[cheechoz]

Sadly mistaken!! I was a doubter, like everyone else at some point. When I bought brand new cans, I would put them on, in anticipation of a new found sound signiture. Just recently, I have found a pair of cans, that, IMHO, are one of the best I have ever heard. That being the CD3000's. They have bass, that I never thought could come from a set of headphones. Not stressing quantity, but quality, the kind of quality bass that you search for, from can to can, saying something is still missing.

But enough of my love for this great set of cans. I have been seeking a second pair of them, and luckily, found some. This second pair of CD3000's is in almost brand new condition, still having that tight fit of a new set of cans. Being that I use my older pair everyday, and lately listening to the same CD's, particularly, Dave Matthews Band, I put the new pair on for a session. At first, I thought there was a channel imbalance, then everthing seemed to come together in the middle, with no real seperation of the two channels. I treated them to a heavy dose of Rage Against The Machine, and over night, things started to come around. The seperation is opening up very nicely, but still not as good as my older pair.

I mean, the evidence is right in front of me!! I never really understood, how a headphone could get better with time, but I finally have the proof in the pudding, beside me!!

 

[Xakepa]

I just got a brand new pair of Senn HD201 for a Christmas gift to a friend, and I tested 'em in my setup to make sure they're OK. There a BIG difference b/w my own pair and the new one - the new one is way too bright, with less detail, and less punch in the bass.

The only difference is the burn-in time. Same cans, same vendor, same setup, same music, same everything. DIFFERENT sound.

For me, there's no doubt about it...at least for this particular cans, burn-in DOES matter.

 

[ken36]

Right on brother. I seem to be leaning in your direction these days.

 

[falcogreg]

When I bought my pair of DT880's, I listened to them for a couple of hours. Let's just say I was underwhelmed. Too bright, little bass, no detail and very uninvolving. I decided to burn them in for 200 hours before I listened to them again. I didn't want to have the"psychological" effect kick in. You know, you get used to hearing them and after a while they sound good. If I was going to keep them, they had to sound good on their own without me developing any sympathetic bias towards them. After a little over 200 hours, I put them on and they sounded great. Wouldn't have believed they were the same cans. The bass really opened up, the phones were no longer bright, the balance was all there from high to low and left to right. It really was a Jekyl and Hyde thing. So, got me convinced.

Am in the process of doing the same for 701's. Just gave a listen a couple of nights ago after about 260 hours (prior to which the only listening was right out of the box for a couple of hours) and man do these phones sound great. Can't wait to start some comparisons between the two. Unfortunately, don't think I'll have the time until the week of Christmas as it's just too busy right now. The one thing I did notice was that the 701's sounded a lot better out of the box than the 880's did.

Have to say though, that both these headphones BLOW AWAY the Senn's HD 600's. Really am disappointed in those. Using an SR-71 at this time for listening. Am waiting until I get my new ppx slam amp to evaluate them further. Although I doubt I'll see any major improvements. If so, they'll be up for sale in the near future.

 

[Chri5peed]

Welcome to 'Team: Believe'!

I can fully get the idea of headphones 'maturing'. Seems an obvious thing to me.

 

[cheechoz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chri5peed Welcome to 'Team: Believe'! I can fully get the idea of headphones 'maturing'. Seems an obvious thing to me.

No doubt about it, but in my case it's 'Team Got Proof'!

 

[sgrossklass]

Among the cans I bought new or as NOS, pretty much all of them improved with break-in. The effect was rather pronounced on the DT231 (which originally sounded rather telephone-like and picked up dramatically after a bit over an hour at normal volume), but the HD535 also improved noticeably (first test subject for high-level break-in

), as did the HD420SL. Even the slightly used SHP805 still showed slight improvements (highs smoothing out).

 

[Emon]

I have no doubt that dynamic drivers, especially in low powered applications such as headphones, exhibit some physical changes within their first hours of use. But the idea that headphones change from night to day and continue to get better after hundreds of hours is completely absurd. Unless one has done double blind testing or measurements to support his claim, he shouldn't be saying "omg these are totally new beasts after 300 hours!" I find that very misleading, especially to those of us who are looking at prospective headphones for purchase.

 

[Glod]

It seems that whether audio equipment can break in is less of a controversial issue with head phones. Personally, I found that my HD650 and HD595 did not present the same relatively dramatic change in sound over time as my amps and some of the cables.

 

[RedLeader]

okay, dynamic devices like cones, and electrical devices such as caps I can understand slight alterations with use. (Which obviously WILL continue with age, it will just stop being truly noticable) But with something like a cable? How in the world does a hunk of metal (stranded or not) burn-in? It will have the same electrical qualities today as it will in a year. It doesnt change, it CANT. The only thing inside say a stranded cable that could change would be some strands might snap and alter the resistance, changing the sound. Could someone explain this to me?

 

[cheechoz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emon I have no doubt that dynamic drivers, especially in low powered applications such as headphones, exhibit some physical changes within their first hours of use. But the idea that headphones change from night to day and continue to get better after hundreds of hours is completely absurd. Unless one has done double blind testing or measurements to support his claim, he shouldn't be saying "omg these are totally new beasts after 300 hours!" I find that very misleading, especially to those of us who are looking at prospective headphones for purchase.

I wouldn't say a night and day difference either, but the changes, whether subtle, or dramatic, are very noticeable, being 50 hours, or 200!

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Emon I have no doubt that dynamic drivers, especially in low powered applications such as headphones, exhibit some physical changes within their first hours of use. But the idea that headphones change from night to day and continue to get better after hundreds of hours is completely absurd.

Where's the difference in terms of absurdity between the «first hours» and 200 or 300 hours? And, BTW, did you notice the thread starter's experience?

Quote:

Unless one has done double blind testing or measurements to support his claim, he shouldn't be saying "omg these are totally new beasts after 300 hours!"

Whether or not they're new beasts is up to personal interpretation, but break-in phenomena -- notabene extending over more than 100 hours -- can easily be measured, at least with speaker drivers (in the form of significant TSP changes). Nothing special for a speaker builder like me and posted several times on Head-Fi. So you can save your DBT.
.

 

[kontai69]

Quote:

Originally Posted by RedLeader okay, dynamic devices like cones, and electrical devices such as caps I can understand slight alterations with use. (Which obviously WILL continue with age, it will just stop being truly noticable) But with something like a cable? How in the world does a hunk of metal (stranded or not) burn-in? It will have the same electrical qualities today as it will in a year. It doesnt change, it CANT. The only thing inside say a stranded cable that could change would be some strands might snap and alter the resistance, changing the sound. Could someone explain this to me?

I ain't no engineer, but I read that the "theory" behind cable burn-in has to do with "conditioning" of the insulation (dielectric). The consensus is that teflon dielectrics take a long time to "burn-in."

 

[K2Grey]

Well, either DBT or measurable stuff would work, although _some_ reported burn-in experiences are more convincing than others (e.g. comparing old HD201 to new HD201, one person listening to cymbal of new V6, and comparing it with the exact same sound 15, 30, 50 hrs of burn-in later without listening in the intertim).

For myself, I can't remember what my HD201s sounded like in the past. I do think they think better now than they did when I first got them, but I don't consider that convincing evidence at all, given the huge time period between now and then.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cheechoz No doubt about it, but in my case it's 'Team Got Proof'!

don't flatter yourself, it's still merely anecdote.