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Speaker Burn In?

Many components including speakers are said to require burn in of some period of time before they will reach their peak performance. Speakers like Magnepan are notorious for long burn in periods. Even cables are said to require burn in. Now I an faced with a set of speakers that need upwards of 240 hours burn in before they will 'open up' and play their best.

When faced with a required burn in how to yo do that burn it? Do you simply let it run it's course of time during your normal playback schedule or do you run the system 24/7 until the required time has been met? Are there other methods that can be used? Is their an accepted preferred method? And does the volume being played for burn in have an impact? Do higher volumes 'drive' the component harder and therefore provide a better burn in or to moderate or low volumes achieve the same goal?

In the past I have simply ignored the burn in as an effort and allowed the time to occur 'naturally' during my normal playback times. But with my last several components I have been more mindful of burn in and the recommended hours to optimum performance. Right now I am burning in a pair of speakers. I am about 40 hours in on non-stop playback. My normal listening level is from 72 to 81 on my system. When I leave the house or go to bed I drop the volume to 60 to 63. It is audible and in fact at this early time (3:40 AM) locally it even seems a little loud. How do you deal with this process?

Important process or waste of time thinking about it?
mwheelerk
magfan
1,583 posts
 
The capacitors may actually need more time to settle than any other part.

My panels had image shifts and cutouts for a couple hours...at decreasing frequency. By 20 hours the caps were formed and the speaker was 90% 'there'.

Don't worry about it. I'd suggest letting the new speakers cool periodically, too.
Play normally and you'll be ok.

600 hour burn in? Wacky. That's almost 7 months at 20 hours / week.

How much 'break in' time for the speakers is actually your EARS / brain adjusting?
st01
36 posts
 
I just bought a pair of B&w 802 Diamonds and a Classe 2300 to drive them. They sound great right out of the box after being delivered on a chilly morning. Letting them burn in with use, which is heavier during the holiday period.

The Sony 5400ES took a week to sound good and two weks of 24/7 burn in to sound its best. Same for the etymotic headphones i use with my ipod.

So it seems to depend on the units and i would not generalize.
philjolet's avatar
philjolet
2,262 posts
 
this came up a few weeks ago so you may want to check the archives
xti16
1,495 posts
 
Polk432 - I understand what you are saying an have a good point but there is some gear that requires a longer break-in when purchasing new. If you consider 600 hr burn in that would only be 25 days running at 24/7. I know 24/7 is not an option for everyone. There is always pre-owned. I personally would rather support my local authorized dealer and not have to worry about any warranty issues should they arise. Also when I first bought the C1's my dealer brought over his personal pair to make sure that is what I really wanted. That way I knew what I would end up with regardless of how long the break-in time was (not many dealers do that). But I'm impatient and did the 24/7 route (16 1/2 days).
polk432
1,116 posts
 
600 hours.. are you kidding me? I have Martin and Gibson Guitars that are supposed to sound better after years of play and sitting, but.... if they do not sound good right off the bat (just like speakers) I'm not buying. It's just good business sense, but that's why I retired at 48. Best of luck.
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