Just acquired HD800's -- they seem to sound pretty darn good "out of the box". Does anyone have an opinion as to how much break-in time (if any?)they need to reach top performance? AKG701's are reputed to require close to 300+ (maybe more) hours before sounding their best -- mine have at least that much and are still bested by the HD800's brand new.
Originally Posted by twsmith /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just acquired HD800's -- they seem to sound pretty darn good "out of the box". Does anyone have an opinion as to how much break-in time (if any?)they need to reach top performance? AKG701's are reputed to require close to 300+ (maybe more) hours before sounding their best -- mine have at least that much and are still bested by the HD800's brand new.
I had the same experience. They were good to go out of the box. With 'phones of this caliber, I'm guessing that they didn't leave the factory until SQ was assured, and that probably involved some (a lot of?) burn-in.
Originally Posted by Lil' Knight /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why care much about the burn-in? Just enjoy them and burn-in them when you don't have time to listen. Life is too short to listen.
Alternately, just listen to them. People fetishize burn-in 'round these parts.
Upgrading my amp made a hell of a lot more difference than burn-in. It's possible my pair have become a bit less harsh, but I wasn't paying a huge amount of attention.
When the HD-800 arrived, I turned on the Moth then tore into the package. I was listening immediately after that. I've got maybe 50 hours so far and have been thrilled with them every minute. I wish I had more time to listen - I'm still stuck at the office right now.
You can go through the rituals if you want, but I strongly recommend putting the HD-800 onto your head and listening.
I am currently 'burning' my spanking new A500s in - on my head. If I was going to pay anything like the asking price for the HD800s, I would be listening to every second of the 'burn-in' - whatever 'harshness' that might entail. Its a bit like buying a brand new Porsche and asking your neighbour to drive it for the first month because you dont want to go near it until the engine has loosened up enough for you to really enjoy it .....
PS as I said in my other thread today, I am a burn-in believer (convert might be a better term), but I'm not much for the whole 'burn-in rig' with gallons of white and pink noise extravaganza - as someone mentioned earlier, its easy to become a fetishist with headphone burn-in.
For me it was about 75 hrs when I heard a big difference in sound.
There was a period of about 30 hours where I could NOT listen to them because the highs were so darn harsh. I left them on for about 20 hours before the harshness went away, a harshness that wasn't there when they first met my ears.
Out of the box they sounded only "okay," and sterile looking back at my first listen. Now they sound amazing, and I have completely stopped using my other phones.
Oh, and the lows sound fantastic right now as well, not as much as the D7000, but the HD800's sound perfectly balanced IMO.
I haven't counted it exactly, but I agree that 50-100 hours is a mark when the highs loose their slight hotness and grittiness. Actually, with components and cable change I can make them even subdued now.
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