Speaker Break-in...Fact or fiction? (1 Viewer)

[Chu Gai]

with or without magnets Rich?

 

[Tom Brennan]

Richard---Your post makes too much sense.
www.chicagohornspeakerclub.org

 

[Larry B]

I know many dealers, individuals who have been in the business for 20+ years, who break in their speakers for about 1 week before allowing their customers to listen to them. Are they all delusional? Or are they doing this just to pereptuate the myth on unsuspecting customers? Or might they actually hear the changes that the manufacturers claim exist, even if some posters can't or won't?

Larry

 

[Tom Brennan]

Larry--It's possible they're deluded. They've bought into a certain value system and believe it's true. Often this hi-fi thing is based on faith and doctrine.

 

[Doug BW]

Dealers who have been in business 20+ years are not only concerned with what makes audio sense, but also with what makes business sense. These dealers may have observed that:

- It is important to some customers that the speakers they are auditioning are broken in.

- Some customers don't care.

- No customers insist that the demo speakers are fresh out of the box.

Thus, even a dealer who thought it made no audio sense to break in a speaker might still do the break-in thing because that would please some customers without bothering other customers.

Bottom line: dealer behavior sheds no light on this issue.

 

[Larry B]

Doug:

Bottom line: dealer behavior sheds no light on this issue.

That's one interpretation, but not the only one.

As in the wire wars, those who argue from measurements and theory argue that the phenomenon of break-in is impossible, while many who have spent years and years listening to audio equipment (whether as a hobby, a business, or both) believe that it is quite real.

My bottom line: Threads such as this one will not reveal the truth, whatever it might be.

Larry

 

[Larry B]

Tom:

It's possible they're deluded. They've bought into a certain value system and believe it's true. Often this hi-fi thing is based on faith and doctrine.

And it's equally possible that they're not deluded, and that their "value system" is based on their actual experiences.

BTW, I don't know if speaker break-in is real or not; I'm simply trying to keep an open mind.

Larry

 

[Doug BW]

Larry, you may have missed my point. In your earlier post, you observed that you knew of dealers that run-in their speakers for a week and offered us a choice of two explanations for this behavior: Either the dealers are delusional OR they are hearing the effect of break-in.

My point was simply that the list of possible explanations for that dealer behavior is not limited to the two choices you offered. The scenario I offered was meant to illustrate that just because a dealer runs-in speakers does not give you insight into the dealer's personal view on speaker break-in. Maybe it does mean that he thinks speakers need to be broken in. Or, just as easily, maybe he doesn't believe in break-in. But he's had a lot of customers who ask "is that speaker broken in", and he's found that it's a heck of a lot easier to just answer "yes" than to argue with the customer why it's okay that the speaker isn't broken-in.

Oh, and this thread has revealed the truth. The trick, unfortunately, is knowing which post contains it.

 

[Michael R Price]

"Threads such as this one will not reveal the truth, whatever it might be."

Very true. Especially when we each have our own version of the "truth."

 

[Adil M]

Link Removed
Q What is the best way to break-in new speakers? I am about to purchase a pair of B&W CDM 9NT's and want them to reach their full potential. Should I send pink noise to the speakers, turn up the volume (to what dB?) and leave the room for several days? Or should I just play regular music and over time this would be a sufficient/proper method of breaking the speakers in? Finally, should the break-in be done continually 24 hours a day, or should the speakers be allowed to rest, with no input to them at times during this period?
A I just listen to the speakers while they are breaking in and enjoy the music. Even when they are not fully broken in, they still sound OK. What I have found is that the break-in process usually means tweeter crispness (too much at first) and bass tightness (too much at first). If the tweeters are too crisp for comfort, I just play the music but go about my business in other rooms for a few days. I turn them off at night. Usually, about 20 hours of break-in are enough.
I trust this site "most" of the time. Check the bottom of the link.
My only advice is to play w/ all your audio equipment. The more you mess around w/ it the better understanding you get to some of these experience vs science controversies.
PS The only issue I've ever had w/ this site is their lack of elaboration in answering some of the controversial topics, but I can understand considering demographics.

 

[Pete Jennings]

Has anyone seen anything in writting from ANY speaker manufacturer that clearly states that (s)peaker performance WILL improve after a given amount of playing time?

Here you go, from the B&W website:
Burn-in period
The performance of a speaker will change subtly during the initial listening period. If the speaker has been stored in a cold environment, the damping compounds and suspension materials of the drive units will take some time to recover their correct mechanical properties. The drive unit suspensions will also loosen up during the first hours of use. But probably the Kevlar® cones that feature in most of our products take the longest time to settle in.
The time taken for the speaker to achieve its intended performance will vary depending on the type of drive units employed, previous storage conditions and how it is used. As a guide, allow up to a week for the temperature effects to stabilise and 15 hours of average use for the mechanical parts of non-Kevlar® drivers to attain their intended design characteristics. For systems having Kevlar® drivers, be prepared for changes to continue for around one month of steady use.
I personally believe it is a little of both, the actual speaker settling in, and the listener's ears becoming attuned to the sound characteristic of a new speaker.
Pete

 

[Chu Gai]

Now if you read that quite carefully one thing you'll note is that while B&W states changes occur they do not state that these are audible changes. This is done intentionally and is intended for the reader to draw their own conclusions. Nothing more than carefully crafted marketing jargon.
Larry, who knows all the reasons audio dealers do things? Myself, I'm not in awe of them but I do commend (condemn?) them for doing much of what they do to give them every opportunity to make that sale. People would do well in versing themselves with more facts and learning selling techniques. Might be less disatisfied audiophiles then and less of this upgrade thing that isn't upgrading at all, but moving side to side.