Speaker Break In...? Or listener “Break In”?

It is both. 

I also think that an explanation for the range of opinions on speakers in part is that everyone hears slightly differently. 

I’ve also noticed that my speakers can sometimes sound differently depending on the temperature and humidity. Has anyone else noticed this? Could it be that the magnet is picking up a charge from the moisture in the air? 

@unreceivedogma- Changes in temp and humidity, are also mentioned in some of the above studies, as affecting TS parameters. Then too; sound propagates somewhat differently, with those changes. The disparity of aural acuity, between individuals(not to mention training/experience/perception and maybe: simply denial), is why(I’m certain), some don’t/can’t/refuse to hear the changes made by fuses, cables and speaker break-in. I don’t believe EVERY system, goes through(or- can resolve) changes that ARE audible/obvious. Some, no doubt, simply want to enjoy their music and not be bothered with listening that intently. Some of us have engaged these issues professionally. So many variables!

This just in!

Taken from the XLO Test CD information regarding track 9, the system burn-in tack,

”Most loudspeakers require SUBSTANTIAL burn-in time (as much as 200 hours) before achieving full performance.”

Yes, I know what you’re thinking, “But they’re selling a burn-in CD! Hel-loo!” 😬

I really do wish that there WASN'T break in for speakers. No doubt, some more than others, have a distinct amount of change. Yes, I do try to 'adjust' my hearing or impression at first, just so I can listen to some music, but if a driver has a midrange sibilance to it for example, it will be impossible for me to listen at all. One set of Audio Nirvana speakers sounded so bad for the first 4 hours, maybe more, that I wanted to send them back. By the end of the first day(in my shop, playing louder and louder) there was a very noticable change. Some things are not so easy to believe until you have heard them happen more than once.

As I’ve been reporting on another thread, burn-in of new HIFIMAN RE-600S V2 earphones is progressing nicely. Right out of the box they sounded terrible - tinny, distorted, no bass, and wimpy. 1 out of 10. And there was very little change the first 200 hours, using Kraftwerk, B-52s and Beastie Boys CDs for the first 150 hours, continuous play, then the burn-in track on the XLO Test CD for the next 100 hours or so. At the 250 hour mark the sound is finally much more musical, the distortion is gone and there is some bass, which I have my fingers crossed 🤞 will get better. Why these earphones should take so long to burn in is a mystery. Is it the single crystal copper conductors in the new cable? Who knows?