http://www.stereotimes.com/page/most-wanted-2015
The review is not up yet. It will be soon.
BC 2K4 Stereo Most Wanted COmponents 2015
Before I dive into this posting I wanted to state that I really enjoy reading Mike Wright's reviews and what I am about to discuss has nothing to do with his review but the fact that if he had a second chance at hearing the amp after it had 1000 hours on it (yes this is not a typo) I wonder how much the review would change. I believe that amp had around 100 hours on it when Gilbert dropped it off for his review.
I am always breaking in gear in my showroom. My office is behind a curtain and I get to experience how different product settle in over time. My rule of thumb for Blue Circle products is 400 hours before they get to a stable sonic signature.
The 2K series and CSD/ELD series take an extremely long and awkward route before they sound great. I'll be blunt, for up to 400 hours of initial use they are really unbalanced and do not reflect the current sound I am experiencing after 1000 hours of break in time. That being said I am not certain my 2K and integrateds are done improving. I mentioned this to Gilbert the other day and asked him if I was imagining this seemingly endless improvement. He just smiled and said I am not the first one to say this (he referenced initial pre production amps that have been in use for a while now that have not stopped improving) and at this time my gear has far less hours than the pre production gear.
Does this mean I don't like the amp before the 1000 hour mark? Quite the contrary, at about 600 hours I was extremely pleased with the sound. Now, at 1000 hours you would have to pry these amps out of my cold dead hands.
I thought it was important to share this information as the original review, though positive, was based on a very new product that certainly was not at it's best.
I am always breaking in gear in my showroom. My office is behind a curtain and I get to experience how different product settle in over time. My rule of thumb for Blue Circle products is 400 hours before they get to a stable sonic signature.
The 2K series and CSD/ELD series take an extremely long and awkward route before they sound great. I'll be blunt, for up to 400 hours of initial use they are really unbalanced and do not reflect the current sound I am experiencing after 1000 hours of break in time. That being said I am not certain my 2K and integrateds are done improving. I mentioned this to Gilbert the other day and asked him if I was imagining this seemingly endless improvement. He just smiled and said I am not the first one to say this (he referenced initial pre production amps that have been in use for a while now that have not stopped improving) and at this time my gear has far less hours than the pre production gear.
Does this mean I don't like the amp before the 1000 hour mark? Quite the contrary, at about 600 hours I was extremely pleased with the sound. Now, at 1000 hours you would have to pry these amps out of my cold dead hands.
I thought it was important to share this information as the original review, though positive, was based on a very new product that certainly was not at it's best.
Mystic Audio - Please visit us at www.mysticaudio.ca