It gets better over time

I've sat in front of a couple stereos, people would call very well tuned. Next to no distortion. They end up playing the music fairly loud. You know, the old, It's low distortion, I can play it much louder than you can play yours. After sitting in front of those systems, I may have to go a week or two before I can listen again. High volume is high volume. I don't care the source. Or how technically low the distortion levels are.

PYP said:

what is your digital setup?

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This sounds like a setup. The ollll, your digital is the problem. If you would just spend $100,000 on your digital chain, you could listen for 2 more hours.

PYP said:

no, no, no, not my intention at all -- it might be more like $18k (see my signature line below).

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Now I am setting you up. Are you saying it take $18,000 to be able to enjoy digital?
How much would you have to spend to enjoy analog?
This is starting to sound like one of the many iterations of threads titled along the Dying Hobby premise.

Iving said:

Yes - I have experienced this.

It is experience. Which is to say - it may be entirely Subjective (as OP said "how much my perceptions can change"). That said, the effect could be "real" in the sense that something has changed in the system's infrastructure. A soup or a stew tastes better after a few days in the fridge or larder. That's such a widespread understanding by so many people in so many places over so many centuries that it's probably not all "imagination". Something has changed. The broth has matured. It would be difficult to measure the effect at the chemical level. In the case of an audio system I shouldn't be surprised if it weren't all to do with mitigation of electrical turbulence - just as water runs through a river less turbulently having run that course previously - erosion will tend to have this effect if nothing else. All speculation ... although I have a D.Phil. in Psychology I am not trained in the physical sciences.

It's well known that audio systems sound better on Sundays - because noise on the AC line is lower. I would rule out things like that before embracing more ambitious explanations. You know - Occam's razor.

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I don't see a way to compare chemically measurable changes in food over time with a stereo sitting for 2 weeks un-played. I don't believe the electronics have electrically changed so much it has sonically changed.

What's worse, reading into what your saying, I need to play my stereo once, then walk away for 2 weeks for it to play well again. Electrically. That's disappointing. No one told me that when I bought a stereo.

I would think the stereo would play better when consistently used as it would maybe be more thermally stable. Not really true as its totally cold after 8 hours. The point being, I'm bummed I can only play my stereo once every two2 weeks for it to perform at its best.

What I believe is going on is a absence of listening allows my mind to reset. I don't remember what I was experiencing 2 weeks ago. A fresh set of ears says it sounds great. As I pile day after day onto the listening, I become more critical every day. I listen for details like a "Audiophile". I get caught up in the nervosa and stop enjoying the music as I more and more listen to the equipment. This is probably a root psychological attribute of music listening that creates a situation where certain people have a harder time enjoying music than other people. In short, it may be that Audiophiles don't really enjoy music. They enjoy gear and finding faults in the gear to validate changing or buying new stuff. Its somewhat a condemnation of threads that question if Audiophilia is dying. If what I am saying were the case, wouldn't it be best for consumers to not be audiophiles? Unless the goal it to be a part of a hobby of buying expensive stuff for no other reason than you want to buy expensive stuff.

ssfas said:

Having heard some lectures at Oxford University about how our endocrine systems and nervous system change depending on the time of day and our exposure to natural light, I refuse to believe any differences in my perception in recorded sound that are more than about 10 seconds apart. Days apart? - I'm more likely to believe in leprechauns and elves.

Burn-in is not something I've read much about in the UK because it seems to be considered to a large extent audiophoolery. Some engineers appreciate that some capacitors out of the box need a few minutes or perhaps an hour or so to stabilise, and if you are concerned about burn-in, just leave a new component running overnight before listening to it.

Over any long period it's purely psychoacoustic. If a manufacturer or retailer says something will take 100+ or 200+ hours to burn in, I'd just move on to something else. If it takes that long it's not fit for purpose or more likely it's a pre-emptive excuse if you're not impressed by the product.

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let's get you on the QSA thread!!!!!!!!

PYP said:

I'll bite. I love my Grimm MU2 streamer/DAC. Best digital I have had by a large measure. There have been many times when I've read about folks who prefer vinyl but who want digital too. Some of them have more than sufficient budget for an MU2. The little bubble above my head usually reads: Just get the MU2 and be happy. It may be a lot less than you are used to spending, but this is a perfect entry point. And might be end game for your particular needs.

But, no, one doesn't need to spend that much to enjoy digital. I don't have sufficient current, relevant experience with analog to make a guess. I do think they both need fussing with, each in its own way, in order to get the most out of one's investment.

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I wanted a Grimm. I want to try the AES to my DAC. I appreciate the way it handles a music file more like a CD rather than a computer. Less noise. Grimm is way out of my league. I felt crazy spending the $5000 or so at the time on my server. Back then, everyone was crapping on servers saying a laptop is fine because the DAC is isolated by the USB cable and the signal is reclocked by the USB card. I went through a few iterations of my server. Quite a few upgrades as technology progressed. Hardware was always a small change. Software has by far been the biggest sonic change when updating my server. I also went through a few DAC. When I hit the Mojo Audio I knew it was time to stop. Especially when I had a MSB at my house that was more than double the price and did not sound as good.

ssfas said:

Over any long period it's purely psychoacoustic. If a manufacturer or retailer says something will take 100+ or 200+ hours to burn in, I'd just move on to something else. If it takes that long it's not fit for purpose or more likely it's a pre-emptive excuse if you're not impressed by the product.

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I do more and more question how much is psychoacoustic.

Bummer for me I am saying the more I listen the more I seem to assess and notice issues. The QSA crowd is saying the more they listen, the more they feel its better. But, they also seem to walk up the ladder. A $300 fuse turns into a $1000 fuse turns into a $3000 fuse or more.