Speaker break in?

I can not explain it, I am not the sort who believes in things that can't be backed by science- but for some reason new gear needs time to break in all of it! I have never heard a new component that with in the first week in my system sounded the same as it did in the begining. The most recent mystery event was a video cable! I went to a component video cable going to my projector and from the start to the end of the film you could see a HUGE improvement in depth and color- it was unusual. The week prior I was blown away on how the new cd player and interconnect went from sounding pretty good to sounding incredible- soundstage was more rounded, everything sounded different(and for the better). New speakers are showing up next week and I am looking forward to hearing the difference there again, even outlets break in! I just don't get it- but I like it!! ~Tim

In my experience speakers undergo some of the biggest changes in break-in of any component, I think largely because they involve not only internal cabling and electronics but also the mechnical movement of the drivers. I'm now breaking in a pair of speakers(notorious for extremely long break-in times) that were all but unlistenable for the first few weeks of playing time, but have recently started to settle in. I broke in another pair from the same manufacturer a few years ago and experienced the same thing, and they continued to change significantly for at least first two to three months of constant playing. The company says it is a combination of the materials such as the thick rubber surrounds and spiders as they gradually loosen up that plays a large part in the drastic change in sound over time, and this time varies quite a bit from maker to maker depending on design and materials used. I was told that if I wanted to expedite the process I could turn up the bass/treble controls to their max settings, but I'd be careful with the volume so as not to do any damage. Although I have also noticed some change in electronic components, break-in has not been nearly as severe as with speakers in my experience, but still significant.

Unlike the other Tim, I hate the break-in process -- although it is interesting to go through, I'd much rather just get right to the good stuff. It's also a shame that many people seem to judge equipment before it's been fully run in, which doesn't help anybody. You should talk to Revel as to their recommendations on break-in time/method if there isn't any info in the manual.

Tim

My Thiels were quite harsh when I got them. I let them play at medium volume while I was at work. The recommended break in was 100 hours. They definitely mellowed out over this amount of time. Think about this: The speaker manufacturer are using broken-in components and drivers during their design process. If they make a change to a driver, they will first break the driver in and then analyze the changes that were made. So, your speakers will not sound like the manufacturer intended them to until they are broken in. The highs will probably be harsh and inaccurate because the materials are not pliable enough to move 15,000 times a second when they are stiff and new.

Of course, on the other extreme, after years of use, speakers could wear out. In other words, the materials have lost their elasticity and are slightly deformed which makes them unable to accurately reproduce the audio.

There is definitely no mystery about speaker break-in. It is a real deal. Now, somebody please tell me how a cable breaks in!

Hey Bufus, don't change my thread! Let's stick with speakers.

My experience with a new set of speakers was similar. My VR4 Gen III's were unlistenable when first played. I followed the manufacturer's recommended break-in of 100 hours of LOUD music & now 5 months later they sound fantastic.

Interestingly during this break-in process my amp apparently had never been run very hard & it finished breaking in too. It is 7 years old & I've had it just shy of a year. How do I know the amp wasn't broken in? I could smell an electronic smell coming from it the first two times I ran the VR's hard. My dealer suggested it had been run long & hard enough to finally heat up everything to complete the process. The manufacturer corroborated this.