[Roundwounds]

Hey,

I'm new here and I have little experience in the real world of audio enthusiasts. The closest 'audiophiles' are my friends who think the iPod earbuds are the greatest thing ever. So, I was wondering how important burning in headphones is? If it's something I should do, what would be a reasonable amount of time to let them play? Should it be at a fairly high volume? Whatever information you good give me on burning in headphones would be great. Oh, by the way the headphones I just got are a pair of Koss Portapros.

 

[Zalithian]

I think burn in only matters for dynamic driver phones. I'm not sure on the Portapros because I don't know if they're Balanced or Dynamic. You should use slightly higher volume than you normally listen to and it depends on the phones. Some people say IE8's need 250-300 hours of burn in and the NE-7M's only need 24-100.

 

[freakydrew]

I read this and it seems to explain, well pretty much everything:
http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/hea...urn-faq-56744/

 

[Sherwood]

Good link, freaky.

Here's the straight dope, as brief as possible. Headphones burn in by having sound played through them. People use "pink noise", because they believe it burns the headphones in faster. Any sound at any volume will burn them in, however, and you can easily burn in headphones by simply putting them on your head and enjoying them. If you intend to own them for a long time, don't bother with burn in, just use them when you use them, and if they change slightly with use, all the better.

 

[Roundwounds]

Thanks guys! I do intend on keeping them for a long time. So, I guess they'll get better with use.

 

[logwed]

Portapros don't really need a big burn-in, they sound pretty decent out of box. They won't mature as much as other cans. Their sound might 'crisp up' a little bit, but the change isn't dramatic. It certainly won't be worth a dedicated 100-hr burn-in session.

Enjoy the sound, and welcome to Head-fi!!

 

[logwed]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zalithian /img/forum/go_quote.gif I think burn in only matters for dynamic driver phones. I'm not sure on the Portapros because I don't know if they're Balanced or Dynamic. You should use slightly higher volume than you normally listen to and it depends on the phones. Some people say IE8's need 250-300 hours of burn in and the NE-7M's only need 24-100.

What exactly do you mean 'balanced?' Like, balanced XLR cables? Anyway, Portapros are for sure dynamic. Do you mean electrostatic?

 

[Scott549]

There's little if any evidence that the sound of the headphones changes at all. If you listen to them for awhile, your ears and your brain tend to make natural adjustments which make the headphones sound better. I think people who run pink noise through their headphones for 100 hours or whatever are fooling themselves.

 

[shigzeo]

this is a discussion with no end, but welcome to headfi!

 

[chinesekiwi]

White noise, pink noise, doesn't matter.

I personally use white noise. Tbh, you listen to it, go to sleep and you notice a difference the next morning = not 'getting used to it'.
Overnight burn-in blows the 'getting used to it' theory tbh.

 

[AmericasTeam]

Quote:

Originally Posted by shigzeo /img/forum/go_quote.gif this is a discussion with no end, but welcome to headfi!

So true!

 

[Zalithian]

Balanced as in Balanced Armature Drivers - phones that unlike Dynamic Drivers do not seem to benefit from burn in at all.

 

[Photofan1986]

LOL! Do you imagine BIG balanced armatures in a headphone like porta pro??^^

 

[Stevesebastianb]

These two CD's will help burn in for audio equipment:

VR2XMQ - Steve's Blog HF through SHF: Test and Burn In CD's for System Enhancement.