burning in

Professor smith · 5th September 2008, 06:43 PM

I would like to ask Nelson if ''burning in'' components is a well defined concept?

I have read in hifi magazines and heard that burning in is supposed to improve the sound. What basis is there for this idea?

Nelson Pass · 5th September 2008, 08:20 PM

I will only address burn in from the standpoint of an electronics
manufacturer, which is the thing I know with some authority.

We burn products in for two reasons -

1. We want to see if anything fails.

2. We want to readjust the amplifier against any drift in performance
that comes with a burn-in.

Some amplifiers depend on delicate balances between components to
achieve best performance, and are tweaked to a "sweet spot". Something
like a First Watt F5 or an F3 is a fine example of an amp which appreciates
being tweaked back into the sweet spot after burn-in. The difference might
be reasonably subtle - distortion drifting over the range of .002% to .01%,
or bias drifting a few percent.

Some, like an F4, don't depend on the subtle interactions of components,
and rarely appreciate re-adjustment after burn-in.

Manu · 5th September 2008, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Some, like an F4, don't depend on the subtle interactions of components,
and rarely appreciate re-adjustment after burn-in.

5th September 2008, 06:43 PM	#1
Professor smith Banned Join Date: Sep 2008	burning in I would like to ask Nelson if ''burning in'' components is a well defined concept? I have read in hifi magazines and heard that burning in is supposed to improve the sound. What basis is there for this idea?

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5th September 2008, 08:20 PM	#2
Nelson Pass The one and only Join Date: Mar 2001	I will only address burn in from the standpoint of an electronics manufacturer, which is the thing I know with some authority. We burn products in for two reasons - 1. We want to see if anything fails. 2. We want to readjust the amplifier against any drift in performance that comes with a burn-in. Some amplifiers depend on delicate balances between components to achieve best performance, and are tweaked to a "sweet spot". Something like a First Watt F5 or an F3 is a fine example of an amp which appreciates being tweaked back into the sweet spot after burn-in. The difference might be reasonably subtle - distortion drifting over the range of .002% to .01%, or bias drifting a few percent. Some, like an F4, don't depend on the subtle interactions of components, and rarely appreciate re-adjustment after burn-in.