[AdamCalifornia]

How long have you burned-in your cans for?
What are your experiences with the process?
I've been burning-in my Sennheiser HD595's since
Christmas Eve almost continuously. I tuned in my
simple receiver to FM/AM stations. I've noticed that
the sound improved after, say, 200, 500, and then again after, say, 700,
900, 1000 hours. The soundstage, the stereo, the detail,
the fullness, the smoothness, ... of the HD595's sound improved.
It looks as though the process of 'burnining-in' headphones,
the HD595's in this case, is cyclic. Of course, in the meantime
I used them while watching movies, e.g. 'Finding Nemo', 'Metallica',
listening to the music: the Dark Side of the Moon, Echoes, Deep Purple,
The War of the Worlds (Jeff Wayne's rock-musical album),
... and also classical piano music: Chopin, Beethoven, Mozart.

How long did it take that the sound quality of your cans 'stabilized'?

See you in the Guiness

Book of Records

Adam

 

[Jahn]

I think Pinkie once burned in a pair of K501 for a whole year before he thought the cans stabilized. You have a few more months to go! Of course, your Senn shouldn't take as long as that K501 did, but it certainly is longer than a Grado, which seems to take under 100 hours tops.

 

[ScubaSteve87]

a year!>!>!!>!?!?!

 

[Purgatos]

My longest burn-in period was 0 hours.

 

[spike33]

I had about 100 hrs before I was satisfied with my HD595s... I did notice some improvement in smoothness and fullness afterwards... but they were subtle

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purgatos My longest burn-in period was 0 hours.

burn-in is nefarious. in fact, every time you listen to your cans, they are being burned in

 

[Purgatos]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jahn burn-in is nefarious. in fact, every time you listen to your cans, they are being burned in

I was, of course, assuming that they meant burn-in period until you were satisfied with the listening.

Smartass.

 

[Jahn]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Purgatos I was, of course, assuming that they meant burn-in period until you were satisfied with the listening. Smartass.

*tips his Smartass cap in acknowledgement*

The MS-1 was an instant eargasm for me, but after 40 hours they really started grooving, and then with flat pads, game over. grados keep giving more and more whenever you think you're satisfied!

 

[Ayreonaut]

Maybe I'll go for the record, and burn in my new phones continuously and never listen to them. Ever.

 

[jbloudg20]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ayreonaut Maybe I'll go for the record, and burn in my new phones continuously and never listen to them. Ever.

That's the only proper way to burn them in.

Just listen to them for goodness sake!

 

[spraggih]

I usually burn my new headphones in for -10 days before the 30-day money back guarantee expires. At that point I decide if what I am hearing is good enough with the hope for better. But I am listening all the time. I really do not know if burning in works - given each person's hearing is so subjective. Am I hearing something new or because my ears are adapting to the sound signature am I now focusing more...

I should start a web site "BurnedtoaCrisp.com" and spotlight unusual stories of musical bliss after months and years of burn-in. An old lady (88) finally can hear the difference in a pair of headphones she bought when she was 34... I am not making fun but the topic is so hard to pinpoint, interesting, based on the nuisances.

 

[AdamCalifornia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by spraggih .... I really do not know if burning in works - given each person's hearing is so subjective. Am I hearing something new or because my ears are adapting to the sound signature am I now focusing more...

I was about to add in my post what you've just said.
I believe that at least the following factors matter:

1. The sound of the new headphones improves continuously during the 'burning-in' period.
2. We are also getting used to the new headphones in terms of comfort (and otherwise) and therefore more focusing while listening through new cans.
3. Our brain-ears system is learning how to perceive the new signature of the headphones' sound.

See you

,

Adam

 

[Jahn]

actually, the way the can physically conforms to your head sometimes has something to do with it. i have a pair of beyer pads on the HP2 that started life on a DT770 i had, and honestly they are finally conforming to my skull perfectly - once the velour crumples up enough to give that nice seal, the SQ DOES improve. so for folks with new Cpads, don't give up so soon - those gaps tween the pad and your ears will eventually go away and you'll dig this C-sound!

 

[NotJeffBuckley]

Shurn-in is a total bam.

M-m-m-monsterkill!

 

[chris719]

I had a new ATH-W2002 and it took 500+ hours before it got to its final sound. At first I figured it was the driver breaking in, but really what I found is that with the W2002 it is all in the pad. The earpads become softer and much more compressed with a lot of usage and that puts the driver in a different position which grealy improved the sound. Just like the W5000, new W2002 pads are puffy and you can sort of squeeze the air out of them until they get used enough and compress.

The moral of the story? If the headphones have pads that change with use, do burn-in on your head!