The physiology of human auditory perception is highly adaptive. So we get used to what we listen to regularly. Theoretically, in the electronics, including crossovers, some time might be required to polarise electrolytic capacitors. This should not take too long unless they are deteriorated. Again, the mechanical parts of the drivers’ suspensions might just loosen up a little. I think this is more likely than the former to be audible. But, I think both of these factors are likely to pale into insignificance in comparison with the adaptation of our auditory perception, to transducers with a new sound signature. Our perception is extremely good at not hearing things that are interpreted unconsciously as noise, or “non-signal”, for example, the clatter of plates and cutlery, & the chatter of other diners, in a restaurant. Take a recording in that environment and play it back in a quiet environment and you will immediately notice what you had not noticed when you were there. Thus, speakers may appear to lose excessive sibilance as we adapt to them. Similarly, our auditory system is incredibly good at filling in the missing components of music that we expect to be hearing. This is one of the reasons that some small speakers appear to have such amazing bass; they reproduce the higher harmonics of the fundamental frequencies accurately, so even if the fundamental frequencies are barely audible it will sound to us as if they are.
To those who swear that breaking in must be real because their speakers sound better after playing for days without listening to them, I ask this. How do you separate your perception from your expectations? I don’t think this is actually possible. Anyone who leaves their speakers playing in another room without listening to them for weeks is, in my opinion, very likely to have high expectations that breaking in will improve them. Otherwise, why bother? And so, they now sound better to you. Placebo response is measured in clinical settings and demonstrated to have very significant effect. Don’t underestimate it! Want to eliminate it? Do a randomised double blind control trial. If you want to know how to design such a trial, ask me. This post is too long already.
My advice? Don’t sweat it. If your system sounds better after some time, just be grateful. But it it sounds horrible on demonstration in the store, don’t buy it with the expectation that it will improve significantly. If it sounds worse over time you need to upgrade, very carefully.
I ask you; If breaking in is as significant, as some claim, then how come it’s not been measured? If anyone knows of such Objective measurements, then please enlighten me.
Enjoy your new old speakers. If they get better as you listen to them, then that’s wonderful, but don’t fuss about how that is happening. It’s probably your amazing brain doing what it evolved to do; perceiving, not just hearing.
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Wouldn’t surprise me. Hell, my Maggie LRS sound better after an hour of playing if I don’t use them for a few days. Could be just my ears but I have noticed this numerous times.
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Thanks for the responses so far. I was considering being one of those OP’ers who start a thread and then you never ever hear from them, until their next thread- but I am not that type of person. 
I recently purchased a pair of AER BD-3 drivers and was told it could take over 100 hours for the paper cones to loosen up and settle in.
Again, new driver break is not being debated here, that has basically been concluded to be required by manufacturers, and most of our ears have accepted this to be a fact as well.
The speakers I have in question have Lowther drivers which from the Lowther USA rep require 300 hours of break in.
And yes of course my ears are being adjusted to the new speakers and their different presentation, and I am still playing around with setup positioning, and getting over a cold where one ear was plugged is also a definite factor.
My question was after 1000 hours of playing, then sitting for 5 years, should they require additional "loosening"? I am going to come to the conclusion of a "few hours", as some have suggested, not to mention the single capacitor between the Lowther and the tweeter may require a little juice to restabilize seems plausable as others have suggested.
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If the speakers sat for five years they might have stiffened up a tad, but abut a few minutes of play should be more than enough time to bring them back.
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AER BD 3's are really nice full range drivers. Do you have any specific plans on how they are going to be used?
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I recently purchased a pair of AER BD-3 drivers and was told it could take over 100 hours for the paper cones to loosen up and settle in.
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I just last night, hooked up a pair of bookshelf speakers that have not been used in 6+ months, ran them all night, and they sure sound better this morning. And it wasn't my ear/brain adjusting as I was sleeping while they were playing. Not sure why this topic seems to upset some people so much...
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So I bet that helped, toss a coin or take the answer you want…
Cheers
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I recently rotated a pair of JBL 4430s in that had been sitting unused for 12 to 18 months. I absolutely believe the speakers improved over several days and suspect part of the reason is the capacitors getting used again.
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Although previously broken in, they've sat around for 5 years. Being mechanical, they have to loosen up a bit but not as much as from brand new. You're hearing what you're hearing.
All the best,
Nonoise
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Absolutely speakers need to break-in - some need more time than others to do so.When we do hifi shows (done about 20 of these) the speakers and the system almost always sounds better on day 3. I'm currently listening to a pair of SHL5+HD - not that impressed two weeks ago when unboxed but after 24 hours a day of playing in the basement of the house for the last two weeks- they have gotten much better.
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Maybe they got stiff after sitting for so long and like someone said are loosening up a little but I'm not sure that makes sense bcs if that was the case wouldn't that imply the material of drivers are deteriorating? But who knows. However consider the crossover. I'm not sure if crossovers are similar to amps in that when they are left off for a period of time they will return to pre break in state. So that's something to consider.
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The speakers do and so does the room...need to get broken in..
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I'm thinking after the dust gets blown off the only things left are your ear/brain adjusting.
Regards,
barts
Still I would let them play for a day or two continuously to satisfy your curiosity and let that "static in the attic" go.
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You may find they sound better after a few days of playing as things loosen up but I wouldn't expect any extended break-in. But you never know just listen to music and see what happens.
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Speakers that have been sitting for several years might need to flex a little to get the suspension components working freely. Some caps, depending on the type, might even need a little time with a voltage applied to get the juices flowing again if they've been dormant for a while.
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My experience with speakers is that some sound great right out of the box, and some sound like the components of the speaker have never met each other before, until after 150 hours or so of playing time. Same with headphones. Nothing to do with anything being acclimated; I don't even listen to them most of the time they're breaking in. It's what I expect so it's no problem for me. But once they're broken in, I've found that they don't change anymore afterwards.
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I have never noticed the need for additional breakin when speakers have not been in use for a few years. I would probably have noticed.
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mechanical break in is a thing. electrical a minor thing and quick. The mechanical is from my experience the longer of the two and dependent on the speaker. Speakers with hard surrounds take longer for example. This is measurable as well. I find after speakers have been in storage for some time, they take a few hours to sound right after first use, assuming they had many hours on them prior to storage.
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No really but the spiders might loosen a bit. Happens quicker than people think.
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I would suggest that it is more likely your brain/ears getting acclimated to the new speakers. I for one never sell a piece of gear to buy a new piece to replace it, so as to come back and reevaluate the two pieces after break in and the newness effect has a chance to wear off. Enjoy the music
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