[Mambosenior]

Quote:

Why isn't this thread closed yet?  XD

 
(There's still the belly-button lint that needs to be analyzed, I guess.)
 
"Just because the measured data of headphone break-in may be vanishingly small does not mean it can't be sensed." Perhaps the absolute best comment of all four articles. Bravo! (and) Thank you!

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

 
(There's still the belly-button lint that needs to be analyzed, I guess.)
 
"Just because the measured data of headphone break-in may be vanishingly small does not mean it can't be sensed." Perhaps the absolute best comment of all four articles. Bravo! (and) Thank you!

 
Personally - I liked these two better .......
 

The one thing I think I have proved, however, is that if break-in does exist, it is not a large effect. When people talk about night and day changes in headphones with break-in, they are exaggerating. 

 
and .....
 
 

 If they sound lousy out of the box, but they start sounding a lot better as you listen to them over time, it's your amazingly versatile brain figuring out how to cope with the world.
The miracle is in your head ... not in the headphones.

 

[xnor]

Quote:

Thanks!  Seems fairly conclusive to me.

That K701 owners are wrong about the burn-in changes they report? Sure, in that case I'd agree, but this thread has a more general tone.
 
Of course showing this for one particular model made the people shouting: "But what about headphone X? I heard it, I must be right. You didn't prove anything!"

 

[Mambosenior]

The statement I quoted does imply that the tests showed SOME change took place.

Personally, I have never bought into the burn-in procedure and do believe that one's initial take on a headphone is how it will be. I used Tyll's quote regarding "vanishingly small" changes because it DOES establish that there WAS change. Whether I or anyone else can hear this atomic-level change, it is still there.

Those that believe they hear it, well, congratulations! Frankly, I wish I had senses that worked at that level.

 

[Mambosenior]

Sorry, I forgot.
 
Couldn't the wear over time on the "other" parts of the headphone manifest itself as "change?" It doesn't seem logical that repeated on-off wearing sequences wouldn't lead to materials aging/adapting and contributing to insignificant BUT identifiable changes to some users. Are there tests for how these other factors impact headphone performance over time? To measure just the transducer element appears to ignore so many other things that make up a headphone.

 

[mikeaj]

Quote:

Sorry, I forgot.
 
Couldn't the wear over time on the "other" parts of the headphone manifest itself as "change?" It doesn't seem logical that repeated on-off wearing sequences wouldn't lead to materials aging/adapting and contributing to insignificant BUT identifiable changes to some users. Are there tests for how these other factors impact headphone performance over time? To measure just the transducer element appears to ignore so many other things that make up a headphone.

 
Like pads, headband, other parts? Yeah, over the long haul these actually make some kind of difference that we shouldn't at all dismiss.
 
See bottom here, for example:
http://rinchoi.blogspot.com/2012/04/introduction-it-is-generally-known-that.html
 
When people talk about burn in, they're talking about the transducers though. You need to be aware of the other factors, anyhow.

 

[Yazen]

Quote:

The statement I quoted does imply that the tests showed SOME change took place.

Personally, I have never bought into the burn-in procedure and do believe that one's initial take on a headphone is how it will be. I used Tyll's quote regarding "vanishingly small" changes because it DOES establish that there WAS change. Whether I or anyone else can hear this atomic-level change, it is still there.

Those that believe they hear it, well, congratulations! Frankly, I wish I had senses that worked at that level.

 
Quote:

Sorry, I forgot.
 
Couldn't the wear over time on the "other" parts of the headphone manifest itself as "change?" It doesn't seem logical that repeated on-off wearing sequences wouldn't lead to materials aging/adapting and contributing to insignificant BUT identifiable changes to some users. Are there tests for how these other factors impact headphone performance over time? To measure just the transducer element appears to ignore so many other things that make up a headphone.

Why bother?  If the headphone has changed over a period of 300 hours, this proves "Burn in".  Whether or not someone can hear this change requires a completely different test yes?
 
I believe I posted this months ago:  I don't side strong with the Burn-in folk.  
 
When I read burn in threads, I try to count how many sheep are going to hear the EXACT same change.  You might hear a difference, after trying really hard

 

[migasson]

Has anyone bought a pair of 'phones, listened to them for an hour, stopped listening, "burned" them in for say 200 hours, then put them back on and heard the difference? I personally don't have the patience!!

 

[ferday]

Quote:

Has anyone bought a pair of 'phones, listened to them for an hour, stopped listening, "burned" them in for say 200 hours, then put them back on and heard the difference? I personally don't have the patience!!

that's not a test of anything
 
no one that has ever lived, or ever will live, has an audible memory of 200 hours!

 

[foreign]

Has anyone bought a pair of 'phones, listened to them for an hour, stopped listening, "burned" them in for say 200 hours, then put them back on and heard the difference? I personally don't have the patience!!

Yes I have bought a pair oh headphones for someone they didn't like the initial sound took it home used it for a couple weeks. Gave it back to them and they then said wow did you swap it for a different headphone. This doesn't prove anything though it could have just been the pads softening up after I used them. Or my friend couldn't remember the sound few weeks ago or a different music track which suited the cans better than the previous audition. To many variables lol, the only thing that changed was her opinion from not liking them to a big wow these sound awesome. She isn't an audiophile and she used to have a cheap set of cans so I thought I would introduce her to Senns. Mind you she listens to music almost all the time now with the new cans.

 

[krismusic]

I am sure that there is no shortage of anecdotal "evidence" but. I was hugely disappointed with my IE8's when I first heard them. Put them in a drawer with music playing through them. Tried them again and was much happier with them. I don't like to subscribe to audio mysticism but at least this "myth" doesn't cost anything and so does no harm.

 

[castleofargh]

I guess the reason why industries didn't invest billions of $ to answer that question is: what's the point?
if there is no burn in, then there is none.
if there is, well you can't help it anyway.
 
my incentive on this:
 if it was out in the cold or super hot sun, wait and give it time to get to ambient temperature.
it it was never used or not used in a long time, let it play 10mn alone.
 
 
but 400hours or whatever that's not burn in, that's aging.

 

[krismusic]

If People, including me, find that after "burn in" they are happier with their headphones then that's a good thing surely. Mind you. It occurred to me that I have never heard of anyone saying "I loved my headphones unti they burned in"!

 

[jaddie]

If People, including me, find that after "burn in" they are happier with their headphones then that's a good thing surely. Mind you. It occurred to me that I have never heard of anyone saying "I loved my headphones unti they burned in"!

You have now. I have a set of headphones that have been burned in for hundreds of hours. And I don't like them nearly as well as when they were brand new. Still great phones, still like them, but they aren't knocking me over anymore.

Again, anecdotal, no control, completely subjective opinion, so ignore it, but I'm not making it up either.

 

[mikeaj]

Nah, when the experience turns sour, it's because you don't really like the sound after all.
 
When the experience improves—now that's burn in!