[mvalentiner]

I have a pair of M4s en route. Any info on how best to break them in? Continuous play? Volume levels?

[DaveWin88]

I have a pair of M4s en route. Any info on how best to break them in? Continuous play? Volume levels?

mvalentiner Are you're thoughts to make sure they'll be at there best before the trial period? If not I say just play them as normal.

[Alex-San]

Don't overthink it too much. Listen when you feel like listening. Mine sounded absolutely fabulous from the beginning.

[AllanS]

M4 also since March.  Some will chime in saying they’re hearing improvements over hundreds of hours.  I don’t doubt that but my ears aren’t that sensitive.

The most obvious difference to me was in the first 50 hours or so and that was mainly imaging tightening up.  I didn’t and don’t do anything other than listen at quite moderate levels.

I don’t know if electron handling stuff care about power levels but it makes sense that the mechanical stuff - motors and surrounds - would benefit from higher excursions.

[Bingenito]

Send me those M4s and I will do some super secret 🐿 stuff and send them back to you in 2 months for a nominal fee of $300

All kidding aside if you have a streamer, stream as often as you can at moderate to loud levels. To another members point the mechanical excursion helps break in and caps in the crossover need play time as well.

All speakers need breakin. With certain caps your speaker can sound fantastic for 3 weeks and then 1 day they sound shrill… the next day back to normal. That is caps so dont freak out. Just play the speakers and walk away.

[DaveWin88]

As for the sound right out of the box, the M100 uniwave will take your head off for the first 50ish hours. AllanS is right about the imaging. The hundreds of hours really is a thing. I have vinyl and about 3-4 times more cd's. Vinyl is the only thing that saved face right out of the gate. Cd's always had some level of offensiveness (that's what I call it) comparatively. Fast forward to around 300 hours for myself and sometimes I have to remind myself I'm listening to a cd. The M100 has really softened / relaxed, however one wants to say it, but it really, really improved in the last couple weeks. So yeah seeing that around 50% of the sound comes from that little bugger it does take time.

[Tyson]

I run my speakers at moderate levels while I'm home, at louder volumes when I'm out running errands, and at night I put on pink noise at low volumes.  So the speakers get 24x7 burn in with a variety of sources.  I also know I'm a bit crazy

[morganc]

Break in :  highest volume tolerable with the most dynamic music possible. You can also. Over the speakers with a thick blanket. What I did was crank mine as high as possible every time I left the house. 

[morganc]

I run my speakers at moderate levels while I'm home, at louder volumes when I'm out running errands, and at night I put on pink noise at low volumes.  So the speakers get 24x7 burn in with a variety of sources.  I also know I'm a bit crazy

Yes.  This too. Night time low volume

[Tarheel]

This is what I did for the break in of my M4s.  Covered them with heavy quilts and played them 12 hours on 4 hours off.  Used an old Pioneer receiver (not tubes). Cloud recommended that schedule in a call to Spatial Audio Lab.  Apparently this method allows the basket/cones to settle in.

I intended to follow this plan for 100 hours but around 85 hours I had to take a listen.  At that point the quilts returned to the closet their work done

[mvalentiner]

Thank for the info and the tips every one especially the blankets and quilts. My neighbors will appreciate that. 

Btw, they arrived right after I made the original post. I have them set up and situated in the room. They truly sound fantastic. The soundstage is incredible.

[Tyson]

It's always interesting to hear people's first impressions of Spatial speakers.  If you're coming from moderately priced box speakers, then the Spatials almost always blow the new owner away with their sound quality.  Because the Spatials are truly in a higher class than those speakers. 

On the other hand, if the new owner had other very good OB speakers (or even very good box speakers), then there's more emphasis on the speakers needing 100 hours to smooth out and start to reach their potential.

Oh, and congrats on the new (reference level) speakers!

[DaveWin88]

Send me those M4s and I will do some super secret 🐿 stuff and send them back to you in 2 months for a nominal fee of $300

All kidding aside if you have a streamer, stream as often as you can at moderate to loud levels. To another members point the mechanical excursion helps break in and caps in the crossover need play time as well.

All speakers need breakin. With certain caps your speaker can sound fantastic for 3 weeks and then 1 day they sound shrill… the next day back to normal. That is caps so dont freak out. Just play the speakers and walk away.

This is my experience also. Sounding great like you've rounded a corner than back to a bit of harshness. You guys have been pretty much spot on. Until you're experienced the same changes yourself, it can be difficult to believe. Not that we don't think people here are on the up and up, it just takes oneself experience. 

[AllanS]

It's always interesting to hear people's first impressions of Spatial speakers.  If you're coming from moderately priced box speakers, then the Spatials almost always blow the new owner away with their sound quality.  Because the Spatials are truly in a higher class than those speakers. 

On the other hand, if the new owner had other very good OB speakers (or even very good box speakers), then there's more emphasis on the speakers needing 100 hours to smooth out and start to reach their potential.

Oh, and congrats on the new (reference level) speakers!

Interesting observation…