Do Audio Speakers Break-in?

[anphex]

The manufacturers I like tend to say that breaking in is a myth BUT thermal breaking in is a thing, as in when your speakers get delivered in the cold days they need a few hours or a day at best to reach room temperature and optimal performance. Everything else is just getting used to the sound like tw99 said.

 

[Hotwetrat]

So if I buy today a Kliosch speaker, logically which one would I follow, Klipsch recommendation or the ones you attached? And why would Klipsch bother to do this instructions if their speakers performs well in their first use?

The naivety is dumbfounding.

If you let the speaker "break in" (which doesn't actually happen, you just get used to the sound), there's less chance of you returning it to the dealer/manufacturer. I think this is why manufacturers are inclined to perpetuate the myth.

This guys eyes are open.

 

[milosz]

The manufacturers I like tend to say that breaking in is a myth BUT thermal breaking in is a thing, as in when your speakers get delivered in the cold days they need a few hours or a day at best to reach room temperature and optimal performance. Everything else is just getting used to the sound like tw99 said.

Car stereo speakers have to be designed with somewhat different surround, spider and cone materials because a car stereo can be used at -40° f and +120° F. My car subwoofer measures differently in cold weather, the bass rolls off faster. Even the air in a cold car has a higher density than warm air and this changes performance somewhat.

So, sure, it would make sense to let a speaker come to room temperature before critical listening.

 

[Koeitje]

They have not published any objective data to show that break-in changes the sound of the speaker, and until they do so, yes, this is marketing copy and not anything related to engineering.

I've noticed that, in general, Klipsch speakers measure very poorly. So it's possible the Klipsch company places little emphasis on engineering.

With Klipsch speakers you need to break-in your ears to get used to the terrible frequency response.

 

[Night&Day]

Of course break-in is audible in some speakers. The brain gets used to the changes because the audible memory is short. Comparison between a broken in and a new speaker can be revealing. Klippel have practically provided evidence that dynamics will be clipped with a new speaker. Muted dynamics is sometimes noticeable with a new speaker or subwoofer.

 

[Twitch54]

The true answer is: We must learn to respect one's opinion and belief. You respect mine, I respect yours.

and to that I agree so long as the 'opinion and belief' is not a delousional concept

 

[SOUNDSONIC]

All I hear now are subjective opinions. And I dont fly a plane either based on opinions.

If you dont like Klipsch, then I will give you KEF.

https://us.kef.com/blog/some-facts-about-speaker-break-in-301371114

 

[Frgirard]

All I hear now are subjective opinions. And I dont fly a plane either based on opinions.

If you dont like Klipsch, then I will give you KEF.

https://us.kef.com/blog/some-facts-about-speaker-break-in-301371114

The marketing department is not the engineering department.
Have you other infomercial?

 

[usersky]

This website is science based and not reliant on opinions, snake oil and half truth logic.

Science leaves a door to discover new things. Let's us all be more open minded about the matter. "Yet, the author is not aware of any controlled test in which any consequential audbile difference was found..." is really careful, prudent worded, leaving room to possible, perhaps unlikely rare different cases - unlike some hardcore positions here that can be resumed to "it cannot happen because it didn't happen to me or my friends". There are thousands of models speakers with many versions, individual variations or even faults, subjected to infinite situations in production, storage, transport, installation. Consindering this, stating that one cannot experience something that can be interpreted as "break-in" is way too bold for my idea about science. Still, I am totally willing to accept that what I experienced was just inside my head but I would never say that about every experience other people had.

 

[Frgirard]

Sciences The new alibi. Describe what the break-in technically would be, what components were changed and what measures can be used.
We are not here to make sciences, We are incapable of it.

 

[SOUNDSONIC]

The marketing department is not the engineering department.
Have you other infomercial?

Dr. Jack Oclee-Brown is a holder of Doctorate degree in Acoustics Engineering.

https://www.southampton.ac.uk/engineering/undergraduate/our_students/jack-oclee-brown.page

 

[usersky]

I've noticed that, in general, Klipsch speakers measure very poorly. So it's possible the Klipsch company places little emphasis on engineering.

A lot of other speaker companies recommend "breaking in", some arguably better than Klisch. Not that I claim "breaking-in" does something but I must ask, considering some of these companies are really good, they must know the truth better that a lot of us here: are all of them fraudsters?

 

[hardisj]

Yah, I have experienced some effects that I am more willing to attribute to break in

I tested this on drive units way back. I tried to find the thread on one of the car audio forums where I posted about it but there's just no way.

The bottom line is drive unit break in does happen. But the significance of how much varies. Tweeters? Meh. Woofers with poor QC? Yep.

I think it is wrong to paint with such broad strokes like "all speakers do or don't break in". The fact is some do. And you have all sorts of variability and quantifiers to that statement.

Why this is such a debated topic truly befuddles me.

 

[Inner Space]

A lot of other speaker companies recommend "breaking in", some arguably better than Klisch. Not that I claim "breaking-in" does something but I must ask, considering some of these companies are really good, they must know the truth better that a lot of us here: are all of them fraudsters?

No, they're pandering - they have researched their likely buyers for data like preferred size, cost, etc, and have noticed their irrational belief in break-in, so they're stroking those beliefs, to make the customer feel included. Plus they're gratefully accepting a freebie - the "break-in" paragraph in the manual is really saying, "These speakers are different than your existing pair, and therefore it's very likely you will find them strange at first ... but keep going: you'll get used to them soon enough."

 

[ROOSKIE]

In terms of "getting used to the sound", whether break in was a factor or not, I have had more speakers I liked LESS after spending time with them vs more.

So when you purchase a new pair of loudspeakers you just put them in a tool shed and "burn them in" before your first "listening session"? Or you play for hours, even days with the setup and when you finally get it right you reflect on how they sounded "out of the box"? Yeah, sure, they must have "broken in" and that's why they sound so much better now...

Well in my audio world I have definitely "broken" in speakers without listening to them during a fair chunk of the "break in time".
So while as a hobbyist I am no expert, I have to say there is more than just spending time involved here. It might be psycological in that I expected a change and/or that my "brain" quickly adapted to the new sound, however in some cases it is not likely that it was due to getting used to it over a long period.
Again I am more than willing to accept that most (if not all) of listening to new speakers is learning to hear them.
That said.
Essentially what I have experienced and am willing to consider possible break in in the face of --- 1. A mild "freeing" of the sound - from slightly stiff to something "less stiff". 2. Slight changes in the sense of congestion in complex passages. 3. Some added bass. 4. And this one has been the most notable for me is Trebble. Sometimes, on some speakers the trebble has changed, usually becoming slightly less "fake" or "more nuanced". Even more pronounced a "dark" quality being replaced by a more "vibrant" quality. (SB Acoustics neo dimple dome tweeters)
All of this can be attributed to something OTHER than driver break in. AND it might very well be break in.
And again anything that changed I experienced as fairly subtle.

The bottom line is drive unit break in does happen. But the significance of how much varies. Tweeters? Meh. Woofers with poor QC? Yep.

Interstingly to myself is that folks are more skeptical of tweeter break in than woofer. Those rapid tiny movements sure could be affected if the materials in the tweeter surround or even dome itself, needed some amount time to "settle".

Obviously the woofer spider and perhaps surround are "break in" suspects. I have a new in box B&C pro driver here whose spider and especially surround are stiff enough it actually seems strange.

------
Be cool to see if HD, IMD and compression characteristics change at all. Also especially with stiff cones like metal, how much do they rely on the surround and spider to help mitigate break-up and ringing?

 

[Keithdd]

Interesting Kef won't touch cable differences in that article. Kef used to say very clearly in their manuals that as far as cables were concerned you needed to ensure was that if your cable runs were long you should use regular household mains cable.

Tsk tsk. Clearly ears weren't so golden in those days.

 

[hardisj]

Be cool to see if HD, IMD and compression characteristics change at all

This was part of my post I mentioned above - that I can't find. I showed that HD changed after (however many) hours of break-in as did T/S.



But, again, to me the answer to the question is simple:
Yes

From there, it's a rabbit hole. It is easy to prove speakers break in. All you have to do is show one that changes parameters from "out of the box" to some point in the future. Easy.

You would have to test every speaker in the world ever made, and show no change, to prove they don't. That will never happen. Not just because testing those speakers is impossible but because I already know the parameters do change.

This is why I hate blanket statements. The answer to almost everything in life is: it depends. It depends on the situation, the significance, the relevance... it depends on a lot of things. Maybe that's just the analyst in me coming out, though.

 

[hardisj]

I forgot to mention that when testing T/S, all you have to do is vary the external temperature to get different results.

Heck, not even for T/S. We've seen exactly how temperature affects results when Amir tested the Neumann speaker in colder ambient conditions vs warmer conditions (it was what kicked off a 3-round test of the speaker, IIRC).

Then there is stimulus difference. A sweep will yield different results than multitone stimulus. Drive level will change things, too (you can easily push a speaker in to the non-linear region, which is why testing at very low voltages for transducer T/S is typically the norm).

I can keep going. I can provide proof for all of this. Been doing it for ten years. Speaking from experience... and lessons learned.


So, not only can parameters actually change. But when one wants to set out to prove/disprove or simply measure the difference, one must take care to do so in the exact same conditions and setup.


Okay, I'm gonna un-sub from this thread before I drive myself nuts. I gotta get back to work.

 

[beagleman]

I saw a site that measured woofers, brand new and then with several minutes and a few hours of high level bass signals.

The resonance frequency changed a decent degree after even several minutes, suggesting the suspension and so on became stretched or less stiff. But after the initial several minutes, no more change was noted.

 

[Hotwetrat]

I saw a site that measured woofers, brand new and then with several minutes and a few hours of high level bass signals.

The resonance frequency changed a decent degree after even several minutes, suggesting the suspension and so on became stretched or less stiff. But after the initial several minutes, no more change was noted.

This could even be, as hardisj stated, due to many other factors too, for example, was ambient temp/actual subwoofer enclosure temp etc noted, HUMIDITY!? lol I dunno, what underwear was worn ? Did they change socks during the measurment process