Burn-in - Process and Benefit

[THRobinson]

So, looking to get my first pair of decent headphones. Been using the ear buds that came with my Sony Walkman for the past 5yrs, decided to finally upgrade. I'm hoping for a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50X's if I see them go on sale soon.
 
While researching, I've seen so many comments and articles about burn-in... Some saying it makes a big difference, some saying minor, and some saying burn-in is total bunk.
 
So, main question of course is, is it a waste of time for these headphones? Plan was to run the audio while I'm at work so, it's not really any effort.
 
Next question, which I haven't been able to find info on... Is there a best practice for doing it?
 
I've seen people say to run white noise, pink noise, heavy metal music etc... Does it matter what you play? And if so, is it better to run it in a certain order like play white noise for 10h, then pink for 10h, then brown, etc...? Sort of a way to ease them in? Or it doesn't matter, noise is noise? 
 
Seen a few android apps and YouTube videos of sound for burn-in... Wasn't sure about changing things up while doing it, or volume level. Seems that most are just one solid noise start to finish and no mention of how loud to run it.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I've heard tons of headphones and never experienced burn-in. I also spent weeks listening to nothing but the M50x. (Which I am not a fan of.) I say just use the headphones normally and listen to music with them.

 

[THRobinson]

Why not a fan of the M50X? Just curious, saw so very many positive reviews for them being at the top for that price range.
 
I'm not using them for studio/monitoring type stuff, or rap/dub music, just music (70's rock, 80s, some newer stuff) on a walkman at home. They're actually out of my budget but someone relatively local has them for sale, used only a few times... price was good. Said he liked them but couldn't work with them on for long periods because pushed his glasses into his head. Just waiting to hear back from him.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  Why not a fan of the M50X? Just curious, saw so very many positive reviews for them being at the top for that price range.
 
I'm not using them for studio/monitoring type stuff, or rap/dub music, just music (70's rock, 80s, some newer stuff) on a walkman at home. They're actually out of my budget but someone relatively local has them for sale, used only a few times... price was good. Said he liked them but couldn't work with them on for long periods because pushed his glasses into his head. Just waiting to hear back from him.

 
The overwhelming bass that muds up the sound, mainly. That can be fixed with EQ, but I still don't like it much. Not super-comfortable either. I'm used to much higher quality headphones in general, so keep that in mind. Many of those reviews are by those who lack sufficient experience to really judge headphones. Since you're new to audiophile headphones, they should be fine.

 

[THRobinson]

Weird, many reviews I read said they had a bit more bass than the M40Xs but not a whole lot.
 
Sucks being in a remote small town (actually 800 people so, I guess a Hamlet) I can't drive to the local shop and try these things out.
 
I bought Monster DNA in-ear headphones from BestBuy.ca but, honestly, didn't sound any better than the Sony earbuds, and annoyingly will not stay in at all... which is why switching to over-ear.  Downside is, they won't allow returns on opened headphones (understandably) so stuck trying to sell them. 
 
But, ya... I'm new to higher end stuff... the best I ever owned were a pair of Sony MDR-XD100's... which were lacking to me. Kinda hollow sounding.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I owned the M30x, M40x, and M50x. The M50x has far more bass, trust me. I honestly preferred the more affordable models. (If I equalized them all to have a close-to-neutral frequency response, it may have been a different story.)
 
You will most likely love it. It doesn't sound awful or anything; just not worth the retail price, in my opinion.

 

[smy1]

I believe in burn in. I also hate the m50x I think it lacks bass imo. Clarity seems really dark. It's just really overhyped headphone

 

[THRobinson]

Well... for the price... around $150CAD / $110USD... what will trump the M40X/M50X?
 
M50X's are used but if can't get for the same price or less than the M40X's, then I'll be getting the M40X.

 

[LNuneek]

My personal experience with burn in is I tried it on a small variety of headphones and don't think it did much or anything at all. Except for one pair that I was extremely unhappy with when I got them, so I burned the hell out of them for about a week with everything from apps, to pink noise files, to playing music. Since I already was so unhappy with them, I also said screw it and put up the volume just to the point where it was just a bit too loud but not enough to do damage. I have to say after all that, it did improve things a bit all around. It was definitely noticeable, but I have to re iterate that it was the only pair where I could hear a difference after burn in and it wasn't a huge difference like hearing a different pair altogether. The basic sound characteristics stayed the same it was just everything sounded more rounded or fleshed out.

 

[Thekarma]

I recently got some 598's and didn't like them compared to my old 595's; I thought they sounded muffled and less detailed. I burned them in for 70 hours of pink noise and sweeps. The bass became more refined, and the bass was hiding the detail. The 598's just sound nicer than the 595's now. It wasn't just me I also did a blind test before and after, using the same music, on my girlfriend. Before the burn-in she instantly identified the new 598's as muffled and not as clear and preferred the 595's. Three days later, after not listening to either headphone in-between, she could not easily decide, and eventually chose the 598's saying they sounded slightly more 'full'.

 

[Karias]

I'm more at the "situational" side of the burn-in debate. Some headphones do require a decent burning-in to make them actually shine. I was running the Superlux HD668-b and I would say that burn-in is a real thing for these headphones. I gave them a listen after getting them and they hurt my ears real hard with it's treble peak, but after burning in, the treble was much more toned down, and the bass really opened up.

However, I do believe other headphones with a more reputable construction and testing, like the Senny HD600, would benefit less from a burn-in and more from a mental adaptation to the glorious sound it offers. I don't think I have much experience with burning in multiple headphones, but you get my drift.

 

[THRobinson]

How are those? I saw a few good reviews on those and the HD681's, but... not a lot of reviews. All good, just such a small number of them. Like on amazon.ca, was only about a dozen each vs some pricier ones with 400-600 reviews.
 
Debated them but, not familiar with Superlux.

 

[Music Alchemist]

I also hate the m50x I think it lacks bass imo.

 
No idea why you'd think that unless you're a basshead, as it's one of the bassiest headphones out there. I showed how much extra bass it has (above the green line) above.

 

[THRobinson]

I gotta admit that graph made no sense to me (average end-user)... reviews I've read (and I have read a LOT this past week) seem to indicate it has some extra bass over some other headphones, and can be a bit punch at times, but none referred to it as an "overwhelming" amount. But I do find it funny that the two negative comments in this thread about the M50X's are both about the bass and contradict one another.
 
Also no comments about what for the same price would be better.
 
The Sennheiser 598's were high on my list and a coin toss between them and the M50X's, but way too many comments about being amp dependant, which made the decision for me. Shame, they look real comfy and also lots of good feedback about them, but, I'm not getting an amp.
 
But, thing is I am new, I don't do audio work... just an average user trying to 'up his game' with some better audio than $20 ear buds.
 
For the M50X... 452 five-star reviews on amazon.ca, and 2,843 five-star on amazon.com, and only 63 one-star reviews between the two... even if not 100% the best, there are a LOT of very happy users of these headphones. Plus lots of Top 10 listed for under $200USD list these as #1 or very close to it... it's hard to argue that stuff. 
 
Bass is really my only fear with them... seen a few say that the M40X's as better because more natural sounding, and some say if listening to rock or anything with heavier bass/drum, get the M50X. I don't listen to rap, dub, etc... but some stuff like White Stripes, has some kick to it I don't want to miss on.

 

[Music Alchemist]

  I gotta admit that graph made no sense to me (average end-user)... reviews I've read (and I have read a LOT this past week) seem to indicate it has some extra bass over some other headphones, and can be a bit punch at times, but none referred to it as an "overwhelming" amount. But I do find it funny that the two negative comments in this thread about the M50X's are both about the bass and contradict one another.
 
Also no comments about what for the same price would be better.
 
The Sennheiser 598's were high on my list and a coin toss between them and the M50X's, but way too many comments about being amp dependant, which made the decision for me. Shame, they look real comfy and also lots of good feedback about them, but, I'm not getting an amp.
 
But, thing is I am new, I don't do audio work... just an average user trying to 'up his game' with some better audio than $20 ear buds.
 
For the M50X... 452 five-star reviews on amazon.ca, and 2,843 five-star on amazon.com, and only 63 one-star reviews between the two... even if not 100% the best, there are a LOT of very happy users of these headphones. Plus lots of Top 10 listed for under $200USD list these as #1 or very close to it... it's hard to argue that stuff. 
 
Bass is really my only fear with them... seen a few say that the M40X's as better because more natural sounding, and some say if listening to rock or anything with heavier bass/drum, get the M50X. I don't listen to rap, dub, etc... but some stuff like White Stripes, has some kick to it I don't want to miss on.

 
Okay, basically, look at the green line, which is the diffuse-field compensation curve that planar magnetic headphones (which are regarded as having neutral bass, and do have plenty of bass) follow in the bass. Then look at the grey lines, which are the raw headphone measurements at various positions. The bass is many decibels too loud compared to the rest of the frequencies. (Note how the grey measurements follow the compensation curves at all the frequencies.) Even if you use the Harman curve (black line) instead, it's still too much bass. Although most of the other frequencies measure fairly well, some of the upper ones are recessed, making the bass sound even more prominent.
 
I'll make the measurement links more visible:
http://cdn.head-fi.org/2/2b/2bec6adf_Audio_Technica_ATH-M50X.png
http://www.innerfidelity.com/images/AudioTechnicaATHM50x.pdf
 
Here are a few headphones under $200 (some require buying them used, though) that I like far more than the M50x.
 
Koss KTXPRO1
Philips SHP9500
STAX SR-30
Yamaha HPH-MT220
 
Like I mentioned, Amazon reviewers and the like typically don't have much headphone experience. The M50x sounds amazing compared to cheap earbuds, after all. But it sounds mediocre compared to countless other headphones that happen to be better. So before you have more experience, it should sound great to you.
 
You can always use a parametric equalizer to tweak the bass to your taste.