Author Topic: DIY Break-In Device  (Read 8741 times)

Offline rollo

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #15 on: January 25, 2019, 07:42:37 AM »
Or one could simply put one of the many break in discs on the market into your CD player and set it on repeat......... :-k



   Yes however adding hundreds of hours on the laser may not be prudent.


charles
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Online Folsom

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #16 on: January 25, 2019, 12:11:39 PM »
Wow that died so fast I didn't even get any replies. I can't come up with a cost analysis for something without knowing what it is...

Offline rollo

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #17 on: January 25, 2019, 12:18:39 PM »
  Folsom. Just need a unit for cable and Cap break in. For components I use a cheap CD player.


charles
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Online Folsom

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #18 on: January 25, 2019, 12:28:11 PM »
Speaker cable or just IC's?

Offline HAL

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #19 on: January 25, 2019, 01:00:14 PM »
Or one could simply put one of the many break in discs on the market into your CD player and set it on repeat......... :-k



Or just rip the test/burn-in CD to WAV files and play them with a PC to DAC or other file player.  Saves a lot of laser and motor wear.

Offline rollo

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #20 on: January 25, 2019, 01:35:24 PM »
Speaker cable or just IC's?


  Both Folsom thanks.


charles
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Online Folsom

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #21 on: January 25, 2019, 08:13:36 PM »
Ok, and you want it to have it's own signal source? And does it need an enclosure?

Do you solder?

Right now I'm thinking it'd mostly be soldering RCA jacks, and some ribbon cable stuff. For speaker cable burn in it's pretty easy to just use off the shelf classD amps that only need a + psu. The RCA cords need a buffer on top of the source for signal to make sure you can burn in several.

Is 4 total rca cables and 2 pairs of speaker cables enough, or should it be more?

Offline steve

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #22 on: June 25, 2019, 01:46:19 PM »
    A worthwhile project. Folsom, Dave, Steve somebody get on it it will be a seller and very useful tool. Should break in cables AND components.

charles

Hi Charles,

It would be quite expensive to provide a nice looking, quality product. A descent, universal
design would require a variable oscillator, high powered output circuit, transformers, various
loads, various connectors etc. etc.

For small capacitors, interconnect cables etc, I simply use my Hewlett Packard Signal Generator,
which is capable of 5hz up to 600khz, up to 10s of ma., and high amplitude.

Lately, for preamplifiers, SS DACs etc, I simply power on my system, and let the
computer provide 10 hour segments of dynamic musical classics from YouTube. I just let
my tube amplifier break in normally, no special techniques due to limited output tube life.
One could remove the output tubes and still break in the coupling capacitors.

For the phono stage, I use rca plugs with the center pin wire sticking out, it is not grounded.
It will pickup 60hz present in the room, and the cartridge needle doesn't wear.

cheers
steve


« Last Edit: June 25, 2019, 07:29:06 PM by steve »
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Offline HAL

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #23 on: June 25, 2019, 04:45:41 PM »
You might find a used Wally Phono break-in box if you need one.  He also made a cable break-in box that would work.

http://www.simplyblack.net/WVC/tools/burn-pictures.html

Hagerman also makes an iRIAA board that will work as well.

https://hagerman-audio-labs.myshopify.com/products/iriaa2-inverse-riaa-filter

Offline P.I.

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #24 on: June 26, 2019, 10:27:46 AM »
I will post the controversial answer- if you don’t like it when you first try it IN YOUR SYSTEM, no amount of break-in is going to change that. I’ve had many pieces of equipment, many that I wanted to like, but never one that transformed itself, over a period of time, into something manifestly different.
I see the the hours posted on forums about break-in times, and think to myself, there aren’t that many hours in a day to be doing that.
The second part of that joke is how many people, when selling equipment, usually say something along the lines of- low hours, hardly used, only in second system, etc., etc.
In my opinion, there are way too many variables to make a judgement about break-in affecting sound in a home environment.
I’m not a measurements guy; I believe that I might enjoy a piece of gear that measures poorly- but why would a manufacturer knowingly put out a product that takes 250-500 hours of break-in to sound good? This would mean that they tested various capacitors, power supplies, speaker drivers, wire, etc., etc., etc., ad infinitum. There are not enough hours in the day.
Two blatant exceptions to your opinions:

Furutech GTX NCF - a paranoid, bipolar schizophrenic during a lengthy break
in

Dayton PS220 single cone driver - 200 hours and it starts to sound good

Just sayin'

 =;
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Offline AJ Soundfield

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #25 on: June 26, 2019, 05:44:49 PM »
Buy used
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Online Folsom

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #26 on: June 26, 2019, 10:36:14 PM »
Buy used

Wow, do you have anymore sage advice?  :roll:

I've had things that did not sound good until they'd been on through the night. I wish it were not so... I wish philosophy could be strong, but it isn't.

Offline AJ Soundfield

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #27 on: June 27, 2019, 05:50:47 AM »
Wow, do you have anymore sage advice?  :roll:
Nope.
If "burned in" stuff sounds better, buy used. Save money and suffering.
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Offline P.I.

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #28 on: June 27, 2019, 10:07:13 PM »
Years ago I used a very high power SS receiver.  I mis-tuned it to a station until the breakup was really nasty to generate every harmonic available.  I would attach the Whatever was being broken in and terminate that component with a very high wattage resistive load appropriate for the component.  Digital = 75 - 80 ohms.  Speaker cables = 8 ohms.  Interconnects = 10K to 250K depending upon application.

The most fun was listening to crossover capacitors sing a song while being broken in at 4 - 8 ohms along with the input signal.

I now use a different scheme and will post pictures tomorrow if I can get this evil format to allow me to post pictures.  Ever since I upgraded to OSX Mojave I’ve had numerous problems...

Power cables are broken in on a proprietary fixture.  I will not divulge what it is.  It is also used to break in speaker cables and my BUSS-Line.  I don’t kiss and tell  :-P [-X [-X
« Last Edit: June 27, 2019, 10:10:54 PM by P.I. »
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Offline malloy

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Re: DIY Break-In Device
« Reply #29 on: June 27, 2019, 10:11:16 PM »
A capacitor burn-in device would have saved me a lot of earache after I had caps in my cd player upgraded to Mundorfs .

I think the caps needed some 300-400 hours to sound good.

The new caps sounded very detailed but polite at first listen. After about 50 hours the sound was very shrill and thin. After a few hundred hours, they seemed to settled down, only to sound harsh again.

I was warned about the long burn-in, but I went back to the dealer anyway to complain about the bad sound! These things had a very Jekyll and Hyde personality while burning in.