"Breaking In" Speakers

kberg

What is really meant by "breaking in the speakers" and at what point can one tell when speakers have been "broken in"?

kberg

Thanks for the reply. I have:

Front: Polk RTi 70's
Center: Polk CSi40
Rear: Polk FXi30's
Rear Center: Infinity CC2
Subwoofer: Infinity BU2

and I'm very pleased with the sound even though I've only had the Polk speakers for a couple of weeks.

mantis

You can also break in your speakers if you throw them out a window,run them over with your truck,kick em,eff em,drop the people's elbow on them and then they would be Broken In............

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Yes after so many playing hours your speakers SETTLE IN and sound better with age............kinda like red wine

MxStYlEpOlKmAn

got a hammer?

Frank Z

...That is if you believe in the break in myth.

liv4fam

Myth or fact??????

What about VOODOO..............Four quarters oh yeah!!!!!

mantis

That is if you believe in the break in myth

FrankZ,
Are you kidding with this comment? a Myth?????Sounds to me like your speaker knowledge is a Myth.

A myth.............whatever dude.

liv4fam

Frankie Frankie Frankie,

When will you learn? Should we start at "This is what a speaker looks like"

mantis

And this is how you wire it.Match the colors on the back.

liv4fam

Woooooooooo......................Hold on there Mantis.

You are getting ahead of yourself there. Match the colors?

That's in advanced set-up class.
Remember where you are?

mantis

Gotcha..........let me take it down a notch.

If you turn the speaker 180,that would be the back,now see right here?This is where you would want to hook a speaker wire, not Home Depot wire to the speaker in order for it to play.

Frank Z

Mantis & liv4fam,
Just because you are installers does not mean that you Audio experts. If you believe that speakers need to be broke in, fine. If you believe in Santa Claus,fine. If you believe in the freakin' Tooth fairy fine! But don't think that just because you believe it, that your belief makes it so! Hey I believe that any BOOGER EATING MOROON can cut open a box, yank out the speaker and superglue it to the wall! I believe it therefore it is the one and only truth!

Before either of you gets your soiled pink panties in a bundle maybe you should do a little homework first. Try this thread for starters.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91021&highlight=speaker+break+in

Carefull now boys, they use big words over at the HTF, you might need go slow.

Not everyone believes that speakers need to be broke in, ever THINK that maybe it's your ears that are getting used to the sound of a new speaker. OOPS, think, I should know better than to use that word around you two.

I've been listening to music, for a long time. Does that make me an expert in all things audio, nope. But I know that as far as I'm concerned speaker break in is fantasy, Kung fu is an old TV show, and installers are a dime a dozen!

If your feelings are hurt you could always retire..............AGAIN!!

organ

I might get flamed for this but to my ears, new speakers usually sound much better after about 3 months of almost daily use.

Maurice

shack

Not everyone believes that speakers need to be broke in.

True, but there is a large segment of the audio community "experts' that would beg to differ. I too have experienced that my speakers sound better after some use...and no...it is not because my ears got used to the sound of a new speaker. There are a couple of high end shops that I visit and the owners swear that speakers need varying amounts of time to break in. They have been in the business a long time and I believe that they are "True Experts". They listen to more gear in a few months than I will in a lifetime. I have read the forums at HTF, Audio Asylum, etc...and the arguments for a break in period carry more weight IMHO...along with my personal experience.

MxStYlEpOlKmAn

The only difference in my speaker sounds was when I changed from sony to yamaha, my speakers on the other hand have sounded the same, havnt noticed a difference.

trance72

hey frank z ,im sorry that u feel that way.the truth is not all installers are created equal.expereince matters most when installing "home" gear.its not just the installation thats important its the hours of training that we have to spend with the customer getting them exited about ther major audio purchase and turning them into novice audio geeks.oh buy the way i never used super glue.

Frank Z

Organ & shack,
If you hear a difference thats cool, I'm not saying you don't. But let me ask you this. How can you remember EXACTLY what you heard from your speakers 1,3, 8 months ago? i'm not trying to start a pissing contest with everyone that believes in speaker break in, just pointing out that just because a speaker has been played for a certain number of hours does not mean that it is going to sound any different than the day it came out of the factory.

Facts, that's all I'm asking for, Facts. Not an OPINION. Anyone can give an opinion, but few if any can provide factual hard data, from a repeatable experiment/test that proves beyond the shadow of a doubt that speaker break in is real. Take a look at the thread that I linked to and you'll see that there is data that points in the exact opposite direction, that speaker break in is a peception, not a reality. Geez I'm starting to sound like an ancient far east martial arts master!

Frank Z

trance72,
My comments were directed at a select few, no offense intended. Stick around and you'll figure it out.

trance72

cool, its just that im proud of all the installs i do becuase i take no short cuts and quality of the intall is #1 priority.its just sad sometimes when you install a $20,000 system and the guy or gal is completly clueless about how to use it.im sure some of u guys can relate

faster100

Ok here go's, I have never noticed a difference with new speakers after a few months or longer. Sorry i just don't hear it.
I just traded in and got new RTI70's, and still don't think i will hear a difference and they are played everyday and double on weekends. So does it take a master audio buff to notice a diff in a "broke in " speaker?? I don't care i just listen thats all, lets not get to serious about this..... after all they are just speakers not a family member or someone at work you lust over, Only speakers

organ

Frank,
There are several CD's I like to use when I get new speakers. I would listen to them about once a week to see if I notice a difference. I've had my LSi9 for about 3 weeks now. For the first week, the soundstage never extended beyond the outside border of the speakers. No matter what CD I threw in, it never happened. After about a week the sondstage slowly increased in width and now almost any descent recording I put on have a very wide soundstage that extend beyond the border. Another thing is the imaging. Over the past few weeks it has improved. It used to sound more laid back, but now it seems to hover everywhere within the sondfield(sound seems to "float"). Finally, the tweeter now seems to extend to the point where I know I can't hear anymore HF. It's flat all the way to the top where before it didn't have the "sparkle". The bass is pretty much the same. I'm not sure if I heard improvements there. I don't want to start a war here. This is just my observation.

Maurice

shack

Frank - Here is your question from the HTF thread you referenced:

Has anyone seen anything in writting from ANY speaker manufacturer that clearly states that peaker performance WILL improve after a given amount of playing time?

Evidently at least one SPEAKER MANUFACTURER believes that speaker break in is not a myth. The following is copied directly from the product manual for the Talon Khorus speaker (page 5).

Break-in.

As befits a new technology, the burn-in process demonstrates several distinct characteristics: The crossover itself takes a good 75-100 hours to begin forming. Once this occurs, the upper-bass to lower-midrange transition will flesh out…bringing greater cohesiveness and dimensionality, in that range. During this period, there may be times when the speaker might seem to develop a sense of opacity. This is a woofer break-in phenomenon, and usually continues until somewhere around 250 hours of playing time. Until then, daily changes in tonal balance (usually quite small) might seem like a bit of a roller coaster ride.

From 250-500 hours, the sound will become progressively more open and detailed. The design approach and technologies developed for the Khorus loudspeaker ensures expanding performance with use. Cabinets, passive parts, cables and connections have all been designed to last a lifetime.

Program Material: Talon Audio does not recommend recordings specifically designed for loudspeaker, system or cable burn-in. The quickest and most enjoyable way to facilitate break-in is to play music that is fun, dynamic and harmonically dense. Instruments combining transients and rich harmonics seem to be most useful--for example, piano, guitar, and harpsichord—for breaking in crossovers. Material containing dynamic, and powerful bass works best for breaking in woofers. If you wish to obtain a list of a few of our personal reference recordings, visit the Talon Audio website: http://www.talonaudio.com/selections.htm.

HERE is the link.

Now the argument could be made that they are pandering to that audio uninformed that believe the "MYTH" of speaker break in but I have to believe that someone in their company feels very strongly to put this in their published manual. The other argument is that they are trying to get one to keep the speaker beyond the customary return allowance period (conspiracy theory). There were several good references in the HTF post but there have been others that have conflicting data. John Atkinson of Stereophile Magazine was actually able to measure a change in output between a new pair of speakers and a broken-in pair. Many in the audio press believe in the break in MYTH.

BOTTOM LINE - Obviously there are different schools of thought on this subject...from the amateur to the expert to the manufacturer. One side has a set of fact and data that says no break in and the other side says their facts and data indicate that break in occurs. Who's right? I am of course! Why else would I spend way to much time typing all of this? I need to go now to work on breaking in my speakers.

gidrah

I currently have an apartment that is unrented. I use the living-room as my 2ch room. I don't often get a chance to go up there as I work a swing shift.

I run my system constantly to break-in new cables and speakers. I don't often get new speakers (only used) so my experience in this regard is limited to one pair.

I can say without any hesitation that speakers and cables tend to sound better after a break-in period. Day one they usually sound dry and harsh. Listen to the same song a week later for a 2nd time and things settle into place. A 3rd listening a month later (after 24-7 FM) and you can get an idea of what it'll sound like for years to come. 9 times out of 10 it's a smoother frequency response/range, better dynamics, smoother highs, & a tighter and deeper bass. I have no way to test this and I'm not sure that there is. This is only an opinion, but at least it's unbiased.

All things mechanical (including the simple transfer of electrons) need a break-in period. They also break down over time. Any speaker or component will fail over time. Not because of poor engineering, but because of resistance.

If I bought a new car, I wouldn't drive it at top speed for a long time, nor would I expect this car to last indeffinately.

M&L: Your little back & forth banter might be fun for you, but if he has no constructive critisism it is just degrading and has no place here.

organ

Hey Venom,
Since they're not blending in with the SDA as well as they used to, have you tried listening the them without the SDA's since then? Are you still dissapointed with the 9's? Also, I can't wait to hear your impressions once the amp arrives. You mentiond you're getting an amp in another post right?

Maurice

gidrah

ATC:
You were posting at the same time, so I couldn't read yours. It's interestin that you say the seemless blend is gone. Would you attribute this to the "opening up" of the LSi's?

Have you tried the 9s upside down atop the SDAs? That's how I had some dissimilar speakers ('til I made my periscopes) and the blend was much smoother with one positive smoothing over the other negative characteristics. Food for thought.

mantis

Trance72,
Very cool your an Installer.Liv4fam and myself are Installers as well.We take great pride in our work.Right now where working on a big Elan job.Glad to see another Installer in the forum.

FrankZ,
since most of you like to call Polk customer service about issues,call them about speaker break in.Then you can hear ANOTHER opnion if thats what you want to call it.
You just make yourself look like an **** when picking on one's line of work.Degrading in fact.I hope what you say make you feel like a bigger man.

To tell you the truth,I saw your theater..........dude you could use a professional to set it up.Your speaker placement?????seating,that couch on the leftside......nice.............alot could be said about it.But it won't make me feel like a bigger man if I [picked on your theater or what you do for a living.So I won't.

Frank Z

Mantis,
I made a simple comment about believing that speaker break in is a myth, you could have disagreed in a civil manner,. Instead I get bashed by you and your boyfriend. Go piss up a rope! You're no longer relevant.


To everyone else that posted,
I accept that you may or may not agree with me, we are all allowed to form our own opinions and make up our own minds about what we hear. The thread that I linked to previously has a lot of great technical data so feel free to read the entire post. It may cause you to re-examine your feelings on this subject, or re-inforce what you already believe. Bottom line is that this debate could go on forever without any clear "Winner."

If you hear a difference over time thats great, If you don't then that's great too. As long as you like what you hear you should be happy with your speakers, and that's what it's all about.

RuSsMaN

Frank,

In my experience with the speakers I have owned over the years, I've noticed break-in making subtle to vast differences in sound in some models. However, I have owned speakers that never seemed to change tonally from when they came right out of the box.

Break-in, as far as speakers go, is really a moot point anyway. If one plans on actually USING their speakers, time will pass, and whether one hears a difference or not, whether the manufacturer recommends it or not, they will eventually 'break-in'.

Some people do feel a need to 'win' the discussion, in their own minds at least. I say let it lie, and whatever small joy it may bring them, let them have it. It is really trivial compared to the big (audio or otherwise) picture.

Cheers,
Russ

Systems

although the exact details of what constitutes the right sound mix & the right duration of time for break-in may vary, it seems logical to me that since speakers are subjected to various stressors over time, the cumulative effect of these stressors will affect the speakers in some way. a speaker is a physical object, & if it hasn't been used, it seems logical to me that once used, there will be a certain degree of alteration in it, even if all it consists of is a making the parts that move & vibrate more "limber". i have not done a careful study of this with my own speakers, so I am not going to take a vehement stance & get burned to a crisp. i'm just saying that the general concept of speaker break in makes sense to me, altho issues like the best way to do it & how much effect it has are very debatable.

faster100

Ok things that get old do sound/work different thats a fact. or why would that computer you bought 5 years ago run fast then but now is slower than Sh@t.. I just have not noticed a difference, not that there isn't. but why as noted above spend time worrying about breaking in speakers, and Wire.. now wire break in sounds totally off base but what ever i guess

MxStYlEpOlKmAn

The only way I see that could 'BREAK IN' a speaker, is good ol fashion distortion! AHA! Infact, it makes the speaker sound totally different!