Amplifier break in?

[hobbit]

Might seem like a silly question, but does the sound of an amplifier improve with time?
I am using a pro amp as my power amp.
This was always surplus to requirements and sat unused in a rack case before I gave it home audio duties.

I`d swear it sounds better now than it did with no EQ applied.

I know there is a lot of talk re breaking in speakers, but do the electrical components in an amp respond in a similar matter to use?

 

[62caddy]

I don't think so but I'm sure there will be many who feel differently.

 

[Frank Sol]

Two opposite views from guys who 'should know'

Audio-gd folks told me 200 hours for best sound

Class D Audio folks told me it will sound as good in the first few minutes as it ever will

 

[dusty42701]

Amps certainly do seem to have a break-in, but only if they are brand new. Most amps nowadays come already broke in from QC testing or what have you. It takes a few days. As for amps re-breaking or re-running, I would say that is most definitely a yes too. Every amp I've had has had to be re-run after it has been sitting a while. Experience shows that amps that have sat longer than a few months will have to "clear their throats" in order to re-condition themselves. It seems like they usually sound thin, scratchy, and/or unbalanced until they are run wide for a few minutes. About an hour is all it takes to re-condition an amp that has been sitting.

 

[SoCal Sam]

I'll take a con side to break-in. IMO and IME, first acquaintance with a piece is the most important in that either the listener finds the piece intriguing and worthy of a longer commitment or the listener does not. The theory of break-in addresses the possibility that first acquaintance or first listen does not go well and gives the listener a reason to stay with the piece. If the listener does not like the piece on first listen, break-in period may help the listener to tolerate the piece but no more.

 

[wmgwizard]

Tube equipment almost always sounds different after some break in. Even after broken in there is a warm up period as well.

Solid State gear's sonic signature may change slightly once everything comes up to temperature the first few times.

 

[sebrof]

My only experience with SS break in (of course here in the General forum actual experience isn't necessary in order to "know" the answer) was when I bought a new CD player (Primare CD21). I had a Jolida JD-100A, and when I first got the Primare I compared the 2 players. The Jolida sounded a little smoother, I liked it better. After about 1 day that changed, and I thought the Primare sounded better. I pretty much just left the Primare on overnight the first night, didn't listen to it after the initial several songs when I compared it. In fact, I listened to the Jolida for that period of time.
I've never experienced the 200 hour break-in thing that many people talk about though.

 

[DanO55]

Best answer

Tube equipment almost always sounds different after some break in. Even after broken in there is a warm up period as well.

Solid State gear's sonic signature may change slightly once everything comes up to temperature the first few times.

I believe this is the most correct answer.

 

[crouse]

I don't have much experience with breaking in new components. I will only say that after a lot of trolling on the web and reading a lot of magazines, there seems to be a lot of disagreement among "audiophiles." Some say that electronics, SS and tubes, will definitely sound better after a break in period of anywhere from a few hours to hundreds of hours. Others absolutely believe that little or no break in is required and a component will sound the same out of the box as it will after hundreds of hours of play. The second group believe the break in happens in your ears and brain and not in the equipment. In other words, you acclimate to the sound.
By the way, there is a group that claims there is no difference between the sound of different amplifiers if the distortion ratings are low enough.
Needless to say, a thread on this subject can quickly go down a rabbit hole...

 

[TLCW]

Unlike speakers (which need exercises for movable components) , I would believe break-in time is less significant for SS amps. Warm-up time is surely needed for optimal performance after switched off for hours.
Of course, different brands / gears may vary-- the duration of component quality inspections in production plant. I will watch this thread to get inside knowledge from production pros here lol.

 

[hobbit]

I dont think its my imagination, honestly.

With no EQ in the system at all, it sounds far smoother.

It had been sitting unused essentially from new in a flight case in a cold shed for two years.

Maybe showing it a little love has got a response?

I have never noticed it with other hi fi gear and never really believed the break in thing, other than for guitar speakers, that do need to have the crap hammered out of them at a few gigs to give of their best.

 

[premiumplus]

Always a great topic. I'm 60 years old, and I started my hi-fi life when I was 19. Along the way I learned electronics on the job, and finally went back to school for my BS in electrical engineering at age 40, so you could say I did it backwards. Along the way I've been very skeptical about things such as component break-in. At least in solid state. But speakers and tubes, and I suspect to a lesser degree capacitors do settle in over time. I'm still on the fence about capacitors...but they do have physical elements that change over time. I just finished re-capping and rebuilding a Pioneer SX-1250 that had been neglected. Along with the caps, I changed lots of diodes and transistors too, and essentially the receiver is like new. It has about 50 or 60 hours on it and I do believe that things settled in as it came to operating temperature and cooled, and as the new caps were energized and put to use. I do think the sound improved over the first 10 hours of operation or so, maybe 20. But does some of this have to do with my own perception and my desire to hear an improvement for the 40 or so hours of work that I put into the unit? Do I notice improvement gradually as I experience the system playing different musical selections? I am sure there is some truth to that line of reasoning.

 

[TLCW]

Thanks. So you are saying after 10-20 hours, the capacitors are already in very good performance. At 40+ hr has only little further improvement or only mental expectations affecting perception ?

 

[Frank Sol]

I'm 'Breaking In' two new SS amps at the moment

1. Audio-gd A1 (6 days)
2. Crown XLi1500 (3 days)

The Crown woke-up this morning on the good side of the bed... I shut it down last night around 11pm no perceived change in SQ since the beginning. Powered Up this morning everything the same with hookup except for the SQ I'm now perceiving. Much smoother and all together, not disjointed from lows to highs

The A1 ? Have had it twice as long and no difference in SQ since day one


I will moved both to normal system set-up soon and compare them to each other

 

[Lavane]

Tube equipment almost always sounds different after some break in. Even after broken in there is a warm up period as well.

Solid State gear's sonic signature may change slightly once everything comes up to temperature the first few times.

I think this pretty much sums it up. With tube gear there is a burn in period for the tubes plus it can take some minutes for the tubes get up to temperature. SS gear takes a few minutes for everything to stabilize. With equipment that has sat for extended periods of time it may take a little time for caps to reform.