Do Audio Speakers Break-in?

[krabapple]

I think it is more the ears that needs to to get used to it The questions is how long to wait?

Hmm, no, that's not what I was getting at.

 

[Jukka]

How long does it take your ears to burn in to new speakers?
Trying for 2 weeks to get used to my new speakers but the music is not touching my anymore.

I guess it is time to sell my new speakers?

I've used Dirac DSP program to change the frequency tonality and phase response of my speakers. I can switch it on and off with single remote button and there is almost no down time.

I've noticed, that when switching it on our off, the change always sounds weird, but I get used to it either way in about 10-15 seconds. I guess that's the brain burn-in for me with my gear.

I would advise to have old and new speakers side by side for comparison and preferably before purchase (usually OK when buying from hifi store). That way you can get more confidence in your decision.

I've also noted that in some strange way, a poorer performance speaker gives more exciting listening experience. With low distortion, high SPL speakers there is no "feeling of danger" albeit very good sound. You could have similar experiences.

 

[ahofer]

I've also noted that in some strange way, a poorer performance speaker gives more exciting listening experience. With low distortion, high SPL speakers there is no "feeling of danger" albeit very good sound. You could have similar experiences.

Nothing beats a turntable for "feeling of danger".

 

[Digital_Thor]

To the original post. Just built your own speakers, preferably active. Then you'll measure and change the settings now and then, totally smoothing out any 'break-in' which might possibly occur

 

[Geert]

A new study:

Effect of Transducer Burn-In on Subjective and Objective Parameters of Loudspeakers
by Tomasz Kopciński *ORCID,Bartłomiej KrukORCID andJan Kucharczyk.

Department of Acoustics, Multimedia and Signal Processing, Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław.

Published: 29 July 2025

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8425

---

Summary
They did a burn-in of 3 hours at half of the rated power and measured frequency response, total harmonic distortion, impedance characteristics, sensitivity, and resonant frequency. They also did a double blind listening test. That was done by 11 trained listeners with demonstrated normal hearing (thresholds ranging from −5 dB to +0 dB Hearing Level). (The loudspeakers used for the listening test are the Pylon Audio Diamond 30 mkII, large 3 way floorstanders using custom Scan-Speak and Seas drivers, about 3.500€/pair, favorably reviewed by Hifi.nl in 2024).

 Results:
- "The amplitude discrepancy was limited to just 0.09 dB in favor of the burned-in transducer model”.
- ”The burn-in process caused a slight but consistent shift in the impedance peak frequency of the transducers. The observed variations remained within acceptable industry tolerances and did not result in perceptible changes in subjective evaluations, as confirmed by blind listening tests”.
- ”The burn-in process does not have a significant impact on harmonic distortion”.
- The listening test reveiled that ”the condition of the device—whether new or used—did not have a measurable impact on participants’ perceptions in terms of clarity, dynamics, brightness of sound, or overall evaluation. These findings suggest that the process of burning in the device did not lead to perceptible improvements in sound quality as evaluated by listeners”.

Conclusion:
Subjective tests did not reveal any significant differences between the tested pairs of loudspeaker sets. This aligns with the objective findings, which showed greater variation between units within the same production batch than between new, used, and conditioned (burned-in) sets. The expert panel consistently reported no noticeable changes in clarity, dynamics, brightness, or overall evaluation—regardless of musical genre or test sequence.
The lack of perceived differences due to burning in is further supported by the fact that changes were reported in identical test sequences (A–A and B–B), while no differences were observed in cross-sequences (A–B and B–A). This suggests that the observed variations may stem from a subconscious desire to detect differences or from the emotional state of the expert group.
In conclusion, burning in of loudspeaker sets results in minor changes to transducer parameters—as confirmed by objective tests (e.g., changes in suspension compliance)—but these do not significantly affect measurable acoustic parameters. In fact, greater discrepancies were observed among devices from the same production series than between new, used, and conditioned sets.

But true audiophiles know that you need at least 200 hours of burn-in of course (although other test already revealed mechanical parameters don't change anymore after the first few minutes)

 

[Thighsofsteel]

A new study:

Effect of Transducer Burn-In on Subjective and Objective Parameters of Loudspeakers
by Tomasz Kopciński *ORCID,Bartłomiej KrukORCID andJan Kucharczyk.

Department of Acoustics, Multimedia and Signal Processing, Faculty of Electronics, Photonics and Microsystems, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, Wybrzeże Wyspiańskiego 27, 50-370 Wrocław.

Published: 29 July 2025

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/15/15/8425

---

Summary
They did a burn-in of 3 hours at half of the rated power and measured frequency response, total harmonic distortion, impedance characteristics, sensitivity, and resonant frequency. They also did a double blind listening test. That was done by 11 trained listeners with demonstrated normal hearing (thresholds ranging from −5 dB to +0 dB Hearing Level).

 Results:
- "The amplitude discrepancy was limited to just 0.09 dB in favor of the burned-in transducer model”.
- ”The burn-in process caused a slight but consistent shift in the impedance peak frequency of the transducers. The observed variations remained within acceptable industry tolerances and did not result in perceptible changes in subjective evaluations, as confirmed by blind listening tests”.
- ”The burn-in process does not have a significant impact on harmonic distortion”.
- The listening test reveiled that ”the condition of the device—whether new or used—did not have a measurable impact on participants’ perceptions in terms of clarity, dynamics, brightness of sound, or overall evaluation. These findings suggest that the process of burning in the device did not lead to perceptible improvements in sound quality as evaluated by listeners”.

Conclusion:
Subjective tests did not reveal any significant differences between the tested pairs of loudspeaker sets. This aligns with the objective findings, which showed greater variation between units within the same production batch than between new, used, and conditioned (burned-in) sets. The expert panel consistently reported no noticeable changes in clarity, dynamics, brightness, or overall evaluation—regardless of musical genre or test sequence.
The lack of perceived differences due to burning in is further supported by the fact that changes were reported in identical test sequences (A–A and B–B), while no differences were observed in cross-sequences (A–B and B–A). This suggests that the observed variations may stem from a subconscious desire to detect differences or from the emotional state of the expert group.
In conclusion, burning in of loudspeaker sets results in minor changes to transducer parameters—as confirmed by objective tests (e.g., changes in suspension compliance)—but these do not significantly affect measurable acoustic parameters. In fact, greater discrepancies were observed among devices from the same production series than between new, used, and conditioned sets.

But true audiophiles know that you need at least 200 hours of burn-in of course (although other test already revealed mechanical parameters don't change anymore after the first few minutes)

The audiophool community will reject the report as they believe the burn in period is well in excess of 50 hours. A recent comment I read up to 500 hours.

 

[TheKoC]

The audiophool community will reject the report as they believe the burn in period is well in excess of 50 hours. A recent comment I read up to 500 hours.

And I'm sure they used cheap cables. Not revealing enough!

 

[Thighsofsteel]

And I'm sure they used cheap cables. Not revealing enough!

Very true. I bet they didnt use grounding boxes, cable lifters or those funny little yellow stickers all over the driver surrounds.

 

[voodooless]

And they used just one DUT. Everyone knows that my speakers do burn in

 

[Geert]

The audiophool community will reject the report as they believe the burn in period is well in excess of 50 hours. A recent comment I read up to 500 hours.

 

[TheKoC]

I admire his dedication, though some might call it mental illness

 

[Thighsofsteel]

I admire his dedication, though some might call it mental illness

I certainly do.

 

[Newman]

Subjective tests did not reveal any significant differences between the tested pairs of loudspeaker sets. This aligns with the objective findings

Validation of prior art is good science.

 

[RexrothPigeon]

you need at least 200 hours of burn-in

Burn-in, scientifically, has to last at least one hour longer than the warranty

 

[Roland68]

The audiophool community will reject the report as they believe the burn in period is well in excess of 50 hours. A recent comment I read up to 500 hours.

I would reject the report because the people involved apparently haven't looked into the industry at all, where such things have been intensively researched for well over 50 years.
Industrial membranes and certain surrounds are very similar to loudspeaker drivers in terms of function and materials. The measurements show a stable operating point after approximately 50-200 hours, depending on the material, even more. However, the stresses are higher, and lower stresses prolong this initial aging process.
Based on this, the stated 3 hours are far too short, and the result is very questionable in my opinion.
I only skimmed the whole thing, but perhaps I missed something, and they also conducted tests after a few hundred hours.

Did they also consider the different materials and material pairings? For example, the two extremes in midrange and woofer drivers? Foam surrounds in conjunction with very soft spiders, or thick rubber surrounds with very hard spiders? Or what about cone materials like polypropylene, glass, Kevlar, carbon fiber fabric, paper, sandwich compounds, etc.?
All these materials change to a greater or lesser degree. Some become softer, for example, fabric-based materials, while some plastics become harder and more brittle due to the outgassing of plasticizers and solvents. Not to mention the effects on resonances.

 

[Geert]

Based on this, the stated 3 hours are far too short, and the result is very questionable in my opinion.

In this thread you can find different references to driver tests. They show that the mechanical properties don’t change anymore after a few minutes. That's the current state of affairs in the speaker business. If you have more info on ’things have been intensively researched for well over 50 years’ then please share.

 

[ahofer]

I would reject the report because the people involved apparently haven't looked into the industry at all, where such things have been intensively researched for well over 50 years.
Industrial membranes and certain surrounds are very similar to loudspeaker drivers in terms of function and materials. The measurements show a stable operating point after approximately 50-200 hours, depending on the material, even more. However, the stresses are higher, and lower stresses prolong this initial aging process.
Based on this, the stated 3 hours are far too short, and the result is very questionable in my opinion.
I only skimmed the whole thing, but perhaps I missed something, and they also conducted tests after a few hundred hours.

Did they also consider the different materials and material pairings? For example, the two extremes in midrange and woofer drivers? Foam surrounds in conjunction with very soft spiders, or thick rubber surrounds with very hard spiders? Or what about cone materials like polypropylene, glass, Kevlar, carbon fiber fabric, paper, sandwich compounds, etc.?
All these materials change to a greater or lesser degree. Some become softer, for example, fabric-based materials, while some plastics become harder and more brittle due to the outgassing of plasticizers and solvents. Not to mention the effects on resonances.

The blind test, however, suggests that any (undisclosed) industry research on driver behavior may not be important to sound. I could be wrong but I suspect that the industry research may be exaggerated and directed towards the more gullible.

As an anecdote, Alan Shaw thinks break-in is nonsense other than getting everything to approximately room temperature and moving for a few seconds.

 

[tineared]

My speakers are over 20 years old
I expect them to be properly burned in any moment now...

 

[rgpit]

How long will it take for this thread to break in?

 

[Thighsofsteel]

My speakers are over 20 years old
I expect them to be properly burned in any moment now...

You are lucky they havent burnt to dust by now.