thread copied from www.carsound.com
irrelevant posts deleted
some spelling corrected because it annoyed me
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sancho
| Author | Topic: Richard, what are your thoughts about speaker break in time? |
| Scrappy Member Posts: 29 |
posted June 15,
2001 08:43 AM 
I hear about it a lot on subs, home speakers, and sometimes mids and tweeters. Something like, yeah let them run at moderate volume levels for anywhere from all day to a month and you will hear a Huge difference. I think the only thing getting "broke in" is the
(suspension?) part of the driver and shouldn't take long at all. But
mostly, I think it's the owner's ears getting "broke in" to
the way their new speaker sounds compared to the speakers they replaced
them with has the most to do with it. OR, could it be the bill that came
in the mail that makes them sound soo much better at that moment What's your take, thoughts or advice on this subject? Thanks for your time! ------------------ IP: Logged |
| JD Senior Member Posts: 531 |
posted June 15,
2001 08:38 PM
I'm familiar with the argument that T/S parameters don't shift enough to justify break-in. However, my experience and that of other speaker experts I have worked with suggests that speakers (particularly larger drivers) DO change characteristics after break-in. It's audible, if nothing else - distinct improvement in LF extension etc. How to reconcile that with the test you mentioned? T/S are small signal analysis parameters. I suspect that the differences are minute under small signal condition but become noticeable at higher signal conditions. Of course, that also means they'd be measurable at that point. I haven't taken the time to test that theory but I can tell you I believe there is an audible change. I'm also curious what Richard's take on this will be. JD IP: Logged |
| Richard
Clark Moderator Posts: 1799 |
posted June 17,
2001 04:39 PM
guys---here's my take on this subject---first lets define "break-in"---in the case of an engine there are sometimes machined surfaces that are in close contact---when a engine is broke in and set up properly there is no metal to metal contact---an engine is designed to have a thin film of oil between all metal to metal surfaces to prevent actual contact ---machined surfaces sometimes need polishing to "wear-in"---it is important that this be done at light loads to prevent contact from irregular surfaces until they have worn-in-----literally----this insures that they can continue to work as designed for a long time---extreme use during the break-in can sometimes cause the surfaces to gall or have surface damage---this can shorten the long term durability of the parts----this is certainly not like a speaker where there are no contacting parts that result in friction----when moving parts touch in a speaker the end is already near---brand new or old----like someone said---a speaker is a little more like a shoe---the material gets softer as it is stretched and worked-in---if the shoe was tailor made to fit your foot instead of made in incrementing sizes the conforming to your foot would not be such a big deal----and if the material was rubber or foam the change would not be quite like a leather baseball glove ----fortunately we don't make speakers out of leather----now a speaker is more like a tire----personally i don't break in my tires but they do get more traction after they are warm---that's why dragsters do a burnout before a run----sure a speaker might change with time ---just like anything that can fail with time----but the change in performance is dependent on how long and hard you drive the thing---some folks believe they hear big differences---personally i have only heard big differences when the speaker has been driven too hard and the spider or suspension has been stretched beyond its "modulus of elasticity"----this is a term that engineers give to any material---it refers to the elongation of a material that has been stretched far enough that it will never return to its original dimension and the speaker is ruined----the only other condition that i have heard where the speaker changes sonically is when it has been driven hard for a while and its coil temperature is well above room temperature but short of being damaged---but like the warmed up tire it returns to normal when it cools---now as far as "special signals" to do "break in"---that is total BS-----------RC IP: Logged |
| CraigMBA Senior Member Posts: 938 |
posted June 17,
2001 06:09 PM
quote: Track thirty, Autosound 2000 Test CD #102, from CD liner notes - TRACK THIRTY is a specially generated low frequency track that contains a series of asynchronously generated tones within the bandwidth of 10 Hz to 200 Hz. This track is specially designed for: 1) Exercising woofers before making Small/Theil parameter measurements.............. Comment? ------------------ IP: Logged |
I'm sorry if I made that sound confusing 