how to break in your new speakers...

[Thumper26]

I took apart an old clock radio, and then cut the wires going to the two speakers inside, then cut a notch out of the side plastic for the speaker wires to come through. you can see them sticking out the side in the pics.

then I wired the comps in the box with some cheap wire i had lying around, using female spade terminals to attach the wire to the speakers.

twist an tape leads from the crossover, and you're done. i'm going to stick this in the closet with some pink noise playing on a low volume for a week or so. when i pull them out they should be a little more limbered up. ;)

pics:

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b47/thumper26/Accord/DSC05260.jpg

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b47/thumper26/Accord/DSC05262.jpg

[bikinpunk]

LMAO!

As funny as that is, it's actually a really clever idea. Good thinking, J! :cool:

[Hillbilly SQ]

i need to do something like that. also love that speakerwire. would be good for jumpers on mids and tweets to keep stress from female connectors out of the equasion.

[Thumper26]

thanks erin. i downloaded the stereo pink noise track from realmofexcursion and burned it 76 times on a cd, and put the cd on repeat. the speakerwire is scosche 18 gauge from walmart...hella cheap.

[Hillbilly SQ]

i'm using some 20-22awg that came with my memphis component set for pigtails. seems to be plenty for such a short run. now i wanna dismantel my clock radio.

[bobditts]

or you can use your home stereo outputs like I did with my new OZ audio 4" comps. I used the passive crossovers just for the brteak in period and installed them active.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c203/bobditts/new%20install/DSC00459Small.jpg

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c203/bobditts/new%20install/DSC00457Small.jpg

[Thumper26]

i don't have a home stereo. :p

what gave me the idea was those desktop cd players with the giant detachable separates that you connect the wire to the back.

i didn't have one of those, just this.

my biggest concern was that the 4 ohm load might be too low and the radio would crap out. i just got back from being at my dad's all day and it's still playing. it sounds like water pipes are in my closet. :p

i'm going to turn the stereo off on friday before i leave town just in case. that'll be right at 100 hours.

[drake78]

I think there is a specific volume to fully break them in. If you play at very low volumes the mechanics of the speaker barely move. I used to use the same method. By low volume for break in. Now that I think about it. I don't think it's very effective.

[Thumper26]

i had it on low, but i checked the speakers and they were barely moving, so i turned it up. it's relatively audible sitting right outside the door, but sitting in the livingroom with the tv on, you can't hear it at all.

[oldloder]

It wouldn't work so well for open drivers, but when I got my ACI Spirits they recommended I face the speakers toward each other as close as they could be with the polarity reversed and turn the volume up to a reasonable listening level. In this way they would be pushing and pulling each other. They recommended at least 50 hours of break in before finally evaluating them and I'd come home every day for almost a week expecting a change ... and that day came in a big way. They really sounded like different speakers, imaging, tonality, extended response in highs and lows ... I was blown away. But finally, unless you're only breaking in tweeters I'd guess that you'd need mids to be making reasonable amounts of excursion to affect much change. :)

[tcguy85]

cool idea.

[Thumper26]

yeah not sure how much different they'll sound, but any jump i can get on breaking them in, the better.

there's nothing more irritating than trying to tune speakers that are still changing tonally.

[pontiacbird]

yeah not sure how much different they'll sound, but any jump i can get on breaking them in, the better.

there's nothing more irritating than trying to tune speakers that are still changing tonally.

true that......so i guess tweeters need a bit of time to break in as well?

[Thumper26]

sure, why not? :p

i've had a couple of different sets change tone on me after a few weeks of playing.

[customtronic]

I use an old school Soundstream D60 amp and an old CD player that I had laying around. The amp is tiny and about 30w per channel, plus it's a good, clean quality amplifier. It seems to work well for me.

[MarkZ]

Stick a ball in it and put it under the mattress.

[n2audio]

Stick a ball in it and put it under the mattress.

good answer - shaving cream makes a good lightweight mousturizer too. :)

So the speaker break-in crowd is alive and well here at DIYMA??...hmmm...


I think speaker break in is one of the most overblown issues among audio circles. If you're getting drastic (ie - audible) changes in speaker params from a few hours of playing what are they going to sound like after 100? 1000 hrs?

I believe high end mfgs have recognized that the people willing to pay the big bucks for a pair of speakers expect to have to go through some elaborate break in procedure to get ultimate performance from these precision crafted instruments they just paid out the ears for.
I have a feeling if you talked off the record to the designers they'd tell you to put your favorite cd in and turn it up.

And exactly how much "loosening up" will a couple watts from an alarm clock do anyway? Doesn't a speaker actually have to MOVE to "loosen up"?

[pontiacbird]

p.And exactly how much "loosening up" will a couple watts from an alarm clock do anyway? Doesn't a speaker actually have to MOVE to "loosen up"?

i think break in's apply more to mid's and woofers, and maybe a part of the change in tonality is attributed to our changes in hearing, so to speak.....

it does make some sense though, breaking in a speaker....after all, the suspension of the mid does go through some changes, most likely getting a bit looser after some time......breaking them in is more like covering the bases, just to keep things consistent, response wise

at low frequencies, a couple watts is all it takes to get it moving, right now i've got my radio hooked up running 20 hz sines, and it's getting maybe 5 watts rms.....and the movement is quite noticable.....

[MarkZ]

1) If speaker break-in exists, how do we know it doesn't revert back to its unbroken-in state after it's been sitting for a day?
2) If speaker break-in exists, how do we know that the broken-in sound is better than the unbroken-in sound?
3) How does the effect of break-in compare to, say, the variation in Re during normal operation caused by power compression? Or changes in ambient temperature?

Basically...if break-in exists...why is it important?

[Thumper26]

dynaudio recommends 100 hours of break in. the speakers a playing a full range pink noise cd over and over. you don't have to get it super loud to feel the movement on the mid. holding my hand on it, the mids are moving about a consistant 1/8" if not more. to be honest, i've never believed in it too much except for a couple of speakers that i've heard several others say it makes a difference. It's going to be a while before I get them installed, and when they're in, I want to be able to tune them and not worry about it. I'll be the first to admit that tuning is my weakness just b/c i have fewer time doing that than install, etc, and the LAST thing i need is a speaker limbering up while i'm trying to get it to sound right. So, since i have a couple of weeks before I'll be ready for them, I'm taking whatever measures I can to make sure they're ready for me when I'm ready for them.

Mark,

1) when they play they're stretching out the spider and loosening up the surround. think of folding a piece of paper back and forth across the same crease. if you stop, that crease doesn't tighten back up.

2) if it does exist, then it's inevitable. looser more flexible parts allows the speaker to move with less resistance, therefore being more responsive and playing more effortlessly.

3) changes in temp can have a fast, immediate effect on a speaker. i'm sure we've all seen that in the winter, and possibly even in the summer too. break-in, if it happens, (and i think it does to all speakers) whether or not is audible afterwards, would be a more permanent change on the speaker.

i think of it as similar to breaking in a new baseball glove and getting the stiffness out of it.

i really really wish i had thought to buy a woofer tester so i could measure the T/S parameters of them before and after the break in.

[pontiacbird]

i really really wish i had thought to buy a woofer tester so i could measure the T/S parameters of them before and after the break in.

if anyone does have one, it'd be a great way to see if it does affect the T/S

anybody got one?

[npdang]

With about 30 seconds of high amplitude pink noise you can fully break that speaker in. It's about the same effect as 100 or 1000 hours of low volume noise.

[MarkZ]

Mark,

1) when they play they're stretching out the spider and loosening up the surround. think of folding a piece of paper back and forth across the same crease. if you stop, that crease doesn't tighten back up.

2) if it does exist, then it's inevitable. looser more flexible parts allows the speaker to move with less resistance, therefore being more responsive and playing more effortlessly.

3) changes in temp can have a fast, immediate effect on a speaker. i'm sure we've all seen that in the winter, and possibly even in the summer too. break-in, if it happens, (and i think it does to all speakers) whether or not is audible afterwards, would be a more permanent change on the speaker.

i think of it as similar to breaking in a new baseball glove and getting the stiffness out of it.

i really really wish i had thought to buy a woofer tester so i could measure the T/S parameters of them before and after the break in.

I really don't think it's anything at all like breaking in a baseball glove. With a baseball glove, stiffness=bad. With a speaker, that's not necessarily so. We don't want infinite compliance. That's bad. And speakers with more compliance than others aren't necessarily better either.

And yes, changes in temperature have an immediate effect. But different operating points mean different temperatures, which in turn mean different Re, which means a drastically different impedance curve, which results in an altering of the freq response curve of the speaker. I'm pretty sure that power compression is going to alter your speaker more than "break-in". And I'd wager that the effect that different ambient temperatures have on the suspension and the coil temp are also more prominent than any alleged differences due to break-in.

So I'm not convinced that break-in is a meaningful effect, even if it's real.

[bikinpunk]

even if it's real.

I've tried to avoid even mentioning the doubt of break-in.

It seems companies say to do this, but yet many argue that "break in" isn't actually of the speaker itself; rather the listener's ears. ...

[Thumper26]

With about 30 seconds of high amplitude pink noise you can fully break that speaker in. It's about the same effect as 100 or 1000 hours of low volume noise.

define high amplitude pink noise. you mean pink noise at a high volume?

i'm playing pink noise at a medium volume right now.


I've tried to avoid even mentioning the doubt of break-in.

It seems companies say to do this, but yet many argue that "break in" isn't actually of the speaker itself; rather the listener's ears. ...

that's my hangup. i don't see why a company would recommend a break in period if it wasn't necessary. maybe they're hoping people will do it while listening to their stereos and then will end up liking the speakers after listening to them for 100 hours? or hope that it takes them longer than the return policy to get the break in done? i'm just spitballing here...

[Neil]

1) If speaker break-in exists, how do we know it doesn't revert back to its unbroken-in state after it's been sitting for a day?
Because you can measure it.

2) If speaker break-in exists, how do we know that the broken-in sound is better than the unbroken-in sound?
When has improved efficiency and extended low frequency response (even if minimal) sounded worse? Let's look at it from the other approach....why wouldn't it sound better?

3) How does the effect of break-in compare to, say, the variation in Re during normal operation caused by power compression? Or changes in ambient temperature?
Power compression dominates. By a long shot. I couldn't comment on the effects of ambient temperature beyond what has already been documented by people like John Krutke.


Basically...if break-in exists...why is it important?
In my opinion, it isn't unless you're taking measurements and comparing them with the manufacturer's published specifications.


With about 30 seconds of high amplitude pink noise you can fully break that speaker in. It's about the same effect as 100 or 1000 hours of low volume noise.

I respectfully disagree. :)

Let's put aside our ears for a moment and even our microphones. I can say first hand that I have noticed a speaker's suspension to be noticeably more compliant after several weeks of use than it was after 5 minutes of use. I would be surprised, to say the least, if others haven't had the same experience. I say this referring to simply pushing on the speaker...not scientific by any means but you get the point.


Perhaps comments from others with more celebrity than myself might hold more weight...


ALL mechanical systems will wear and all mechanical springs will get softer; in this case, it's by design. You break/crack a lot of the epoxy bonds (phenolics are used as well) that permeate the spider, and thus it becomes softer.

We often see a 20% drop in Fs over a lengthy break-in, and we quote numbers for drivers broken in. Out of the box all our drivers measure high; beat on them for 40-50 hours, though, and they will be permanently lowered (Fs, that is).

One thing to note is that it would be expected Fs would drop, Qes and Qts would drop, and Vas would increase; all these are exactly what happens when you raise Cms, which is the same thing as making the spider softer.

They will need a good break in preiod before they settle into specs and really start to shine SQ wise. Or with only 700-800W, I can use 2 soft spiders to get a wee bit more out of them and to be a little more stable suspension wise overall.

Anyone who thinks a woofer's parameters don't change due to break-in / burn-in is either ignoring the data, has lousy data, or is not doing much of a break-in. Granted that the effect on the in-box measured curve, due to break-in / burn-in, may or may not be significant, depending on the box.

All of whom are well known and oft-respected engineers in the industry. I have an email or two from folks at TC Sounds saying much the same that I can dig up if necessary.

There is always such skepticism regarding speaker break-in but I wonder where the evidence is that supports such a stance.

I have a few speakers around here that I could do trials on (again) if some desire hard numbers. I know I posted some in another thread a while ago, but it may not have been here.

[drake78]

I don't think different types of speakers can be generalized for a specific method of break in. Every manufacture and models are engineered differently and have different materials characteristics.

[MarkZ]

Perhaps comments from others with more celebrity than myself might hold more weight...

How come you left out Richard Pierce's comments on the issue?


All of whom are well known and oft-respected engineers in the industry. I have an email or two from folks at TC Sounds saying much the same that I can dig up if necessary.

There is always such skepticism regarding speaker break-in but I wonder where the evidence is that supports such a stance.

I have a few speakers around here that I could do trials on (again) if some desire hard numbers. I know I posted some in another thread a while ago, but it may not have been here.


I would also like to see a study done. The closest thing I've seen to it was when someone measured a small change in T/S parameters, but it was horribly controlled. It didn't answer any of the questions I posed in my other post, even.

[backwoods]

I have no doubt that break in exists. Especially since I switched to fully active in the house. It was easily recognizable.

I really notice it on low distortion metal/mag cone midrange drivers.

[a$$hole]

UPS breaks in my speakers !:o

bump..bump...screech...

I walked my subwoofers up and down the driveway, does that count !?

[n2audio]

music breaks in my speakers

[cvjoint]

I think the term break-in is a bit misguided for speakers. For one they aren't made like engines where pistons and sleeves are engineered to have irregularities to allow for self adjustment of the cylinder wall with the piston. It's not like formating a cellphone battery either.

I agree that the speaker suspension loosens up in time, but that goes on after the manufacturer's recommended period. If anything maybe you need to RTA every couple of years to account for that.

I see some benefits from [B]not[B] breaking in a speaker. A tighter suspension usually means better low end sensitivity in a car environment where you IB a speaker. Aren't most people better off with a higher QTS in a car environment?

I am allowing a month of break in for my speakers just in case the loosening up is a lot more severe the first weeks. But is it? And if so how much would be the ultimate question.

[escalade520]

Why not, its worth a try, isnt gonna hurt anything, and i have some time on my hands until i am actually putting them in :D

http://i31.tinypic.com/97k96g.jpg

[drake78]

Those new focal speakers are slick with the metal phase plug. :cool:

[Thumper26]

Why not, its worth a try, isnt gonna hurt anything, and i have some time on my hands until i am actually putting them in :D

http://i31.tinypic.com/97k96g.jpg

nice job escalade ;)

[escalade520]

nice job escalade ;)

the clock radio is almost exactly the same too lol timex

[Thumper26]

lol yeah, you prolly have the newer model.

[Dangerranger]

I think dictating long breakin periods are more to allow the people to adjust to the sound of the speakers instead of immediately admitting dissatisfaction and writing them off. When you say "I'm really disappointed with the sound of these drivers, I think I'm going to return them", the reply is "Don't worry, consumer, after a proper breakin the sound will change dramatically and you'll be happier with the results". I.E. you grow accustomed to the sound. And you transition from the 30 day (or however long) return period to the warranty period. If the speakers are built well enough, the company wins. ;)

I'm not saying that after some playing time the suspension doesn't loosen up and the parameters do change a bit, but I think your ears growing accustomed to the sound is the largest factor in this. As time goes on, a speaker eventually gradually loosens up further, the suspension wears out more, so on and so forth. People don't complain that much about the sound gradually degrading in their speaker sets, because they adjust to them as time goes on.

[bretti_kivi]

disagree. I have two pairs of TG9s and having thraped one pair at a party, they are sooo much better basswise than the others.... wow.
It's possible that they're differently manufactured. But: same positioning, same amp / box / music, very different sound.
The second pair are now much better (after two solid days playing "room level" music at home) but they still don't match the first. I'll be using the TG9s that are going into the car at work for at least a couple of weeks before I do anything else.

Bret

[Keith Turner]

Good idea. I would let them play for a very long time because that radio does not have a lot of power, so you may need to let them play longer to break in.

[Thumper26]

Good idea. I would let them play for a very long time because that radio does not have a lot of power, so you may need to let them play longer to break in.

yeah, maybe it's just the nature of pink noise, but they seemed damn loud. i had i think 4 blankets over the box and could still hear it. they played for a week straight, so if they're not broken in yet, they're close.

[MajorChipHazard]

Wow that is an absolutely brilliant idea.I think I need to do this with my speaker too:)

[phidippus]

I just hook mine up to my home amplifier and run a sample of of Beethoven's ninth at half pitch for 2 hours a day for a week. The slowed symphony creates some very nice smooth oscillations that work the drive gently. I don't think running the speakers continuously really matters. In fact, starting and stopping play heats the driver, then cools it, allowing its materials to expand and contract, promoting more efficient travel. But my theory may be just whack, like crack.

[Thumper26]

In fact, starting and stopping play heats the driver, then cools it, allowing its materials to expand and contract, promoting more efficient travel. But my theory may be just whack, like crack.

awesome then. my cd has 70 copies of a 1 minute pink noise track, so there's a 2-3 second pause between tracks.

[MarkZ]

awesome then. my cd has 70 copies of a 1 minute pink noise track, so there's a 2-3 second pause between tracks.

2-3 seconds is not enough to cool a speaker at all. 2-3 minutes is probably closer to what you want, if that's your goal.

[Thumper26]

eh, i never really knew about it beforehand, but the speakers run fine.

[pontiacbird]

I see some benefits from [B]not[B] breaking in a speaker. A tighter suspension usually means better low end sensitivity in a car environment where you IB a speaker. Aren't most people better off with a higher QTS in a car environment?

could you explain this to me.....i thought the complete opposite, I'm not one to really consider T/S parameters, but common sense tells me that a looser suspension would yield a more efficient low end response.....

[aviator79]

So to break in my dynaudo esotec 362 componets, should I just hook it to my home stereo in series off of one channel to one crossover and then wire the speakers in series to get 8 ohms. That is what I was told. Guess Im just going to listen to whatever and hope not to go crazy.

[bretti_kivi]

my sls6 has just been running in place of a midwoofer in the lounge for the last week. It's not perfect but it's better than nothing....I think i'll build a box shortly for this. 16mm MDF outside, then some rockwool and thin inner walls. a terminal or two on the outside and a lid that comes off. should be simple enough....and if I do it right, I can leave it at work on a timer and a tuner so that I don't disturb anyone.

Bret

[Hixson]

Not sure how he did it but Ken Pohlman from CSR and Hammer Labs used 8 volts to break in speakers before reviewing them. Not sure how he did it though.

[gijoe]

I don't have much for home audio except a pioneer htib. Since I don't have any passive crossovers, do you think I can hook a new OEM ID mid to the sub channel and play it? If I hook it to the front or back channels do you think it'll be playing too high?

[Timmah318]

I would suspect breaking in speakers has about as much a noticable difference as using 100 dollar per foot cable. That is, negligible. With all the other factors associated with how our cars sound different depending on the environment (and state of our listening ability at any one time), I would be extremely surprised if breaking in speakers was worth the effort. I'm not saying its a bad idea if you wanna waste some time, but IMO I dont think its worth the effort.

[Thumper26]

timmah, i'm going to have to disagree with you. some speakers may not be as affected by it as others are, but there are some where it's night and day. think about it: the power from the amp energizes the voice coil, which is moved up and down due to the strength of the magnet on the speaker and the alternating current from the amp. as it moves the spider and surround, they get more flexible, therefore giving less resistance to the coil and cone being moved, and therefore the speaker plays more efficiently and is better able to be controlled by the power sent to it. on a pair of walmart coaxials, you prolly won't ever hear a difference. On a set of Hybrid L3's, play one in a closet for a couple of days, then compare them a to b. It's very noticeable.

Or you just have really sucky hearing and don't need anything more than cheap walmart coaxials... ;)

[captainobvious]

How much can a bad 1 or 2 watt clock radio break in component sets as its not going to move the cones very much? Also, would the very high distortion rate be a cause for concern ?

[Thumper26]

it could have been negligable on that aspect. it was playing 20-20k pink noise in 1 minute bursts for a week straight. it may have not helped a lot, but i figured something is better than nothing. the cone was being moved, which is about all i can ask for. :p

[robbyho]

I have an article on my site about this: http://artofnoiseaudio.com/articles.php?antfile=a_breaking_in_a_subwoofer

There have been a few studies done on this. Tom Nousaine did one and published the results, but for the life of me I can't find it. In this article he discusses some of his conclusions.

http://bruce.coppola.name/audio/BurnInLegend.pdf

Basically all the tests that have been done conclude :

Post break-in parameters change occur early into break-in (within seconds or minutes)
Pre and post break-in specs are within tolerance of manufacturers posted specs.
Variations in manufacturer specs will have more impact than variations in pre/post break-in specs.
Changes usually revert back to original specs as the driver settles(due to cooling, settling, etc.)
Parameters change in such a way that the box size and the frequency response are not effected.


If your driver sounds different after break-in, then it is you getting used to the sound and not the sound changing.

[ItalynStylion]

I just got an IDMAX and it asks that you break the sub in. It had a piece of bright yellow paper with WARNING printed on it in huge bold letters.

I think it is more intended to loosen up the sub a little bit before nearing the mechanical limits during play time. If I were to go try and run a 4:20 mile without stretching I would probably injure myself because my range of motion isn't quite enough to work at that level of exertion. Same probably goes for a sub/speaker.

[MarkZ]

as it moves the spider and surround, they get more flexible, therefore giving less resistance to the coil and cone being moved, and therefore the speaker plays more efficiently and is better able to be controlled by the power sent to it.

Err...if a "more flexible" surround was desired, then all the manufacturers would work towards making them more flexible. But they don't.

In other words, "more flexible" is not the same as better.

[cvjoint]

I think some folks here might notice a slightly softer suspension due to temperature rise and then incorectly attribute it to break in. 5F increase will do much more to a speaker than a year of break in. I feel that some car audio subs have too high of a QTS sometimes, or the overall Q hits the celing. I love it when the summer comes along and smooths things out a bit. :)

[Thumper26]

Err...if a "more flexible" surround was desired, then all the manufacturers would work towards making them more flexible. But they don't.

In other words, "more flexible" is not the same as better.

it depends on what the goal of the speaker is. the surrounds on my dyns are about as thin and flimsy feeling as i've ever felt. i think the surround on the Hybrid L3 felt stiffer. i think the spider is what has a lot to do with it though. to me, that's what ends up needing to break in the most. And like i said before, you may not notice it on every speaker. But there are some out there that have a very noticeable difference after a break in period.

[MarkZ]

it depends on what the goal of the speaker is. the surrounds on my dyns are about as thin and flimsy feeling as i've ever felt. i think the surround on the Hybrid L3 felt stiffer. i think the spider is what has a lot to do with it though. to me, that's what ends up needing to break in the most. And like i said before, you may not notice it on every speaker. But there are some out there that have a very noticeable difference after a break in period.

Well, sure, it always depends on your goals. But just keep in mind that some people choose drivers that have stiffer surrounds. Ultimately, the choice is governed by the QTC you're chasing, power handling requirements, etc. Like I said, more pliable surrounds are not equivalent to "better" surrounds. And if you've modeled your system based on non broken-in measurements (assuming break-in is real and permanent and substantial, which most experiments have not shown, by the way...), then you don't want the compliance to change.

[ItalynStylion]

I just got a CD in the mail that I'm using to break in the IDMAX. It's a hang drum CD that has a song on there with a didgeridoo accompaniment. It's like a constant 50-80hz test tone with variations. I need to play some other stuff too though because the sub is barely even moving!

[Megalomaniac]

I just got a CD in the mail that I'm using to break in the IDMAX. It's a hang drum CD that has a song on there with a didgeridoo accompaniment. It's like a constant 50-80hz test tone with variations. I need to play some other stuff too though because the sub is barely even moving!

we need a build day meet asap! I want to hear it

[ItalynStylion]

Dude, it's gonna be sick...check out the thread in the "Other Audio" section for updates ;)

[oren]

What is the recommanded full procedure for breaking in new speakers?