[moorashj]

Will be getting a dx-90 delivered tonight and I have heard a lot of discussion about burn in.  Can someone please tell me the importance of this and how to do it most effectively.  Thanks
Jason

 

[adisib]

People tend to think that "burning in" a headphone means letting it play either a certain music genre or pink noise for a long period of time.
 
Burn in is really two different things. One is placebo, that since burn in should improve your headphone sound, you thinking that it should makes it seem like it does. The other one is real. Headphones have their own unique sound signature, and it takes time to have your ears and brain adjust to that signature. Some headphones can sound overly bright, but after getting used to the sound they don't sound so harsh anymore.
 
If you want to burn in your headphones, there isn't a real process. Just listen to them and let your ears adjust to the sound over time.

 

[appsmarsterx]

to me it's more of a myth than a real phenomenon, I used to believe it in early days, as adsib mentioned earlier, it's more of brain/ears adjusting to the sound signature.. sometimes earpad breakin after a specific time might lead to these sound characteristic changes. but can't expect any drastic changes..

 

[superjawes]

Basically that plus this: Evidence of Headphone Break-In?

Could there be real, usage-dependent effects on your audio gear? Maybe. Do you need to cause it? No. Even if there is an effect, just listening to music normally will get the job done, and the final change will be pretty minor. Kick back and enjoy the music.

 

[moorashj]

Thanks all.  I have a pair of Sol HD's that I really like the sound of.  Had them a couple of years but I know there are better out there.  I guess the best thing to do is just try these out and at somepoint trying more "high-end" earphones.

 

[fabio-fi]

  Thanks all.  I have a pair of Sol HD's that I really like the sound of.  Had them a couple of years but I know there are better out there.  I guess the best thing to do is just try these out and at somepoint trying more "high-end" earphones.

 
Headfi meets are a great place to start and demo higher end headphones/setups. You can also discuss about the burn-in topic 

 

[Midgetguy]

Hi, new guy here, but I'm going to pitch in my two cents about burn-in. I'm part of the camp that thinks it's a real thing, at least for the pair of headphones I purposefully did it for. I got a pair of Superlux HD668Bs and after listening for about 20 mins out of the box, I took them off; they were a little hollow and definitely harsh to my ears on the high end. This is easily attributable to the fact that I had been listening to Sennheiser HD558s for a while and as a believer of burn-in, I connected them to my Macbook (I use my Senns on my desktop PC) and just let them play music all day for the next 3 or 4 days and didn't listen to them during that period of time. Upon returning to the Superluxs, they seemed much better. Still a little hollow, but that appears to be part of their sound signature. However, the high end sounded much better this time around with far less harshness. This might not happen on all headphones and heck, it might be just me and it doesn't happen at all, but either way, there's my two cents on the topic, take it as you will, but always stay open to other possibilities.

 

[blades]

I've never tested it with headphones but we did do a bias controlled test once between a pair of B&W 801 Matrix speakers that were 3 months old against a pair right out of the box.  They were indistinguishable from one another.  Our conclusion was that we break into speakers, not vice versa.  My sneaking suspicion is that the same is true of headphones.

 

[0ffbeat]

+1 for Burn in is real, it's just that not all headphones require it. So some people that don't hear any changes to their headphones will say burn in is a myth because they have never experienced it, but I have owned enough headphones and have experienced it enough to say that it is indeed real, it simply doesn't apply to all headphones/situations. That is not to say that there isn't a placebo effect, because there is and people do get 'used to' a sound, but I have heard changes so drastic that there is no way that it could just be me getting used to a sound signature. Those that own a variety of different headphones might relate, because we always have other headphones with unique sound signatures that we reference from and help keep us aware of differences.

 

[Midgetguy]

I'm more towards the burn-in side of the debate, though I can say I understand both sides of the debate, psychology vs. hardware adjustment. I've experienced it with the Superluxs, but I wouldn't be able to say if it was the headphones or my head adjusting with my Senn HD558s. The Senns have been my daily cans for nearly a year and they did sound better after the first couple of months. Could've just been my ears adjusting instead of the headphones in this case though. I felt like it was more of a definite thing with the Superluxs since I didn't listen do them during the burn-in period.

 

[Brooko]

  +1 for Burn in is real, it's just that not all headphones require it. So some people that don't hear any changes to their headphones will say burn in is a myth because they have never experienced it, but I have owned enough headphones and have experienced it enough to say that it is indeed real, it simply doesn't apply to all headphones/situations. That is not to say that there isn't a placebo effect, because there is and people do get 'used to' a sound, but I have heard changes so drastic that there is no way that it could just be me getting used to a sound signature. Those that own a variety of different headphones might relate, because we always have other headphones with unique sound signatures that we reference from and help keep us aware of differences.

 
Which of your headphones specifically changed with "burn-in" ?

 

[blades]

   
Which of your headphones specifically changed with "burn-in" ?

 
Those that had a sound most different from the one to which he was accustomed.

 

[0ffbeat]

 

  +1 for Burn in is real, it's just that not all headphones require it. So some people that don't hear any changes to their headphones will say burn in is a myth because they have never experienced it, but I have owned enough headphones and have experienced it enough to say that it is indeed real, it simply doesn't apply to all headphones/situations. That is not to say that there isn't a placebo effect, because there is and people do get 'used to' a sound, but I have heard changes so drastic that there is no way that it could just be me getting used to a sound signature. Those that own a variety of different headphones might relate, because we always have other headphones with unique sound signatures that we reference from and help keep us aware of differences.

 
Which of your headphones specifically changed with "burn-in" ?

 
 
Koss KTXPro1
Koss UR55
Koss TBSE
Panasonic HTF600
Audio Technica A900X
Audio Technica WS55

 

[Brooko]

Genuine question - given that our auditory memory (or echoic memory) only lasts for between 4 and 20 seconds - how do you know there has been significant change after burn-in of several (if not 100s) of hours?  I mean - you have nothing to compare to ......
 
With those headphones you mentioned (I haven't heard any so can't comment specifically) - have you had the chance to A/B any old vs new (as long as pads have similar wear)?
 
I know I'm probably beating my head against a wall here - but whilst I acknowledge speaker break-in (full sized - the spider is a mechanical part and can change), I personally have yet to encounter burn-in beyond pad wear, position on head, and psycho-acoustic (ie brain getting used to a sound).  And the brain adapts amazingly quickly.
 
I've cited this a few times as an example - and I believe it shows how quickly we adapt.
 
2 headphones - SR325i and HD600 - very, very different (I owned both at same time)

 I have personally found no audible effect of mechanical break-in with any of the headphones I've owned - but then again, I wasn't expecting any.  I have found that at first listen - I may find a headphone's sonic signature to be strange (not what I'm used to) - but after a while listening to it (and only it). my wonderful brain adjusts it's expectations - and the sound changes.  This is an easy experiment to do - especially for owners of multiple headphones.  Take you headphones with the most 'different' sonic signatures.  Listen to one for a few hours.  Now switch to the second - note immediate reactions - but keep listening to the second (again for as much time - hours - as possible) - then switch back to the first again.  Write down your observations.  
Switching from HD600 to SR325i to HD600.
 

1. HD600 initially sounds spacious, textured, natural - incredible timbre.  No sign of veil.  Switch to 325i ......
2. 325i sounds narrow, overly bright. harsh even.  After some time with it - it sounds energetic, highs are enticing, everything sounds alive and brilliantly clear - not harsh in the slightest.  Don't notice the narrow stage as much any more.  Bass is tight and accurate and a lot of fun.  Switch back to HD600 after 2 hours ......
3. HD600 sounds slow, dull, distant.  Bass is boomy.

 
Give it a couple of hours - and then the HD600 returns back to the first bullet point again.  I know this is an extreme example - but it highlights the reality of our brain's impact on perceived sonic changes.  Have the headphones changed over the 5-6 hours listening ....... no - both my cans would be considered well broken in by now.  So how can the change be so 'night and day' ........ 

 
Then there is Tyll's excellent article - http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/measurement-and-audibility-headphone-break
 
I'm trying to keep an open mind - but I still struggle to understand the intensity of people's belief (I heard it with my own ears!) - when in reality the only actual tests done are pretty inconclusive, but point to any change being extremely subtle.

 

[cel4145]

I know I'm probably beating my head against a wall here - but whilst I acknowledge speaker break-in (full sized - the spider is a mechanical part and can change) . . .

Aren't dynamic drivers in headphones similar in design to speaker drivers, only smaller scale? They have mechanical parts as well. Why would the bigger drivers be subject to break in more?

So perhaps, you believe you aren't hearing headphone burn-in, so you don't because of the unreliability of your audio memory. Expectation bias can work both ways