Cartridge break in - a serious note

ohbythebay

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So you just spent $59, $300, $900, $2000 on a new cartridge. The price does not matter. All cartridges regardless of price require what is known as break in. The amount of hours for break in varies but lets just say a median average is 50-60 hours.

But what is cartridge break in? it is really two things. One more so than the other though people often get them mixed up as to which occurs faster. They are:

Suspension break in
Diamond stylus break in

The first is really the more relevant of the two because the wear of the diamond is a much slower process with a life of between 1000 - 2000 hours. 50 hours would only net 2% to 5% wear and should be (if properly setup) fairly uniform. It matters as it tends to soften the oft times overly bright initial sound.

What really matters initially though is suspension. From the factory or builders, suspensions are stiff. As they should be ensuring solid long life. That does however; present issues in track ability and initial sound reproduction as even the slightest vibration is like a large speed bump. Picture a BRAND new set of heavy duty shocks vs ones that have had a chance to break in. The ride smooths out and so does the cart tracking.

Many people set their VTF to the very high side for the initial break in period to accelerate the process and allow a bit of OVER push on the suspension. I don't adhere to the over push but I do tend to set my VTF toward the high end of factory spec for the simple reason that is where the engineers designed it to be. It is a fallacy that lighter is better.

My Clearaudio Concept MC cart just recently completed (I think) its break in period. It has about 50+ hours on it and the transition is amazing. Initially, it sounded great right out of the box. But being a picky picky, certain notes in the highs seemed too bright on occasion...the bass a bit too deep. Nothing that would make me dislike the cart but I would say it was 96% there...

well, all of a sudden, I just seemed to notice that the sound seemed...Perfect. Nothing sounded off, at any point and albums I had listened to during INITIAL play sounded better, fuller, balanced at all ranges...and it dawned on me...ahhh..I have reached break in.

The moral of this though is that if it sounds pretty damn good initially, it is going to sound incredible when properly broken in. If it is NOT pleasing initially, it may get better, but be warned, it will only go so far. I have rarely heard a cartridge sound bright or fatiguing initially go to awesome - with the except of an AT440MLa MM cart. Pretty surprising. I had a Sumiko that I did not like out of the box and no, did not like it broken in.

Please note, mileage may vary depending on your driving...LOL
 
nice write up!! i sold my whole table not long after the cartridge was broken in. and i have a new cartridge that needs breaking in shortly. last i thought was broke in about 50 hours but when i hit that 120 hour area started sounding even better.
thanks for that i always thought it was the tip that was breaking in.
 
Its really best to not set the VTF heavy on a new cartridge as this can over stress the suspension at first......many manufactures suggest starting out on the lower side of their recommended VTF and once your reach the 30-40 hour mark then revisit VTF and dial in. The nice thing about cartridges is they settle in fairly quick and certainly much quicker than almost anything audio :) however the longest ride will be your tonearm cable and unless the wire is already burned in prior to assembly in the tonearm it can be years before its settled in :( when dealing with a tiny signal such as a cartridge signal (mV) and very fine (small gauge) wire. There are many times when the tonearm wire is properly broke in it will make more of a difference vs cartridge break in. I have confirmed this many times using my cable cooker with a special adapter fitted for the tonearm leads.
 
Its really best to not set the VTF heavy on a new cartridge as this can over stress the suspension at first......many manufactures suggest starting out on the lower side of their recommended VTF and once your reach the 30-40 hour mark then revisit VTF and dial in. The nice thing about cartridges is they settle in fairly quick and certainly much quicker than almost anything audio :) however the longest ride will be your tonearm cable and unless the wire is already burned in prior to assembly in the tonearm it can be years before its settled in :( when dealing with a tiny signal such as a cartridge signal (mV) and very fine (small gauge) wire. There are many times when the tonearm wire is properly broke in it will make more of a difference vs cartridge break in. I have confirmed this many times using my cable cooker with a special adapter fitted for the tonearm leads.

Uh, isn't this is the opposite of what you told me about the Ortofon 2M Bronze I just mounted? Since it only has about 3 hours on it at present, I'm going to leave the VTF at 1.5g. Perhaps after about 30 to 40 hours I can raise it to 1.7g and see how it goes.
 
Uh, isn't this is the opposite of what you told me about the Ortofon 2M Bronze I just mounted? Since it only has about 3 hours on it at present, I'm going to leave the VTF at 1.5g. Perhaps after about 30 to 40 hours I can raise it to 1.7g and see how it goes.

My comment was in general and experiences with the cartridge......get some hours on the cartridge and re-check your set up before you conclude its not a good fit for your table.
 
My comment was in general and experiences with the cartridge......get some hours on the cartridge and re-check your set up before you conclude its not a good fit for your table.

I haven't concluded it is not a good fit.....yet. I think there are additional factors to tracking along with set up. The 2M Bronze is quite tall and rides very low making it a bit more picky in tracking verses my AT95E which is not a tall cart and rides higher.
I did play another warped record today (I only have 3 warped records) This one was more severely warped than the first one, but to my surprise it played....barely. I think the type of warp also plays a role, maybe.
I have one record that you can not tell it's warped by looking at it, but it will only play on my Pioneer PL510 with the AT95E cart. It would not play with the Shure M97xE and certainly won't play on the Denon.
It's just the nature of the game. Though the Bronze is not broken in yet and a tad bright (not as bad as I anticipated), it still sounds good. Once it breaks in I think I will hear more detail and balance or neutrality if you will....I hope.
 
I haven't concluded it is not a good fit.....yet. I think there are additional factors to tracking along with set up. The 2M Bronze is quite tall and rides very low making it a bit more picky in tracking verses my AT95E which is not a tall cart and rides higher.
I did play another warped record today (I only have 3 warped records) This one was more severely warped than the first one, but to my surprise it played....barely. I think the type of warp also plays a role, maybe.
I have one record that you can not tell it's warped by looking at it, but it will only play on my Pioneer PL510 with the AT95E cart. It would not play with the Shure M97xE and certainly won't play on the Denon.
It's just the nature of the game. Though the Bronze is not broken in yet and a tad bright (not as bad as I anticipated), it still sounds good. Once it breaks in I think I will hear more detail and balance or neutrality if you will....I hope.

Quit playing warped records LOL :)
 
Eric

If you have a clean, but noisy LP and the Denon has a repeat function put that LP on and set to repeat and let it play over and over while you are at work. That will speed up the break-in process. I also set the VTF towards the top of the manufacturer's range when I do this. After about two days of the repeat process the suspension should be broken in. Why people on multiple forums think the 2M series needs 50hrs is beyond me. The cartridge should either sound good after 10-12 hours or it won't. In my opinion, and Jeff's may be different, the 2M series will always be forward in their presentation. If you like the AT sonic signature then that will be O.K. I own many AT cartridges including the AT-95 and they are just not my cup of tea. In the end we all like what we like and that is all that matters.
 
Eric

If you have a clean, but noisy LP and the Denon has a repeat function put that LP on and set to repeat and let it play over and over while you are at work. That will speed up the break-in process. I also set the VTF towards the top of the manufacturer's range when I do this. After about two days of the repeat process the suspension should be broken in. Why people on multiple forums think the 2M series needs 50hrs is beyond me. The cartridge should either sound good after 10-12 hours or it won't. In my opinion, and Jeff's may be different, the 2M series will always be forward in their presentation. If you like the AT sonic signature then that will be O.K. I own many AT cartridges including the AT-95 and they are just not my cup of tea. In the end we all like what we like and that is all that matters.

I don't believe in speeding up the break in process. I don't like the idea, to me it just seems there is something harmful with it. I let things break in naturally, the way it should be to me. I'm told that the average break-in time for the 2Ms is around 30 hours. That sounds like quite a bit to me to frankly,so I agree that one should know just how a cart will sound and perform in about 10 to 12 hours. It's odd, the AT95E does not sound forward to me on my Pioneer PL510, in fact it sounds quite balanced and quite good for a $50 cart. Perhaps the TT and tone arm have something to do with how a cart sounds? I have not tried the AT on the Denon and won't unless I don't like the 2M which is not likely. (I hate setting up TTs so I like to do it as little as possible)
 
Can't be anything harmful about the process, as it is just playing vinyl as designed, but you do it the way you feel comfortable. I have a third TT set up in my home office that I can do the break-in with and also have a small collection of VPI cleaned, but still noisy albums to use. I have done it that way with dozens of styli and never had a problem. While the Bronze may change a little as it gets closer to the 30-50hr mark, I think you will know it's basic character long before that. I don't find the AT-95 to be as forward as some of those above it. It sounds more like the older AT-1x series than the newer models. The basic generator it is based on has been around for a pretty long time. Sometimes cartridges sound different in different arms as they are just a better match. The compliance of the AT-95 is about perfect for the Pioneer, but would be a bit low for the Denon.
 
Can't be anything harmful about the process, as it is just playing vinyl as designed, but you do it the way you feel comfortable. I have a third TT set up in my home office that I can do the break-in with and also have a small collection of VPI cleaned, but still noisy albums to use. I have done it that way with dozens of styli and never had a problem. While the Bronze may change a little as it gets closer to the 30-50hr mark, I think you will know it's basic character long before that. I don't find the AT-95 to be as forward as some of those above it. It sounds more like the older AT-1x series than the newer models. The basic generator it is based on has been around for a pretty long time. Sometimes cartridges sound different in different arms as they are just a better match. The compliance of the AT-95 is about perfect for the Pioneer, but would be a bit low for the Denon.

I'm kind of interested in the whole cart/TT or Tonearm compliance thing. I'd love some good info on it such as what pairs up with what (perhaps a chart or equation or something at least) without any sales or marketing involved. "Just the facts maam". I fear that's a very tall if not unobtainable order though.
 
There's no doubt about it, all components benefit from break in. For an amp, or preamp, or CD/DAC it's relatively easy. Just throw in a disk and let it spin for a few days. For speakers it seems to take longer and you may not have the option of playing them 24/7 - because they make noise and you do need some degree of volume to break them in effectively. So it takes longer, but is still basically a set it and forget it proposition.

Vinyl break in takes time, whether it is a phono stage or cartridge. You have to flip the damn record every 20 minutes or thereabouts. So there is active participation, and a lot of it.

I personally still believe that on any component you get the majority of break in after @50 hours. You get about 98% there at @100 hours and then very subtle differences after that, if any. 100 hours of vinyl break in time is a lot of record sides if you figure 3 sides = 1 hour, and a lot of elapsed time. Plus you probably need to keep some kind of list to know how many sides you've played so far and sum them up. Damn, I'm sweating from the workload already.
 
I'm kind of interested in the whole cart/TT or Tonearm compliance thing. I'd love some good info on it such as what pairs up with what (perhaps a chart or equation or something at least) without any sales or marketing involved. "Just the facts maam". I fear that's a very tall if not unobtainable order though.

The Resonance Calculator is a popular and useful tool/chart that will get you in the ball park......Cartridge Database Tools Your aiming to fall approx. between 8Hz and 12Hz give or take a smidge either way. YMMV :D
 
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