Does the amp need to have headphones plugged in to burn in?

[Trounce]

Maybe a stupid question (depends on how cruel you are

)...

But I was wondering. I just receieved my Fixup Mini and need to burn it in. But, does it actually need to be amplifying in order to burn in or can the electronics do their things without actually amplifying any plugged-in phones?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Costas]

I think it's a GOOD question. I wouldn't mind knowing myself...

 

[JahJahBinks]

IMO, if there is no input, there is no output. Therefore you need to hook the input to something so that the current will flow to the output.

 

[Nefarion]

I read a thread a ways back on this... I forget exactly what the conclusion but i think leaving it just on will burn in some aspects of the amp but not neccesarily in the correct manor. While using a source will put the neccesary strain on the amp to burn it in correctly/fully...

 

[Trounce]

What I mean is this:

Connect the amp to a source, say a CD player, turn the CD player on and play the music. However, do NOT plug any headphones into the amp itself. Will it burn in the correct way or not?

 

[Nefarion]

Oh, I actually asked that same question a ways back and was told no. Logic, of course, says otherwise. Seems to me that adding strain and resistance (ie headphones/ohms) to an amp would work it harder.

I know for cd players, the techs at holm audio said that no output is needed to burn them in.. Just play a cd in them and they will be adequitly burned in. My logic applies against this as well...

So, probably not..You can probably just hook it up to a source and be fine... Id like to give you a defenitive answer, but id be lying to say im defenitly sure. Hopefully someone can shine some light on the subject for us...

 

[Trounce]

I do appreciate your honesty; an 11/10 for effort

Problem is, I don't know if that CD player analogy works in this case for the exact reason you gave: the resistance from a headphone is needed to make the amp work harder. So that begs the question still: will the amp burn in faster/better/more efficiently at a higher volume than a lower one?

Hmm and hmm some more...

Please, sound Gods, share your collective knowledge!

 

[dougli]

When I asked Dr. Meier this question a while back, I was told that his HA-1 amp just needs to be plugged in and turned on for burnin.

 

[LTUCCI1924]

HI: I have burned a lot of amps in. I plug the amp into a source and then plug in headphones so the amp gets input and does out put. I put my source on repeat or use a radio and burn in for 100 hours. Of course during this time I listen to the stuff but when I am done listening I continue the burn in. I think the amp needs an input such as a source and to out put using headphones to cycle a good burn in.

 

[Orpheus]

just to warn you, some type of amps cannot be turned on without some kind of load--your headphones. you can blow parts that way. i think it's mostly a problem with single-ended higher powered tube amps..... but i heard solid-state equipment can also suffer similar problems depending on the design. i know.... it costed me $200 once to change out a transformer i fried......... and then had to listen to the engineer scold me too! Joe Lau says his MG Head is safe to be on without a load, but i still wouldn't let it burn in for more than a couple minutes that way.

 

[JahJahBinks]

Oh that sucks, your amp must went crazy with all the extra current w/o a load.

 

[Orpheus]

yup.... the guy said that the transformer melted something in its core...... told me i was an idiot--heh he.... not in those words. but you know.

anyway, you have been forwarned.

 

[Trounce]

Well, I did it overnight, before reading this message, and the next morning, after almost ****ting my pants from reading this, the amp works perfectly. Needless to say, I won't be doing it again, but - well, yea.

Thanks for the warning.

 

[Nefarion]

Yea. This happened to me with my guitar amp. My stupid self hooked the amp directly into the line in to my computer... Ended up just blowing a fuse and it cost me like 20 cents or something. I didnt think this would apply to headphone amps in the same sense because of the fact that its probable that people will switch around headphones... The inbetween time = amp without a load. So it seems like to me that this should be common knowledge. People would need to be warned to keep a load on their amps as much as possible....

Joe said it didnt apply to the mg. So the question is: What makes it not apply? And is it commonly applied to headphone amps in general or not?

The fact that no one seems to know really for sure which it applies and which it doesnt tells me its probably not commonly applied to headphone amps... Of course im completely uncertain of that. Until I am, I guess I will have to use caution.

 

[Orpheus]

i'm not quite sure..... i just know that single ended amps are more susceptible, and higher power amps are also more susceptible. so, combine them, like my 300b amp.... and you definately need a load. so, perhaps something like Joe's ASL Twinhead you might need to be more careful with.