[Rlocksley]

I have had my ie800s for a month now, never burned em in, to which a friend was horrified. What do u guys think? Does it make any difference, and if so, what? I love em, and are by far the best in ears I have ever heard. Naturally, I haven't heard them all, but these are the best so far, for me.

I find the bass extends low and is very tight, and fast. The mids aren't annoying and "tingly" but rather smooth and comfortable. The highs are so clear and not overly bright, and just finish the image into a lovely soundstage that I have listened to for hours on end (I travel a lot).

If u aren't using FLAC, you should be , as it is the only media that will give you the full range of these headphones. I will tell you, however, not all flac is created equal. For instance, ELPs Brain Salad Surgery in the flac version I have, is horrible. I have to see if I have the original cd, that I ripped long ago, and see if trying it again with modern rippers improves the sound. As someone said earlier on, these headphones bring out every nuance of sound, good or bad. So pay attention how you rip your flacs, or where u get them from, as the better they are.........

I'm currently using the latest iPhone, with the Monte blanc amp, some groovy cable, and am looking for what DAP I want next. Currently think it may be the onkyo dx-p1, but am always happy to hear opinions from you all.

RL

 

[GRUMPYOLDGUY]

Horrified? That's an excessive response to something so trivial.

I'm in the camp that believes it's psychosomatic. But I haven't actually sat down and really thought about what could happen to the circuitry and components through extended use... So I have no facts to say burning in does nothing, just my fleeting opinion.


Sent from my E5803 using a highly trained, special forces carrier pigeon

 

[danmlr]

Tough question to answer definitively. I can't and won't invest more than say 70 hours tops burning in a pair of headphones.
 
I have had several pair of headphones that clearly sounded different after anywhere from 30-70 hours of break in: this includes some ktxpro1's, igrado and jvc harx700's. 
 
Some headphones which sounded absolutely identical regardless of burn in time: grade 60e and 80e. 
 
Some headphones which may have sounded slightly different after burn int: portapro, sportapro: negligible to subtle difference. 
 
It's tough to predict which headphones will respond well to burn in and which will not. 
 
I have not yet encountered a pair of headphones which sounded worse after burn in than before and I've had a few pair which clearly sounded better so I find there is no harm in burning in at moderate volume approx. 70 dB or so. 

 

[MindsMirror]

Burning in is no different than regular use. If you've had them for a month and been using them, they are burnt in already.

 

[hkppl]

Burn in did make some IEM sound different. However I won't burn in my IEM on purpose before I use them. I enjoy notice the changes of my IEMs thru normal usage and I found that kinda fun.

 

[danmlr]

I find 'phones open up really nicely at around the 50 hour mark of burn in. I've tried it twice recently with excellent results.