speaker burn in is not a myth and its not about your ears getting used to the sound. the cones of the speakers will loosen up a little after a certain amount of playing and thats the reason. i definitely found the difference when i bought my speakers. in about 10-20 hours of playing it got a lot more musical. i havent found this phenomenon in amps though, though manufacturers do specify a burn in period
New speakers break in process...
- Thread starter akilesh13
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Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
afj, that is exactly what I always thought, but the article goes against that, One example it gives is same measurement of speakers comparing out of the box against four years of use!
Either way... I don't know (but thought I did). Sometimes our experience is not what we think it is.
Either way... I don't know (but thought I did). Sometimes our experience is not what we think it is.
koushik
Well-Known Member
While I am a strong believer of the speaker burn-in/break-in process and experienced it in my system multiple times, nevertheless, the quoted sentence above is also very very true in all aspect of our life (not only in case of audio). Crazy things these human senses and psychology are!
On the topic of bi-wiring, I came across an interesting article.
In most articles about hifi, appeal to authority seems to be a common refuge (especially when someone tries to defend something that sounds suspiciosly like snake oil).
However, this article made sense to me.
Akilesh - sorry for confusing you even further.
My two paise - please don't worry about break in and all that. If anything, all this stuff is only pertinent for people who have spent years listening to high fidelity systems that are also carefully setup with treated rooms. They have trained themselves to recognize subtle differences in sound in various systems.
But the true joy is the joy of owning a finely crafted piece of equipment, and being able to enjoy good music from such a music system. I really don't think that break-in and bi-wiring (or lack of it) would detract you from this joy
I would say some common sense stuff though - try to keep your speaker wire as short as possible (under 10ft), and if you are forced to use a long speaker cable, use a higher gauge (14awg or 12awg). Speaker wire adds to the resistance of the speaker, and makes it harder for your amp to drive the speaker properly. I would say 14awg minimum. And speaker wire with adequate shielding also helps. So ensure it is a bit thick - not like the thin straggly wires you see in Aiwa systems.
In most articles about hifi, appeal to authority seems to be a common refuge (especially when someone tries to defend something that sounds suspiciosly like snake oil).
However, this article made sense to me.
Akilesh - sorry for confusing you even further.
My two paise - please don't worry about break in and all that. If anything, all this stuff is only pertinent for people who have spent years listening to high fidelity systems that are also carefully setup with treated rooms. They have trained themselves to recognize subtle differences in sound in various systems.
But the true joy is the joy of owning a finely crafted piece of equipment, and being able to enjoy good music from such a music system. I really don't think that break-in and bi-wiring (or lack of it) would detract you from this joy
I would say some common sense stuff though - try to keep your speaker wire as short as possible (under 10ft), and if you are forced to use a long speaker cable, use a higher gauge (14awg or 12awg). Speaker wire adds to the resistance of the speaker, and makes it harder for your amp to drive the speaker properly. I would say 14awg minimum. And speaker wire with adequate shielding also helps. So ensure it is a bit thick - not like the thin straggly wires you see in Aiwa systems.
anirbandd
New Member
Burn in is not a myth.. I experienced it on my first and only midend headphones.
As for my newly purchased Sonodyne stereo, i am yet to sense any change.
As for my newly purchased Sonodyne stereo, i am yet to sense any change.
vkirti
Active Member
As someone overwhelmed with all the knowledge on this forum, I decided that all my equipment needed break in / burn in. Hence downloaded slides for the plasma and a sound CD for the audio. After religiously playing both for several hours, I must say that real images and songs were a great relief and sounded and looked great. :lol:
I would suggest that treat your new stuff like a new car, keep it running at all kinds of speed in all gears. Hence get music of all genres and play at all volumes, you will soon realize that enjoyment starts immediately whether the stuff is broken in or not.
I would suggest that treat your new stuff like a new car, keep it running at all kinds of speed in all gears. Hence get music of all genres and play at all volumes, you will soon realize that enjoyment starts immediately whether the stuff is broken in or not.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
The trouble is that there is only one way to be sure of this. Buy two of everything, and blind test one against the other after the burn in is complete.
Our hobby is expensive enough as it is, already! We are not going to do that.
As to appeals to authority, if the authority is genuine, I'm very happy to do that. If the authority is an experienced engineer, then, why not? And before anyone posts me their ears, hey, engineers listen to music too. If they didn't they probably would not be very good engineers.
I've been internet-looking at various speakers over the past couple of days. Amazing how often I see the advice to burn in. Sometimes, like the old-fashioned running in of a car, there are even methods and details given. I don't think that there is going to be any lack of arguments on the burn-in side of the fence.
Our hobby is expensive enough as it is, already! We are not going to do that.
As to appeals to authority, if the authority is genuine, I'm very happy to do that. If the authority is an experienced engineer, then, why not? And before anyone posts me their ears, hey, engineers listen to music too. If they didn't they probably would not be very good engineers.
I've been internet-looking at various speakers over the past couple of days. Amazing how often I see the advice to burn in. Sometimes, like the old-fashioned running in of a car, there are even methods and details given. I don't think that there is going to be any lack of arguments on the burn-in side of the fence.
I thought the cables for connecting the amp and speakers will be included with speakers in the box.
Since you are in Chennai, head to Richie Street and look for shop named 'Cable Fort' It is located in a commercial complex located diagonally opposite to the mosque there. He sells Belden which should be good for you. You may also look at another cable named Chetan which sounded decent to me though a tad bright.
Alternatively, you may also look for pre-used cables in the 'For Sale' section.
keith_correa
Well-Known Member
Helps doing what?
square_wave
Well-Known Member
With speakers, the difference is technically subtle. But bear in mind that the difference one hears can be perceived as negligible vs considerable depending upon ones setup and ones listening habits.
For some with carefully designed listening rooms and accurately setup / positioned speakers, the last 5 percent of resolution and resolving power is the pot of gold they seek they might say the difference they hear is considerable.
For others, since there is an elephant or cow (depending upon the sins in the system) which obscures the view, might not see the needle. The change occurs in the needle.
But the important question is ; is the needle important ?
There are schools of thought that give importance to design parameters that are seemingly more important than the elusive needle.
Whatever floats ones boat
For some with carefully designed listening rooms and accurately setup / positioned speakers, the last 5 percent of resolution and resolving power is the pot of gold they seek they might say the difference they hear is considerable.
For others, since there is an elephant or cow (depending upon the sins in the system) which obscures the view, might not see the needle. The change occurs in the needle.
But the important question is ; is the needle important ?
There are schools of thought that give importance to design parameters that are seemingly more important than the elusive needle.
Whatever floats ones boat
Helps provide the weakling audio signals with the comforting blanket of protection and warmth they need - when they make their intrepid escape from the tyranny of the power amp and into the reassuring embrace of the speaker cabinet.
Did I say I prefer my music a tad warm?
Jokes apart - I don't have a great answer. Personally, I believe in a little bit of overkill (not too much though) and feel that some level of shielding in the speaker cable protects them from external interference. Again, maybe just a bit of voodoo superstition on my part - but it is reassuring nonetheless.
Of course shielding of speaker wire does keep the stray EMI at bay; Where is the doubt! That's no voodoo superstition at all.
That is a very genuine factor, but for the components with moving parts (bigger than electrons
Of course, the process of ears adjusting to the system will be continuous even if burn-in is happening.
Those with independent houses with thick walls can leave something playing on repeat all day
With speakers the suspension needs considerable time to break in. The bass will measurably deepen after extended playing from new.
The entire frequency spectrum changes, of course, but bass would be the most easy to measure.
Electronics also need to break in but its not easily noticeable on lower end systems.
Better sounding electronics show perceivable changes in sound over several hours of warm up if they have been powered off for an extended period.
Most high-end audiophiles leave equipment on all the time.
Let the radio play on murmur to keep the juice flowing through the system.
Just as a random tip, listen to your system. Unplug and re-plug all wire connections including power, speaker, and interconnects.
And then listen to your system again. Would love to read your comments on what you folks heard after doing this test.
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keith_correa
Well-Known Member
keith_correa
Well-Known Member
I've read that shielding does not protect against magnetic interference but maybe I read wrong. Maybe the EE's on this forum can comment/clarify.
anirbandd
New Member
I'm no expert but isn't that applicable in case of valves?? Happened with CRT TVs too. Needed sometime for the picture to clear.
Thad E Ginathom
Well-Known Member
This is the argument for burn in. It seems reasonable to me. I encounter pro-burn-in stuff everywhere, all the time. have even read about studio engineers playing hours of white noise through new monitors. Reasonable, commonly believed, commonly practised: doesn't automatically make stuff true. On the other hand...
Still, personally, I say that burn in seems absurd for cables, unlikely for electronics --- and perfectly possible for speakers and phono cartridges!
Duhhh... I dunno!
I think that this originally comes from the idea that power cycling ages electronics more than running, so permanently-on equipment lasts longer. Recently I put up a link (could find it again) from a veteran London hifi man, to the effect that that is just what the manufacturers want us to believe, because the opposite is true.
This one is totally off-topic and nothing to do with burn-in. It is suggested that this simply improves contact by removing oxides and impurities. It is suggested that this is actually the reason for many claims of cables made a difference. How many of us disconnect and reconnect the same cables and listen for the difference? Yes, it's probably a very good idea.
All are good points of discussion, but still, are away from the opening-post issues of sheer value in speakers.
there will always be articles with conflicting results. we have to take each article with a pinch of salt
I really do not know enough about this subject to be able to separate opinion from fact. Would be happy to know more.
keith_correa
Well-Known Member
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