[Fandangoya]

Just got a new pair of HD555's and I love them so far.

So I'm starting to burn them in with 20 min pink noise, 2 min cool down (digital silence) and then starting that over again. It was doing that last night for like 7 hours and I didn't really notice a huge difference in the morning.

How many hours should I do using that method until I should stop? Thanks.

 

[Enthusia]

I have the hd-555's and I didn't really notice any major difference after burning them in. Ive been using them for about a 2 years now. Just to make sure though try burning them for at least 30 hours, that should get all the kinks out.

 

[JackeShan]

I have the hd-555 too and I can honestly say I don't hear a difference now compared to when I bought them a year ago.

 

[huffman142]

the HD-555s were my first set of decent headphones. i noticed the bass gained a little kick after a few weeks of steady use. it's not a huge difference, but i know the bass improved after a few weeks. they may not be "great" according to a lot of enthusiasts on this forum, but i still love the HD-555. i loved their sound for acoustic music. i have the K701s and there are times i switch over to HD-555 when i want more weight to the music. I have the Senn HD-650s on their way, so we'll see how they are. They're to be delivered tomorrow.

 

[MrKazador]

I would say at least 30 hours like the other user posted. I don't remember if there was a difference really. Just enjoy them!

 

[Vali]

Quote:

Originally Posted by huffman142 /img/forum/go_quote.gif i noticed the bass gained a little kick after a few weeks of steady use. it's not a huge difference, but i know the bass improved after a few weeks.

I second that.

Out of the box they sounded a bit congested, but still satisfyingly detailed. Pianos, violins and female voices in particular sounded slightly flawed. During the 60+ hours of burn-in so far they've become noticeably more clear. I wouldn't say the bass gained much quantity, but rather control and detail - it's just more engaging.

Another thing I noticed is that if you don't use them for a while, you have to give them half an hour or so to "warm up".

 

[QQQ]

All burn in talk are very subjective since you don't have another stock pair to compare with your year-old pair.
Just listen to your cans.

 

[eraser_svk]

On my 555s I noticed a pretty noticeable change after 10 days of 8 hours/day use (when not listening, playing on the table). Out of the box they sounded somewhat colored with very weak bass. Then the coloration disappeared and the bass got stronger. I am talking about the 50 Ohm version.

 

[metalears]

I'm tracking my burn-in process very carefully after pink-noise sessions by listening to songs I know by heart.. So far for 62.5 hours burn in, the quality improved just a tad.. I'm planning to burn them in for over 100+ hours with pink noise... Let's see what'll happen..

 

[metalears]

Yes, at last, my results:

To be as close to unbiased (actually for a truer AB testing) as possible, I didn't not listen to other headphones, did not went thru big altitude changes (to save my eardrum from any excessive stretchings, of course other than the ones caused by 555's), and didn't wash inside my ears and put the cotton sticks for cleaning earwax, the headband was fixed and I always put the headphones to the same exact position everytime (OK, I'm cutting the cr*p

) I think I'm being a bit, very-over-detailed-hyercritical..

I did pink noise burn/break-in for 30mins/2mins break by the burninwavegenerator and constant pink noise (flac) running at the background thru winamp, if I don't say otherwise...

(' = hours, '' = minutes)

right out of the box: raw, like cheap (even the high-priced) philips cans.
30' : better quality, closer to high-end cans.
52' 10'' : no bass impact (it literally vanished)
62' 30'' : details increased, no bass impact whatsoever still, piercing/shrill highs, soundstage did not improved so far.
84' 10'' (pink noise thru wavegenerator) + 12' 40'' brown noise thru winamp + 11' bass heavy subwoofer test tracks : sound stage is huge now, very good (wow!) bass impact compared to what it was right out of the box, deeper bass extension, excellent details, and NOW no mercy for low quality tracks (below 192kps), mellow mids, powerful highs (still quite piercing).
98' 10'' pink noise + 26' 40'' brown noise + 11' bass : piercing highs still and I even checked the EQ if I've messed some frequencies up or not by mistake, but the full soundstage just forgives the highs, bass impact has slightly (so little) decreased but still it's punchy and not muddy.
104' pink noise + 32' 40'' brown noise + 11' bass : nice overall, soundstage brings tears into my eyes when I listen to the most romantic songs for me; bass impact, quality and extent is good, details are marvellous and the highs are not too tiresome...

I think I won't continue breaking the 555's in any longer as I might not distinguish any changes and lead a whole bunch of you in head-fi to wrong directions; because the burn in process does not seem to change the characteristics any more audible after this point and I want to break them in naturally by listening to and enjoying my music. Along the way, I hope they get better and reach the optimal sound quality they are capable of giving..

I started thinking, and have a question for experienced ones out there:
Did the bass-heavy tracks stretched and tightened the coils, or the mere pink noise? And if I had followed other pathways and methods of burning in, would the sound of this broken-in 555's be much different or not? (Who knows, eh?) If I do other things to compensate, can I reverse the effects of already-done break-in and change the characteristics of the headphones to different ones (and maybe the optimum and the best sound quality these cans can give to me)


OK, I know I ask A LOT from life.. But forgive me please

Other thoughts on the HD555's:
The cable is better than e.g. the hd280pros' coiled one.
This s*cker (actually I love my 555's, I'm not offending them really) must be amplified. Lovely to my ears if coupled with my Little Dot MK III.

 

[espire]

Quote:

Originally Posted by metalears /img/forum/go_quote.gif To be as close to unbiased (actually for a truer AB testing) as possible, I didn't not listen to other headphones, did not went thru big altitude changes (to save my eardrum from any excessive stretchings, of course other than the ones caused by 555's), and didn't wash inside my ears and put the cotton sticks for cleaning earwax, the headband was fixed and I always put the headphones to the same exact position everytime.

Yes, but did you actually compare the burned in pair to one that hadn't been burned in?

Without that, there's absolutely no point of testing at all.

 

[potato28]

I noticed that the bass really takes a back seat and the mids flourish after 150 hours, but I also have well over 2,000 hours on my 555's.

 

[donunus]

I think some pairs might need more burn in than others. My 555s were crap out of the box and improved 500% with burn in. Give your cans 50 hours of loud pink noise and if there is no difference then just enjoy them. If it still improves, keep adding 24 hours until you notice no more change in sound

 

[walls]

I know a lot of people say that they dont really warrent an amp but mine sound really great when paired with my LD 2++. Also they are a little picky about the source, they absolutley shine when used with a decent CD player as the source but leave just a tiny bit on the table when using my I-Pod as the source.

 

[metalears]

Quote:

Originally Posted by espire /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes, but did you actually compare the burned in pair to one that hadn't been burned in? Without that, there's absolutely no point of testing at all.

I wrote some strange 'hour-marks' because I noticed a soundable difference in the cans and then I wrote what has changed. I really needn't a brand new pair of 555's to compare what's changing.. I know change happens during break-in..