I didn't "expect" to hear a break-in. It just happened. While some will say I was getting used to the new sound, I will disagree. I have never noticed a "break-in" on anything else I have ever owned.

As I am writing this, I am thinking about TV calibration experts telling people in forums to warm up their display devices for at least a half hour before calibration. And now I am thinking about the "degauss" button on my computer display. Are these electronics unstable, or is this all hogwash? I have never thought along the lines of video before, but it suddenly strikes me that video, like audio, is based on electronics. Therefore, similarities must exist.

You make very good points SH, but I must wonder if the stability you write about is based on a "warmed up" unit. As I said, I don't turn my equipment off, so it is always somewhat "warmed-up", as opposed to someone with a system in a cool damp basement who may shut their system down when not in use.

I can't explain why I heard a difference. I know I was not looking to hear one, and that I went from a little disappointed to extremely satisfied after owning the 950 for just a few days. I also know that it was at first brighter than the NAD it replaced, but is now just smooth and articulate, but not really any brighter tonally than the NAD (which I still have and use).

Finally, about the "degauss" thing. I understand it has to do with built up magnetic energy, but the point is that that built up energy is capable of creating a change in the way our electronics perform. I am not saying that my 950 needed degaussing or anything along those lines. I am only saying that electronics can be and are affected by everything from magnetics to dirty power to temperature, so why is it not possible that over a period of the first few hours of use, the flow of electricity through them and the heat involved could slightly alter their performance?

[This message has been edited by willscary (edited April 03, 2004).]

[This message has been edited by willscary (edited April 03, 2004).]