Heidegger
100+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2011
- Posts
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Don't want to pile up posts, but when I left here I went searching for more info on amp burn-in and found an interesting and highly technical post about this at at
http://www.hifivision.com/introductions/4939-amplifier-burn-2.html
The post by venkatcr concludes:
"So what does happen that make people say that their amplifiers sound better after usage? There is one possibility and this relates more to the power unit.
There is a lot of copper used in the power unit for flow of current. Asit [one of the posters over there at hifivision] had once explained that the conductivity of copper increases after current flows through it for some time. Essentially the molecules inside the copper align themselves in the direction of flow. This reduces internal resistance within the copper and aids in the smoother flow of current. The power unit will, thus, after some usage, be able to deliver marginally higher current, and more important, the higher current faster. This will affect the amplifier circuit in two ways. One, the amplifier’s slew rate will improve enabling the amplifier to match the input signal’s speed better. Two, the power unit will be able to replenish the capacitors faster, thus enabling the amplifier to attack the next rush requirement with equal gusto. The net effect will be that, to our human ears, the music will sound smoother.
A well designed amplifier, in my opinion, will, with usage, not have any positive change in tonality, headroom, dynamics, or other similar and important characteristics of the sound signal. The only possible positive change is the increase in the slew rate and the resultant ‘attack’ speed of the amplifier."
This really caught my eye since, above all, the black cube linear when first listened to had a very slow attack speed, making the music sound quite dull. (I can't tell you how often I yawned those first few days.) Venkatcr could be wrong, of course, but it really accords with my experience. Moreover, if you read his/her post s/he really seems to have done some homework. If correct, then all I have to say to you nay-sayers on this thread is: Keep your minds open. There might be things you don't know about. And don't assume that "subjective" experiences are always wrong. Sometimes our ears can hear things that are really there. (Imagine that!)
http://www.hifivision.com/introductions/4939-amplifier-burn-2.html
The post by venkatcr concludes:
"So what does happen that make people say that their amplifiers sound better after usage? There is one possibility and this relates more to the power unit.
There is a lot of copper used in the power unit for flow of current. Asit [one of the posters over there at hifivision] had once explained that the conductivity of copper increases after current flows through it for some time. Essentially the molecules inside the copper align themselves in the direction of flow. This reduces internal resistance within the copper and aids in the smoother flow of current. The power unit will, thus, after some usage, be able to deliver marginally higher current, and more important, the higher current faster. This will affect the amplifier circuit in two ways. One, the amplifier’s slew rate will improve enabling the amplifier to match the input signal’s speed better. Two, the power unit will be able to replenish the capacitors faster, thus enabling the amplifier to attack the next rush requirement with equal gusto. The net effect will be that, to our human ears, the music will sound smoother.
A well designed amplifier, in my opinion, will, with usage, not have any positive change in tonality, headroom, dynamics, or other similar and important characteristics of the sound signal. The only possible positive change is the increase in the slew rate and the resultant ‘attack’ speed of the amplifier."
This really caught my eye since, above all, the black cube linear when first listened to had a very slow attack speed, making the music sound quite dull. (I can't tell you how often I yawned those first few days.) Venkatcr could be wrong, of course, but it really accords with my experience. Moreover, if you read his/her post s/he really seems to have done some homework. If correct, then all I have to say to you nay-sayers on this thread is: Keep your minds open. There might be things you don't know about. And don't assume that "subjective" experiences are always wrong. Sometimes our ears can hear things that are really there. (Imagine that!)