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Post by jdc on Mar 16, 2015 10:18:13 GMT -6
Just got some new speakers! I was curious what you folks thought about breaking them in
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Post by brucerothwell on Mar 16, 2015 11:49:17 GMT -6
I've been using music of various types, that are in the style I tend to listen to, and mix. My questions though, are these: - Does the volume level matter?
- If so, does the volume level alter the sufficiency of the burn-in time?
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Post by svart on Mar 16, 2015 11:56:22 GMT -6
Burn in really just loosens the spiders and surrounds to allow the speaker cones to move easier.
Nothing changes in the coils, magnets or baskets.
So in that case, anything that moves the cone a lot will work. I typically use a really low frequency sine wave at listening levels if I'm breaking in woofers or guitar/bass cabs.
I might use mid and high frequencies for mids and tweeters, or I might use a repeating sweeping tone.
I also try to make it as loud and long as I can stand for breaking in. I might leave them on all day while I'm at work, etc.
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Post by formatcyes on Mar 16, 2015 21:04:24 GMT -6
I ticked there is no such thing. Its actually about 10sec's to free up the spider. Don't worry about burn in.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 16, 2015 21:45:48 GMT -6
I am pretty sure the Tascam monitors i got a few yrs ago sounded *alot* better after quite some usage. No subtle difference. There obviously is such thing as speaker burn-in, i have no doubt about it. And i don't think it's always just a matter of a few seconds of play.
I spoke to others who absolutely reported the same - at least for these speakers.
There also are speaker manufacturers that do a burn-in at the factory. More than a few seconds.
But as always, don't believe, try out. Might differ from speaker type to speaker type. But i wouldn't deny the existance of such a phenomenon.
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 16, 2015 22:20:24 GMT -6
i voted 1 though i think svarts idea actually makes better sense.
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Post by formatcyes on Mar 16, 2015 23:11:02 GMT -6
Lots of tests have been done on speaker burn in. There is real data out there not audiophile myth. What does change is your perception you get use to the speakers not so much the speakers changing.
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Post by tonycamphd on Mar 16, 2015 23:31:55 GMT -6
Lots of tests have been done on speaker burn in. There is real data out there not audiophile myth. What does change is your perception you get use to the speakers not so much the speakers changing. haven't done enough research to form a solid opinion either way, and i'm not doubting you, but general physics would seem to indicate that the NEW suspension materials would loosen up, form memory, and loose a bit of their resistance with repeated movement no? kinda like crumbling and working a piece of paper to soften it up, I know that paper n pulp drivers tend to sound nice because they are so light, so if the suspension material became less resistant over time, the driver would likely be quicker and more accurate in it's excursion response, at least i makes sense in my peanut. |
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Post by category5 on Mar 17, 2015 6:52:37 GMT -6
Myth or not I always like to break in speakers and almost universally it clears up new speaker "brashness" for me after doing so. Maybe not all cones need it but loosening and stretching the surround allows the speaker to perform well across the spectrum and no science contradicts this. My Dynaudios became different speakers after the first week, loosing their strident midrange and welcoming some of the smoothest monitors I've heard.
I've also noticed significant improvements in live speakers as well. I know there are two camps to this but based on my own experience I always break in speakers now.
A good way to do it without killing your ears is to wire them out of phase, point them face to face and play some material particularly rich in low end. Get them to a medium/high volume, play some music on repeat, and you'll barely know they're on. Break in for 24 hours at least and then give a listen. I almost always hear a pretty significant improvement.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Mar 17, 2015 9:03:08 GMT -6
I use a Stereophile break in disc. It has all sorts of things including frequency sweeps and very dynamic music. I just put it on repeat fairly loud a couple of times when I go out for a while. Of course there is break in when it comes to speakers, there are moving parts. The only real debate is how much is needed. A few days should be enough I think.
You needed to put an "all of the above" box too, my disc has everything on it, sweeps with ultra low and high frequencies, white and pink noise, sine waves, huge dynamic range style music, etc.
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Post by wiz on Mar 17, 2015 16:03:49 GMT -6
as far as I can tell...
you have no choice in the matter.. nor does it matter one way or the other...
after using em for a while... it is what it is.. even if it isn't...
8)
cheers
Wiz
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Post by jsteiger on Mar 17, 2015 20:01:06 GMT -6
Well, during my last trip to Nashville, I helped a friend change a driver in one of his ATC110's. It was no treat but, when we were done, he literally freaked out cuz he thought the replacement was not working at all. He was judging by the physical movement of the new speaker. The physical extension was nowhere near the other 3 drivers. We listened and messed around for 10-15 minutes before he had to scoot but there was clearly much more of a break in period required.
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Post by Ward on Mar 18, 2015 9:46:49 GMT -6
24 hours of pounding dance music or heavy metal, set pretty loud. Lay them face down on some carpet to help absorb the noise. Or let them break in slowly and change over time...
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Post by Martin John Butler on Mar 18, 2015 10:24:12 GMT -6
As with most things, I would assume it's better to break in slowly. Let's say the cones are stiff, blasting the hell out of them is like going from zero to 60 in less than a second, potentially unsafe. Whether there's science behind my thinking or not, I play music at progressively louder volume over the first week, just in case it's better that way.
I just got some new monitors, and wanted to make sure I didn't mess anything up when breaking them in.
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ericn
Temp
Balance Engineer
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Post by ericn on Mar 21, 2015 8:36:48 GMT -6
As an old audiophile once put it " I don't breakin speakers, no need I buy used, let somebody else pay top dollar to make them sound right!"
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Post by Bob Olhsson on Mar 21, 2015 14:26:14 GMT -6
What's sad is that a manufacturer should have already done this prior to QCing the speaker.
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Post by Martin John Butler on Mar 21, 2015 17:20:31 GMT -6
Not a bad idea Bob, but I guess their time is money. I don't mind it too much, although it is confusing tho know for sure if they're completely finished.
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Post by jdc on Mar 21, 2015 18:20:23 GMT -6
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Post by Martin John Butler on Mar 21, 2015 18:57:57 GMT -6
Thanks for asking jdc, I'm absolutely loving them, and I've had them just long enough now for the honeymoon to be over and the marriage to begin.
It's difficult to describe how relieved I am to trust my monitors. Everything is right there, so I can rely on what I'm hearing, even if I don't like it. It's made mixing so much easier, and I can only blame myself if I didn't track well in the first place ;-) A surprise benefit is they're actually quite pleasant to listen to when just playing music from iTunes. I can listen all day, and never once feel like I have to turn the music off. THAT'S an amazing thing about the Avantone Abbey's, and an unexpected delight IME. When people do things like blind tests, there are some factors that can't be considered in that situation, mainly the effect of long term exposure. You might not be able to tell the difference between A and B under certain circumstances, but your long term experience with both might make it perfectly clear that one is preferable. I believe the unconscious urge to change or stop the music playing is often that the sound is actually irritating, even though it seems like you just want to do something different.
The only thing I've heard that might be better are by ATC, but I'd have to hear them side by side, and they cost $8,000. Oh, I almost forgot to say how sick I was of hearing shitty little near field monitors all the time with no real bass. It's a revelation to hear some bottom again at home.
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Post by jdc on Mar 23, 2015 11:23:50 GMT -6
Yea that's fair, at work we have NHT's and they sound very transparent but at the end of the day my ears feel exhausted, and i'm very judicious about my listening volume.
the new monitors I have at home are more detailed and reveal the errors in my mixes more easily than what I was using before, but there isn't much bass to them which concerns me. I can always switch to something else to check the bass build up, but i'm still getting used to not hearing those lower frequencies.
the abbey's sound intriguing, i'll have to find a pair to demo at some point
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Post by Bob Olhsson on Mar 23, 2015 13:25:44 GMT -6
This is not a myth because the changes are totally measurable. The idea of it taking more than a few hours is a bit questionable.
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