Speaker Break-in

Mprime

Just wondering how the fs688 are sounding now...
what are your impressions

CR

I had the same experience with.. cartridges.

Mprime

I have owned two pair of the fs688, Let them run 24/7 if possible and I assure you in a week or so they will best the bass from your 805...My friend owns a pair of 805 and in an a/b comparison the 688 had a deeper more "full" bass presentation..good luck and enjoy...they only get better, trust me
CR

Thanks, guys. Per Nick, I'm playing them out of phase, face-to-face, with the Stereophile Bass Decade warble tonight (per Sean).

Will do this periodically over the next few days as well.

It is interesting, because these speakers spec out lower than the B&W's. Time will tell....

Best,

A lack of bass primarily has to do with a stiff speaker suspension. The only way to loosen the suspension and achieve greater bass output is to (1) play loud music (2) play recordings with high quantities of sustained deep bass or (3) both of the above. Either method causes the driver to make longer than average excursions, which is what will "loosen up" the suspension and the bass "flow free". Sean
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The 688 is a wonderful speaker and I would love to own them.

The bass is quite strong with for a bookshelf speaker, although it will never be a floor-stander. That being said, once it breaks in I don't think you will have any worries.

You can break them in with playing regular music, pink noise, or for the fastest way, place the faces very close to each other (say 3/8 gap and reverse the polarity on one speaker, they play them at about 85-90db for 200 hours).

I usually just listen to my speakers and then play pink noise off my ipod when I go out, with in a month I imagine they would be broken in.

Cheers,
Nick

P.S. I would love to see some photos of them.

I've broken in several pais of speakers and they always change significantly over time. More than any other component. Many things can change and improved bass is one of them. Don't make any judgements yet. But after all, they are monitors.