[snaimpally]

I always thought speaker break-in was a myth. When I got into car audio, I bought raw drivers and had them installed in my car. I used to swap out components every so often, just to try out new stuff. I had a headunit (Pioneer PRS800) with auto-eq and time alignment. I had a 20-30 minute commute to and from work so used to listen to the system every day.

Initially, I would buy used drivers, as I was a member of a forum and members were always buying and selling stuff. However, when I bought new drivers, I started to notice that the imaging would become more 3 dimensional after a period of time. This proved to me that there is speaker break-in, especially after I experienced it with multiple drivers.

After some experimentation, I settled on drivers that I liked (Scanspeak 2904/6000 tweeters and Seas W18NX woofers) and started trying out subwoofers. At one point I got a used JL Audio 12" sub and had it re-coned. After a few weeks, I got in the car one morning, and the imaging was more 3 dimensional and I couldn't figure out why, because the woofers and tweeters hadn't changed iand the subwoofer was used. Then I realized that the reconed sub had broken in. That kind of blew my mind. FYI the most transparent sub I ever had, which I hung on to for many years, was the original Morel Ultimo 12. Several of my friends who heard my setup ended up buying it as well. It provided bass but you were often left wondering if it was even on because it didn't make its presence felt, unlike most other subwoofers.

One thing I started doing when I bought new tweeters or woofers was to break them in by playing a CD of pink noise with the CD player set to repeat and the volume moderately loud. I would do it for a few hours every evening while my car was in the garage.

[Early B.]

Yes, expectation bias is real, but not for significant changes.

Definition: Expectation bias describes how pre-conceived notions and expectations can influence perception, interpretation, and outcomes.
We expect speakers to take the time to break in, and the results can be significant, as several people have described in this thread.

I'm a huge proponent of break-in, and I'm merely pointing out there are many other factors to consider than an oversimplification that speaker cones and caps need a 300-hour pre-workout to sound their best.

So, do speakers break in? Of course they do (it's measurable!), but how long it takes is an endless and useless debate. Whether it's 3 hours or 300 hours, the difference only matters to you. Nonetheless, you can't talk about break-in and burn-in without acknowledging the potential role of psychacoustics and expectation bias.

As audiophiles, we constantly attempt to rationalize what we perceive sonically, and we typically think our individual perceptions are "truer" than those of others. Our other senses operate in the same ambiguity. No one sees, hears, feels, smells, or tastes precisely like you. If you ask 100 people to look at the same image and describe what they see, you'll get 101 different responses.     
   

[Volti Audio]

A couple of years ago, I decided to do a FR sweep on a pair of Rival speakers pre break-in and after 100 hours of break-in and there was no difference seen in the measurements.  But as I've said, I can hear a noticeable difference after just a few hours of music playing through them. 

Greg

[planet10]

Yes they do.

Both spider (if one exists) and surround are mechanical devices that change as they are initially used.

How much break-in depends on the driver. One designer explained he designed a spider/surround thatb took 1500 hrs to break-in. Far from typical.

Most of my experience has been with FR drivers. Having to do such a hard job, break-in can be more critical.

As an example a typical Mark Audio FR should get at least 100 hrs gentle break-in, but the ms = monoSuspension versions onlyntake about a tenth that.

I suspect that drivers with greater potential DDR & FR extention require more careful break-in.

dave

[Volti Audio]

Maybe my speakers do take a hundred or hundreds of hours to break in and I'm just one of those people who doesn't care! 

I am, after all, trying to NOT hear the system when I sit down to listen to music. 

I don't own a pair of Volti speakers that I call my own.  I change from one pair to another that I pull from my stock room when I'm up for a change.  The system always sounds great to me and I can easily relax to the music and not even think about the gear. 

Greg

[toocool4]

Greg, I’m not interested in listening to the gear I just want to hear the music. For me, it’s always been about enjoying the music itself, not obsessing over equipment. Even when I buy or borrow new gear while considering an upgrade, I simply plug it in and listen over several days or weeks. Eventually, I’ll switch back to my original setup to see if anything truly feels missing.

I never do quick A/B comparisons. If I did, I’d probably notice the flashy elements that are designed to grab your attention right away but those aren’t always meaningful. In fact, the very thing that stands out immediately might end up being what annoys me later on.

It’s like that loud, entertaining person who’s the life of the party fun for a moment, sure, but not someone you’d necessarily want to live with.

[Early B.]

Maybe my speakers do take a hundred or hundreds of hours to break in and I'm just one of those people who doesn't care! 

Yep. After a while, who cares if it gets better over time? The only thing that matters is what the system sounds like in the moment.