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Question about burning in

post #1 of 9
12/10/09 at 7:14am
Thread Starter 
Oki, so i got these new k701 but I dont have and good amp yet :/

But can I start burning in the headphones without an amp?
- or should I wait 'till I get an proper amp?

I dont know if it "damages" the headphones running from only a source, which is my MacBook in this case.

Yes, i know I'm a noob
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post #2 of 9
12/10/09 at 8:56am
AFAIK, its fine. Any second opinions?

Just so you know, every headphone jack has an "amplifier" behind it. Just.. its a generalization on head-fi that an "amp" must be a seperate device that controls volume, they really just refer to seperate headamps.

Eg. Obviously the power of the amp inside an iPod is obviously going to be vastly different from any desktop amplifier.

Ps. if you feel the sound from your headphones is fine from your macbook, don't spend more money or you'll be stuck in an eternal trap of buying
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post #3 of 9
12/10/09 at 9:34am
I don't think it matters per say. One could assume it might take longer.

Eh, burn in. So many unknowns.
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post #4 of 9
12/10/09 at 10:31am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ninkul View Post
Ps. if you feel the sound from your headphones is fine from your macbook, don't spend more money or you'll be stuck in an eternal trap of buying
I dont like the sound right now, i mean, it is not terrible - but you could get better sound from phones worth only 1/4 of the k701.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MomijiTMO View Post
Eh, burn in. So many unknowns
ye agreed!, i dont even know if I believe in burn in, but my perception from reading the forums is that the majority of k701 owners believe that the phones sounds much better after burn in.
But who know.. really
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post #5 of 9
12/10/09 at 2:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jonasklam View Post
I dont like the sound right now, i mean, it is not terrible - but you could get better sound from phones worth only 1/4 of the k701.



ye agreed!, i dont even know if I believe in burn in, but my perception from reading the forums is that the majority of k701 owners believe that the phones sounds much better after burn in.
But who know.. really
An amp can do wonders. I've only had 2 cans so far (Senn 595's and now Grado 225i's) and one amp, but switching from my stereo's integrated amp's headphone out (Cambridge Audio azur 640a) to my X-head amp for amplification with either of them I notice a huge improvement everytime (it's really a "wow" thing). And the X-head is no fancy amp.

And also I don't think it's the placebo effect as I am wary of it in many a thing, especially audio. In fact, I had my gf switch both of my cans from my Azur's headphone out and X-head out on a variety of songs without telling me (I had a blindfold on; no it wasn't kinky...well not at that point! ) what they were plugged into, and I got it right 100% of the time it was so obvious (kind of like comparing lossless to lossy).

I also don't know what to think about burn in, I am skeptical of that as well (and wary of the placebo effect that is associated with it as well), but I have noticed that with my Grado 225i's they have seemed to become less bass heavy and more articulate in the lower end and opened up in terms of soundstage and treble "air" as well as other things. I wasn't expecting this or looking for it (so it may not be psychological), I just have noticed it lately after about 100-175 hours of use ("burn in"). Is this real or just me getting used to the sound I don't know. But I would say there is a definite change. But to be much more sure I'd like to have a brand new pair of Grado 225i's to compare with my "burned in" ones. That would be more scientific, as much as such things can ever be.
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post #6 of 9
12/10/09 at 8:00pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pariah1 View Post
I also don't know what to think about burn in, I am skeptical of that as well (and wary of the placebo effect that is associated with it as well), but I have noticed that with my Grado 225i's they have seemed to become less bass heavy and more articulate in the lower end and opened up in terms of soundstage and treble "air" as well as other things. I wasn't expecting this or looking for it (so it may not be psychological), I just have noticed it lately after about 100-175 hours of use ("burn in"). Is this real or just me getting used to the sound I don't know. But I would say there is a definite change. But to be much more sure I'd like to have a brand new pair of Grado 225i's to compare with my "burned in" ones. That would be more scientific, as much as such things can ever be.
About the thing where you notice the sound change, I have tried that aswell but then i thought "Is it really the headphones' sound that changes or is it in reality me?".
I mean, what if your mood, health, surroundings change how you perceive sound? have you ever tried getting a glass of wine with some nice food, then you really taste the wine a thinks "woaw what a great wine, must be one of the best i have ever had". Then the next day you poor up a glass of the same wine and it just isn't the same, not nearly as good. Or bringing back some salty nuts that you found on your holiday trip to Tahiti, you really looved those nuts (i know what you are thinking, and NO... just no ) but they just dont taste the same back at home.
I know I have tried this a lot. Maybe it is the same with music, I just don't know.

However, about trying the some old bruned in phones and comparing them to new ones would really be interesting, agreed!
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post #7 of 9
12/10/09 at 8:26pm
Oh I agree with you 100% but you'll find most people have another view.
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post #8 of 9
12/10/09 at 9:16pm
I think burn-in has some merit to it. Just as break-in has it's merit in an engine. But I think some of the mythical powers and extended burn-in times I've heard about are highly exaggerated. The use of a headamp, however, are not. The 701 must be properly amped to release it's potential.
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post #9 of 9
12/11/09 at 7:55am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by baka1969 View Post
I think burn-in has some merit to it. Just as break-in has it's merit in an engine. But I think some of the mythical powers and extended burn-in times I've heard about are highly exaggerated. The use of a headamp, however, are not. The 701 must be properly amped to release it's potential.
I don't think any1 would disagree with you about the use of an amp and I am not saying wheter burn in is real or not - I just don't know what I believe, personly.
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