Discuss Driver Break in - Fact or Fiction? in the DIY Speakers | DIY Subwoofers forum. I just built a pair of speakers and the bass improved quite a bit after breaking in. I used SB ...
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.
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
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.
Vance Dickason's explanation is that while the speaker's suspension changes during break-in, parametric shifts that would affect a speaker design are rather small. He recommends a break-in period only to be sure the speaker is not defective.
My take on this subject is this: If you are designing a new, say DIY, custom speaker system, and you are relying on the exact characteristics of the speakers to tune the enclosures to the exact design you want, then you will be breaking-in the speakers so that the T-S parameters you need have settled to their final values.
If you are designing a speaker system for mass market sale, then you will design the enclosure for the specified performance parameters of your drivers. You will be performing AQL tests on the drivers, and the finished speakers, but you will never have the time to qualify every driver and speaker you produce. That would be too expensive.
So at the end of the day, economics dictates what happens. I would hope that $100,000 custom speaker systems have been broken in, but in my experience in pro audio, they are not. Break-in may happen during the testing phases of a large venue system, but it is incidental. Maybe somebody else knows about those uber home systems.
Vance Dickason's explanation is that while the speaker's suspension changes during break-in, parametric shifts that would affect a speaker design are rather small. He recommends a break-in period only to be sure the speaker is not defective.
My take on this subject is this: If you are designing a new, say DIY, custom speaker system, and you are relying on the exact characteristics of the speakers to tune the enclosures to the exact design you want, then you will be breaking-in the speakers so that the T-S parameters you need have settled to their final values.
If you are designing a speaker system for mass market sale, then you will design the enclosure for the specified performance parameters of your drivers. You will be performing AQL tests on the drivers, and the finished speakers, but you will never have the time to qualify every driver and speaker you produce. That would be too expensive.
So at the end of the day, economics dictates what happens. I would hope that $100,000 custom speaker systems have been broken in, but in my experience in pro audio, they are not. Break-in may happen during the testing phases of a large venue system, but it is incidental. Maybe somebody else knows about those uber home systems.
We've had a few other recent discussions on the subject and the consensus is that whatever changes happen in a quality driver are inaudible and insignificant in the design. The favored break in procedure is to watch ones favorite movies while drinking ones favorite beverage and eating ones favorite snack. It seems this method produces a wonderful break in experience and leverages a positive pyschoacoustic effect.
We've had a few other recent discussions on the subject and the consensus is that whatever changes happen in a quality driver are inaudible and insignificant in the design. The favored break in procedure is to watch ones favorite movies while drinking ones favorite beverage and eating ones favorite snack. It seems this method produces a wonderful break in experience and leverages a positive pyschoacoustic effect.
Ha! I've been using this 'procedure' since I was a kid
Ear-brain accomodation as important -- Driver Break in - Fact or Fiction?
Subjective ear-brain accomodation to a particular loudspeaker's sound qualities seems to be a neglected topic.
Often when exposed to a new speaker, I feel that it's too bright or has some other flaws, but such impressions are often mitigated after a few hours listening - giving time for ear-brain processor to 'get used to' the particular sound presentation.
