Do Audio Speakers Break-in?

[coonmanx]

I agree. In real "in the home" listening, it doesn't matter a bit. A few hours of use and your good to go. But IMHO I'd say no break in still does the trick for 99% of people. Just buy the speakers and use them. Now, breaking in speaker wire is another issue. Because speaker wire uses space alien infused technology only given to a select few people on Earth. Shunyata and Synergistic being two elite companies who received this alien tech.

If you really want to break in speaker wires you have to soak them overnight in bacon fat. That really brings out the warmth of the sound...

Sarcasm...

 

[coonmanx]

Personal experience is the least reliable data out there. Scientific testing doesn't give a damn about preception. We test and get data and that tells us things.

I am clearly a skeptic in this matter since I have never heard any significant speaker break-in with any speakers. My friend who owned Maggies back in 1983 might have been told to break those in but as has already been stated... they did show some signs of break-in during testing because they are a completely different speaker design. So there is that. I have heard a whole bunch of different speakers in the past 40 years and not once have I experienced it. So if someone claims it is real then the burden of proof lies on them to provide the evidence. The burden does not lie on me to prove the negative.

 

[coonmanx]

Sorry for all of the posts...

But when I first ran across this thread on this forum I felt that amirm's "test" was lacking data points. And in fact one of the difficulties with making any blanket statement on speaker break-in, or even whether certain speakers break-in, a person would have to go out and buy dozens of speakers and do dozens of tests. Not something that your average audio person is going to do. Maybe an outfit like MythBusters could do some comprehensive testing like that since they are usually quite thorough with their work. Too bad they never took up the subject. Would have made a great show.

 

[YSC]

Sorry for all of the posts...

But when I first ran across this thread on this forum I felt that amirm's "test" was lacking data points. And in fact one of the difficulties with making any blanket statement on speaker break-in, or even whether certain speakers break-in, a person would have to go out and buy dozens of speakers and do dozens of tests. Not something that your average audio person is going to do. Maybe an outfit like MythBusters could do some comprehensive testing like that since they are usually quite thorough with their work. Too bad they never took up the subject. Would have made a great show.

somehow personally I think since this is not a research paper with tons of funding, I understand the lack of data points or samples measured.

But for this topic alone, I feel that measuring one or a few speakers are kind of enough for the purpose. As the measured speaker isn't using some secret alien tech materials, just normal, widely used materials and rubber surround. which means in the break in theory the stretching would flex/ run in of those common material parts in the drivers contribute to the "night and day" difference. It's really highly improbable that the one magic speaker Amirm did do the trial showed no audible change and other speakers do. and as the measurable difference is so small in amplitude that any sample unit variation of the driver itself or measurement variation could easily be larger, I would say that it is not audible or ppl should have keep argue that "my left speaker sound better than the right one, and yours is worse"

 

[coonmanx]

somehow personally I think since this is not a research paper with tons of funding, I understand the lack of data points or samples measured.

But for this topic alone, I feel that measuring one or a few speakers are kind of enough for the purpose. As the measured speaker isn't using some secret alien tech materials, just normal, widely used materials and rubber surround. which means in the break in theory the stretching would flex/ run in of those common material parts in the drivers contribute to the "night and day" difference. It's really highly improbable that the one magic speaker Amirm did do the trial showed no audible change and other speakers do. and as the measurable difference is so small in amplitude that any sample unit variation of the driver itself or measurement variation could easily be larger, I would say that it is not audible or ppl should have keep argue that "my left speaker sound better than the right one, and yours is worse"

I agree. In fact I believe that unless it is some sort of specialty speaker like a Maggie, then results should be similar across brands. But brands use all different kinds of materials and woofer sizes, etc. Just saying that a larger sample set is always better. I also agree that although it may be measurable, it also may not be perceptible at all.

Now, if we had to test every single speaker brand in the world, how many speakers would we be testing?

 

[YSC]

I agree. In fact I believe that unless it is some sort of specialty speaker like a Maggie, then results should be similar across brands. But brands use all different kinds of materials and woofer sizes, etc. Just saying that a larger sample set is always better. I also agree that although it may be measurable, it also may not be perceptible at all.

Now, if we had to test every single speaker brand in the world, how many speakers would we be testing?

That's what I think also, for different materials and woofer sizes etc. I do think it's less of a problem, since the KH80 incident proved that even the composite woofer which should be less sensitive to temperature as say metal, they have a significant change in behavior from snowy winter and warm summer, yet beside when Amirm measured the first sample having shelved down bass response I don't see ppl complain that the KH80DSP are having "night and day difference in sound fluctuation with seasonal change", now when that broad 1-2db shelve down isn't perceivable I don't think the measured tiny variation matters and noticeable.

Now I think most/all woofer material do change behavior more with temperature than flexing and softening the surround/suspension rubber, if you don't notice the daily temperature change effect to your speaker, that rubber softening is noway noticeable

 

[Geert]

Speakers that benefit from break in are a better deal obviously, as their quality increases while you already paid the bill. It's a gift that keeps on giving

 

[Spkrdctr]

I would agree with this. It seems to be more of a marketing strategy than anything...

That is exactly right. Pure marketing BS. Just use your speakers an in a short time they will be broken in. Now, if you are a professional like me, then you will let the smoke out of the speaker. This is beyond just breaking in. It takes skill and talent but the sound is amazing when done. Very airy and unconstrained. To sum it up, if you are going to break them in, do it the professional way. Get that nuisance smoke out of the cabinet that got in there during production. Afterwards, you will be a changed man. Probably even smarter! Even your wife will be impressed, even if she is in the kitchen!

 

[audio2design]

I agree. In real "in the home" listening, it doesn't matter a bit. A few hours of use and your good to go. But IMHO I'd say no break in still does the trick for 99% of people. Just buy the speakers and use them. Now, breaking in speaker wire is another issue. Because speaker wire uses space alien infused technology only given to a select few people on Earth. Shunyata and Synergistic being two elite companies who received this alien tech.

Ted Denney offered money to dox me once, I got him so riled up.

 

[Spkrdctr]

Ted Denney offered money to dox me once, I got him so riled up.

Well, he is an idiot then. Why would anyone get into a flame war and get riled up on the internet? The internet is full of people fighting about pretty much anything. The funny thing is that most people who are arguing are not knowledgeable about what they are arguing about. When he saw it was going south in a bad way he should have just not replied anymore. Hard to argue with out one side present.

 

[mansr]

Well, he is an idiot then. Why would anyone get into a flame war and get riled up on the internet? The internet is full of people fighting about pretty much anything. The funny thing is that most people who are arguing are not knowledgeable about what they are arguing about. When he saw it was going south in a bad way he should have just not replied anymore. Hard to argue with out one side present.

Have you not heard of his vendetta against Gene from Audioholics?

 

[Spkrdctr]

Now that you put a place to the name, yes I do remember. That guy was a piece of work! Luckily Gene ignoring him did make him go away. No one that matters listens to that nutcase now. Good Riddance!

 

[Andretti60]

That isn't "break-in" that is warm-up or keep-warm and racing tires do need to be warm to work well. That is why drivers will often do the same pattern under a caution flag and sometimes even have heaters wrapped around tires in the pits. My guess would be that driver is heading to the pits under a yellow flag so he doesn't care if his tires stay hot.

Sorry but I have to reply on this. From my nickname you can guess what is another hobby of mine in Formula 1 tires perform best in a very restricted range of temperature (not just “warm”) and the temperature is now measured real time during the race using infrared sensors mounted close the tire, that give the temperature in different points along the width of the tires. Other sensors measure pressure and tear. Drives are instructed by “mission control” on what to do to keep the tires in the ideal condition (depending on the situation and the racing strategy)

Texense IRN8C-F1-V2 Infrared Temperature Sensor- 8Channel tire tempera | Motorsports Electronics

The Texense IRN8C-F1-V2 is a 8 channel infrared sensor that's dedicated to Tyre Temperature Monitoring. This product was developed first for Formula 1.

www.motorsportselectronics.com

 

[skyfly]

Okay, some people mentioned warm-up or optimal temperature of racing tire. Do they deny that racing tires perform different, i.e. having different objectively measurable physical properties, by usage or time?

Most things that flex change by usage or time. Suddenly some people assert that speakers NEVER EVER CHANGE BY USAGE OR TIME, and that any claim that a speaker can change with time MUST BE FALSE A PRIORILY.

 

[Geert]

It's not just about "NEVER EVER CHANGE BY USAGE OR TIME". The questions are:

• How long does it take for changing parameters to stabilize. According to engineers it only takes a few minutes, according to audiophiles it's hundreds of hours
• To what extend is the change of parameters audible? From what I've seen for low/mid frequency drivers such changes only make Fb shift with a few Hz
• If parameters change during use, than don't they change back if you don't use your speakers for a while (your race tires cooling down again) or don't they keep on changing until sound deteriorates (your tires are worn down)? Never heard these aspects being mentioned by an audiophile.

 

[Spkrdctr]

It's not just about "NEVER EVER CHANGE BY USAGE OR TIME". The questions are:

• How long does it take for changing parameters to stabilize. According to engineers it only takes a few minutes, according to audiophiles it's hundreds of hours
• To what extend is the change of parameters audible? From what I've seen for low/mid frequency drivers such changes only make Fb shift with a few Hz
• If parameters change during use, than don't they change back if you don't use your speakers for a while (your race tires cooling down again) or don't they keep on changing until sound deteriorates (your tires are worn down)? Never heard these aspects being mentioned by an audiophile.

The only reliable method of breaking in a speaker is to let the smoke out. If you did not verify that the smoke left the speaker, it is not broken in yet. Once properly broken in, you never have to do it again. It will be permanent. It is an easy process, but does take a bit of time.

 

[peanuts]

the notion of only minutes or so in breakin is absolute nonsense with woofers, some speakers have a thick stiff laquer on the spider. this can be broken up in short time by using your hands and pushing the cone back and forth to full xmax, or you would need to play LOUD for dozens or so hours minimum.

 

[Night&Day]

"According to engineers it only takes a few minutes, according to audiophiles it's hundreds of hours"

It's somewhere in between for some speakers. Most people probably don't notice the changing sound over some hours while some take notice of the change. Muted dynamics and a bit weak bass would be the most noticeable differences compared to a broken in speaker.

 

[audio2design]

If you really want to break in speaker wires you have to soak them overnight in bacon fat. That really brings out the warmth of the sound...

Sarcasm...

I prefer Halal speaker wires myself.

 

[audio2design]

"According to engineers it only takes a few minutes, according to audiophiles it's hundreds of hours"

It's somewhere in between for some speakers. Most people probably don't notice the changing sound over some hours while some take notice of the change. Muted dynamics and a bit weak bass is what would be the most noticeable difference compared to a broken in speaker.

View attachment 157671

The graph of the excursion appears to match work I did a long time ago though we were not measuring this parameter we were measuring cone break up. Looking at the shape of the graph I would estimate that linearity would experience some improvement over time and hence distortion would drop. Would it be audible? That's the big question.