Finally traded my ET3 for ET3SE

[skroudo]

Originally Posted by rthomeint

On My Met150 I ran it for about 15 hours a day until I got to hour 500. Once I got past hour 300 it stopped taking those giant steps back I'm at around hour 560 and it pretty well stable, sounding great. I think it 95+ % done. I like this amp more than my Premier 11A. Are pumping signal thru it went not listening?

That is great news my friend.

I have 300h to go!
I kind of missing my old CJ ET3 preamp

Sent from my iPhone using A.Aficionado

[sandbites]

Hi i'm fence sitting on several pre-amps and the et3 is one of them. I know there is a big difference between the et3 and et3SE but i am on a budget and an ET3 might be what i can afford for now. If i mundorf the et3 down the road will it sound half as much as an et3SE at least or should i just save up and wait till i can afford the et3SE?

[Littlebunny]

I say get the ET3 first and see if you like it.

[Littlebunny]

Originally Posted by ronenash

Josh, you will soon experience the funky teflon break in behaviour. Sounds great one day and horrid the other.

Here is a description of what you can expect that I read on the net in the past. It match quite closely my experience.


I get more calls about products utilizing Teflon capacitors than any other type of capacitor. Teflon capacitors take a solid 400 hours to reach about 90% of their true potential and their true colors open up at the 600 hour mark. It has also been established that they will even continue to change, ever so slightly, up to 1200 hours. You may not notice these changes and I only mention it to give you an indication of the characteristics of Teflon.

During the break-in cycle of these capacitors, they will go through different stages. During the initial 150 hours, you will notice these capacitors will do a two steps forward, one step back routine. What you will notice is that one day you system may sound fine while the next day (after it's one step back) it will not sound as good as it did even the day before. This is the stage where the capacitors can actually sound broken. Don't be alarmed, it's simply the nature of Teflon.

What you will notice is a 2 dimensional sound. The bass may be uncontrolled, the midrange a bit foggy and a lack of air and extension. Absolutely no coherency.

After 150 hours, the capacitors start to stabilize. From this point onward, they will be more consistent in their progress. They will still only be at about 50% of their sonic potential but the one step back issue is gone. This stage will last to about the 200-250 hour mark. This is where they start to become more 'listenable' but you are till only half way there.

The bass should start getting better here and the highs a bit more extended but the midrange is not quite there yet.

Now that you have gone through the ugly stages and have reached the 300 hour mark, things are starting to come into focus. Teflon capacitors start coming into their own between 300 and 400 hours. You may still noticed a few quirks but they should be minimal at this point. You have have more control down below, the midrange is becoming more real and the upper end is starting to extend further. This is when I usually receive the phone calls telling me I was absolutely correct about what to expect.

One you reach the 400 hour mark, you are starting to reach sonic nirvana and it will not be long before you are experiencing the truest potential of Teflon capacitors. It's been a long road but you will probably find the journey well worth it. This is the point where the midrange magic is apparent. You should notice a sense of texture and realism that is uncanny. The bass is quick and firm and the highs extended with a great sense of air. You will now start realizing a wide, spacious presentation as well. At this point, I don't receive any phone calls at all as you will be too involved in your music to want to waste time talking to me.

After 400 hours........... Heaven.


Enjoy the ride

Oooooooooooh. NOW I see this. Well this is spot-on. Echoing what someone wrote above: I'm probably going to have to leave the ET3 in my Will for one of you guys in case I expire during the 20-year break-in period.

[ronenash]

Originally Posted by sandbites

Hi i's fence sitting on several pre-amps and the et3 is one of them. I know there is a big difference between the et3 and et3SE but i am on a budget and an ET3 might be what i can afford for now. If i mundorf the et3 down the road will it sound half as much as an et3SE at least or should i just save up and wait till i can afford the et3SE?

The ET3 is a great preempt which I am sure you will enjoy. You can always upgrade to the se version in the future like I did for not much more than the price of buying the se to start with.
I would not mess with replacing parts in cj amp. They are using the best possible parts and are voicing their amps with these parts in mind.

CJ TEFLON capacitors are probably better than mundorf and in the SE version they are using the best Vishay resistors available in the audio circuit and the volume control. These resistors cost $16 each if you buy them yourself and the et3s has about 30 of those!