How and what is to "break-in" speakers? (1 Viewer)

[Tien_N]

Hello everyone,
I just got a new set of Infinity interlude towers and center channel. I'm new to the HT market so I've been reading several reviews on them and noticed some people saying that they had to "break-in" the speakers before the best sound is accomplished by the speaker. Can anyone explain to me what this means and what is the purpose of it?

 

[Tim Morton]

Generally speaking, brealing in a speaker can be done with either music or pink noise playing continuously for a few days at a mid to low volume..say when you are gone for a weekend or someting like that. Its something that used to be in favor back in the day. Do you have to do it? Lets just say if it makes you feel better then go ahead. Will you see any harm if you don't...nah!!! it always seemed to me that the more expensive the product the mre you used to hear how wonderful and open it sounded after breaking in..like they were talking about leting wine breath Personally i think people just get used to the sound over time and think that it sounds better.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

There is a metal spring on each driver called the "spider". It is extra stiff at first and loosens up in the first few hours of use. It will continue to loosen up over the first few weeks.

Several of the stereo magazines take speakers and put them in a room to play for 24 hours before letting the reviewers in to set them up and write their review.

The "play low to moderate volume" while you are at work is a fine suggestion. There are snake-oil places that will sell you a special 'break in' CD, but I'd avoid these.

Just load a favorite CD of yours and put it on a A->B loop.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Bob,


Just to correct you a bit (please don't ban me!)

The Spider is part of any piston speaker's suspension and
is made of woven cloth (not a metal spring,but it does act
like a spring)

The Spider works in conjuction with the Surrround (the part
that connects the cone to the basket)to limit the drivers
excursion (mechanical movement) in either direction.

A speaker is a mechanical motor that moves air, it has a
piston Diaphram (Cone), Suspension (Surround,Spider) and
a driving mechanism (Voice Coil(s),Magnets) to function.

And any of these parts can loosen up as the speaker is put
to use for the first couple of hours. The Voice coil(s) will
heat up and settle in, the surrounds will become more pliable
as will the spider.


With all that said, I like to break in my speakers playing
Beethoven's Midnight Sonata. It can make a $20.00 set of
speakers sound like a $20,000.00 pair.. (Yes that was pure
rubbish!)

 

[Andres Munoz]

What a coincidence, I was going to start a new thread on this.

Last night I received my brand new Home Theater Direct Tower Speakers and Level III center channel. I was thinking about calibrating them last night but I remembered about the break-in period.

So I got out my Video Essentials DVD and A/B'd the pink noise for the 3 front speakers. The speakers have been playing that pink noise since last night at "medium" volume level. Tonight when I get home from work, I'll stop playing the pink noise and calibrate the speakers. That would be roughly a 24 hour break-in period (is that enough?).

So I was going to ask is the following:

If you get new speakers and calibrate them right away without breaking them in, would there be a need to calibrate them again after they're broken in?

 

[Jim_P]

"Tonight when I get home from work, I'll stop playing the pink noise and calibrate the speakers. That would be roughly a 24 hour break-in period (is that enough?)."

My experience with Atlantic Tech 450e system speakers is that during the first few hours they change a lot. Then playing them about 8 hours a day for a couple of weeks while I'm away at work also improved them. I prefer Michael Jackson Thriller to pink noise.lol. At six and twelve months, they have further changed.

You might want to rough in the subwoofer intergration with your speakers after the 24 hours with the plan of coming back in a few weeks, and again at 6 and 12 month intervals to tweak it.

 

[Tien_N]

Thanks for the great reply guys. So would I have to do the same for a subwoofer also?

And one more question, would leaving the grills off the the speakers allow for it sound better, specifically the highs? B/c I used to be a car audiophile and when leaving the cloth [factory] grills over the car speakers, it would dampen out the highs alot. Plus leaving the grills off makes the speakers look so much cooler! Let me know how you guys have your speakers set up. Regards.

 

[Brian Kleinke]

Speakers can be designed for use with or without the grills I prefer my Polk LSi's with the grills on. It basically depends upon the speaker and the listener.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Some speakers are designed for grills. I think one of
Paradigm's models grill is even part of the baffle?

So in some cases removeing the grills can be detrimental
but it would say so in the documentation. The grill fabric
is "acousticaly transparent" so it is not suposed to harm
the high frequency dissipation. I run mine with the grills
off for asthetics but I hear no difference with them on.

It's personal taste..

And yes Subwoofers break in too...

 

[Andrew_B]

Break-in is a myth.

 

[Jim Williams]

Break-in is a myth.

I have to disagree with that. When I finally got my HT set up with new Energy C-1s as rears I was marvelling at the sounds that I was hearing from my rears. The sound effects were quite obvious to the ear. After a few weeks I found that I was no longer noticing the rears as separate entities anymore. The sound was still there, but it was now part of the entire sound stage and not something that I was hearing separately. Of course I could hear jets flying behind me and cartridge shells dropping to my left and right, but everything sounded more integrated and smooth and less sharp and harsh. I verified this by playing DVDs a second time that I had first played when I first installed the speakers. There is a definite and noticeable improvement after playing them for a few weeks. This is coming from a non-audiophile.

 

[Brett DiMichele]

Andrew,

So you are saying that mechanical objects do not seat in?
I think anyone that understands sheer mechanics would agree
that a Speaker is a Motor and it's numerous components
(Suspension, Piston, Motor Structure) do indeed settle in
after useage.

But hey we all have our opinions. I don't believe that
cable elevators make a difference in sound, some people
swear they do...

 

[Chu Gai]

My general position on the break-in phenomena is that it's much ado about nothing or maybe better put as much ado about not too much audible differences. If your not sure that you like the Infinity's you've purchased and listening to them for a time period that DOES NOT EXCEED the time that you can return them for a refund hasn't helped matters, by all means return them. Don't let the dealer tell you they'll get better with time. The body of work doesn't support such a statement.
The following I've written before. Please consider it.

The topic of speaker break-in has been studied rather extensively using techniques such as laser interferometry, measurements of speaker parameters, and controlled listening tests.

David Clark, an AES Fellow presented "Precision Measurement of Loudspeaker Parameters", which was published in the March, 1997. Abstracting from that paper is the following quote:

Thanks for your recent email to Definitive Technology.

In order to break-in your BP10Bs, we recommend playing them at a moderately loud volume for about 40 hours. (After this period, the suspensions on the speaker cones loosen up a bit.) Generally, you'll hear a smoother high frequency response as well as a greater openness or transparency.)

If you need any other information, please email me at [email protected]

Thanks Again,
Chet Pelkowski
Definitive Technology

Now if studies have indicated there is no significant change during pre and post breakin and that whatever changes that do occur come back to the original over time, one must ask the question, if the speaker companies are aware of this, and larger companies, that have access to such data as I've presented here do, what is the purpose for specifying breakin that amounts to around 40 hours, give or take? To my mind, the reasons would have to do with ensuring that the customer keeps the speakers in their home for a couple of weeks to hopefully either get used to them or to convince themselves, rightly or wrongly, that they do like the speakers. During this process of listening, the customer, as can be seen on some of the posts on this forum, is actively seeking out other users opionion, corroborations, justifications, positive/negative opinions. So myself, I would recommend that anyone purchasing speakers listen to them in their homes and if during that time, which should be well before the RETURN PERIOD, they don't like them to take them back where they bought them and rethink the choice they made. Any salesman who says you need this CD or this procedure to break-in is doing so for either a couple of reasons...they're ignorant, or they're hoping you need a little more time for the speakers to grow on you so you don't return them and he/she doesn't blow the sale and commission.

If you wish to read a bit more about speakers the following might prove to have some benefit. You can try your local library and look into the inter-library loaner programs.

The Best Place For Your Speakers," Audio, August, 1994.
"The Delicate Question of Speaker Placement," Stereo Review, August, 1975.
"Imaging and Loudspeaker Directivity," a paper delivered at the 99th convention of the AES.
"The Influence of Room Boundaries on Loudspeaker Power Output," JAES, June, 1974.
"Loudspeakers in Real Rooms," Hi-Fi News and Record Review, December, 1989.
"Room For Improvement," Hi-Fi News and Record Review, February, 1990.
"Marking the Boundaries," Hi-Fi News and Record Review, April, 1990.
"The Sound Field in Home Listening Rooms," JAES, July/August, 1972.
"The Sound Field in Home Listening Rooms, II," JAES, January/February, 1976.
"The Speaker and the Listener," Stereo Review, August, 1976.

 

[Tien_N]

Wow Chu Gai,
Thanks alot for the great post, that's to all u guys. Really helped me understand more about the "break-in" period. Well some people agree and some disagree. But all in all, doesn't hurt to try it anyways. Thanks!

 

[Philip Hamm]

I am very much in Chu's camp. I believe 99% of speaker "break-in" is in our heads. Each speaker has its own signature and our brains are amazingly adept at sorting out that signature and making them sound nice. I know that it takes me a while to get used to a new set of speakers or headphones. I won't deny it, it happens in my brain, not in the mechanical parts of the speakers.

 

[Henry_W]

Not to be contrary or controlled set scientific study, but my experience with an SVS was the following:

After aproximately 4 hours out of box adjusted to VE 75db at primary listening positon - Adjusted after 30 minutes continuous play.

2 months later - same criteria (adjust to VE 75db after 30 minutes continuous play) the sub initial reading was 5db hot - adjusted accordingly.

10 months later - installed my DIY center (a Klipsch heresy tweet, squawk, Xover with Fostex woofers - another story someday - very nice sound) and did an all around VE setup - again after 30 minutes continuous and no adjustment was necessary on the sub.

What this means I am not sure, other than some where between 4 hours of operation and the 2 month setup the sub had changed and that no further change occurred over the next ten months. Seems that some sort of break in happened.

FWIW

 

[Jim_P]

Answering your question about do subs also have a break in period. My Velodyne HGS-15 Series II, definately had one.

 

[ErichH]

Break In is common knowledge in the recording industry. Funny that it's even questioned by home users.
The large drivers in most studios go beyond break in and get too loose. Replacement drivers are a fact of life for those guys.
Most of us will never push them the way they do.
Eric

 

[Chu Gai]

well if you're adjusting with an SPL, they're notoriously inaccurate. my general point regarding the break in period is that one should never 'hope' a speaker will break in and then find themselves in a position to be unable to return it. Just looking out for #1`and that's us. BTW, I'm still not used to my insane sister in law.

 

[Jim_P]

Chu

Good point about being stuck with a dud. It's like the Pontiac dealer that told me that the transmission would shift smoother after it's broken in. Well, it never did.

Part of the problem is also for people who don't know exactly what to listen for. Advanced entheusiast can(should)be able tell right away, whereas someone relatively new knows that they should be listening for something, but don't exactly know what.

I still think your point is well taken, that the return period should be long enough to have the speaker break in enough to know if you want to keep them.

Jim