Is there a break in period on home speakers and subs? (1 Viewer)

[Jesse Sharrow]

I work in car audio at soundtrack and I have never heard anyone mention anything. Will my speakers I just got "break in". Also will a sub get louder? The only break in Ive ever heard of is in the new audioquest cables they talk about it.

 

[Ernest Yee]

Yes to all - even the electronics to a point - but I'm not exactly sure why that part might be.

As for the speakers - usually speakers require about 100 hours of usage to loosen the drivers and breakin all the internal wiring and etc. Essentially - they might sound harsh or muddy at the beginning but with additional usage, they start to clear up and sound as they should.

That's why some people are amazed at the sounds some speakers can produce at the dealer's shop (w/ thousands of logged hours) and get really disappointed at home with the same new speakers.

 

[JamesCB]

I am of the opinion that break-in is not required for electronics like wires, interconnects, and components. OTOH, I do beleive in breaking in speakers. New speakers will be a little tight in the mechanical movements (the surrounds and spiders) so it seems logical that after these are given a workout for a while, things will loosen up and the speakers will perform to their potential.

On a side note, the only break-in I feel makes a difference with components is a warm up period. Amps usually sound fuller and more natural after they're warm.

 

[Chu Gai]

The work that I'm aware of suggests that break-in for speakers occurs fairly rapidly, like within minutes. The extra time, oft quoted by dealers, is IMHO for the purposes for you, the individual, to get used to the sound of the speakers and hopefully, keep them.
For a past discussion regarding this see the following thread.

 

[John S]

There are some that really need break in....

Take the JBL S-Series, they have solid pure titanium tweeters, and it does take a fair amount of time to loosen them up, so they drive well at low volumes.

Is it a big deal? Probably not.

 

[Mike Veroukis]

It depends on who you ask and what you want to believe. I've talked to dealers and enthusiasts who swear it sounds better after 100 hours (which tells me their sonic memory is better then mine by a few hundred orders of magnitude). And then there's that article I read (damn, can't remember which mag, but was one of those more obscure ones that tries to bust the myths) and they had a engineer who designs speakers say that although they do require break-in, the time required is usually the amount of time a factory tests the speaker to ensure it works. In otherwords, in most cases a speaker doesn't need any additional break-in once it's in the box and ready to be sold.

The truth is probably somewhere in between. I personally can't tell either way so I don't worry too much about it!

- Mike

 

[MattBu]

There must be SOME break-in period as cones loosen and drivers settle into the cabinet. The thought process that some golden ears have that speakers get the electrical equivalent of lubed up is ludicrous though. It's not as if some magic transformation is occuring inside the speakers. My B&Ws sounded great from day one.

 

[Chu Gai]

yes, and then after you stop playing them, their parameters return to where they were before.