[Andrew H]

Also, I believe that some CE mfrs do burn in their products (for many hours if not days) as part of their normal QC process. I feel like I've owned amps and/or source gear that mentioned about it in the manual.

 

[Uncle Erik]

You guys seriously overstate the cost of "burning in" at the factory. A board set up to do it would cost a few thousand up front and probably pennies per unit to run.

The reason they don't is most likely because manufacturers have never been been able to measure or detect a difference.

Instead of thinking abou cost, reframe this as competetive advantage.

If having a splashy ad campaign for "1,000 hours!!!!" or whatever meant better sales and a way to squash rival manufacturers, they'd do it. Costs would be pretty low and they'd get some nice tax deductions for the setup, cost of power, etc.

But that doesn't happen. They know burn-in isn't real.

 

[plug]

I wouldn't see the point of breaking them in first. The very niche market would know about burn in already so it's superfluous as well as unnecessary.

 

[MomijiTMO]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif The reason they don't is most likely because manufacturers have never been been able to measure or detect a difference. ... If having a splashy ad campaign for "1,000 hours!!!!" or whatever meant better sales and a way to squash rival manufacturers, they'd do it. Costs would be pretty low and they'd get some nice tax deductions for the setup, cost of power, etc. But that doesn't happen. They know burn-in isn't real.

By real you mean a magical change in the sound - ie, once light bass [k701 anyone] changing to a neutral bass after 2000 hours. Oh don't worry, that boomy Ultrasone bass will go away after a few hundred hours. Don't like something in your headphone? The solution is more burn in! Yeah right, where's the lmao emoticon? Oh well.

Most companies prefer to play neutral leaving it up to the consumer to decide what to do. RSA is an example of one who says burn in is real. Everyone seems to remind me how reputable companies back up burn in.

At the end of the day, who cares. We are all here for the music right?

 

[eneloquent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MomijiTMO /img/forum/go_quote.gif At the end of the day, who cares. We are all here for the music right?

Best sig I've seen on this forum - can't remember whose it was - went something like this;

Quote:

Music -> Head

How's that for a gear setup, 'eh? What's the burn-in on your brain like - I hear that piercing treble and high frequencies soften after 40 to 60 years of use.

 

[MomijiTMO]

oh so true.

 

[InFn-0]

I think it is because headphone manufacturers dont believe in the 100's of hours of burn in people talk about.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by InFn-0 /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think it is because headphone manufacturers dont believe in the 100's of hours of burn in people talk about.

Of course.

What goes unsaid is that there is a lot of product testing before anything hits the market. A huge concern of beancounters (and I am a beancounter, among other things) is warranty claims.

Any product that goes to market has likely been subjected to thousands of hours of lab tests. If there was any degradation in sound, er, sorry, "burn-in," the beancounters would get upset with the possibility of returns. Returns seriously cut into the bottom line and they won't have that. If there was a significant change in sound over time, the beancounters and suits would freak out and demand changes from engineering.

There's a lot more to product development than most people think.

 

[m1abrams]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Erik /img/forum/go_quote.gif Of course. What goes unsaid is that there is a lot of product testing before anything hits the market. A huge concern of beancounters (and I am a beancounter, among other things) is warranty claims. Any product that goes to market has likely been subjected to thousands of hours of lab tests. If there was any degradation in sound, er, sorry, "burn-in," the beancounters would get upset with the possibility of returns. Returns seriously cut into the bottom line and they won't have that. If there was a significant change in sound over time, the beancounters and suits would freak out and demand changes from engineering. There's a lot more to product development than most people think.

You really think that they preform 1000s of hours of tests on each headphone that leaves the factory? How many hours of tests do you think each car that is made gets before it leaves the factory? Give you a hint it is less than 10 minutes on a dyno. Now sure they test the crap out of cars just like it but not the car you bought. I would be shocked if any but the upper teir headphones even see 1 sec of play time before shipping it. Reason is headphones are a simple device once you have the design down not much can go wrong that can not be seen with a quick visual.

As for your burn-in statements, yes I agree headphones do not magically change during burn-in. I do believe they change a little, but it is not like someone can grab a pair listen for 5 min. and say these phones have not had enough burn-in. In fact I would hazard to guess the change in sound is probably less than the deviation in sound between 2 identical headphones.