Tomcat
1000+ Head-Fier
- Joined
- Jun 26, 2001
- Posts
- 1,276
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- 18
Did I mention the beneficial effect break-in has on the W100?
<grins maniacally>
I have used my W100 for well over 300 hours now. I felt break-in would have to be pretty much complete, any further changes ought to be fairly minor. But then I thought to myself, why not give it another dose of music at levels louder than normal? I had done this maybe six or seven times before, during its first 150 hours: I had set the CDP on auto-repeat, put the headphone on a pillow and had it working out for the night or the entire day. Exercising the drivers and the wooden enclosures has had a clearly noticeable effect, the W100 got smoother, richer, with more extension at both frequency extremes, deeper bass, less strained treble and ever more sensitivity and transparency. Frankly, I didn’t expect too much change this time.
<chuckles insanely>
I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong. I would have thought I was delusional, if it wasn’t for two facts: I am very familiar with the W100’s sound by now, and I have regularly compared it with my Beyers, the 770 and 990 Pros, just to keep track of the changes during break-in. What happened this time? There was at least as much change now as there had been any time before when I pounded the headphone. Even more bass extension, more harmonic richness and body, even less strained dynamics, totally effortless transients, even less listening fatigue, higher sensitivity, more transparency, and a captivating midrange approaching perfection. Everything great about the W100 got even better. Recently, JML jokingly suggested my initial glowing review was understated. It was. And there seems to be no end in sight.
If I read a report like this, frankly, I wouldn’t believe it. But that’s exactly what happened. Don’t ask me to explain why it did. I couldn’t. But I am now convinced she has a soul. She's alive. And I am thinking about giving her a name. Hey, some people talk to their plants, why shouldn’t I talk to my headphone, right? What’s so wrong with that?
<laughs idiotically>
<grins maniacally>
I have used my W100 for well over 300 hours now. I felt break-in would have to be pretty much complete, any further changes ought to be fairly minor. But then I thought to myself, why not give it another dose of music at levels louder than normal? I had done this maybe six or seven times before, during its first 150 hours: I had set the CDP on auto-repeat, put the headphone on a pillow and had it working out for the night or the entire day. Exercising the drivers and the wooden enclosures has had a clearly noticeable effect, the W100 got smoother, richer, with more extension at both frequency extremes, deeper bass, less strained treble and ever more sensitivity and transparency. Frankly, I didn’t expect too much change this time.
<chuckles insanely>
I was wrong. Boy, was I wrong. I would have thought I was delusional, if it wasn’t for two facts: I am very familiar with the W100’s sound by now, and I have regularly compared it with my Beyers, the 770 and 990 Pros, just to keep track of the changes during break-in. What happened this time? There was at least as much change now as there had been any time before when I pounded the headphone. Even more bass extension, more harmonic richness and body, even less strained dynamics, totally effortless transients, even less listening fatigue, higher sensitivity, more transparency, and a captivating midrange approaching perfection. Everything great about the W100 got even better. Recently, JML jokingly suggested my initial glowing review was understated. It was. And there seems to be no end in sight.
If I read a report like this, frankly, I wouldn’t believe it. But that’s exactly what happened. Don’t ask me to explain why it did. I couldn’t. But I am now convinced she has a soul. She's alive. And I am thinking about giving her a name. Hey, some people talk to their plants, why shouldn’t I talk to my headphone, right? What’s so wrong with that?
<laughs idiotically>