[jjmouse]

im burnin believer too,count me in

 

[Happy Camper]

The AKGs especially. I bought and ran both an amp and the 701s together. After about 400 hrs I thought it was a different system. The combo of the BG caps and the 701s just came alive. I can't give you an explanation for it but they do change over time. The 701 may not be to everyone's liking but to hear the best they can provide, you have to run them in.

 

[Earwax]

It depends on the headphone. Some only change a little over the first hours. Then there's the HD280. I swear it's still improving after many hundreds of hours.

 

[murphyb74]

My Denon D2000's have definitely improved after a hundred hours-or-so. I haven't analyzed the changes in detail, but the sound is much more full and inviting. When new, they were somewhat unimpressive - now I want to keep them on longer and listen to more music. I do have a couple reference songs I listened to when the headphones were new. I will re-sample those from time-to time.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Not much of a believer. There might be some physical changes, however, there's no need to perform rituals.

I've listened to every headphone and every piece of gear straight out of the box.

Neither I nor my gear has suffered any ill effects from the lack of superstitious burn in ritual. Everything sounds great and nothing has broken or sounds "off" because I just started using it without burn in.

 

[jsaliga]

Burn in? Well...maybe just a little. My new ATH-W5000s seemed to improve a bit after a few days of listening....or perhaps I was merely adjusting to the sound of them.

So...it seems to me that a valid question is just what -- or who -- is being burned in here: the headphones or the listener?

That said, I did experience some strange break-in behavior on a pair of loudpeakers once.

--Jerome

 

[Optional]

I don't think I notice the sound changing as much as the people here have mentioned, maybe my ears aren't as critical, but if a headphone is going to impress me, it has to be on first listen, new, out of the box is pretty much the only way we'll ever get to try these phones except for the few and far between head-fi meet.

I plugged in my ATH-A900's and loved them, same with my A950LTD's, but for different reasons, and same with my newest addition, my Grado SR-80i's.

I've had the ATH-A900's since 2006, the A950LTD's since about a month ago, and the Grado's for a week, and I listen to them all for different kinds of music, maybe over time I'll prefer one headphone over another for certain music, and my A900's have certainly gotten much better in the bass department, but I could attribute all of that to moving to digital audio delivery instead of analog, or switching to full ALAC/FLAC from MP3 and replacing all my crappy old rips when I was in 7th and 8th grade or w/e to MP3 V0 at the very least.

I noticed the biggest difference just in the sound signatures of head headphone, it's very obvious what each headphone wants to do, and where they shine and that's how I use them, but I'm not about to sit them playing music for a few weeks... I would rather just enjoy them as I go, it could be me that just gets more used to the headphone and it's sound.

I do believe in burn-in, but I won't actively pursue it, it detracts from me just enjoying my music, and if I hear something evolve, that's even better, it means I'm that closer to my music and my gear.

I have noticed the Compass changing a lot though, a change that is obvious between all of my headphones, so that's probably the only real obvious change I've noticed.

I hardly have the memory to remember what a song sounded like a month or two ago on one headphone and or another, I could attribute a change in sound to my health, time of day, weather, location, etc.. So I just roll with it and listen. Isn't that what it's all about?

 

[CDBacklash]

I believe in burning in the mind more than the headphones.
I wonder why many highly regarded headphones dont sound great at first?
Sounds counter-logic to me.

 

[tvrboy]

If burn-in really made a difference wouldn't these companies that make $500+ headphones burn in their drivers before installing them in a headphone? I think this could be a great angle for the marketing department of a high-end headphone company.

 

[Luckyleo]

Another one who strongly believes but I think it's headphone based. My K-701's are still changing after about 400-500 hours of usage. The highs continue to be tamed and smoothed out as time goes on. My SR-80's today don't sound any different to me than the day I bought them 2.5 years ago. Go figure!

 

[smeggy]

The only headphones I've heard to date than need a little loosening over a day or two were the Fostes T50RP and I think that's only because of their peculiar orthodynamic construction (flat film with etched trace over the entire surface) and even they just need to bed in for a day or two before they settle.

All others, no, not that I could tell. Certainly not enough to make me think it was anything significant.

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tvrboy /img/forum/go_quote.gif If burn-in really made a difference wouldn't these companies that make $500+ headphones burn in their drivers before installing them in a headphone? I think this could be a great angle for the marketing department of a high-end headphone company.

The cost would be more to the consumer for the effort. There are many vendors who do burn in their product before shipping.

 

[Grimspoon]

I'm mildly skeptical. I believe it might be possible, but I don't believe strongly enough to let my headphones run for a week with sound or static pumping through them.

If my headphones will take a burn in, they will do so while on my head, over time through various listening sessions.

 

[tvrboy]

It also seems kind of obvious to me that the longer you listen to a headphone, the more you discover about its sonic signature. This might seem to some people like the headphone itself is changing.

 

[bodine1231]

I noticed a difference on my Grado's. Not huge or game changing,but a difference. I used Pink Noise.