Can someone explain to me speaker break in?

edbert

I read about speaker break in periods and how your speakers sound a lot better after the break in period. My question is, does this apply to all speakers or really more of just the higher end speakers? Also what kind of time frame are you looking at for a break in period(I'm guessing in hours since that seems to be how most people are discussing it)? Finally, with cars you are supposed to vary speeds not over 60 mph for the first 500 miles or so(not a hard and fast rule I know, just go along with the parallel), is there something you need to do to properly break in your speakers during this time? This is my first major speaker upgrade ever and I really want to get the best sound possible not only now but for many years to come. Thanks for the help guys!

PolkThug

Just listen to your speakers and don't worry about it. When speakers are brand new, they can be a little stiff, especially the spider. Over time, they will loosen up a little.

zombie boy 2000

It really depends from speaker to speaker. Whether they are high-end or low-end has nothing to do with it. Your best bet is to contact the manufacturer or visit their website. More often than not, there will be info regarding this.

My suggestion (and one that falls perfectly in line with your car analogy) is to go easy on 'em - at least in the beginning. btw What speakers do you have?

Ricardo

Speakers have mechanical parts that as a car engine will adjust with time; sound can be a little or very different depending on the speaker. Normally the change provides better sound.
I just broke in a pair of monitors with kevlar drivers; after 50 hours, the lows response went 20Hz lower than when new:eek: :eek: This is probably an extreme situation and not all materials will change that much.

I don't think you need to take special measures during break in (some people say that the best way to break in a combustion engine is to run it as hard as possible during the first 50 miles or so...this is supposed to provide better sealing between the rings/pistons), but I prefer not to run them at high volume for 10-20 hours.

What speakers are you getting?

edbert

I knew I forgot something, I just got a pair of Monitor 40's, Monitor 30's, a CS1 and a PSW10. I have already noticed a pretty big difference in this setup versus my previous setup, I just didn't know if it was all that critical or not. It's kind of hard to play anything at full volume right now anyway because the times that I have to watch TV or movies are generally when our daughter is sleeping, and waking a sleeping baby is a big no-no for lots of reasons. How do you test what response you are actually getting from speakers frequency wise HTrookie? I have always loved to listen to music and movies at the best sound quality that I can afford, but I have no clue on how to tweak it and take it to the next level.

zombie boy 2000

The pair of Monitors I owned took a significant amount of time to break-in... close to 100 hours. The change was nowhere near subtle.

edbert

What model monitor's are they? And it was that drastic of a sound difference?

Ricardo

edbert wrote:

How do you test what response you are actually getting from speakers frequency wise HTrookie?

I have one of those setup CD's (Chesky records if I recall correctly) that has some test tones that go from 200 HZ down to 20 Hz; I play that with a Radio Shack SPL meter and monitor the DB's. Speakers output will start dropping at certain Hz, which I take as the point where lows roll off.

zombie boy 2000

the 70's... and yes
The sound went from extremely thin and brittle to full and rich... night and day. The speakers exhibited more and more bass extension as time went on. Let's put it this way... my sub (at the time a PSW10) was initially absolutely necessary. After a few weeks, I couldn't tell if I had it on or not. Seriously.

So drastic in fact, that any debate on the matter always comes off to me as arguing over whether or not the sky is blue and the earth is round...

edbert

Wow. Okay, well it seems that I definitely have some stuff to learn. I am not expecting to get the bass response that you did, but it sounds as though overall sound quality will only get better. Where would I find a setup CD so I can do some initial tests and really get my system setup correctly? This is really good information guys, keep it coming.

markmarc

Speaker break-in, or conditioning as some like to call it, is a scientifically proven fact. There are several ways to accomplish this goal. I, myself, throw a heavy blanket over the speakers and let them play at moderate level for at least 100 hours. if possible, from time to time, crank them up to stretch the cones even more. I don't even bother to listen to them before that except to make sure the drivers/crossover work.
Enjoy

edbert

A heavy blanket? Do you mean that you would just hook up the speakers and have something playing for 100 hours straight with a really heavy blankey over them so that you don't hear them? Help me understand what you mean.

PolkWannabie

Definition: Speaker Break In ...

It's what you do after you've removed all the fasteners for a driver and it still doesn't come out ...

Refefer

edbert wrote:

A heavy blanket? Do you mean that you would just hook up the speakers and have something playing for 100 hours straight with a really heavy blankey over them so that you don't hear them? Help me understand what you mean.

That's correct. Markmarc was nice enough not to spam his e-zine on the site, but I have no such qualms If you goto his site http://www.affordableaudio.org/ and check out his December 2006 issue, it goes into details about speaker break in.

edbert

I'm not quite sure how to respond to that. I guess laughing would be appropriate, but is it really justified in this case? Hhhhhmmmmm. Okay, I decided to laugh. Ha.

Gaara

Best way to do it, imo, is to play something out of phase with the speakers as close together as possible with the drivers facing each other. Then put the blankets, clothes, carpet, whatever you have that will lessen the sound.

To play one speaker out of phase I used to use two y adapaters, take the L-R signal and use a y-adapter so it is one mono signal, then split it again so you have two mono channels. The same would work if you hooked a y adapter to only one channel out to your amp, but i used two...because I'm good like that. Anyways now that you have the same signal going to each speaker hookup one reverse, so it is out of phase. This way the signal will mostly cancel out, and you will hear a large drop in the sound. Turn them up and then cover them with a blanket and such to cancel the rest of the sound.

Currently I do this but instead of all the trouble I just hook up everything normal and use a Ayre enhancement disc. It has a track of mono brown noise with one channel being played out of phase, made for breaking speakers in.

I personally believe in break in, I have heard it dramatically with my Gallos, didn't really notice it with my LSis though.

Jared

hearingimpared

Let's see, how do I break my speakers in . . .place disc in transport, sit in sweet spot, press play, listen to music . . . yeah that's it.:D

Oh I forgot one thing, REPEAT!:p

markmarc

The out of phase wiring is popular in some quarters of the audio community. I've never tried it personally, but their's more than one way to skin a cat.

Yes, just let them play 24/7 for the 100 plus hours. Sounds like a bit of a pain, but you'll be rewarded with the sound you expected to hear.

Enjoy

edbert

Well, I will do what I can to try and get them broken in before the Super Bowl next Sunday so that everyone can hear them at their best. Thanks for all the suggestions.