Speaker break-in... myth?

[bass_4_ever 1]

Hey everyone, I've been surfin the net looking to see if this is actually a myth... it seemed like there were many different takes on the situation and I wanted to get your take on it. Myth? Real? Any hard evidence? If its real... how long does it take for a speaker to break in?

Andrew

[The enD 467]

Use the search button, you can find couple of threads with the same questions, replied.

[xAndrew225x 8]

Hey everyone, I've been surfin the net looking to see if this is actually a myth... it seemed like there were many different takes on the situation and I wanted to get your take on it. Myth? Real? Any hard evidence? If its real... how long does it take for a speaker to break in?

Andrew

i say it's real, explains why a sub is louder and flexes more after enough playing. my $0.2

[NB50 206]

What part are you talking about it?

That a speaker needs to break in so it will last a long time, then no its a myth.

Or

That a speakers suspension will loosen up with play time, then yes.

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

most people refer to this like a car engine, how you need to take it easy on the engine for the first "3000" miles, this is true for engines, subwoofers....no. When a sub is new the suspension is at its stiffest, we say, beat the hell out of it right out of the box.

Remember, it's not an engine

[Tirefryr 1,742]

Actually the engine thing is a little too convenient as well. The rings should be fully seated after several hundred miles. Hell, on most street engines, it only takes a few heat cycles.

[Impious 1,476]

Per Vance Dickason in The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, the following are measured parameters for a 6.5" Peerless woofer;

Pre-Break In (i.e. out of the box)

Fs: 49.9hz

Qms: 2.11

Qes: 0.44

Qts: 0.37

Vas: 16.8L

Post-Break In (12hrs @ 25hz, unspecified power)

Fs: 44.5hz

Qms: 1.97

Qes: 0.39

Qts: 0.33

Vas: 21.6L

However, enclosure requirements/performance will be nearly identical since the Fs/Qts ratio stays virtually the same even though there's a decent % variance in some of the parameters. On that point, published T/S parameters are either taken from a single driver or an average from a sample batch. The actual T/S parameters for two different drivers from the same product line can vary by as much as 10% or more (I believe most manufacturers consider a variation of 10% to be within tolerance), some have a significant difference in T/S parameters if QC is poor. So really, the difference in pre- and post-break in T/S aren't any greater than one might experience between two drivers as a result of production variances.

Is "break in" a myth? No, not really. As indicated, you can clearly and easily show a measurable difference in parameters. Is there going to be a readily apparent audible difference? With your typical driver....probably not. The resultant changes in response are going to be virtually inaudible. On a high powered SPL sub with a ridiculously stiff suspension routinely driven to it's mechanical limits, results may be a little different. The variance would probably be enough for a meter to pick up (tenths of a decibel), so it may matter in that particular arena.

Do you need to ascribe a particular time period for "break-in"? No. Just plug it in and play it like you normally would. If you really want to break in your driver, playing it at a low level for some arbitrary time period is counterproductive. The best way to effectively break in a driver is to play it free air at a high excursion level for a couple hours. It will be sufficiently "broken in" after that.

[Mark LaFountain 1,054]

Per Vance Dickason in The Loudspeaker Design Cookbook, the following are measured parameters for a 6.5" Peerless woofer;

Pre-Break In (i.e. out of the box)

Fs: 49.9hz

Qms: 2.11

Qes: 0.44

Qts: 0.37

Vas: 16.8L

Post-Break In (12hrs @ 25hz, unspecified power)

Fs: 44.5hz

Qms: 1.97

Qes: 0.39

Qts: 0.33

Vas: 21.6L

However, enclosure requirements/performance will be nearly identical since the Fs/Qts ratio stays virtually the same even though there's a decent % variance in some of the parameters. On that point, published T/S parameters are either taken from a single driver or an average from a sample batch. The actual T/S parameters for two different drivers from the same product line can vary by as much as 10% or more (I believe most manufacturers consider a variation of 10% to be within tolerance), some have a significant difference in T/S parameters if QC is poor. So really, the difference in pre- and post-break in T/S aren't any greater than one might experience between two drivers as a result of production variances.

Is "break in" a myth? No, not really. As indicated, you can clearly and easily show a measurable difference in parameters. Is there going to be a readily apparent audible difference? With your typical driver....probably not. The resultant changes in response are going to be virtually inaudible. On a high powered SPL sub with a ridiculously stiff suspension routinely driven to it's mechanical limits, results may be a little different. The variance would probably be enough for a meter to pick up (tenths of a decibel), so it may matter in that particular arena.

Do you need to ascribe a particular time period for "break-in"? No. Just plug it in and play it like you normally would. If you really want to break in your driver, playing it at a low level for some arbitrary time period is counterproductive. The best way to effectively break in a driver is to play it free air at a high excursion level for a couple hours. It will be sufficiently "broken in" after that.

Agreed, I wasn't disputing this, simply saying most people think you need to "take it easy" on a sub woofer right out of the box. When that simply isn't needed

[fast85_gt 1]

Why when new and you Wang the hell out of it you get alot of funny smells from the woofer?

[jonbearsmt 919]

Why when new and you Wang the hell out of it you get alot of funny smells from the woofer?

extra glue burns off..also metals give off a smell when heated for the first time. ie coils.

[bass_4_ever 1]

thanks for the facts & figures guys! much appreciated! I'll be going to turn my set-up to what it should be and see how it goes!! Thanks again all!