Changes....How Long?

Michaels HiFi

Michaels HiFi

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OK guys - what do you think?

When I make a change to my system, I can usually tell pretty quickly if there is a change and what it is. However I will listen for many hours over several sessions to determine final thoughts and final impressions.

I was just talking with someone and he said it takes weeks and weeks to determine if there is a change and you "can't hear change after only several hours listening".

My response was that if takes me weeks to detect any changes, either there was very little if any change and I am fishing to try and hear a difference, or I didn't know my reference system that well to begin with.

What are your thoughts?
 
I would suggest an Audiologist maybe.

I have made some changes that I could not tell any difference. I have also made changes and thought Whoa!
 
Shadowfax said:
I would suggest an Audiologist maybe.

I have made some changes that I could not tell any difference. I have also made changes and thought Whoa!
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That's what I was thinking as well.

Certainly it would take several listening session to notice everything it does in detail, but I can't imagine it takes weeks to figure out IF you hear a difference.
 
It doesn't (or shouldn't) take weeks to figure out if you hear a difference with a new component inserted in your system. What takes time (and break in if the component is new) is to understand what the change means in your system.
 
mep said:
It doesn't (or shouldn't) take weeks to figure out if you hear a difference with a new component inserted in your system. What takes time (and break in if the component is new) is to understand what the change means in your system.
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When I got my Fynes, I had to learn to listen in a whole new way compared to the other speakers I was used to. Never owned concentrics before.
 
MichaelsMinute said:
OK guys - what do you think?

When I make a change to my system, I can usually tell pretty quickly if there is a change and what it is. However I will listen for many hours over several sessions to determine final thoughts and final impressions.

I was just talking with someone and he said it takes weeks and weeks to determine if there is a change and you "can't hear change after only several hours listening".

My response was that if takes me weeks to detect any changes, either there was very little if any change and I am fishing to try and hear a difference, or I didn't know my reference system that well to begin with.

What are your thoughts?
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The most accurate answer is, like most things in life..."It depends".

Lots of factors involved in perceivable audio quality when listening. Some changes are immediately obvious, some changes require the change to "settle" (e.g., when installing or moving cables). Other changes may be more subtle or nuanced, and may only be discernable after going back to the system config before the change and listening. One of the "upgrades" that can take a long time to discern for example, is installing a Master Clock, the manufacturer of my AfterDark clock indicated it would take 4 weeks for the clock to settle fully to be able to hear the full extent of the improvements

Also, many components may require extensive burn-in times. "Burn-in" is real. From say, 100 hours to well over 1000 hours of actual listening time. Lumin says the P1 requires 500 hours of burn-in to get onto "on the cam", as we say in motor racing. If you listen 5 hours a day, thats...100 days, or...3 1/3 months.

The Teflon caps in my C-J CT-5 pre took....1500 hours to burn in. It took me 2 1/2 years of listening for that puppy to fully burn-in. When I first got it, it was basically unlistenable.

It is what it is, and most importantly, it's real.
 
Thanks guys. I'm not referring to the time for burn in or the time to settle in (like digital gear fresh off the UPS truck). I mean once it is "ready" to be listened to after being prepped.
 
I find that at first when a change is made it is correcting something (the issue) in your system - actual or perceived. That change could be fixing an issue or improving an issue, either one.

Deciding whether it is a good or bad change with the issue is a fairly quick process - say a couple listening sessions. What takes me several weeks - say 10-20 listening sessions - is if the change has some other weaknesses that you don't like/ get on your nerves after a while. My mind is so happy at first that a change fixes something that my mind will ignore other things I don't like - again at first. This take some time.
 
I find I have to live with a major change for a week or so, depending on the amount of time I have to listen. Then, I have to switch back for a day or two. Then go back again to the change to really know.

That being said, some changes are immediate….but whether you prefer that change you will only know with a bit of time. That change you made may sound incredible with audiophile recordings, but once you listen to something with a less-than-stellar recording, you may not love it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
 
Mike said:
I find I have to live with a major change for a week or so, depending on the amount of time I have to listen. Then, I have to switch back for a day or two. Then go back again to the change to really know.

That being said, some changes are immediate….but whether you prefer that change you will only know with a bit of time. That change you made may sound incredible with audiophile recordings, but once you listen to something with a less-than-stellar recording, you may not love it.
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100% agree.
 
I hear changes pretty much immediately. Jock makes a good point about it may take more time to decide if you like it. I once bought a set of speakers I liked at first, so much I bought the matching center, I ended up selling the entire bundle after deciding I really didn't like it, I was hard on myself after that incident.

Then I bought an amp with a short audition time, let the time elapse trying to decide if I wanted to keep it. The change was immediate but deciding if I wanted to keep the change. The amp left.
 
Mike said:
I find I have to live with a major change for a week or so, depending on the amount of time I have to listen. Then, I have to switch back for a day or two. Then go back again to the change to really know.

That being said, some changes are immediate….but whether you prefer that change you will only know with a bit of time. That change you made may sound incredible with audiophile recordings, but once you listen to something with a less-than-stellar recording, you may not love it.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro
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Pretty much how I've experienced it and let me be the first to note, changes can get harder to tell as you move up the aging cycle ( hearing degrades for some)
 
Some things I did hear instantly, my speakers, the Singxer digital to digital reclocker instead of the Sonore streamer and the amp replacement. The dac also, but for me a bit less obvious. Most devices I had before where not really high end, so the difference was huge. It will be difficult for me, when an excellent device is swapped by another one. At a certain moment everything sounds beautiful.
 
You can live record your sound system before and after the change with a smart phone or camcorder. You can hear the change is good, bad or insignificant.
Alex/Wavetouch
 
Yes, I hear differences in character. Problem is, all audioshows and shops have complete build sets and it is difficult for me what changing one specific thing in my own set does. And if I hear differences it will take too much time to judge what I prefer.
 
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