[ebag4]

I can't really tell from day to day anymore... (between day 1 and 2 was a big difference, day 2 to 3 noticeable also, by now there's nothing that immediately stands out to me)

This is the heart of the matter.  Most will and have disagreed with me on this, but I do not believe in 'break-in'.  Sure, 'spiders' change compliance over time but not substantially.  What people see as the driver changing is in fact their mind changing.  You become accustomed to the sound.  It is different than what you had before so the first few days are fresh and new and odd.  Then you get used to it and your memory of the sound of your old speakers fades while the sound of the new speakers becomes 'normal'.  THIS is break in.  It's brain break in.  There is a huge difference between your perception of the sound quality of new speakers at day 2 as compared to day 32.  I've noticed that my perception of the sound varies quite alot with just my emotional state at the time of listening as well.

Danny of GR Research posted a thread on the measurable changes that occur during break in, do a search it is worth a read.  Drivers definitely break in during the first number of hours of use.

Best,
Ed

edit:
forget the search, here is a link:  http://www.gr-research.com/burnin.htm  and another document:  http://www.gr-research.com/myths.htm

[planet10]

Most will and have disagreed with me on this, but I do not believe in 'break-in'.  Sure, 'spiders' change compliance over time but not substantially.  What people see as the driver changing is in fact their mind changing. 

Hard to align that line of thot against having 2 pair of the same speakers in a room, one well broken in, one freshly assembled. It becomes VERY clear that the speaker does break in, and that it is not a pysho-acoustic phenomona (some of that does happen, but it does not negate driver breakin)

dave

[Arlo]

I'm in a room looking at 2 pairs of speakers.  One has 100 hours, one has none.  I know in my mind that the 'broken-in' pair will sound better and sound better it does.   

I remember buying a kicker 10" Solobaric sub years ago.  The literature said the sub would vastly improve after the long break in, but I could never tell.

I have a pair of AN super eights here and they get a workout every day; sometimes near their limits, but I've never noticed changes in performance that would allow me to use the word 'VERY'.  And they have hundreds of hours on them.

Think about our 1mm xmax drivers.  Is 1mm enough to s t r e t c h out that spider to make a huge difference in the sound?  I don't believe so.  It's the same cone, same magnet, same coil - all of which don't change.  And if burn in was that big of a deal, they would prestretch them like they do with chainsaw chains.  Do I believe there are measurable differences?  Sure.   

I think things like the Enable process will allow me to use words like very and huge and way better etc.  Bud's working on a pair for me right now I can't wait!!!

I gotta chuckle every time I read a review and someone says 'after 200hours they really opened up and started to amaze me'.  Just like WOW changing my steel screws with brass ones like oddiophile said really transformed my Watt Puppy 7s!!  Gimme a break.  No pun intended ha!

Tell ya what though.  If you blind test 2pairs of speakers, one broken in and one not - and get it right 25 out of 25 tries, then I'll shut my mou...I mean stop my fingers.    

[acresm22]

Interesting. Is the break-in mantra something unique to single driver enthusiasts, particularly Fostex drivers? I frequented a local high-end audio shop in the late 90s and early 00s, and don't recall ever hearing anyone talk about a break-in period needed for Wilson, Krell or Sonus Faber speakers.

[planet10]

and don't recall ever hearing anyone talk about a break-in period needed for Wilson, Krell or Sonus Faber speakers.

And can't speak for the 1st 2, but the local dealer does Sonus Faber and won't put them out for serious demo until they have at least a solid week on them... they even have a room they use for break-in.

dave

[knut_the_viking]

I can't really tell from day to day anymore... (between day 1 and 2 was a big difference, day 2 to 3 noticeable also, by now there's nothing that immediately stands out to me)

This is the heart of the matter.  Most will and have disagreed with me on this, but I do not believe in 'break-in'.  Sure, 'spiders' change compliance over time but not substantially.  What people see as the driver changing is in fact their mind changing.  You become accustomed to the sound.  It is different than what you had before so the first few days are fresh and new and odd.  Then you get used to it and your memory of the sound of your old speakers fades while the sound of the new speakers becomes 'normal'.  THIS is break in.  It's brain break in.  There is a huge difference between your perception of the sound quality of new speakers at day 2 as compared to day 32.  I've noticed that my perception of the sound varies quite alot with just my emotional state at the time of listening as well.

That may be. The sound did take some getting used to, as it was different than my previous Insignia BestBuy speakers. My ears and brain certainly broke in. Or broke - in general.

An anecdote, if I may, about those speakers:
I got a pair of said Insignia speakers, and put them to work with my Sonic Impact Super-T amp.
They sounded pretty bad, so they just played at a certain volume all day while I was at work.
I got used to the sound after a couple weeks. Sounded OK for what I was using it for.
Then, I clearly heard scratching in one of the speakers, when playing a certain track. Heard it clearly. Didn't hear it in my iPod with any headphones. (Or earplugs. I don't have good headphones, however)
Anyway; I decided to take them back to BestBuy and swap them for a new pair, on the off chance that the scratching was caused by the speaker.
The new pair was placed on the same stands as the previous ones were sitting on not two hours previous.
I started playing some favorite tracks and was immediately reminded how terrible the first pair sounded the first couple of days.
So, I experienced an inverse break-in, and within a couple hours got back to the 'day one'-sound. And it was not good...
The end.

As I said, this was anecdotal, but I thought the immediate negating of any break-in the first pair had gotten, certainly had a profound effect on my ears.
All of this proves nothing, of course.

Oh, and that scratching noise? Turns out it was on the recording 

(No people or animals were harmed during the writing of this post, but a lot of electrons were terribly inconvenienced)