substantial break in time to sound their best? or is it just my ears? i had good interconnects from the beggining and my speakers were broken in from the beginning so i know its not that.

has anyone else noticed this with this model? i got this model fairly cheap at 299.99 off of ebay brand new the list price was close to a grand so i thought i got a good deal.

[DMK]

or is it just my ears? i.

It's more likely that YOU broke in rather than the unit. By that I mean that your ears became accustomed to the sound and the airiness, etc that was missing was somehow filled in by your brain. I'm not a believer in break in for amps, digital gear, etc. Many years ago, I participated in some blind experiments of the Thiel CS7 (since they're now CS7.2's, you can see how long ago this was!), one was a fully "broken in" pair and one was brand new. We picked out the new pair as being grainy and tipped up in the treble every time. Six months later, we couldn't tell one from the other. Of course, this proves nothing but it does open the door to the possibility that speakers do break in. What I REALLY remember about the experiment is thinking - what a friggin waste of my time! And I wasn't the ones that had to move these behemoths back and forth! :)

There is no evidence that digital sources or amps "break in". I find that compelling but, again, there is no proof either way. The most important thing is that regardless of whether the phenomenon exists or not, you're now happy with your purchase. If you get involved in the break in debate, you'll waste time and still never find out for sure! :)

[IRAWB]

"There is no evidence that digital sources or amps "break in". I find that compelling but, again, there is no proof either way. The most important thing is that regardless of whether the phenomenon exists or not, you're now happy with your purchase. If you get involved in the break in debate, you'll waste time and still never find out for sure!"

Actually there is plenty of evidence - it's just that no one's bothered to write a paper on it.

Naim Audio in the UK accept that their gear takes about 5 weeks to sound at its best. You won't find a more scientifically driven bunch than Naim Audio.

Capacitors take time to charge, metal changes its shape and value when heat is applied etc etc etc.

Also, 'digital' sources certainly do break in.
There is actually no such thing as a digital source anyway, the STORAGE is digital (the disc itself) but it must be converted to analog somewhere in the chain, whether it be in the player or in an AV receiver. Why is this true? Because humans cannot hear 1s and 0s, only analog waveforms.