I have ordered some drivers for my DIY project and was wondering if they should be broken in before I do the measurements on them.
If so, how long?
My thoughts were to hook each up to a separate amp, (tweeter, mid, and woofer), run the amps from my Bryston active crossover, and feed that with white noise over night at a moderate level.
Would that do the trick or do the measurements not really change? I would think they would since a speaker sounds better after a break-in period, (which means SOMETHING is changing).
TIA,
Phil
If so, how long?
My thoughts were to hook each up to a separate amp, (tweeter, mid, and woofer), run the amps from my Bryston active crossover, and feed that with white noise over night at a moderate level.
Would that do the trick or do the measurements not really change? I would think they would since a speaker sounds better after a break-in period, (which means SOMETHING is changing).
TIA,
Phil
Phil O.son said:
Yes they should. How long depends on the driver. 50-100 hours is a good figure of merit.
dave
You should definitely break them in, particularly the woofers.
What I did with mine (after asking around) was to create some synthetic waveforms in SoundForge, burn them to a CD and play the CD on repeat.
As I recall, I had noise in the range of 20Hz-100Hz, resonant frequency signal, various superimposed sinusoids etc. Worked like a charm.
For tweeters, consider doing some pink noise and some sweeps. Do remember to filter so you don't feed the tweeter too much low frequency energy. You can get the noise from an FM tuner tuned out of station and add a regular crossover to remove the low frequency energy.
You could also play regular material but it would probably not be as efficient.
Petter
What I did with mine (after asking around) was to create some synthetic waveforms in SoundForge, burn them to a CD and play the CD on repeat.
As I recall, I had noise in the range of 20Hz-100Hz, resonant frequency signal, various superimposed sinusoids etc. Worked like a charm.
For tweeters, consider doing some pink noise and some sweeps. Do remember to filter so you don't feed the tweeter too much low frequency energy. You can get the noise from an FM tuner tuned out of station and add a regular crossover to remove the low frequency energy.
You could also play regular material but it would probably not be as efficient.
Petter
A trick that I've used that isn't quite so wearing on the ears is to face the drivers/speakers together, then feed them an out of phase signal. The acoustic output cancels (mostly...I'm getting taken to task for generalizing elsewhere at the moment), yet the drivers are getting a full workout. Works like a charm and will help save your sanity.
Grey
Grey
Well at least the synthetic waveforms would have some sort of aesthetic appeal. 😉 😉Peter Daniel said:
GP.
Thanks guys! It sounds like I'll need to run them longer than I thought. I have an unused laptop so I can always set them up in the laundry room and close the door.
Since that's the farthest place from our normal haunts it should do the trick, (till my wife needs to do the laundry). 😀
Phil
Since that's the farthest place from our normal haunts it should do the trick, (till my wife needs to do the laundry). 😀
Phil
I am always breaking drivers with real-life signal: music CD or a radio channel. 5Hz sine seems to me too low and too constant.
Correct me if I'm wrong but the only reason for breaking in before measurement is to get "simulated months of use" TS figures for compliance and resonance. If so, high frequency content of the break in signal is not important and a 5Hz sine is just the ticket - inaudible and effective.
If someone knows different, please speak up with the complete explanation.
If someone knows different, please speak up with the complete explanation.
I'll admit that I don't know much about speakers but it seems that a 5 Hz tone is only stretching the cone/suspension at one rate. If the goal is to only stretch the suspension then that will work.
But I would think that in order to properly break in a speaker one would have to feed it a range of frequencies in order to excite all portions of the cone/suspension.
From a speaker point of view, I don't know. From a materials point of view, white/pink noise, (or rock music 😉 ), makes sense.
I think what I might do is to make measurements now of the raw drivers then set them up playing rock music all day and, (at a lower level), all night then measure them again tomorrow. My guess would be that after a day or so, an exponential drift in values would manifest itself that would allow me to predict how long before they've settled in completely.
Just one nimrod's opinion,
Phil
But I would think that in order to properly break in a speaker one would have to feed it a range of frequencies in order to excite all portions of the cone/suspension.
From a speaker point of view, I don't know. From a materials point of view, white/pink noise, (or rock music 😉 ), makes sense.
I think what I might do is to make measurements now of the raw drivers then set them up playing rock music all day and, (at a lower level), all night then measure them again tomorrow. My guess would be that after a day or so, an exponential drift in values would manifest itself that would allow me to predict how long before they've settled in completely.
Just one nimrod's opinion,
Phil
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