Speaker break in?

4yanx, I would like to try that experiment but I can't bring myself to do it. You do it.

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!

Warrenh, I was just kidding about the cable break-in. I don't really think anyone could explain it to my satisfaction anyway.

I have a hard time believing that the measurable differences between a brand new and broken-in speaker have been found to be smaller than the typical variation between any two of the same model. However, I'm not doubting that you know what you're talking about. In my thinking, even if this is true, I believe that the "perceived" difference between a new and broken-in speaker would be larger than the "perceived" difference between two broken in speakers.

I would like to mention again that I don't think there is ANY mystery to speaker break in. Do yourself an experiment: Go to Best Buy, Circuit City, or Tweeter (they all have 30 day money back guarantees) and buy a pair of decent speakers. If you don't have the money, just apply for a store credit card. This will only take about 10 minutes and you can get the speakers on credit. Now take them home and hook up one speaker. Let it break in for a good 100 hours. Now hook up both speakers and, with a mono source, swap the balance back and forth between the two speakers. This should tell if there has been any change. Don't forget to take the speakers back before the 30 days is up. You might want to break the other speaker in before you take them back or you could leave them like they are and tell the salesman you're returning them because the two speakers don't sound alike. ???? Anybody up for this experiment?