hifi-advice.com - running in

Some people are not convinced that this phenomenon even exists and maintain that it is a psychological effect but sadly, in practice, it turns out time after time that it is in fact very much true. One component will change more than the other during running in but all components I have had in all these years (and they account to a lot, see the Reviews) exhibit changes in sound during running in.

Why this should be so is not entirely conclusively explainable and the explanations that do exist are sometimes far fetched. Most of the time it has to do with mechanical factors but also with bedding in of electronic devices and even bedding in of the wiring inside.

Real running in aside, I've also encountered that the psychological explanation that is maintained by some people also holds true. At least it was very true for me with regard to the Magnepan MG3.6R magnetostatic speakers. Before I had these, I had Martin Logan SL3 elextrostatics and they are almost fullrange. This means that there is only a crossover in the very low frequencies. The rest of the frequency spectrum is produced by one single sheet of foil. When changing to the Magnepans at first I was very much aware of them being a three-way design. There are actually three drivers in the MG3.6R's, with associated crossover points that are pretty audible if your former speaker was basically a no-crossover type. Still, the Magnepans had so much other qualities on offer that I stuck with them and over time, I discovered that I was less and less bothered with the audibility of the crossover points. Now, after I have had them a couple of years, I don't even hear it anymore. Psychological effect? Very likely, since both the Magnepans and the Martin Logans were bought second hand.

Loudspeakers

With brand new speakers the phenomenon of running in is simple to explain. The rubber surrounds, as well as the spider that centers the voice coil behind the speaker are mechanical devices that, like people, need some exercise to become lean and supple. As a result brand new speakers tend to sound dynamically restrained and often too bright or brittle in the highs. I've even encountered the phenomenon of run-in speakers, running out again after prolongued non-use: even a few months can have adverse effects. I heard this with B&W Nautilus 804's as well as with Synthese Floating 2's.

Some equipment exhibits more complex behaviour, for example the Wadia 861 cd player, or, for that matter, any VRDS based transport:

Wadia 861 CD Player

For example a Wadia 861 not only has to run in when bought new, but also each time that it has been without power for an extended period. If it is cold, it sounds grey, flat, uninvolving...boring! And even when you have had it connected to the net all of the time but haven't spinned a disc in a couple of days, it takes a few cd's to sound its best. The last is actually probably mechanical in nature and has to do with the disc clamping mechanism. Inside the 861 is a Teac VRDS transport that clamps the cd from below and above. This prevents the disc from wobbling but also introducs more bearings and probably therefore more joints that have to "run in", before they are smooth.

Luckily not all components are as finnicky as the Wadia but still running in can change a component's sound quite a bit.

Loudspeaker cables

One other example. Analysis Plus Hollow Oval loudspeaker cable. When new these cables already sound extremely detailed and quick but very forward, shrill, square and frankly unpleasant. And the sound remains like this for some 300 hours. No kidding. The distributor already warned me for this, otherwise I probably would have returned the cable. But somewhere around the 300 hour-mark the sound mellows and becomes more pleasant, with more colour and fluidness. This is also an extreme example but a very real one at that.

With cables and components alike, moste of the time running in is a matter of a closed in, too-controlled and harsh sound becoming more mellow and fluid. Hardly ever does it go the other way around.

A cable that doesn't sound very open immediately after purchase usually doesn't become open at a later stage. An exeption is formed by Cardas. These cables are constructed in a complicated fashion that even after you've ran them in, they tend to sound confused (hazy/out of focus) when you have moved them around a lot but luckily improve back to their original state within 30 minutes. Another exeption is Transparent. These cables can sound closed in, muted and undynamic when new but after running in they sound a lot more dynamic and get better focus.

Bottom line

Although this was a story full of exeptions, the core remains true: running in is a very real thing and you shouldn't underestimate it!

Also read:

Warming up