Driver 'break-in' period

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It continues to amaze me that the two sides of this topic don't agree with one another.

Of course there is a break in period. That's an elementary truth behind thermo dynamics.

Of course there is an acclimation period. That's human nature.

One thing I don't see much of is the recognition that between the time you start the system up and the time the system "warms up" there is going to be a noticeable change. When the system is shut down, it cools and reverts to the "original" sound until it is again "warmed up"

This seems to me to be a factor that:

1. You can't change

2. Is underated in it's importance.

Comments?

Cal
 
frugal-phile™
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pinkmouse said:
We really need more experimental evidence with different drivers to confirm the phenomena

Not measurements, but experience over a fairly large sample of the same speaker, with the same driver -- and certainly not high-end. Radio Shack 40-1197s right out of the box have a distinctive nasal sound in the upper range of the male voice (one of the weak points of this driver -- evident to a smaller extent in FE103A & FE108S -- i haven't heard real FE103 yet).

After a 100-150 hrs this becomes much less pronounced... pop a fresh speaker into the system and it is back. Ductseal, puzzlecoat, dustcapectomy, and phase plug almost kill the rest of the problem.

dave
 
well i have recently set up a jig that can measure loudspeaker parameters (Speaker Workshop + Wallin Jig calibrated to 0.1% + WM60 + Preamp) and i have a bunch of drivers arriving in about a week, one bass, two mid bass and two tweeters so i will do periodic measurements and post some graphs of the various parameters vs time - hold yer breath folks...
 
Alexander Rice said:
- hold yer breath folks...

Pant pant gag cough,

Man, I waited but, I finally had to breath, you posted at 4:06 local time, it's now 10 to 6

I think that is a great experiment you're doing Alexander.

I think many will be interested in the results.

I would also be interested in the testing of what I brought up a couple of posts ago. ie: the difference between "cold" drivers and "warm" ones.

Can this be incorporated into your tests?

Curious Cal
 
well since the surround is typically a viscoelastic polymer of some sort it seems fairly obvious that the driver response will be strongly temperature dpeandant - during break in testing i intend to do it in our basement as it is soundproof and more importantly it's temperature is constant wihin 0.5 degrees - however since it is thermostatically controlled i could be persuaded to crank the room temperature up and do some tests at elevated temperature once i have done the break in tests
 
ahh ok... that is easy enough to measure but the effect would be much more subtle, since the effect would still be temperature change of the voice coil and surround, as well as some types of polymer whose behaveour changes with previous applied strain - notably natural rubber (that's why it is easier to blow up a baloon if you first stretch it - it warms up and slightly changes the polymer matrix)

i'll have a go but it would be strongly dependant on the specific construction of the driver and the formulation of the polymer - the particular drivers i am using have a relatively high Qms so are probaly not the drivers that will best show this effect since the surround plays a realively smaller part in their behavour.

If anyone is interested the drivers will all be Monacor - SPH-200KE, SPH-100KEP and DT-25N for my new 2.1 PC speakers - two 2.5l boxes with a 12l linkwitz transformed sub for everything below 110Hz
 
Maybe this has been mentioned before, but my opinion on driver break in is that it is largely to do with your ear becoming used to the sound of the speaker.

If you have ever used a different mobile phone (borrowed someone elses, for example) after you have been used to the sound from one phone for a long time, the new one can sound very strange indeed. Sometimes it is almost difficult to understand the words at first.

However, after a few days use the sound becomes more natural. This is true whether the phone is new or second-hand (ie: supposedly long-since mechanically 'broken in'). Your ear has become accustomed to the sound of the speaker and you can hear what it is reproducing more clearly. Similarly, your ear becomes accustomed to a particular hi-fi loudspeaker (or system) gradually, until you are more able to hear the music it is communicating. Simple :)
 
Ropie said:
Maybe this has been mentioned before, but my opinion on driver break in is that it is largely to do with your ear becoming used to the sound of the speaker.

Right. It's adaptation. A visual analogy at it's most extreme is as follows:

I built a device many years ago consisting of a paper towel tube and two mirrors. You wore it on your head. In use, it effectively reversed your left and right eyes. The result was that convex objects looked concave and vise-versa; a bird flying across and in front of a telephone pole looked like it was flying behind it. So strong was the illusion that the bird seemed to disappear as it met the boundary of the pole and reappeared as it left.

After about 5 minutes of continued use of the device, things started to appear normal. When you removed the device, things were wrong again until a few minutes passed and then all was right again.
 
Bill Fitzpatrick said:


I built a device many years ago consisting of a paper towel tube and two mirrors. You wore it on your head. In use, it effectively reversed your left and right eyes. The result was that convex objects looked concave and vise-versa; a bird flying across and in front of a telephone pole looked like it was flying behind it. So strong was the illusion that the bird seemed to disappear as it met the boundary of the pole and reappeared as it left.



Interesting! Would you have a picture or drawing of this thing? I'd like to try it!
 
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everything...brakes

In my experience everything brakes in from loudspeakers (tweeters especially), down to solder joints and resistors.
These are well known facts in the High End world.
I have heard all these effects spontaniously and to tell you the truth hated the fact that I have to count in so many more elusive parameters when building stuff and choosing parts.
But its true they do exist.
 
Interesting. What does an un-broken-in solder joint sound like? How long does it take to break in? Do special solders offer less difference, and are they more expensive?

I watched a PBS show where Yo Yo Ma was placing the prop of his cello on the floor in several places and bowing the strings. He and the conductor narrowed it down after several tries to a spot a few cm from where he started and both agreed that the instrument sounded fuller. I observed the "experiment", and could not help but wonder at all of the uncontrolled variables that the experimenters seemed blissfully unaware of.

Some people are just wired to "believe" things. Others are wired to question them. Music, being an emotional experience, seems much more susceptible to this sort of belief than other aspects of our lives.

Imagine if someone sold a green pen that you scribbled around your tires and it gave you better gas mileage? That person would be laughed at.
 
Re: everything...brakes

salas said:
These are well known facts in the High End world.
Facts as proven by physics, or 'facts' that give people (usually with more money than sense) the feeling of involvement? Conjuring up facts...now there's one for ya Mr Blaine.

Salas, if you can indeed provide these facts, the effects of which you can hear spontaneously, and how they're proven to be so, then I'll treat them with an open mind.

Hmmm...perhaps I need to break-in the air around my speakers...(oops, too late :angel: ). Perhaps I could market canned air that provides superior acoustics. Anyone want in on my business proposition?
 
Svante said:

Interesting! Would you have a picture or drawing of this thing? I'd like to try it!

The dotted lines are lines of sight. Where they pass through the tube you need to put in a hole.

I hope the graphic is clear. It's an overhead view.
 

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