SB3 mediocre sound quality

[alekz]

Ok, tonight I'm going to re-compare my burned-in sb3 to my old midlevel cd-player.

Make sure that your new SB3 has at least 100 hours of continuous paying.

[geamater]

Make sure that your new SB3 has at least 100 hours of continuous paying.

why ?

David

[alekz]

why ?

You get the most of the performance after 2 days of continuous playing (breaking-in). Full break-in period for most capacitors is 100 hours. Black Gate capacitors, most cables - 200 hours. Just read the manufacturer recommendations.

XLO Burn-in track is a big help here.
http://www.amazon.com/XLO-Reference-...0674587&sr=8-1

[pfarrell]

geamater wrote:
>> Make sure that your new SB3 has at least 100 hours of continuous paying.
>
> why ?

Because the myth of audio break-in says so.
In practice, it handles buyers remorse.

Perhaps speakers need a bit of breakin, but why amps, preamps, etc. need
more than a few seconds is beyond me. I've never seen any science to
justify it.

--
Pat Farrell
http://www.pfarrell.com/

[opaqueice]

You get the most of the performance after 2 days of continuous playing (breaking-in). Full break-in period for most capacitors is 100 hours. Black Gate capacitors, most cables - 200 hours. Just read the manufacturer recommendations.

What's the break-in time for the human ears/brain when it's introduced to a new device? Is there a manufacturer recommendation?

[alekz]

What's the break-in time for the human ears/brain when it's introduced to a new device? Is there a manufacturer recommendation?

Log a technical assistance case for the Lord. He might even have a FAQ somewhere.

[Patrick Dixon]

What's the break-in time for the human ears/brain when it's introduced to a new device? Is there a manufacturer recommendation?

IME the ears/brain do need time to adjust to a new sound. I think that's one of the problems in evaluating things after a short demo (I don't mean just spotting a difference here, but rather expressing a preference). On a short listen, people often seem to pick the thing that sounds louder and/or more exciting, but after a longer listen, the same thing can become rather tiring.

I'm not a huge believer in long burn-ins, but I have noticed that (linear) PSUs can take a while to settle down. Electrolytic capacitors may be responsible - I'm not sure what effect an ageing mains transformer might have.

One audio manufacturer I know, contends that burn-in is entirely down to the human getting used to the new equipment.

[GuyDebord]

Log a technical assistance case for the Lord. He might even have a FAQ somewhere.

PLEASE, PLEASE ALEKZ, dont convert this thread into another of your esoteric blackboards. Cant you see you are alone! just leave it! "pretty please with sugar on top"

Why dont you start a new user forum related to snake oil? we might need to get the ghostbusters.

Make sure that your new SB3 has at least 100 hours of continuous paying.

Would you say it needs 100 hours or 93, why not 113, the imperativeness and precision of this numbers (statement) scare me. I totally second pfarrell's post.

[Rick B.]

I think that our ears may indeed need to "break in" with new equipment. It's well-known that our eyes do the same thing with perscription glasses. Case in point:

When I was first prescribed glasses for astigmatism the doctor explained that for a while I would see straight lines to be curved until my brain learned to straighten them out. I didn't believe him but that's exactly what happened.

I'm suggesting that our ears may also have to adapt in a similar fashion. New equipment may have colorations that alter the sound a bit and our brain learns to adapt and make up for the differences somewhat.

I'm not suggesting that our ears can make a silk purse out of a sow's ear but it may explain break-in beyond just the electronics.

[alekz]

our brain learns to adapt and make up for the differences somewhat.

No doubts here. But there is a workaround. Listen to your new component for some time. Than turn the sound or power amp off, and don't listen for at least a couple of days (while keeping the new component under a constant load, again preferably using the Burn-In track).

Unfortunately it does not work for loudspeakers, power amps and speaker cables. You might leave the house for a long weekend, though ;-)