Well, time for my every 24 hour report on the burn-in of the ALO-780 20G Vampire Wire re-cabled de-dioded HFI-780.
First I'll answer a question from above. I had some very well burned-in Darth V3 (one of the two first v3 made) and they had a very distant midrange to me and boomy mid-bass that both flaws required EQ to make them enjoyable to me. Taking out 4db in the 64-125Hz range and adding 3-4db at 250-1000Hz got them sounding really good. I did find the Meier Headsix portable amp, or DV336i with Raytheon tubes had good synergy with the Darths when EQ wasn't available.
But, I like the 780 better in every way, except the cool woodied looks that are missing.
Right now, at just under 170 hours, these ALO modded 780's have no more sizzle treble and I am listening to them with my Meier HeadFive directly from line out of my iRiver H140 with Apple Lossless files, and they sound great. The tube choices I previously made are perfect from the 336i via Marantz CD5001, and the opamps in the iBasso D1 are pretty darn good out of my Macbook via Headstage USB DAC or the built-in D1 DAC. I no longer need to look for a warmer less bright opamp in the iBasso DAC.
The positive comments I have previously had on the details, and layering, and bass control, all still apply. I suspect they may be done burning in at around 160-170 hours. Tomorrow night at just under 200 hours I should have a good idea if burn-in is done or if there are more changes. The stock HFI780 weren't done burning in at 250 hours when I sent them for a re-cable, likely because of the diode board.
Early next week I'll report on the 18G Jenna Lab Cryo-wire re-cabled ALO-780. I've already mentioned how the 18G JL cable sounds vs the 20G Vampire Wire, based on previous experience, so I don't expect any of those differences to go away. However, the drivers on those will be burned-in already.