or might be worthless and cause arguments, but I'll ask anyway
What is the best way to break in new components and subs? I was given a CD by Matt (or Eric, I forgot which) over at Image Dynamics with a broad range of frequencies, etc, and was instructed to play it at a low-moderate volume for 4 hours to properly break in the components. I think this is valuable info, because I'm sure a lot of people do the install and immediate "pounding that shit out" to celebrate their new system.
dragonplayboy wrote:I appreciate your input mackenzie, but that definitely contradicts everything I've been told in the past.... can someone else agree/disagree?
thx!
Depends on the equipment. My sub took a little time, not much, but my mids and tweets required none. Sub-PG Ti elite, Mids/tweets-Exile Xtec 6.5" comps.
dragonplayboy wrote:I appreciate your input mackenzie, but that definitely contradicts everything I've been told in the past.... can someone else agree/disagree?
thx!
Depends on the equipment. My sub took a little time, not much, but my mids and tweets required none. Sub-PG Ti elite, Mids/tweets-Exile Xtec 6.5" comps.
i think he is asking about the actual process of breaking them in, not just weather or not they need to be broken in. (i know my gear did) i would be interested in hearing more about this too
my ex-girlfriend said "its car audio or me"
i've had tougher choices at a soda machine...
Breaking in speakers is a topic that has been relentlessly debated to no end. Most of the time the "break-in" is attributed to the loosening up of the spider and other suspension components. Essentially they will break in on their own thru normal use, but some recommend the use of pink noise to more effectively break speakers in. It's said to be more effective because pink noises contains all of the different frequencies across the spectrum and thus the drivers will be subjected to every frequency. Regular music on the other hand would take quite a while to effectively throw every frequency at the speaker.
Its pretty much worthless to do imo. Every single speaker I have owned ( several) I just played as I normally would. I did not go through any special process of breaking them in. Speakers will break in under normal usage. I have never, nor do I ever intend to take it easy on any speaker/ sub I own fresh out of the box. Never had any problems.. Reguardless of what you were told, any reputable speaker should be able to play without any problems out of the box without break in time.
When I went with 8" morel's in my front doors, I played them with the gain/bass all the was down for a week or so. I don't know if there was any improvement since it played so low (volume).
That being said, I noticed a big difference in the speakers that the my Morel's replaced (Kicker RMB8), it sounded okay at first, but after a few weeks of use the MB was pretty intense.
I'm pretty sure there would be benefits in the breaking-in subs.
Mackenzie wrote:Its pretty much worthless to do imo. Every single speaker I have owned ( several) I just played as I normally would. I did not go through any special process of breaking them in. Speakers will break in under normal usage. I have never, nor do I ever intend to take it easy on any speaker/ sub I own fresh out of the box. Never had any problems.. Reguardless of what you were told, any reputable speaker should be able to play without any problems out of the box without break in time.
lets not go that far, you wont have problems with them, but they do play differently and better after the break in period. you don't have to go "easy" on them out of the box, but they will have more potential after they are broken in.
my ex-girlfriend said "its car audio or me"
i've had tougher choices at a soda machine...
Mackenzie wrote:Its pretty much worthless to do imo. Every single speaker I have owned ( several) I just played as I normally would. I did not go through any special process of breaking them in. Speakers will break in under normal usage. I have never, nor do I ever intend to take it easy on any speaker/ sub I own fresh out of the box. Never had any problems.. Reguardless of what you were told, any reputable speaker should be able to play without any problems out of the box without break in time.
lets not go that far, you wont have problems with them, but they do play differently and better after the break in period. you don't have to go "easy" on them out of the box, but they will have more potential after they are broken in.
Show me where I said they wouldnt play any differently after break in time? The only point i was making is that breaking in time is unecessary. NO need to go easy on the speakers at all.
If you take a very rigid sub out of the box lets say the Xenon in this instance and let loose on it, you will break it no matter what.
The spider assemblies on most speakers require some light usage before they relax properly, this process is more common in subs since they require a rigid spider to control the heavier moving mass. Also some of the adhesives require the driver to heat up a bit before they properly cure. So you take a lightly cured adhesive and a very stiff spider then rail on it you will surely have a broken sub.
In my experience most speaker manufactures will agree a day or two of moderate listening is best before giving it your all. The other option is to let a driver run free air at low volume with a test tone or pink noise for an hour or two.
I think we've established that "Ka Ka" and "Tukki Tukki" don't work.
VW337 wrote:If you take a very rigid sub out of the box lets say the Xenon in this instance and let loose on it, you will break it no matter what.
The spider assemblies on most speakers require some light usage before they relax properly, this process is more common in subs since they require a rigid spider to control the heavier moving mass. Also some of the adhesives require the driver to heat up a bit before they properly cure. So you take a lightly cured adhesive and a very stiff spider then rail on it you will surely have a broken sub.
In my experience most speaker manufactures will agree a day or two of moderate listening is best before giving it your all. The other option is to let a driver run free air at low volume with a test tone or pink noise for an hour or two.
I have owned many pg subs, and cranked them right out of the box, and had 0 issues, and this includes the xenons. Never will I break a sub in, because its simply not necessary. just my 2 cents..
"Not necessary" is a really broad and ignorant statement. That's like saying "hey I didn't change the oil in my car for three years and it still drives, therefore you don't have to change the oil in your car either". Just because something hasn't fucked up for you doesn't mean that it's necessarily good advice. Bad stuff can and does happen if you don't treat your equipment properly.
With that said I have never followed any break in procedure either. I just play the equipment like I normally would. No, I don't do any SPL contests on new subs, but I will certainly listen at an enjoyable level. I know for sure that breaking in speakers makes them sound better in most cases. This was very apparent in fuzzy's 4runner. His RSD components gained a LOT of midbass after they worked in a bit. We were both fairly disappointed with them at first, but now they blow us both out of the water.
stipud wrote:"Not necessary" is a really broad and ignorant statement. That's like saying "hey I didn't change the oil in my car for three years and it still drives, therefore you don't have to change the oil in your car either". Just because something hasn't fucked up for you doesn't mean that it's necessarily good advice. Bad stuff can and does happen if you don't treat your equipment properly.
With that said I have never followed any break in procedure either. I just play the equipment like I normally would. No, I don't do any SPL contests on new subs, but I will certainly listen at an enjoyable level. I know for sure that breaking in speakers makes them sound better in most cases. This was very apparent in fuzzy's 4runner. His RSD components gained a LOT of midbass after they worked in a bit. We were both fairly disappointed with them at first, but now they blow us both out of the water.
stipud wrote:"Not necessary" is a really broad and ignorant statement. That's like saying "hey I didn't change the oil in my car for three years and it still drives, therefore you don't have to change the oil in your car either". Just because something hasn't fucked up for you doesn't mean that it's necessarily good advice.
That is quite possibly the worst analogy I have ever heard... Not even close for a means of comparison... I stand by my statement.. As I do agree speakers sound better after break it, I dont think its needed to go lightly on them out of the box. But we will have dissagree on this...
Is his IB?