[abernardi]

  I've had this DAC for about 9 months now and it has been a major asset to my system, transformative really.  When I first started reading up on it I think I read somewhere that some guys were leaving it on and never turning it off.  So I left it on for about a month and things were sounding better and better.  Of course I may have been imagining it, but that's my experience of it.  I figure a system can take quite a long time to find its balance.  
  So last week I turned off the DAC, it was bugging me and felt wasteful.  Last night I turned it back on, let the system warm up for about an hour and it sounded like CRAP.  The highs were harsh and screechy and the stereo image was sketchy.  The low end was lighter than usual and it actually sounded slightly unbalanced, leaning to the left, but then not really, kind of ambiguous.  It could have been my power, my AC is very bad.  I've been running everything through an old PS Audio UPC-200 power conditioner, which I'm sure is not the best.  
  But my hunch is that there's something in this DAC that needs to be baking for a while to sound good.  I left it on and took a listen tonight and it's MUCH better.  The imaging is good again and the screechiness is much better, still not what it was before I turned it off.  I know it could be other things going on.  But does anyone have any knowledge concerning this DAC needing to be on continuously?

 

[NA Blur]

Hopefully the warm up time you are noticing means the DAC was optimized for operating temperatures.  If the thing gets hot then it should be optimized at that temperature.
 
Not magic, just science.

 

[abernardi]

  Hopefully the warm up time you are noticing means the DAC was optimized for operating temperatures.  If the thing gets hot then it should be optimized at that temperature.
 
Not magic, just science.

 
Did I say anything about magic?  I'm sorry, but I don't understand your response.  I would think an hour is plenty of time for any component to reach it's optimum operating temperature.  My question is why does it sound so much better only after being on for DAYS?

 

[BID]

Though only somewhat related I will answer with something I've experienced myself. I usually let my Phonitor amp and Abrahamasen DAC stay on 24/7. Whenever I need to turn it off for some reason(going away, lightning etc.), the first few days after I turn it back on I sometimes experience interference/noise. This noise can last all from 10 seconds to half an hour at a time. After having left the system on for a while though, this never happens again.

 

[abernardi]

Yeah BID, I'm not an electrical engineer, I barely understand electricity, but there must be some components that need a LOT of time to stabilize.  And considering how packed that Ref 7.1 is, there are probably many in that box.