breaking in speakers

[Beta Man]

I've been throwing on some CD's at a reasonable volume when I leave the house in an attempt to hurry along the breaking-in period for my speakers...... I've heard that placing the speakers facing each other is a good way to hurry up the process as well, but since they're a pain to move, I'd rather not do this. I just got my new fronts and surrounds yesterday, and need to start breaking them in...... anyone have any methods they use, or am I better off just playing music 24 hours a day for a few weeks?

[bassbone57]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I've been throwing on some CD's at a reasonable volume when I leave the house in an attempt to hurry along the breaking-in period for my speakers...... I've heard that placing the speakers facing each other is a good way to hurry up the process as well, but since they're a pain to move, I'd rather not do this. I just got my new fronts and surrounds yesterday, and need to start breaking them in...... anyone have any methods they use, or am I better off just playing music 24 hours a day for a few weeks?

You are doing exactly what I did and it works just fine. And most speakers are properly broken in after about 100 hours. So playing them while you are at work and maybe at night you should be done in about a week.

-K

[Clark Kent]

Speaker break-in is a very controversial issue in audiophile circles. Some believe it's absolutely necessary and some believe it's a complete fiction. I've always thought it's more about your ears adjusting to the new sound than the speakers changing over the course of 50-100 hours. Even saying this I almost always break in a new pair with 75 hours of music.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Clark Kent

Speaker break-in is a very controversial issue in audiophile circles. Some believe it's absolutely necessary and some believe it's a complete fiction. I've always thought it's more about your ears adjusting to the new sound than the speakers changing over the course of 50-100 hours. Even saying this I almost always break in a new pair with 75 hours of music.

Considering the cones, woofers, tweeter domes etc. are made from various materials, (Kevlar in my case for the woofer, which I believe is the only part universally believed to have a break-in period) it seems logical that they would soften slightly and thus change the sound over time. Either way, a wide variety of music is being played at a moderate volume, and has been for quite some time....... Can't hurt!!!!

[davidPS3]

I am sure that the AV Moderator here on the site here can give some good advice. Give him to chance to check in on your thread.

[JohnGalt]

While not complete fiction speaker break-in isn't something consumers typically need worry about. And to the extent that it may happen after the product reaches the end user the time period required for break-in is closer to tens of seconds than tens of days. See e.g., this article.

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by JohnGalt

While not complete fiction speaker break-in isn't something consumers typically need worry about. And to the extent that it may happen after the product reaches the end user the time period required for break-in is closer to tens of seconds than tens of days. See e.g., this article.

Thanks for the article! The equations are quite "hefty" to say the least, but nonetheless, It was very enlightning...... I wasn't worried about break in period as an absolute must, but thought it would be useful prior to breaking out the SPL meter. I wonder how much the change from Winter to Summer in humidity etc. affects sound, if at all...... so many variables, so little time! Fortunately I'm not to that degree of audio obsession (yet)

[JohnGalt]

Of all the audiophile mythology out there I find speaker break-in to be among the least objectionable of the myths. Mostly because unlike the majority of audiophile myths it costs one nothing but time. That said there will of course be those who swear that it makes a significant performance difference and / or that they've heard such a difference in their own systems. I actually do believe that some people will perceive differences, even dramatic differences, but that's not the same as believing that such differences actually exist.

[musicman1999]

Good quality speakers will sound better after about 100-150 hours of use, some is physical(such as cone surrounds loosening up) and some is your ears adjusting to the new sound.When i brought home my JM Labs Cobalts i thought they were shrill but after a month of use they were singing a sweet song.

bill