[s1rrah]

How come I've never once read/heard of a person mentioning that any audio component got WORSE instead of BETTER with a certain amount of burning in?
 

 

[Muinarc]

How come I've never once read/heard of a person mentioning that any audio component got WORSE instead of BETTER with a certain amount of burning in?


 

 

Hah that could turn the audiophile world upside-down. I can tell you I have had speakers and headphones that seemed to get brighter as they aged and I liked them less and less as they did.



...but you are right, about 110% of the time things get better with burn-in in reviews, things always "open up", sibilants are "tamed", etc. etc. This could usually would be attributed to the listener's ears "acclimating" to the device in question I guess.

 

[Speedskater]

While very occasionally a reviewer might write that something's sound got less good after burn-in, they have to be very careful just how they write it as the audiophile politically correct police might give them a ticket.
 
Ever notice how smart these hi-fi components must be?  They find ways so that after burn-in the sound is better, but none of the measurable parameters change?

 

[Bytor123]

I guess it's the listener that 'burns in', rather than the equipment...

 

[s1rrah]

All of that sounds reasonable and truth be told, my intention isn't to slam on the idea of "burn in" ... I've imagined I've heard it too with certain gear, even written about it in reviews ... but like others who have mentioned (fallen) for the idea ... I've not once felt that something got worse with burn in ...
 
Seems to me, especially with the likes of capacitors, transistors and the like ... that it would be super hard to always design something that would get better with burn in ... wouldn't it be just as likely that things would perhaps sound worse? How would the designer of such things nail it every time with all the component variables and internal elements that are used in such? So that any given user would always claim that things really "opened up" after 200 hours or otherwise.
 
LOL ... again, not to hate on anybody or anything; hunt down my reviews, I've said it too. But if you really stop and think ... it's a bit of a conundrum. 
 

 

 

[GrindingThud]

If it sounds worse after break in, maybe that could be considered broken.

 

[castleofargh]

2nd law of audiophilia: all system, electrical or mechanical will become efficient and sound better after 200hours.
 
you can't argue against sound science ^_^.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  How come I've never once read/heard of a person mentioning that any audio component got WORSE instead of BETTER with a certain amount of burning in?
 

 
They would be if you expand that to include earpad wear, which is what happens in some cases.

 

[proton007]

There's no way for an audio gear to sound worse because there isn't much happening during the burn in. Unless the burn in involves supplying more power than the device can handle, there will be small, indistinguishable changes, or none at all.
 
The only possibility is that the listener himself was hit by a bout of post buying remorse, and needs to find a way to return the stuff bought.

 

[Steve58]

"Burning in"........ well that depends on the driver design. there are so many mechanical/material variables: Headphones to a certain degree "burn in" but to what degree is not consistent "Burning out" is the question here. It depends again on the driver design and materials used. There are changes at a molecular level. Like most things diaphragms will change in response to being vibrated trillions of times along with environmental degradation. This will cause amongst other things, frequency response variations  below design parameters. Things are going to change. Mostly for the worst in the long term.
 

 

[rommy]

I Owned A Pair Of AKG 550s, that were sounding great after about 50 hours of burn in and after 75 hours got worse, at 100 I couldn't listen to them anymore. I sent them back

 

[esldude]

It is pretty simple really.  Just like an internal combustion engine loosens up with break in.  The jagged little edges get worn down a bit, surfaces polished, things mate up a bit better.  Everything improves the first 200 hours.  In electronics all those jagged connections that alter, jostle and mess with electron flow get smoothed off. 
 
One amp of current is 6.241×10¹⁸ electrons (or one coulomb) per second^.
 
With such huge numbers of electrons flowing how could it be anything other than smoothing the path the first 200 hours.  Everything gets smoothed up, aired out, works better. 
 
 
 
 
Or at least I believe something like that picture is why people find it so easy to think burn-in is real and always results in improved sound. 

 

[krismusic]

It is pretty simple really.  Just like an internal combustion engine loosens up with break in.  The jagged little edges get worn down a bit, surfaces polished, things mate up a bit better.  Everything improves the first 200 hours.  In electronics all those jagged connections that alter, jostle and mess with electron flow get smoothed off. 

One amp of current is 6.241×
10¹⁸
electrons (or one coulomb) per second^.

With such huge numbers of electrons flowing how could it be anything other than smoothing the path the first 200 hours.  Everything gets smoothed up, aired out, works better. 




Or at least I believe something like that picture is why people find it so easy to think burn-in is real and always results in improved sound. 

AFAIK Electricity does not work like that. FWIW modern cars are built to such fine tolerances that they do not need to be "run in" either.
Happy New Year All!

 

[Steve58]

AFAIK Electricity does not work like that. FWIW modern cars are built to such fine tolerances that they do not need to be "run in" either.
Happy New Year All!

"Electricity does not work like that" Headphones are electro mechanical it is the mechanical side I was refering to. AS far as electron flow efficiency goes thats for debate but I think its BS

 

[castleofargh]

  It is pretty simple really.  Just like an internal combustion engine loosens up with break in.  The jagged little edges get worn down a bit, surfaces polished, things mate up a bit better.  Everything improves the first 200 hours.  In electronics all those jagged connections that alter, jostle and mess with electron flow get smoothed off. 
 
One amp of current is 6.241×10¹⁸ electrons (or one coulomb) per second^.
 
With such huge numbers of electrons flowing how could it be anything other than smoothing the path the first 200 hours.  Everything gets smoothed up, aired out, works better. 
 
 
 
 
Or at least I believe something like that picture is why people find it so easy to think burn-in is real and always results in improved sound. 

APRIL FOOLS!!!!!!
 
the good news in your system is that impedance will always go down with time (strawberry impedance smoothie). how much burn-in do I need for my dap+phone to become a superconductor?
I can't wait for it to work 2months with one charge.
 
that is seriously an amazing idea. I wish we could vote the laws of physic and pass that one.
 
 
 
 
do you guys know the speed of demagnetization of the magnets used for drivers? I remember those crazy levitating chairs and the guy saying that the magnets would lose X% after a few years so that a fat ass might have to buy new magnets over time.