Do speakers need a break in period? (1 Viewer)

[Stephen_Rob]

Same as subject

 

[Larry B]

Uh oh!

 

[keir]

some say yes, some say no.

axiom engineers have said on their forum that they cannot detect a measurable difference in anything before and after "break-in." whether you can tell a difference or not may depend on your speakers and your perception.

 

[Brandon_M_S]

i believe its one of those "in theory", yes, they need break in time, but in real world, no. at one time, i asked a good amount of people that i knew that were competeting in car audio events, designers (one guys owns his own subs, Elementals), and dealers, and most if not all said no difference

brandon

 

[Rich Malloy]

I'm surprised to find that there's much controversy on this. I'm certain I've experienced it - though that's by no means dispositive - but I'd add that moving parts generally always require some sort of break-in. No?
As for electronics, cables, etc., I'm not so sure.
But your ears always require a break-in period!

 

[John Garcia]

Simple answer, YES. Proven fact, not opinion or conjecture or voodoo. Drivers need a little time to break in, and the amount of time obviously varies.

As a matter of fact, I was just reading Vance Dickason's Loudspeaker Design Cookbook (6th ed.) this weekend, regarding this very topic.

 

[Brandon_M_S]

Simple answer, YES. Proven fact, not opinion or conjecture or voodoo. Drivers need a little time to break in, and the amount of time obviously varies.

but how many people can hear the difference? yes, break in time for any movin item, but real world, no. i seriously doubt the average or even very few audiophiles can hear the difference.

brandon

 

[John Garcia]

I agree, but the question was is there a break in period, the answer is yes. Can it be measured? Yes. Can the average person tell when they have broken in? Probably not. I don't think I could.

 

[Brian Bunge]

I notice it with tweeters mostly. They usually sound a bit harsh to me the first time I fire up a new speaker. With midrange and bass drivers it's been more subtle, but I usually notice an increase in dynamics from drums as well as an overall more smooth sound.

The one speaker(s) that I have had a hard time noticing any difference upon break-in have been my GR Research A/V-1's and A/V-1+'s. The tweeters sound very smooth to me right out of the box as do the mids.

Brian

 

[JustinDR]

I think speakers do require a break-in period and agree with John that the duration varies. In my experience, some speakers greatly benefit from breaking-in (B&W comes to mind) while others undergo more subtle improvements.

 

[Brandon_M_S]

i would almost agrue that if you want to hear a difference, you will, if you don't, you won't.

brandon

 

[John Garcia]

I could never tell with my main speakers as they broke in, but when my friend recently fried one of his tweeters in his KEFs, he ordered a replacement from KEF and installed it. There was a definite difference between the brand new tweeter and the existing one, no question. The new one, with only about 1/2 hr on it was harsh and stood out. He pointed it out also, so I am going to go back after he has some hours on them so I can hear how they have changed.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Speakers using some of the Scan-Speak 7" woofers with the paper pulp cones impregnated with kevlar are very stiff and have rather large motor structures require quite a bit of break-in. Some require 100+ hours.

Also, my center channel has some very stiff, heavy duty dual 8" woofers that are just now loosing up after a couple of months usage.

Brian

 

[Tom Brennan]

Whether or not speakers break-in being besides the point speakers do not require a break-in period to function properly. It's not like a car in which metal-on-metal wear is a concern and the car should be babied until things have "fit-in". You can put your speakers "pedal to the metal" right off the bat without harm.
www.chicagohornspeakerclub.org

 

[Doug_NHT]

When I first set up my NHT VT2.4 towers, I didn't like them much at all. After around 2 weeks though, they really came alive and I didn't have to push them as hard. I would say yes since there is a physical medium, the surround, that needs to break in. Needless to say, I am VERY happy with these speakers now.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Tom,

I agree completely.

Brian

 

[Tim Ranger]

Some speakers seem to need more break in than others. There have been some very involved threads over at AA on this very topic. I'll say this, I notice a fairly major difference after about 100 hours. Now, some of you will say, yep, I was the one that got broken in. Except for one little detail. I don't listen during break in! I give the speakers a listen out of box. Then, I set them on play-repeat all day long while I'm away. After about a week of this I go back and listen. Here are some of the speakers that I've noticed a major difference with under these circumstances:
Sonus Faber Concertos
B&W 805 Naut
ACI Sapphire III LE
ACI Titan II LE sub
ACI Force sub
REL Strata III and Storm III subs

The one that changed most was the Sapphire III. Not very impressive out of the box. After about 100 hours, a superb speaker. I think for those of us who are serious about really hearing what a speaker can do, a good break in is very important.

 

[Jeff_M]

Haven't there been about a dozen threads on this matter posted over the last 6 months or so? If the answers (opinions) are already out there, this thread is somewhat gratuitious. We all know where this is going...

 

[John_M_W]

Speakers definitely benefit from a break-in period. Just like a new pair of shoes, the surrounds will loosen up and sound better once they have a few hours on them.

I work for an online speaker manufacturer and we suggest 48 hours of break-in prior to critical listening. After sufficient break-in the tweeters will sound smoother and the woofers will offer more bass.

This is not only true for passive speakers, but also for powered subwoofers. We generally rotate our demo room inventory about once a quarter and there is a definite audible difference between the system that has been broken-in and one that is right out of the box.

 

[ErichH]

YES, All driver surrounds change over time. You may notice or not, but they do change.
Eric