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speaker break-in, how loud?

I have a pair of B&W 602's that I have had for about 2 months now. When I was breaking them in and now when I listen I only play them a little louder than I would have the TV.(courtesy to neighbors)
Should I play them louder to truly break them in? Will they not be able to handle it a few years down the road if I do turn them up really loud?
twitt15aed
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Surely you shouldn't drive your speakers to clipping.
I'd say to stay aware of initial "critical testing" for 50...60 hours.
corona
132 posts
 
What you are breaking-in is copper,in the binding posts,internal wire,drivers,crossover parts. This normally takes about 330 hrs. of music signal played at normal listening levels.
flex
292 posts
 
Oh c'mon. Copper is hardly the only part breaking in with new speakers. Consider the rubber driver surrounds, drivers themselves, and driver - voice coil assembly for starters. There is more to audio than metallurgy.
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Flex is right.
The break-in is mostly on the mechanical domain rather than contact or electric.
It's sort-of proccess of gettin' used to stress in the voice coil and diffusor mostly.
boccaccio70's avatar
boccaccio70
6 posts
 
What about In the case of a hybrid electrostatic and dynamic combo? I won a pair of Martin Logan EM-ESL hybrids with an curved elctrostatic panel and an 8" Woofer . Should I play them at medium levels continiously for 200 hours, or at various volume levels from ppp to fff, with 1/2 hour breaks, over the same amount of hours?
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