For all the burn-in skeptics

[Nak Man]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3lusiv3 This is really more of a guess but...It seems to me that the pro/DJ headphones such as the HD 25-1 and K271s may have sturdier drivers that take longer to loosen up than consumer headphones so therefore may take longer to reach their loosened up/burned-in state. Could this be the case?

Not sure about the 25-1 but 271s settled real quick compared to consumer grade 501.

Quote:

Originally Posted by bangraman This is why you shouldn't scamper to release a review / view of a phone the moment you get it, because people reading it from the view of becoming an owner (for long-term use) wouldn't get a valid view.

Exactly. Generally when we feel disappointed about one product we tend to complain quicker - compared to praising a good product. In retrospect I should've kept 265 longer for burn in process as it showed some promise as a good sounding sealed cans.

 

[Alu]

All I can say for sure is that speakers need "burn-in" as well. When I bought them and listened to them for the first time they didn't sound as nice as they do sound a few years later, meaning now. It seems as if there really has been a huge improvement in bass and high-ranged sounds. It even would appear as if the soundstage has widened *completely fell into the trap of people telling him about burn-in*

.

I guess it should be the same for cans.

 

[GlowWorm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MD1032 My SR-80's finally reached a point one day where I realized "wait a second...there's definitely a difference here". Sure, it took like forever, but there's a definite increase in bass response.

Yea, the SR80's take a l-o-o-o-n-g time to burn-in. I had a pair for 5 years and they were still improving when I sold them. I'm on my second pair of HD580's and they seem to always sound the same as from day one, I guess it depends on the cans.

 

[Shang-Ti Chen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlowWorm Yea, the SR80's take a l-o-o-o-n-g time to burn-in. I had a pair for 5 years and they were still improving when I sold them. I'm on my second pair of HD580's and they seem to always sound the same as from day one, I guess it depends on the cans.

Thanks for supporting my statement of the fact that it requires 1.5~2 years of use to reach complete burned-in.

 

[dknightd]

Break in is real. So is worn out. The sweet spot is in between

 

[breadnbutter]

The burn in of headphones seems kind of reasonable to me, since the sound is produced by mechanical components. Do the manufactures give any precise information about burn in? Maybe they should consider selling at least high end headphones fully burned in.

But what about burn in of amplifiers or even cables? (maybe wrong forum, but anyway) I guess people argue that e.g. oxidations or similar things form that dissolve after some use, but this seems rather "strange" to me. If such a thing really exists it should be easily meassurable for single components (like a single cap) with a multimeter. But looks like no one is interested in doing this and resolving the issue once and for all. For cables a burn in sounds totally bogus to me.

 

[JeffS]

I have heard the difference in some headphones after they were broken in. But recently I got the chance to compare my broken in ety er-6i with a brand new pair. I had put about 150 hours on the first pair I had, and there was no audible difference between the two.

I had asked people at Etymotic if they needed break in and they said that they didn't. There would be no change over time. I figured this was ideal theory, but time would tell. Well, from what I've seen, they were right.

Is it like this for all canalphones?

-Jeff

 

[rodbac]

Quote:

For cables a burn in sounds totally bogus to me.

It is, but that's not what's being discussed. They're two completely unrelated issues.

 

[Talonz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffS Is it like this for all canalphones?

I believe so, because it does not use the traditional diaphragm.

Quote:

Originally Posted by breadnbutter Maybe they should consider selling at least high end headphones fully burned in.

Supposedly Grado "de-stresses" the diaphragms to some extent, so I am assuming this is the same as burn-in.

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Talonz Supposedly Grado "de-stresses" the diaphragms to some extent, so I am assuming this is the same as burn-in.

Yes, it can be seen as the same process. Actually distressing of membrane and particularly suspension could be the main factor for the sonic «improvement» (less harmonic distortion), whereas increasing of compliance has «just» the function of increasing low-fequency extension.

 

[Grelkman]

I respect the observations of the original poster but I have some concerns about the conclusion regarding burn-in. This test did not eliminate all of the variables. Did both phones sound the same before burn-in? Was the new sample performing up to spec? Did the new sample sound better (or identical to the older sample) after 200 hours? Were there differences that could be attributable to changes other than burn-in (i.e., physical changes to the headband and pads)?

 

[philodox]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donovansmith Same with the AKG K271. They sound pretty weak out of the box, but give them a couple of weeks and they improve dramatically. They are most definately the most burn-in sensitive cans I've had so far.

I agree... mine were still burning in after 6 months of ~5hrs per day

I think they have peaked now though

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nak Man Not sure about the 25-1 but 271s settled real quick compared to consumer grade 501.

How many hours would you say you have put on your K271S?

 

[Blitzula]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Shang-Ti Chen Thanks for supporting my statement of the fact that it requires 1.5~2 years of use to reach complete burned-in.

It's not a fact, it's a very arguable observation

I believe in burn in, but these long time periods are unsupportable, unless you're assuming very limited hours over that time.

 

[rodbac]

Quote:

I respect the obervations of the original poster but I have some concerns about the conclusion regarding burn-in. This test did not eliminate all of the variables. Did both phones sound the same before break-in? Was the new sample performing up to specs.? Did the new sample sound better (or identical to the older sample) after 200 hours? Were there differences that could be attributable to changes other than burn-in (i.e., physical changes to the headband and pads)?

Your concerns are valid.

"Burn in", though, at the very least, has some basis in the realm of reality- we know that a headphone, like anything else with moving parts, begins 'wearing out' immediately, and this will eventually affect the output, so perhaps there are sonic changes early that make the phone sound better to our ears.

In other words, this is a subject that passes the first test in that it's theoretically possible, so it at least merits discussion.

 

[Blitzula]

I didn't realize headphones had moving parts. Is that the drivers? No sarcasm intended.