Further AKG K701 Burn-In ???

[SunWarrior]

I didn't really start using my K701s until after about 100 hours of burn-in, done by continuous play with the 'phones plugged in.

While I now use the K701s to listen to music, I've read on this forum that further burn-in time will help them sound even better.

Is there any reason, then, not to simply leave the headphones plugged into my Little Dot MK V amp all the time, and burn them in even further as I listen to music through speakers?

Or, is this in any way a not-so-good idea?

All opinionated opinions and real-life experience welcomed.

Dave, who actually prefers music through speakers more than through headphones since the room itself becomes part of the sonics but probably shouldn't say such heretical things in this forum

===========================================
Headphones: AKG K701, Grado SR-80, Etymotic 4P/S
Amps: Little Dot MK V, Headroom Total AirHead, Arcam A80
Sources: Arcam CD93, Sony SCD-C2000es, iPod Classic
Interconnects: RS Audio Solid Silver
Speakers: Audio Physic Yara
===========================================

 

[paulb09]

Personally I enjoyed the process with my K601, and found it interesting how the sound changed (or how I perceived it changed, because I can't tell you exactly if it was the physical "burn-in" people talk about or just me getting used to the sound compared to my HD497) over time.

Still I differ in the sense that I didn't really want to listen to my HD497 much in the mean time, content that I would come to like the K601 over it (at first listen I wasn't thinking "these completely smash the HD497 and I love the difference in the way they sound"). I guess your case is different, as you have some good equipment you like to listen to anyway, so perhaps you should take that opportunity just to listen to your speakers whilst the K701 runs in for however many hours more you would like them to.

[edit]100 posts, and I wouldn't have thought I'd be discussing "burn-in" which I used to question quite heavily

 

[Rednamalas1]

I'm still burning in my K701s @ 500 hours or so.. and there are some fellow head-fiers stating that somewhere around 700 hours are needed for full burn in.
I have switched my amp in the middle of burn-in process (around @ 300 hours of burn in) and I saw a dramatic change in sound so I'm unsure how much of burn-in had effect over full 500 hours.
I'll generally try to get as many hours on it with various kind of music playing on it.

From what I understand, burn-in effect is more prominent in K701s than in others (while some say it's still a placebo effect

)
I personally saw a great improvement from 0 hours of burn in to 300 hours.

To answer your question, I don't think there's such thing as too much burn in - as long as you don't burn them in to extremely loud volumes. But then again, volume too low would be useless as well. Just remember to occasionally check your headphone like twice a day to ensure your headphone is doing okay.

 

[denl82]

Here's a review comparing a newish k701 to a well burned in k701. The reviewer found real differences between the two cans due to burn-in. I also found that using pink noise with the k701 extended the bass and made the overall tone sound sweeter. I kinda regret selling them and not sticking with the burn-in process until about 1000 hours or so...

 

[Happy Camper]

Quote:

Originally Posted by denl82 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Here's a review comparing a newish k701 to a well burned in k701. The reviewer found real differences between the two cans due to burn-in. I also found that using pink noise with the k701 extended the bass and made the overall tone sound sweeter. I kinda regret selling them and not sticking with the burn-in process until about 1000 hours or so...

x2 except I have no plans on getting rid of them. Pink noise will definately extend the bass. After about the 400 hr mark, the bass began to finally shape up and the soundstage came into focus. I ran mine in for three weeks straight and will still leave them on throughout the weekend if I am home. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/pin...urning-215556/

 

[pearljam5000]

is it safe to leave them running for so long?doesn't the voice coil gets hot or something?
Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif x2 except I have no plans on getting rid of them. Pink noise will definately extend the bass. After about the 400 hr mark, the bass began to finally shape up and the soundstage came into focus. I ran mine in for three weeks straight and will still leave them on throughout the weekend if I am home. http://www.head-fi.org/forums/f4/pin...urning-215556/

 

[Rednamalas1]

I think tubes will get too hot before voice coils

 

[greydragon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pearljam5000 /img/forum/go_quote.gif is it safe to leave them running for so long?doesn't the voice coil gets hot or something?

I'm afraid of that happening too, so I burn in for 5 hr straight then let them rest for 20 min--that should be enough time to let the drivers rest.

Nice site about burn-in and files.

 

[Brewmaster]

Quote:

Originally Posted by greydragon /img/forum/go_quote.gif I'm afraid of that happening too, so I burn in for 5 hr straight then let them rest for 20 min--that should be enough time to let the drivers rest. Nice site about burn-in and files.

I have a hard time believing that the voice coils would overheat in any headphone, under anything except abbusive conditions. It would be a sign of poor engineering, which I don't believe is present on any premium headphones.

 

[sunseeker888]

Cool site, thanks for that link

Honestly, I've been playing with speakers for years, and I know that a VC cannot overheat unless the speaker is played at like 3x its maximum rating (which is unlikely in the headphone world!) or there is such a copius amount of clipping that the extreme sonics fry the coil. Then again this really happens with tweeters. FWIW, burn-in has been too real with every 'phone i've ever used, even my first cans, Sony mdr-v150;s

 

[Happy Camper]

Tubes were made for military and industrial use. These places are typically challenging environments. They are used for years without failure or shutdown to "rest" at operating temperatures. They perform better in that range than starting cold and shutting down a couple times a day.

Voice coils burning out would be rare.

IMO.

 

[Senad]

700+ hours of burn-in time? I bet you are a proponent of $200 power cables as well.

 

[Uncle Erik]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Happy Camper /img/forum/go_quote.gif Tubes were made for military and industrial use. These places are typically challenging environments. They are used for years without failure or shutdown to "rest" at operating temperatures. They perform better in that range than starting cold and shutting down a couple times a day. Voice coils burning out would be rare. IMO.

Some tubes were made for military and industrial applications. Some were mostly for consumer goods. And the military and industrial gear also had military and industrial grade caps, resistors and transformers. Today's consumer goods absolutely do not, even if the manufacturer claims milspec parts. Those are meaningless when considered with the whole. Further, tubes in military and industrial applications fail regularly when left on all the time. And not just the tubes. Heat kills all the other components, as well. If you don't believe me, pull the Photofacts on old military and industrial gear. Those exist because the gear had to be worked on regularly. There used to be a ton of guys servicing this stuff, as well. Things were not so reliable in the good old days.

I've been restoring and using antique communications gear for more than 10 years. Believe me, tubes fail. Sometimes spectacularly. I won't leave tube gear on when I am not there to supervise. This is not one of those lessons you want to learn the hard way. Also, I would not worry so much about losing a tube as frying a transformer.

That being said, there is waaaaaay too much made over burn in. Just listen and let it happen. That's all you have to do. Don't put off listening while you do something potentially dangerous.

Personally, I think the amp has a lot more to do with the K-701 than anything else. I recently switched, and the K-701 went from being marginal to sounding great.

 

[Senad]

I have to agree. K701 is even more sensitive to the source than majority of the high-end cans out there. I would suggest you to audition as many amps out there as possible and decide which one works best for you. Many time it comes down to the personal preference and you should judge things by you own ears.

Findind a local head-fi meet is the great way to get exposure. You should check under "Local / Regional Meets, Parties, Get-Togethers" to see if there is one close to your place.

 

[fordgtlover]

You could just listen to them for the 200 or 2000 hours that you need. You get to enjoy them a few hours a day. You win both ways.

700 hours for burn in seems rather extreme. If headphone drivers take that long how long world speakers take and how would you burn in speakers - leave them running for a month continuously before you listen to them?