[Claritas]

So should I burn them in or not? I mean if there's nothing bad that could happen then its worth a shot right?

 
Without a doubt. And listen a little before, during, and after to see if you think anything changed. Good luck!

 

[flowza]

I totally believe in burn-in. When I first got my MDR-XB900 the mids sucked and the bass was all over the place. I played some pink noise on my headphones for like 16 hours and the difference was amazing the bass tightened up and the mids were obviously better. Burn-in with pink noise does wonders! If you want pink noise, do let me know.

 

[money4me247]

quick answer: NO.
 
longer answer: normal listening will "burn-in" your headphones fine. just be careful & don't blast the volume too high when "burning-in." if you are burning in normal listening volumes would be fine. i personally think burn-in = placebo effect/brain adjusting to sound signature d/t my personal extensive blind A/B testing.
 
even longer answer: the theory of burn-in is that the sound changes due to the driver movement. if that was true & the sound signature/quality changes with burn-in, there is NO reason that the results will always be a positive change. however, most users who believe in burn-in always state a positive effect on sound after burn-in. that simply does not make sense to me.

 

[Claritas]

  even longer answer: the theory of burn-in is that the sound changes due to the driver movement. if that was true & the sound signature/quality changes with burn-in, there is NO reason that the results will always be a positive change. however, most users who believe in burn-in always state a positive effect on sound after burn-in. that simply does not make sense to me.

 
John Grado on the subject: "All mechanical things need break-in." Shoes always get better when you break them in too, or else you decide that they really don't fit after all and return them--like headphones.

 

[money4me247]

 
John Grado on the subject: "All mechanical things need break-in." Shoes always get better when you break them in too, or else you decide that they really don't fit after all and return them--like headphones.

mmm... i kindly disagree. headphones =/= shoes. headphones are electronics. do smartphones or TVs or computers require burn in? do bicycles or cars require burn-in? headphone drivers are designed to be moved. i personally feel that whatever effect on sound that mechanical changes (loosening of the drivers or whatever) simply is too small to be detected by the human ear.
 
ymmv/imo - even done a lot of blind A/B testing between the same pair of headphones (used/new) & I could not accurately pick out which one was which, so that's why I hold this opinion. i personally think that the burn-in claims that headphone companies will state is simply a way for they to have a clause that sound will improve, so don't immediately return the product if you initially don't like it. i do agree that you should give headphones a 1-2 week test period before critically judging them

 

[Claritas]

  mmm... i kindly disagree. headphones =/= shoes. headphones are electronics. do smartphones or TVs or computers require burn in? do bicycles or cars require burn-in? headphone drivers are designed to be moved. i personally feel that whatever effect on sound that mechanical changes (loosening of the drivers or whatever) simply is too small to be detected by the human ear.

 
Peter Aczel, a staunch objectivist, argues against burn in for sources and cables in his famous article 'The 10 Biggest Lies in Audio,' but concedes, 'Loudspeakers, however, may require a break-in period of a few hours, perhaps even a day or two, before reaching optimum performance. That's because they are mechanical devices with moving parts under stress that need to settle in. (The same is true of reciprocating engines and firearms.) That doesn't mean a good loudspeaker won't "sound good" right out of the box, any more than a new car with 10 miles on it won't be good to drive.'
 
But everyone should trust his own ears. So if you never hear it, there's no reason to change your mind. I've already heard it several times.

 

[money4me247]

  I've already heard it several times.

when you heard it several times, was it under a blind A/B comparison test? just curious

 

[Claritas]

  when you heard it several times, was it under a blind A/B comparison test? just curious

 
I have done a blind ABX only once with two pairs of JVC HA-S500 and the help of a psychology professor friend. I couldn't tell them apart when we started. By the 70 hour mark, there was an unmistakable difference in the bass between the two JVCs. The other times, I had only one pair and heard real differences after burn in.

 

[ShibeSuchBass]

Honestly guys, we can argue whether burn in does anything or not, I know it is a very controversial topic and can sometimes become heated, but if it doesn't hurt, try it. I mean there's nothing to lose except a day or two. Even if its just my mind subconsciously thinking it sounds better, it will technically sound better, in my reality atleast, because my reality is what my brain interprets the sensory data input. Sorry, that was AP Psychology talking. But yeah, it's worth a shot.

 

[marone]

quick answer: NO.

longer answer: normal listening will "burn-in" your headphones fine.

Quick answer: YES.

Get a cheap SS head-fi amp and feed it a pre-amp out signal and have your new headphones burn-in for several days as you listen on an already burnt in pair on your main amp.

Listen to them for 30 minutes the moment you unbox them, burn them in, and then listen again.

Since you have not gotten used to the sound, as you never listened to them during the interim, what you hear is very real.

Not all hps respond to this. Some are burned in or do not need it.

SuperLux need it, JVC HA-Sxxx need it, Takstar, not so much. CAL! a little, and so on...

 

[ShibeSuchBass]

Quick answer: YES.

Get a cheap SS head-fi amp and feed it a pre-amp out signal and have your new headphones burn-in for several days as you listen on an already burnt in pair on your main amp.

Listen to them for 30 minutes the moment you unbox them, burn them in, and then listen again.

Since you have not gotten used to the sound, as you never listened to them during the interim, what you hear is very real.

Not all hps respond to this. Some are burned in or do not need it.

SuperLux need it, JVC HA-Sxxx need it, Takstar, not so much. CAL! a little, and so on...

Sorry but what is an "SS" amp? Same goes for a pre-amp. I do have a pair of cheap earbuds I can use while my new headphones burn in, and I don't have any amp right now so I would just be listening straight from the source. Please bear with me, I've only been into this for a few days, but I will become more experienced with time.

 

[Claritas]

Sorry but what is an "SS" amp? Same goes for a pre-amp. I do have a pair of cheap earbuds I can use while my new headphones burn in, and I don't have any amp right now so I would just be listening straight from the source. Please bear with me, I've only been into this for a few days, but I will become more experienced with time.

That's an unusual recommendation. You're doing just fine.

SS = solid state. It's the most common sort of amp.

 

[money4me247]

Sorry but what is an "SS" amp? Same goes for a pre-amp. I do have a pair of cheap earbuds I can use while my new headphones burn in, and I don't have any amp right now so I would just be listening straight from the source. Please bear with me, I've only been into this for a few days, but I will become more experienced with time.

ss amp is a solid state amp. most amps are solid state. the alternative is tube amps. it's simply the technology used to amplify the signal.
 
http://www.musiciansfriend.com/resources/article/Whats-the-difference-between-a-tube-amp-and-a-solid-state-amp/m710437
 
you really don't need an amp for low impedance consumer-orientated headphones designed to run out of a portable music player. the impact on sound quality is minimal.
 
mmm... i just find it funny that everyone that believes in burn in always says the sound improves after burn-in. if there was a mechanism that is causes sonic changes from driver movement over time, there is no reason that the sound should always increase in quality. i personally think it's far more likely that your belief that the sound will improve after burn-in is just coloring your perceptions... after all, most people who believe in burn-in never do any objective direct blind A/B comparison tests.
 
I used to believe in burn in and thought my pair of M100s sounded better after burn in, but then when I compared it against my friend's new M100... surprise! they sounded exactly the same. if you can accurately pick out an used pair of burned in headphones against a new pair in a blind test, then maybe there might be a case for it, but I have found in my personal experience that is seldom the case.

 

[ShibeSuchBass]

ss amp is a solid state amp. most amps are solid state. the alternative is tube amps. it's simply the technology used to amplify the signal.

http://www.musiciansfriend.com/resources/article/Whats-the-difference-between-a-tube-amp-and-a-solid-state-amp/m710437

you really don't need an amp for low impedance consumer-orientated headphones designed to run out of a portable music player. the impact on sound quality is minimal.

mmm... i just find it funny that everyone that believes in burn in always says the sound improves after burn-in. if there was a mechanism that is causes sonic changes from driver movement over time, there is no reason that the sound should always increase in quality. i personally think it's far more likely that your belief that the sound will improve after burn-in is just coloring your perceptions... after all, most people who believe in burn-in never do any objective direct blind A/B comparison tests.

I used to believe in burn in and thought my pair of M100s sounded better after burn in, but then when I compared it against my friend's new M100... surprise! they sounded exactly the same. if you can accurately pick out an used pair of burned in headphones against a new pair in a blind test, then maybe there might be a case for it, but I have found in my personal experience that is seldom the case.

I'm by no means anything remotely close to being an expert, but I think that people think they sound better because their mind is so convinced and subconsciously set to believe it will sound better after burning them in. Without them even knowing, their mind is imagining how much better it will sound and when they listen to them after, their mind thinks it does sound better because it forgot what it sounded like before, unless you listened to them for days before a burn in. That's all based off what I've learned in my Psychology class. Either way, even if I only think it sounds better, it will still soud better in my reality, hope you can understand that.

 

[krismusic]

I'm by no means anything remotely close to being an expert, but I think that people think they sound better because their mind is so convinced and subconsciously set to believe it will sound better after burning them in. Without them even knowing, their mind is imagining how much better it will sound and when they listen to them after, their mind thinks it does sound better because it forgot what it sounded like before, unless you listened to them for days before a burn in. That's all based off what I've learned in my Psychology class. Either way, even if I only think it sounds better, it will still soud better in my reality, hope you can understand that.

I'm impressed. You say that you are not an expert. Maybe not in audio (yet) but you were certainly listening in your Psychology class. Nice to hear a bit of informed logic on the subject.
To the OP. Personally I do not believe in burn in but playing music at normal listening levels for a couple of days will do no harm to the drivers.
Again personally I would not mess about playing weird tones or pink noise through them for extended periods.
Above all. Enjoy your new 'phones.