I always thought that 'burn in' times were simply dreamt up by dealers so you wouldn't return the item, afterwards your right of return has expired or as you say you have become accustomed to the new sound.
Keith.

If we accept that cables require a break in period, and many do; there are even devices sold to facilitate the process; then it is not surprising that speakers would require an even longer one. Here again we are confronted with two different paradigms; one offered by manufactures and experienced users [long break in makes a difference] and the opposing one [the whole idea is absurd] by the proponents of measurement and "objectivity". My cohort of Black Magic followers belong in the first camp; personally I am not very exercised by this question as I seldom get things new these days. I believe that my Metrum improved with time but very gradually so there was no moment where I said " What a difference". My friend Dave thought his Sasha and Koetsu Vermillion took a considerable time to sound their best; many of my musician friends think an instrument improves in sound with usage. In a completely different activity another friend, who maintained a national ranking in table tennis for many years, always loaned out a new racket to a lesser player for a year or so before he used it. These were the older hard bats composed of wood with a thin layer of rubber [no sponge]. The whole question is unlikely to be resolved by "Objective" means; quantum theory tells us that there is no reality apart from observers anyway.

The guys who know are speaker designers

you cannot voice a speaker until the drivers , and in some more critical cases the crossover components are run in

Simply the designer finds that the speaker is a moving target, voicing begins, decisions are in progress and then you are left going round in circles. What applied in week 1 is not right for week 2 of use

After the appropriate amount of listening and voicing you find the choices which were made initially are now different because the speaker has run in during the voicing process. I cannot think of a better indication that the drivers alter in their sound, damping, timbre, and bass resonance during extended first use.

Good cars which are trialled at 15,000 miles , a good demonstrator, feel quite different on delivery from new. It can take 5,00 miles before the suspension frees up sufficiently for the handing and noise levels to reach near optimum.

The Avalon Diamond , just one example, was so refined that if you near blasted it for a party the clarity and subtlety of which it was capable did not return until after a further week of use at moderate powers.

The Wilson Sophia on first delivery has a degree of upper bass lift and lower bass dryness which only arrives at the designer's, neutral and extended intention after some 200 hours of good working.

For many speakers it does not matter much but for critically balanced and voiced examples the designers have worked with run in components and you will not hear what was intended until the example from new has also been used awhile.

Martin Colloms

malteser:

Or... no dealer would bother with this if they didn't think their customers thought it made a difference. See also, distributors, manufacturers, reviewers.

Not that I doubt it makes a difference, I think there is a reasonable explanation for running-in drive units. I just think it's a mistake to imply that people only act out of a belief it 'makes a difference'. Sometimes just being seen going through the motions or aligning with market expectations is what is happening. You have to wonder how many dealers and manufacturers at hifi shows use expensive cables, equipment stands and other tweaks, not because they believe they make a difference but because they know there is an important segment of their target market, from whom they legitimately wish to make money, that will not take THEM seriously if they don't apply these tweaks. I think expectation bias is more prevalent in the way our hobby works than many realise.

DL, debating you, since you do not now have a system nor admittedly have ever had a good one, is a totally pointless and theoretical exercise. As a friend remarked to me today some people get on here just to argue. I prefer listening to music to mental masturbation about what my system would sound like IF I had one; I appreciate not having a system is a very liberating experience as it frees one from the constraints of actual experience.

Some do and some dont. Again there is comment here about what is best to run speakers in with, how long and how loud etc. So would you be upset if you manufacturer of choice ran in you speakers for too long with loud heavy metal if you dont think this is the best way to do it? It is another can of worms. Running in costs time and money- would you be happy to pay for something you could do for nothing?

Well, can't do that, but I have now completed running-in my E's for 250 hours (a real hassle, but now done.)To my ears the 250-hour sound is quite noticably improved compared with 50 hours. The whole sound seems more 'integrated'....as if you were using a full-range driver rather than two cones.I do believe in running-in now.I would estimate something like a 20% improvement. How this relates to other makes of speaker I can't say.

Personally, btw, I would not enjoy the challenge of carefully listening for tiny audible changes, much less characterizing them. My interest lies in suitably interested people doing that for me. Trusting that the methodology of the tests was sound, I'd be quite content with just knowing the results :)

After reading some of your posts my friend Dave remarked that you seemed insecure; this confirms it. You are not really interested in the fairly long and demanding process of determining your own taste; you want to be TOLD BY A SUITABLE AUTHORITY FIGURE what equipment you should use. Outsourcing your taste in music so to speak. Egad, I have wasted 50 years developing my own ears when I could just have gotten an expert to do it for me. Hasn't this argument come full circle, I thought there WERE no "suitably interested people" with the qualifications to do this. You have trashed about everyone connected with the industry; are you going to pull people off the street? Does the fact that I have listened to music over a decent system for decades make me feel superior to you? No, just better qualified to talk about the actual world as opposed to the world you wish existed.

Those manufacturers who believe that running-in is important before their speakers work optimally should do the running in for their customers - especially if it only takes 50 hours - just 2 days given manufacturers' facilities - which is hardly significant in the manufacturing time of a high-end loudspeaker.

If some manufacturers believe it takes 500 hours - and they are unwilling to undertake that run-in - then they should warn customers (who might typically use their hifi for a couple of hours each day) that they will be buying what will be a sub-optimal product for the first 8 months.

Edited by user 25 May 2012 22:42:56(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified

I guess my measuring kit must be up the spout then when I have tested drivers upon receipt then after about a year or two of heavy use and system development, measured parameter variations are noted?

Edited by user 26 May 2012 09:55:09(UTC)  | Reason: Not specified