Break In Period

djgz12

I just got a pair of RT800i, a CS400i, and a PSW350 and I was wondering what the break in period for these speakers are and if I should keep it at a certain volume for a certain amount of time? I have read some of the other messages but if someone can be more specific I would greatly appreciate it. This setup is expensive as many of you know so I just want to make sure that I break it in properly and get the most out of my speakers.

Thanks

DJGZ12

juice21

break in for these speakers is approximately 80-100 hrs. i recommend playing ambient music at moderate levels as much as you can when you are home, or even possibly when you are not. doing this should have your speakers broken in, in about a month. the differences after the break in period are subtle, and happen over that whole period, so it is not a dramatic change at the end of the 80th hour, so enjoy your speakers while they are in the break in period. enjoy them, and think to yourself, they are going to get even better with time...

welcome to the forum...:D

djgz12

I appreciate it very much. I have been listening to them on and off frequently, but I will try to keep them on for long periods of time.

Also, I have an Xbox with a Dolby Digital connection and I wanted to know if playing games with the volume set at a moderate level willl damage the speakers during the break in period or does it not matter.

Thanks:D

juice21

no, at moderate levels you are fine. you probably wouldn't even do any damage to them if you have them pretty loud, as long as you are driving them with good clean amplification. the best bet is to keep it at moderate levels until they break in though. ENJOY...:D

djgz12

Thanks!!!!

Yeah, I have a Onkyo TX-DS575s driving the speakers and it sounds really good!!!:D

Thanks again

hamzahsh

The RT 800i manual says nothing about breaking period that doesn't mean you've to wait 100hrs to listen your favourite song at high volume. For high volume I don't mean 3 o' clock position but 12 o' clock which is loud and safe for brand new speakers. My RT 800i's are month and a half old and when they were new the sound was muddy and colored but now the sound is much more detailed, crisp, clear and very smooth. No matter how loud I play them. No distortions at all.

To me it is quite safe to play them loud because Polk Audio are high-end speakers and made from some of the best materials. Ofcourse they are not piece of crap!

What I've noticed the louder you play faster they break and remember only your ears can tell when the breaking period is over.

My speakers sounds way different now!:cool:

djgz12

Thanks for the input!!! Much Appreciated:D

lax01

Sorry to burst your bubble, but as much as you love Polk, you cannot call them high-end. Granted they are miles above Bose, or any consumer speakers sold with HTiB, they still cannot be considered high-end. Meridan, B&W, Martin Logan (among many others), now those are getting higher. But don't get me wrong, I love Polk and I feel they are perfect 1st speakers for me. They are very good quality for the buck. But to label them as high-end is false. They are more of mid-end.

ncstatesman

People mention that after 'breaking in' their speakers, they sound better. I wonder if 'breaking in" speakers is more due to one finally becoming accustomed to the sound of their speakers and 'accepting' them as they sound rather than mechanical 'break in' ?

I have all new Polk spkrs (800i, f/x500i, 400i, new SVS sub, 35i's) w/less than 8 hrs usage and I don't get a chance to play my system everyday, so for me, I don't know if I'll really remember how they sound now vs 2/3 months from now

djgz12

I must agree with lax. I would also have to say that B&W, Martin Logans, etc. are definitely high end speakers. Three reasons that I went with Polk is because of the quality of speaker for the money, the literature they have on setting up an HT and what all of this terminology means, and because I could not afford B&W speakers. This is my first HT setup and I think that Polk is an extremely great product for the money you spend on it. I will have to wait and make a little, more like a lot, more money before I can have an HT setup with B&W or Martin Logan speakers.

At any rate, I believe that Polk is a great starting point to be familiar with speaker products.

hamzahsh

For some people they aren't high-end 'cause of there low price.
What happen if they were very expensive like Martin Logan and B&W's? Would they still be considered mid-end? To me Polk Audio are high-end speakers with low price. The technology which is used in these speakers are superior to any other speaker in my opinion.


:cool:

djgz12

Don't get me wrong, I love Polk and I believe that technology is top notch.

But in my opinion, I think that the Martin Logans, B&Ws, etc. are superior to the Polks in terms of technology, quality of speaker, and the material and parts they use to design their speakers. B&W uses kevlar to design their drivers, and I would think that that itself and the other parts of the speaker drives the price so high up.

Hey, I will be a Polk lover til the day I die!!! I just believe that there is always something better out there.

kanicker

What does high end mean?

I demoed a pair of B&W 802's this weekend using a Arcam integrated amp and an Arcam CD player, with Transparent cabling.

When listening to acoustic music, jazz, or just some well recorded classical, the experience was breathtaking.

We put in The Police and some older classical, and some techno...
and it SOUNDED TERRIBLE. Even the salesperson agreed that "some music, especially average recordings, will not sound very good on this setup or similarly high end setups."

*What?* I thought... Xthousand dollar setups and I can only listen to SOME music.

This stayed true throughout my extended demo. We plugged in some 803s, 602s, Mark Levison and McIntosh solid state and tube amps. Alot of my favorite music sounded thin in the mid-range; drowned out by the "Exuberant bass and luscious treble" of this high end stuff. The salesperson said that I could be accomadated if we spent some time mixing and matching, but that the acoustic and classical might not sound as good if we tuned a setup to rock and pop.

I'm not anti high-end. I really do appreciate the gear I listened to. But it seems crazy to have to have two "high end setups" or appeal to my tastes.

if this experience is what "high-end" is, then I think I might be better off without it... or at least better off knowing that "high-end" should be taken with a grain of salt.

Maybe I was bitter that they didnt yet have the LSi line like I was told they would. Who knows. All I know is that all this week I have grown happier and happier with my 800i, 35i, 245i, H/K and Parasound setup. Especially 800i / parasound in stereo... where Sting sounds pretty damn good!

djgz12

I must also agree with kanicker.

Another reason I went with Polk is because the Bose and Infinity speakers at CC sounded like crap when playing the type of music I like to listen to--Trance, Breaks, Hip-Hop, etc. Those speakers are meant for easy listening, classical, etc.

I need that heavy, pounding type of feel and I only got that with the Polks

hamzahsh

I don't know much about B&W & Martin Logans but all I have to say that I'll love Polk Audio speakers forever.:)