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Audiolab 6000CDT, bright sounding, burn in time?

I’m using a SMSL DL400 PRO DAC on all of them, Sony, Marantz, Audiolab, all set at the same volume level.

The Sony & Marantz built quality both exceptional, built like tanks, have 2 separate transformers inside, one for digital & the other analogue.
While I don’t dispute your claims regarding build quality, I agree that modern CD players are not a patch on older ones regarding build. However this is clearly biasing your perception. You have a preference before you’ve even pressed play.

Is it possible to have someone else play the same disc across all of the players without you knowing which is which?
 
Maybe you can try some de-emphasis, high-shelf filter: Frequency: 5268 Hz, Gain: -9.49 dB, Q: 0.472
 
TBH, the Audiolab 6000CDT sound disappointed me so with a benefit without doubt, I’ve given it a burn in period of over a week to make sure (made no difference)

My whole point does a new audio equipment require a burn in period to reach it’s optimum performance level & if so, how long for?

NO is the answer from all the replies

.
 
NO is the answer from all the replies
It's also the answer from basic physics and engineering.

The "brightness" is also (outside of your lying human brain) vanishingly unlikely. The way digital works is that it's either perfect or it's massively wrong (no sound, pops, dropouts...). A tonal change would require a continuous DSP of the bitstream- that ain't happening.
 
TBH, the Audiolab 6000CDT sound disappointed me so with a benefit without doubt, I’ve given it a burn in period of over a week to make sure (made no difference)

My whole point does a new audio equipment require a burn in period to reach it’s optimum performance level & if so, how long for?

NO is the answer from all the replies

.
What were your reasons for buying it?
 
Semiconductor consumer electronics don’t burn in. The day 1 sound is the sound you’ll have in 5 years time. Your hearing may however ‘burn in’ or adapt over the course of a week or two.
Agree.
 
No solid-state electronics require burn-in time beyond a few minutes, and even that is primarily for some electrolytic capacitors.
I also find it hard to believe that a CD transport would have any inherent sound signature.

Ultimately, if you're not satisfied with it, you should consider returning it.
Agree; maybe a different DAC might make an improvement in SQ.
 
Well, it shows you that "reviews" and "YouTube" are no more reliable than someone who claims " bright, slightly artificial, very digital sound signature" from a CD transport.
I totally agree. One of the great evils of these times are these pseudo reviews.
They only help are to misinform consumers and make these characters earn money...and yet it seems that the world can no longer do without these uncultured gurus...
 
Why buy a cd player without a dac (analogue out) in first place in 2025? Same BS as the raving reviews.The hardware can be silent and build well but soundwise no difference possible if digitally connected to the same dac.
 
Why buy a cd player without a dac (analogue out) in first place in 2025? Same BS as the raving reviews.The hardware can be silent and build well but soundwise no difference possible if digitally connected to the same dac.
In my case I already had two DACs and the transport was £500 cheaper than the CD player.
 
Thats a valid point @Mart68 , could not imagine the difference is that much, uff .
 
The mistake you are making is buying a new CD player/transport and be expecting it to sound different or better than your existing machines. I'm also wondering why you'd get a cheap transport in the first place, when you've got the battleship build machines.

If you have a twin transformer Sony, it's a TOTL or close to TOTL machine from the "golden era" of CD. If working perfectly, it will be basically flawless in reproduction of compact disc. You will not audibly better its internal D/A converters with an external, non synchronized D/A converter via SPDIF and often, it will be worse.

Unless you are playing some rare emphasized early CDs and the CDT doesn't present the correct de-emphasis flag to the D/A converter in the SPDIF bitstream, it's strange you are hearing what you describe.
 
According to the information online from various audio experts, 200 to 300 hours of burn in time is required for audio equipment, cable & etc & some even go beyond that!

The Audiolab 6000CDT has been left playing on repeat for over a week (burn in period) & absolutely made no further difference in sound quality.

Just wanted to know, worth waiting any longer for burn in period, obviously not.
First of all, that is not a proper burn in technique for transports. You can't just leave the player playing random music because there could be serious consequences.
Let's just hope your player isn't ruined.
You need to prepare music material in advance and you have to do it in order. Before you even start playing some music, you need to play 10 minutes of pink noise so that you try to negate the damage of random music playing.

You said that the sound is clinical? Then you need to start with mid bass, so play some 50s Jazz and use only Impulse and Bluenote releases. Think Miles, Coltrane... 60hours
After that you need only 30 to 40 hours of 2000s minimal techno for sub bass.
Now the hard part is to open up those kicks and to solidify the bass and for that you need some 80 hours of drum n bass.
All this is good for the bass, but it will close up some mids, and to reopen them, you must play 40 hours of male crooners from 40s to 60s like Sinatra, Dean Martin, Early Bennet... But please, no Michael Buble or you will mess up the imaging.
Now finally for silky smooth upper mids and highs you can play modern jazz female vocals like Nicki Parrott, Emilie-Claire Barlow and similar. 40 hours will do it.

The important note is that you can't just let the player play without you listening or you will develop something which is called the Cold Burn and that will mean that your player would be unburninable anymore.
Also, you should own original CDs of the material, but play only the burned copies because it will burn in the player without wearing out the motor. And please, use only 8x burn speed for CDs, not the 16X or you will cause overburn.

Good luck!
 
I’m using a SMSL DL400 PRO DAC on all of them...
Are you doing double blind testing? The brain is a strange thing. Maybe you, subconsciously, feel guilty about rejecting your magnificient old "built like tanks... top notch" CD players and are looking hard for faults in the usurper and reasons to stay with the old players.
 
First of all, that is not a proper burn in technique for transports. You can't just leave the player playing random music because there could be serious consequences.
Let's just hope your player isn't ruined.
You need to prepare music material in advance and you have to do it in order. Before you even start playing some music, you need to play 10 minutes of pink noise so that you try to negate the damage of random music playing.

You said that the sound is clinical? Then you need to start with mid bass, so play some 50s Jazz and use only Impulse and Bluenote releases. Think Miles, Coltrane... 60hours
After that you need only 30 to 40 hours of 2000s minimal techno for sub bass.
Now the hard part is to open up those kicks and to solidify the bass and for that you need some 80 hours of drum n bass.
All this is good for the bass, but it will close up some mids, and to reopen them, you must play 40 hours of male crooners from 40s to 60s like Sinatra, Dean Martin, Early Bennet... But please, no Michael Buble or you will mess up the imaging.
Now finally for silky smooth upper mids and highs you can play modern jazz female vocals like Nicki Parrott, Emilie-Claire Barlow and similar. 40 hours will do it.

The important note is that you can't just let the player play without you listening or you will develop something which is called the Cold Burn and that will mean that your player would be unburninable anymore.
Also, you should own original CDs of the material, but play only the burned copies because it will burn in the player without wearing out the motor. And please, use only 8x burn speed for CDs, not the 16X or you will cause overburn.

Good luck!
Thanks, but no thanks, I’ll stick with the 99.99% of this forum member’s replies, burning in period is a myth!

What you’re suggesting is not practical for most, especially you have a family!
 
The only reason for audible differences in sound would have to be caused by excessive jitter on the SPDIF outputs,
But your DAC seems rather immune to that, see screenshot of Amir‘s measurements here.
IMG_9771.png

Don‘t let all those ˋexpertsˋ feed your FOMO, uncertainty and doubt!
Read up on the technical background and measurements to get peace of mind.
 
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