Driver break-in is a measurable thing, capacitor and crossover less so. Personally I'd say just play music as often as you can but don't make opinions on the sound for a few days.
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@erik_squires +1 - if you stream then select an Internet radio station and let it play 24/7 at moderate volume. Several days should be enough. Me, I'd just do my regular music listening. No need to be neurotic about break in! |
@jasonbourne52 Problem is that I have to listen at low volumes and that way it would take ages. And that is why I am wonder about the space between the speakers. |
You don't need to be playing loud. To break in woofers, I tend to like playing 20hz loops, where the woofers go a far distance without letting out much audible sound. For mids and drivers, just play different types of brown noise at 50-60db through the night. Then, use a full spectrum glide, like the one found on Ayre's Irrational But Efficacious burn in CD to tune everything up every 24 hours or so. |
I would use this as an opportunity get to know the sound of your speakers and to listen to speaker break-in. Part of the enjoyment of Audiophilia is learning to listen. But, and this is not contradictory, try to listen to the music, not the speakers. Yes, I know, you just got them… exciting. But you really want to learn to listen to the music and thusly understand the effect the equipment has on it… versus listening to the equipment. The former is quantitative the later is Analytical. With the latter you can go off on a wild goose chase of detail and slam and find the music does not sound that great. |
I did this method years ago with Revel Perfoma towers. I placed them about 8” apart and ran them with FM for a couple days at moderate volume stopping only a few hours in the evening when I watched tv. But I recently bought new speakers and just let them break in over a few hundred hours and enjoyed them while doing so. You’re gonna know when they reach their peak performance. |
Letting them play normally for break-in can be part of the fun, FWIW. Between acclimating your own ears to your new units…and allowing you to measure changes in your speaker from the process. Having fun with hi-fi is often part that’s forgotten in forums. There are very few “absolutes” so have fun however you decide. |
No harm will come just playing them as-is and enjoying the different phases of the break in, but to spare the family from excessive noise, I used to lay flat faced speakers face down on a thick carpeted floor and play bass heavy music. You’re basically loosening up the surround and spider suspension of the woofers during break-in. Bass should be the most impacted component of the music spectrum until things loosen up, but if there’s a mid-bass driver that can benefit from some flexing over time also. Low frequencies and higher volume (within reason) will cause those drivers to move the greatest distance, which is really what helps the suspension loosen up fastest. That first few hours should make the biggest difference. Depending on the caps used in the crossover there could be some notable changes in the upper mids and treble too. |
OP, to answer your question: When I was auditioning speakers, I needed them to break in quickly so I could maximize the trial period. 1-2" apart reverse polarity playing brown noise around 90 db covered with a thick blanket played them for a couple days straight, took a break, played them some more. It quickly added up to 100 hours of break in.
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There is no reason to go to extravagant measures when running in new speakers. When I get new speakers I follow the REL subwoofer break in procedure which is not really that severe or time consuming. It worked perfectly for my REL subs and speakers too. Find some music that has deep bass beats and sustained notes. Play loudly for two straight hours. Then play moderately loud for 12 straight hours. Finished, now enjoy. My REL subwoofers did increase in output over the next several months but not by much. The break in process works and if it works for subwoofers it should easily work for speakers and it does. You can do as you wish of course but I cannot validate your proposed method. Also as REL mentions you should not use pink or white noise. Bass beats work best along with some sustained notes. Find the title Atoms for Peace, perfect for the process.
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I’m of the camp of just “run em” Some won’t really change and others come alive. I had some Jbl 2226h’s that were so dead and dry and slowly came alive (mostly in the bass department).
With subs it depends also. I had Eminence Labs that never changed (not that I wished them too). Called Eminence and they said there was no need to try and break them in they won’t change! Should’ve called first lolololol |
@simna wrote:
A few inches apart should be fine. Try it out and see how much of a difference it makes with regard to their distance and the noise emitted. It doesn't matter in regards to the effect of break-in, that's only a function of how hard and/or long they're driven. Take care though not to work them too hard for extended periods of time, as the noise cancelling effect via the reversed polarity won't give you any real indication of their possible strain. |
Thanks you all. The speakers are now standing (without grills) completely together, one with reversed polarity,at normal volume (checking the loudest parts of the record before). Will give them 100 hours. |
