[Derek Dean]

Andrew, you seem to be on a mission to dissuade those of us who've experienced new headphone burn-in, that we are totally imagining the whole thing, that it's simply our brains adjusting to the new sound.

I have no doubt that there is some truth to what you're saying, but at the same time, I also have no doubt that what I'm experiencing has way more to do with the headphones "breaking-in", and whether that means the ear pads forming to my head, or the membranes of the drivers stretching a bit, or whatever, I'm firmly convinced that what I'm hearing is mostly the headphone "burning-in", and not just my brain adjusting to the new sound, mainly, because I'm not giving my brain a chance to get used to the new sound.

I'll listen to the new headphone just long enough to hear that it's congested and without highs or lows, and then take it off and let it play for a few hours and come back and listen again, and by golly, it's IMMEDIATELY apparent that it's opened up and is beginning to "get it's legs". I didn't let my ears (or brain) have time to adjust, I simply let the headphone "burn-in".

I know this won't have any impact on your thinking, but I feel it's important to provide some kind of balance to your opinions. Carry on : )

 

[bagwell359]

I suspect difference in construction and materials used in subwoofers and headphone speakers plays significant role on the effect of break in. So what is given for one might not be necessarily applicable to the other.
I myself have experienced ear break in effect every time with newly acquired phones, whether they were brand new or used.

Yes different but ABX'ers reject the woofer changes too. I'm talking Vifa and Scanspeak woofs that were all over $100 each back in the 80's and early 90's.

Yes I agree that ears break-in without other inputs which is why my last new can had 1 out of 11 hours on ear, than other 10 in a pillow and an hour sandwiched in front and behind with one and then the other of my refs on the same tracks. It seemed to keep me more objective. I did have VAC incoming issues then so that actually made me negative on them - until my HE-500's started sounding crummy too. I was getting a lot of 114 in.

Next time I buy a new can I'll do the same thing

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Andrew, you seem to be on a mission to dissuade those of us who've experienced new headphone burn-in, that we are totally imagining the whole thing, that it's simply our brains adjusting to the new sound.

Not to dissuade, and definitely not on a mission , just get to the real reason of the phenomena that I have experienced myself.
As the difference cannot be measured in any meaningful way, but so apparent after some use of the headphones, what is it?
When one of the biggest and oldest HP manufacturers publicly admits it in their FAQ that it's just "habituation effect", what else can it be attributed to?
When we hear drastic shift in frequency response, with treble taming down and bass getting tighter, soundstage widening, etc. wouldn't that show up in a measurements. But it doesn't, why, is it because the measurement device lacks emotions and consistent in its reading, or there are some additional forces in place not known to a modern science?

 

[Arniesb]

Excuse me. What is BS? The commentary by Winey as early as the late 60's or to me in the early 80's regarding break in of Mylar drivers. Or Gayle Sanders? Or my measured results with sub-woofers?

Or is it that break-in at factory isn't an issue that costs time/money.

Are you talking about planars, because that's the topic - not ribbons, dynamics, estats.

Why not specify your equipment and methods of testing?

Or is it the frustrated voice of someone that strayed in here from Sound Science?

Why so sensitive? Have any proof?
Everytime you have no argument you gonna talk about ASR?

 

[Vijay74]

It's a trick some use so you do not return them right away and "get used" to the sound. It's much easier to convince consumer that there is something wrong with the headphones and they will magically fix themselves over time than their ears.
https://support.beyerdynamic.com/hc/en-us/articles/201875262-Do-I-need-to-burn-in-my-headphones-

In a way its good too! Stress testing gets done while its still under warranty! I have ended up literally burning one of the drivers while trying to burn-in with pink noise Good I could exchange it for another HP.
Point is .. companies do not officially acknowledge any burn-in or break-in required for their devices. If they did, I would expect them to ship a fully finished (break'ed-in) product than a crappy sounding product.
Having said that .. even I have experienced effects of burn-in on some HPs. Surprisingly, I have heard effects of cable swapping too! Even though am still looking for possible reasons.
In one of my experiments, I found one TWS very good sounding over time with use. Then I ordered another one to observe if burn-in was real and new one sounded crappy? Guess what? The new one sounded great from the start itself! This specific case turned out to be case of brain burn-in with device signature over time

Not rejecting other's experiences though. But would be good to have convincing explanation at the end. I believe lot many DAC/AMP/Cable/foam rolling related signature changes should be achievable with much cheaper option of EQing Though that could also be highly debatable. But will keep exploring.

 

[bagwell359]

Why so sensitive? Have any proof?
Everytime you have no argument you gonna talk about ASR?

Sensitive? No, just trying to get you to put some meat into your statement.

Proof? You mean do I have signed notarized statements from ABX'ers? Do you?

No argument? I've mentioned ASR a small handful of times. Mentioned Aczel and The Audio Critic more.

It's typical. Someone that thinks they can take shots, but gets ruffled when you hold up a mirror. Substitution of an "ism" for honest inquiry. Thanks for the revelotory input.

 

[aravaioli]

I think the truly misleading and widespread belief is that with burn in all headphones will end up sounding better. I just don't understand how such a conclusion can be drawn. If we assume that burn in is real and the performance of headphones change from new, we should also consider the possibiliy that such change may leave someone disappointed.

I am not a strong believer of burn in but I have witnessed at least one headphone sounding worse with time. I am more inclined to believe it was me, not the headphone, but yes, that headphone that impressed me so much in store that I had to buy it right away, ended up being sold 3 months after as it became a mostly unpleasant listen.

 

[dermott]

Any thoughts on how the Cayin iHA-6 amp would pair with the Arya V2? Looking for warmth and power, but hoping to not have to spend $2K on an Oor

 

[Ichos]

Any thoughts on how the Cayin iHA-6 amp would pair with the Arya V2? Looking for warmth and power, but hoping to not have to spend $2K on an Oor

The Oor in not warm!

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Any thoughts on how the Cayin iHA-6 amp would pair with the Arya V2? Looking for warmth and power, but hoping to not have to spend $2K on an Oor

For Arya V2, I can't recommend a better combo than A90D + Ares II. A90D is neutral sounding amp, but the Ares II will add some warmth, body, and life into the music.

Still one of the best systems I have heard and built to date. Brings a smile to my face with each listen.

I believe @PoSR77 has the Cayin iHA-6 IIRC.

 

[Vijay74]

For Arya V2, I can't recommend a better combo than A90D + Ares II. A90D is neutral sounding amp, but the Ares II will add some warmth, body, and life into the music.

Still one of the best systems I have heard and built to date. Brings a smile to my face with each listen.

I believe @PoSR77 has the Cayin iHA-6 IIRC.

I always wanted to compare it so specifically added Ares II to A90 (not A90D) to my earlier setup of Chord Qutest + A90 + Arya. Its my displeasure to share that I preferred Qutest over Ares II. Of course these are personal preferences and may depend on Ares II settings (OS/NOS) but from voice clarity and bass punch point of view, Qutest did much better than Ares II.
I have heard great reviews of Ares II but never found it to be that great. Could be due to different music/genre preferences.

Edit: In fact BTR7 sounded better than Ares II on these parameters. I always found Ares II to be recessed on Bass punch and voice clarity.

 

[NascentAP]

I always wanted to compare it so specifically added Ares II to A90 (not A90D) to my earlier setup of Chord Qutest + A90 + Arya. Its my displeasure to share that I preferred Qutest over Ares II. Of course these are personal preferences and may depend on Ares II settings (OS/NOS) but from voice clarity and bass punch point of view, Qutest did much better than Ares II.
I have heard great reviews of Ares II but never found it to be that great. Could be due to different music/genre preferences.

Edit: In fact BTR7 sounded better than Ares II on these parameters. I always found Ares II to be recessed on Bass punch and voice clarity.

I can relate to your experience. FYI, Ares II is apparently not a good match for A90. I had this pairing driving Arya V2 and was dissatisfied with the sound even before I knew that impedance matching was a thing. Then I read that the pairing in question creates an impedance mismatch, especially if your connection is balanced. Ares II has an unusually high output impedance (2.4k Ohm) and A90's input impedance is also unusually low (supposedly it's also 2.4k Ohm), such that an ideal output to input ratio of 1:10 cannot be achieved. Discussions on this topic is littered throughout various threads in multiple forums. One particular person emailed Topping and apparently, they stated that A90 should not be used with the Ares II. This is exactly the reason why I passed on Fluxlab FA-10; input impedance via balanced is also low at 3.3k Ohm (fortunately, they publish this info on their product website). I'm not an audio electrical engineer so I won't be able to break it down technically (or even why/how the deviation from the 1:10 ratio affects the sound) - just sharing my own experience as well as what I gathered after doing some searching on this topic.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

I always wanted to compare it so specifically added Ares II to A90 (not A90D) to my earlier setup of Chord Qutest + A90 + Arya. Its my displeasure to share that I preferred Qutest over Ares II. Of course these are personal preferences and may depend on Ares II settings (OS/NOS) but from voice clarity and bass punch point of view, Qutest did much better than Ares II.
I have heard great reviews of Ares II but never found it to be that great. Could be due to different music/genre preferences.

Edit: In fact BTR7 sounded better than Ares II on these parameters. I always found Ares II to be recessed on Bass punch and voice clarity.

Not the case for me. Probably comes down to personal preference. Although, you're also comparing a ~$2k DAC to one that's half its cost, so I'd expect it to sound "better".

I tend to prefer R-2R with HiFiMan planars. Helps smooth out the edginess and occasional sharpness. Sounds more natural to me.

Edit: maybe it was an issue with A90 in particular. No problems with the A90D. Bass and vocals sound great to me.

 

[orangecrescent]

For Arya V2, I can't recommend a better combo than A90D + Ares II. A90D is neutral sounding amp, but the Ares II will add some warmth, body, and life into the music.

Still one of the best systems I have heard and built to date. Brings a smile to my face with each listen.

I believe @PoSR77 has the Cayin iHA-6 IIRC.

The other combination worth considering for the v2 is singxer sa-1 with topping d70s.
No I don't have the a90d + ares II so I have nothing to say about their comparison.
Just that the sa-1 and d70s have delivered beautiful music to my ears through the v2.

 

[SemiAudiophile]

Just that the sa-1 and d70s have delivered beautiful music to my ears through the v2.

That's all that really matters ain't it?