dan2017 Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 i just got a pair of RB-35's hooked up to my harman kardon 125 and they sound great....but dont speakers generally sound better after they get some break in time. (they were brand new ou5t of the box when i got them) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TBrennan Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 No. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No Disc Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Lot's of differing opinions on this question. I would not certainly judge them until you have had more time on them. If the crossover uses caps, then the sound should smooth out as time passes. Cable wire also seems to improve with usage, so my belief is that they will sound better after a few hundred hours. Let your own ears be the judge. I could be fooling myself, but my RB-5 IIs did seem to smooth out after a period of time. Could be attributed to the speaker wire, which I had purchased at the same time. -tb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Drivers take some time to break in as well.... No Tom hates anything like this but I have seen it on a number of pieces of gear, some worse than others. Believe what you want - this is what I have found to be true in cartridges, gear, and speakers. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Just to add to the confusuion...you also have to wait for your ears and brain to "break in". Better or Worse? over time?....Well that's a completely personal question. Pleas let us know what YOU think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
garymd Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 ---------------- On 10/10/2003 7:09:40 PM mobile homeless wrote: Drivers take some time to break in as well.... No Tom hates anything like this but I have seen it on a number of pieces of gear, some worse than others. Believe what you want - this is what I have found to be true in cartridges, gear, and speakers. kh ---------------- You think cartridges have a break-in period too? Could that be why my vinyl started sounding better, much better recently? I probably have only 20-30 hours on the V15. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 I was firmly in the camp of "nothing changes". However, a technical book by the well respected Dr. Joe D'Appalito said that some manufacturers say there can be a shift in performance. How much and how long it takes is not described. I do still think it is a matter of getting used to it. For example, when I've not listened to system for a few months, it seems harsh. Specifically the home made Khorns (well broken in) compared to the Forte II (which I listen to daily). Certainly the response and rooms are very different. However, after a few hours, things sound better. You well may find things improve a bit. The good news is that no matter what the reason, it happens. One thing is that no one has reported things getting worse after break-in. Something to consider. Smile Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundthought Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Gil- Amen....your last statement says it all. Kudos, my friend. How true. If anything, in theory the rubber/foam surrounds are in a constant state of elastic change from the moment they are produced due to evaporation. There is more validity to cable theory in how it relates to dialectric absorbtion. Possibly, the cables within an enclosure do "burn in" with use. But only to the extent of supersaturation of the dialectric, then it would remain constant until they go without use for a week or so. So, with that in mind, The defining factor of "burn in" time would directly relate to the cable type used in the enclosure and the material used for the surround. I think..... Regards John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soundthought Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Oh. BTW. Carol is right. The PsychoAcoustic factor must not be ruled out. Regards, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygmn Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 If the change is ever sso slight over time....until it gets to where it is "broken in" how would you know...as the subtle changes would not register with your ears .. Like the frog in cold water and turn up the heat until it boils and it will not jump out.... I cannot fathom how you could tell the difference from Day 1 to day 356...not unless you break something and blow a driver.... IMO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BBB Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 ---------------- On 10/10/2003 8:22:54 PM Audioreality wrote: Oh. BTW. Carol is right. The PsychoAcoustic factor must not be ruled out. Regards, John ---------------- I can't seem to face up to the facts I'm tense and nervous and I can't relax I can't sleep 'cause my bed's on fire Don't touch me I'm a real live wire Psycho Acoustic Qu'est-ce que c'est? Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far far better Run run run run run run run away Psycho Acoustic Qu'est-ce que c'est? Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far far better Run run run run run run run away You start a conversation you can't even finish it. You're talkin' a lot, but you're not sayin' anything. When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed. Say something once, why say it again? Psycho Acoustic, Qu'est-ce que c'est? Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far far better Run run run run run run run away Psycho Acoustic Qu'est-ce que c'est? Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far far better Run run run run run run run away Oh oh oh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh ,oh oh oh oh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluless Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 ygmn - sorry for "snippetizing" your post, but.. "Like the frog in cold water and turn up the heat until it boils and it will not jump out...." He he...Does this work with people also...? "I cannot fathom how you could tell the difference from Day 1 to day 356...not unless you break something and blow a driver...." As both Audio Reality and BBB hinted, I'm a big PsychoAudio eeejit. Every day is a new listening experience for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 i think of all answers clueless has it right, even when buying vintage gear there seems to be a break in time, but how can this be? it is like clueless says, it is the brain break in that really counts to me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynnm Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 No but once the wires break in the system will sound much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hurdy_gurdyman Posted October 11, 2003 Share Posted October 11, 2003 I was recently at a get together at the Decware establishment. There were three pairs of new speakers there with brand new drivers with almost no time on them. We listened to the first pair. These had a very harsh treble with a somewhat hard upper midrange. We listened most of the night, mostly to that pair of speakers, then listened some more in the morning. We all noticed that things were smoothing out nicely. Later in the day we listened to the third pair that hadnt been played yet. They had a harsh treble and hard mids. Just to be sure, we listened again to the first pair. Much smoother all around. You can make of this what you will, but all of us who attened this and heard both speakers right from the beginning are convinced that at least a few hours of break in makes a very noticable difference. It would be interesting to take two new pairs of the same drivers and box one pair up and store them, then play the other pair for a couple of months, then play the new boxed up pair. I suspect there would be a very noticable difference. Dave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
formica Posted October 12, 2003 Share Posted October 12, 2003 I have had very little experience with new speakers (most of my speakers were bought used), so I can't comment about the break in period... but this makes me wonder about another effect I have noticed quite distinctly, but am unsure if it's real or psychoacoustic... "Warm up" with solid state amplifiers or perhaps the speakers themselves? I've always found my systems sounded better after they've been on playing something for a little while... even if I wasn't there to listen to the warm up or let my brain get used to it. Is there any research to back this up, or do I just think it sounds better? The reason I ask this is that I recently tried an ABX distortion test, and realised on how difficult it is to compare two samples which are not played back-to-back... so comparing small differences of the same setup several days apart may be quite difficult. Just thought I'd throw it on the table... Rob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ygmn Posted October 12, 2003 Share Posted October 12, 2003 ---------------- On 10/11/2003 6:28:25 PM cluless wrote: ygmn - sorry for "snippetizing" your post, but.. "Like the frog in cold water and turn up the heat until it boils and it will not jump out...." He he...Does this work with people also...? ---------------- I dunno.....I know a certain ex wife I would like to test this on hehehe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile homeless Posted October 12, 2003 Share Posted October 12, 2003 Believe what you want. It's one of those painful debates that goes round and round. I personally have heard "break in" with a number of types of gear, this beyond your ear-brain simply getting used to the sound. Others disagree. Your choice. Just remember when auditioning new gear to take it into account. I feel bad for those that dont. kh Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leok Posted October 12, 2003 Share Posted October 12, 2003 There are plenty of electrical and mechanical devices in a speaker that change rapidly in the first few hundred hours of operation. Two examples are stiffness of flexing materials (mechanical) and capacitors (electrical). I have seen oscilloscope traces showing current spikes that are part of the break-in process for capacitors during a process in which material flaws "heal" by forming oxides where defects exist. In higher power, low impedance circuits, new caps sometimes fail during this process. In the less stressful audio application, there is a period of conduction that is not in line with the capacitance value. Things like wires .. well I don't know of much that changing significantly there. leok Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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