Driver Break in - Fact or Fiction?

[johngalt47]

I just built a pair of speakers and the bass improved quite a bit after breaking in. I used SB Acoustics 7" drivers.

[phaseshift]

snickelfritz wrote:

I wouldn't think the low frequency drivers would "break-in" very quickly once installed in a damped enclosure.
Mine hardly move at all with normal program material.

Also, the suspensions are just that; they simply suspend the cones and domes and really should not be a significant part of the overall resistive load.
In any event, countering or altering the electromotive forces from the motors would be analogous to a kitten trying to impede the movement of an elephant.
If anything happens to "loosen" the compliance of the suspensions, I would think that those effects would degrade sound quality, not improve it. Similar to a new shock absorber becoming more compliant over time, resulting in reduced damping of vertical shocks to the car suspension.

Any effects that cold storage and shipping has on driver compliance probably constitutes the bulk of the effects of break-in, and should clear up, with or without music being played through the speakers, once the air within the speaker cabinets warms up to the temperature of the listening environment.

That is out there where the busses do not run.

I have been away from the forum for quite some time, have a bit more free time nowadays to check in.

[Yad]

I wouldn't think the low frequency drivers would "break-in" very quickly once installed in a damped enclosure.
Mine hardly move at all with normal program material.

The same as "Break-out" while you don't use your speaker for a long time

[Yad]

the Thiel-Small parameters are changes a little in both "break-in & break-out" periods.

[Yad]

My experience tells me, that the best way to break up LF and MF drivers - to do that without any enclosure.

Useful to load them by 2 or 3 sine signals mixed togeter. All freq. should be not multiple.
One of the freq. is better to be the same as resonance of the driver in free air.
example: 32, 50 and 20 Hz.

Such complex signal allows you to have max. diffusor's displacement (better is close to peak-to-peak) with the minimum of voice coil's heating. (The very small power is needed).

It will be enough of the breaking -up time about 4 or 7 hours.

[Yad]

Once, I treated one very old driver at the same signal. That's fun, but after that, it's Qts fells from more than 2 to 0.7 !!!