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Location: Plymouth, UK
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Valve burn in...fact or fiction
If it does exist, how long can I expect to wait until my new set of JJ KT88 come on song. So far though with only a couple of hours, I can hear a fair bit of extra detail and the bass is better defined and with more slam than the old Svet Winged C's (Quad branded) that I have taken out. Caveat, I dont know how many hours the Winged C's had on them......
If only it was that simple
Main System :
Quad II/40 amps, Music First passive pre, Tannoy Stirling SE speakers, Technics 1200 + RB301, V-LPS, digital streaming from Mac mini via Lifatec Toslink to Moon 300D. Meier Corda Arietta headphone amp, Sennheiser HD650 Phones. Mark Grant i/c cables. Speaker cables, Audioquest Rocket 44 BiWire.
Ray.
Alien Entity
Location: North East UK
Posts: 6,358
I'm InSpace.
Anything up to 100 hours IME!
Shian7
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ari mizu-no tsuki
Though it be be broken -
broken again - still it's there:
the moon on the water.
- Choshu.
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Location: Hove Actually
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I'm Imjustsurviving.
100 hours, AFraid so thats the figure that sticks in my mind
Jon
A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.
Set up
Lafayette el84 power amp , Audio note M1 pre , Tannoy Sterlings, Garrard 301 , SME 3012 , puresound P10, Ortofon SPU, Cambridge CXN streamer
Micro mega Duo 3 cd transport ,
Senior Member
Location: A Strangely Isolated Place in Suffolk with Far Away Trains Passing By...
Posts: 14,535
I'm David.
Certainly, pairs of valves need some time to electrical "anneal" themselves as a pair [edit - adjust themselves to each other] and I've also read 100 hours. I expect it depends upon the biasing and how gently the valves are used - or not...
Last edited by DSJR; 06-11-2010 at 14:13.
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Anneal??
Senior Member
Location: Finland
Posts: 365
I'm Juha.
What little experience I have had of valves bedding in is that this is very interesting gradual progress.
To start with valves can be very harsh and 'on your face'. But as time passes by sound becomes more soft and sound stage opens up. For me it is like bedding in new pair of speakers, they just gradually get better and better as time goes by. Only problem with valves it that they eventually fail, which is not really case with speakers.
My Gear
Source components:
Garrard 401 in a solid birch plywood plinth / Trans-Fi Terminator T3Pro / ESCo modified Denon DL-103
Pioneer TX-9800 tuner
Amplification:
Art Audio Diavolo and Conductor, Pair of XTZ Sub Amp 1's, Nick G 'Dual Phono' phono stage
Loudspeakers:
Bastanis Mandala Atlas with 15" sealed woofers
Cables:
Analysis Plus: Big Silver Oval speaker cables and Silver Oval-in interconnects, Mark Grant DSP 2.5 Dual Screened power cables
Record cleaning
Nitty Gritty 1.5Fi MK II
Senior Member
Location: Plymouth, UK
Posts: 458
I'm invisible.
I suppose it could be likened to a pair of shoes. One they are really comfy its time to get new ....Originally Posted by selfaddict
If only it was that simple
Main System :
Quad II/40 amps, Music First passive pre, Tannoy Stirling SE speakers, Technics 1200 + RB301, V-LPS, digital streaming from Mac mini via Lifatec Toslink to Moon 300D. Meier Corda Arietta headphone amp, Sennheiser HD650 Phones. Mark Grant i/c cables. Speaker cables, Audioquest Rocket 44 BiWire.
Ray.
Audio Engineer; Moderator
Location: South Wales
Posts: 9,151
I'm NotTakingLifeTooSeriouslyTheseDays.
hi all,
valves do indeed get better after they have been run for a while, as have been said it is partly to do with the stresses being relieved from the manufacturing process. valves in class A amps will bed in quicker on average than in AB as the set current is generaly higher and constant.
burn in also happens in solid state equipment, cables, speakers etc, anything that has had certain stresses imposed on it while being manufactured, there are of course other elements involved as to why the sonics of certain types of equipment change over time, there are a few opinions as to the why's and how's but opinions are opinions, i have mine and others have theirs but alas there is nothing set in stone.
Anthony,TD...
"Today scientists have substituted mathematics for experiments, and they wander off through equation after equation, and eventually build a structure which has no relation to reality"
Nikola Tesla
Its now a conspiracy theory to believe that the Immune system is capable of doing the job it was designed to do.
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Matthew 5:10
Senior Member
Location: Plymouth, UK
Posts: 458
I'm invisible.
Thanks for all replies...Lets play music....
If only it was that simple
Main System :
Quad II/40 amps, Music First passive pre, Tannoy Stirling SE speakers, Technics 1200 + RB301, V-LPS, digital streaming from Mac mini via Lifatec Toslink to Moon 300D. Meier Corda Arietta headphone amp, Sennheiser HD650 Phones. Mark Grant i/c cables. Speaker cables, Audioquest Rocket 44 BiWire.
Ray.
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