Break in of NOS1

[Claude]

Hi,
I have the NOS1 now for 9 days and so far the sound has changed quite a bit. At first it sounded a little dull but had the deepest basses I ever heard - full-bodied sound. Bowed double basses made my sternum vibrate (even in Orchestral music). This was really an exceptional bass experience. I somehow feared, that this will go away, but it did not (not until yesterday), the bass stayed and after 4 days everything started sound a bit edgy, accompanied by a more spacious sound with better imaging and staging. Very exciting sound, but also fatiguing.
From day 4 on the sound got thinner and more details keep emerging since this day. The deepness of the bass is still there, but wood and body of instruments is gone. When listening to the same recordings (the bowed double bass) I only hear the strings but not the body (I am exaggerating).
The last two days it was not much fun to listen.
I let the NOS1 on all the time and it is playing music all day long (turn down the volume of my pre).
So from Peter I know, that burn in may take 30 days+.
What are your experiences with burn in?
How do you "speed up" the burn in (I did use the Isotek Burnin Track once a day) or is better to just wait?
Is it wise to let the NOS1 on all the time?
I am running XXHighend for serious listening with Macbook air in Dual Boot mode (my PC is not up and running) and the rest of the day I am using Audirvana at 384 with my mac mini. So most of the time the NOS1 is running at 384. Does this influence burn in?
Maybe we could use this thread to share experiences about burn in. It could help new NOS1 users to know, what they will have to expect (or maybe Peter, you start a thread?)
Best Claudius

[juanpmar]

Claudius:

This is what Peter told me about breaking in the NOS1 USB:

It is sufficient to bring up the Control Panel, which initiates streaming over USB (without sound). You can minimize it to the taskbar (crossing it away will stop streaming).

That means that while the streaming is up and running (as you can see in the bottom part of the Control Panel window) the dac is breaking in. How long would it take?, I don´t know, maybe Peter can tell about it more exactly but if you run it as much as you can around one month or something between 500 and 1000 hours is what I think should be ok.

Juan

[Claude]

Juan,
thanks
Good to know! Most of the time I have a mac mini to running with audirvana (just changed the initial post to make this clearer). For two reasons. First I still do not have a PC running (am still looking for the right one) and second with the mini my wife can use the iPad remote and listen to music.
I just checked with at the NOS1. There is a green light in the NOS1. Maybe it is enough for this light to be on? I guess, that if this light is lit while running the mini, it will also burn in.
Claudius

[juanpmar]

Hi Claudius,

When you bring up the Control Panel the green light works intermittently on and off. If you minimize it still works  but if you turn the Control Panel window off (crossing it away) although the green light remains permanently on the streaming will stop.

To breaking in the dac you need to maintain the streaming on.

Juan

[Claude]

Hi Juan,
The light has to blink? If I remember right, the light blinks with XXHighend only if music is playing?
I guess I haven't noticed the blinking light because I only see the light on my way to sit down on my listening seat.
Thanks
Claudius

[juanpmar]

Hi Claudius,
The light blinks when the Control Panel is on, it doesn´t matter if XXHighEnd is on or off.

Juan

[CoenP]

The control panel should do for the USB part, but an entirely new NOS USB also needs its da/analog/power sections broken in. I guess it must need some signal to get "charged".

Since for some reason I don't succeed in playing ridicously long playlists, so I opted for AB-ing one track. In order to prevent me from braindamage I switched the amp off.

Claude, I concur with your findings wrt breaking in the NOS1. Everytime I take a listen it sounds different again.

regards, Coen

[juanpmar]

Yes Coen, you´re right I was thinking mostly about an upgraded NOS1. For an entirely new NOS1 USB you must break in all the other sections, so what you are doing seems correct.

Juan

[PeterSt]

May it still be necessary : indeed the "streaming" thing is for upgrades to USB only, and a new DAC needs everything to break in.

Peter

[PeterSt]

I let the NOS1 on all the time and it is playing music all day long (turn down the volume of my pre).

Hey Claudius,

Just to be sure you got the message :
It is a kind of not allowed to use the NOS1 with a preamp. Of course in the end you sure can, but don't "complain" about the sound. Also, never try to judge or improve like this.

So, now you now, if you not already did !
Regards,
Peter

[Claude]

Peter,
OK, I know now, that I broke the "rules". ;-)
As always it might take some time for me to fully understand the meaning of what you said. (I mean to say this with utmost respect!)
So far, the NOS does not sound better without a Preamp. Or do you say, that it is beneficial for break in not to use a preamp? Or maybe is the NOS doing something to "grow in/on to the system"? (I hope you understand what I mean by this. I had this experience with my "power conditioner").
Thanks to everybody for the replies.
Coen,
how far are you in to break in of the NOS1?
Claudius

[Flecko]

But you was  "braking the law" with a very nice preamp! 

So far, the NOS does not sound better without a Preamp

Can you tell more specific how the preamp influences the sound or what the difference in sound signature is?
I ask beacuse I have an octave pre amp too and feel it doesn't gets much in the way, except additional noise (compared to a passive preamp). But this will be solveable with a low gain amplifier.

[PeterSt]

So far, the NOS does not sound better without a Preamp. Or do you say, that it is beneficial for break in not to use a preamp?

The latter ? not really.

But what you must learn from the *fact* that without preamp it doesn't sound better, is that something is wrong in your system. And, I too had the urge to ask the same as Flecko just did : how does the sound differ ?

Now watch out, because this is (about) something you possibly are not used to yet. I mean, in here, with the XXHighEnd stuff, we are used to perceiving differences over versions or settings all the same. Not minor or "maybe", but very clearly and distinguishable. That not everybody judges certain changes as better always is another thing, but it is about the explicit judgement (I'd even dare to call it "absolute"). All in other words :

To me it seems totally impossible that the only thing you say (or hear) is "it doesn't sound better". It is allowed of course, but this is not how you should operate yourself. It does not sound better for some reason. Can be anything.
But the point is :

It is not allowed to sound better with preamp, because there is nothing a preamp can improve upon, unless you need the preamp for crazy gain (which again is not allowed, but that's another story).

And this again : when without preamp SQ is better, your SQ is the worse to begin with. Just telling you ! haha

I know you are very keen on getting things right, but you must go back to basics first; I think I told you a few times. But now believe in it ! ditch the expensive cables, and ALL of the other tweaks you applied. They *are* tweaks for the wrong, but you didn't know that because they improved (filtered out the bad stuff).

Btw, I am certainly not forcing you to play without preamp, but I do like to force you into the proper judgement of everything, so you *have* to set all up without (regarding the NOS1 I mean), and from there you are allowed to do as you please.

I can't emphasize enough what even the smallest resistor in the signal path does to the NOS1, which already is so clear with measurement alone.

Anyway, if you can describe as precisely as you can what the differences are you perceive, possibly I (or others) are able to tell you what's wrong in your system elsewhere.

Regards,
Peter

[Claude]

What do I hear with my preamp, that I do not hear with the NOS connected directly?
Actually I do hear more details (I don't really care about that, I want it to sound natural). More air around the instruments. I hear the recording ambiance better. The stage is bigger in all dimensions. Without it is much flatter not as much 3d. The color of instruments is more natural (at least to my ears), this seems to be about timbre, resonance, sensing instruments.
I just made a quick A/B and the difference is striking to me. E.G. I hear how a hit hi hat decays from the walls of the recording studio which I do not hear without it.
The only downside so far is, that everything is more extended (highs and lows) and so I am still hearing the harsh highs (it seems to get better). So just maybe the pre introduces some distortion, but the details I am perceiving do not really seem to be distortion. Or this thing is about gain? I have no idea.
I hope this does elaborate enough on my saying, I find the sound with pre "better".
Peter,
of course you are (technically speaking) correct and I sure wish I could get rid of my preamp, but I have to judge by what I hear. So on with breaking the rule (Yeah!)
But I do hear your saying to kind of "starting from scratch" - and I will go that route, but not tonight ;-)
Coen,
I had the 300 in direct comparison to the 500se at home. Although Hofmann said, that the two should be very close, I gladly paid the difference. For just about the same difference in sound I described in this post. Afterwards I found out, that the 300 was not completely broken in. So maybe... (I do not want to think about THAT).
The difference is NOT night and day (just to put the "striking into perspective"), but very easily audible for me. But I am quite cool about it, I have experienced burn in more then once and I know it can make a whole lot of a difference and the sound of the NOS1 is very very good.
I won't get to listen much in this week, but hopefully on the weekend.
Claudius

[CoenP]

Coen,
how far are you in to break in of the NOS1?
Claudius

Not as far as you.  The NOS has been on ever since wednesday November 30, it has been connected to the computer about 100 hours of which 75 hours of playing music.

I experienced some quite dramatic changes in SQ. Actually what you describe I recognise from the past days.

I think patience is key with such a very sensitive component. I made a few tube amps (concepts) with black gate capacitors and these really need 300+ hours break in (>12 days) to sound anywhere decent.

You probably wanted to adress Flecko in your last post...

regards, Coen