[Sxooter]

  Quote:
 
 
I hereby dub this discussion, "The Thread That Refused To Die (tm)."
 
I think we have beaten this to death. Several times. I'm not entirely sure why it refuses to remain dead, but then again, people keep watching cat video's on the Internet, too.

Because feelz > realz

 

[darko313]

I've discerned no changes in the sound signature of my Fidelio X1s after extended burn-in. Might update this with results from new JVC HA-S680s coming in a few weeks to see if any 'burn-in' is noticeable. I suspect advocates of burn-in are a lot like those who refrigerate their batteries. Human consciousness is not static. If you listen to some music today it may sound different the next day. Stress and various factors can affect our concentration. We can just as easily tune out certain aspects of music like we can tune out a lecture or the sound of a road nearby. It's easy to attribute attribute accommodation to the sound signature of a pair of headphones to the burn-in process, but the science is just not there. Until there is a section on Wikipedia dedicated to and explaining burn-in, I categorize it with magical thinking. Most times I see burn-in recommended no one actually mentions what improved, but choose to use ambiguous  terms like 'improved clarity'.
 
Does the audio crowd (audiophile is kind of an annoying term at this point that carries certain implications) really need more people who advocate things they can't explain even in the simplest of scientific terms? Some have equated burn-in to combustible engines, but really most electronics do not burn in but instead suffer from wear and tear. Screens lose brightness as they age, computers do not get faster from 100 hours of use.
 
My Arx-A1b's sound better than they did a year ago, but that's because I replaced the lepai2020 with a Topping TP-21. For sound quality to improve, you have to make a change to the design, such as replacing the cushions or the drivers, or adding a port. Some things really just work right out of the box people.

 

[Saraguie]

The only piece of audio equipment that has a noticeable 'burn in' which changes its sound signature, in a relatively short period of time, say 50-100 hours, is a tube.  Solid State materials do not burn in.  Over long periods of use they degrade or wear out.
 
Different types of metal, quality of the metal, the way in which a component is built all that, is what determines how it sounds.
 
IMO.

 

[SilverEars]

Ok, so everytime I start listening to my planar magnetic cans, it would sound hollow(which is how it sounds like with less powerful amp when I do a comparison), and I give it some time to play some music, it performs better.  Why is that?  Is there some some sort of warm up period for planars?  I never experienced this before.

 

[bigshot]

Try letting them play without listening to them first.

 

[ab initio]

That doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.
 
Are you using a tube amp? Did you give your tube heaters enough time to warm up? If your tubes aren't warmed up and your headphones need a lot of current, I imagine you'll be especially underdamped until the amp is warmed up.
 
Cheers

 

[ToddTheMetalGod]

In my opinion, burn in is psychological only. I've owned headphones that I thought burned in, then went to an audio store and listened to the same one fresh out of the box and the sound was identical. It's also worth noting that burn in never has a negative effect, as if it is us getting used to the new product. Also, burn in really doesn't make sense in physics. The diaphragm on headphones is so thin that even a bit of molecular change would destroy the previous sound signature, yet burn-in never changes the sound signature vastly. I think burn-in is us audiophiles justifying our questionable purchases. Unless someone shows physical evidence of burn-in none of us will ever be sure.

 

[UmustBKidn]

  Try letting them play without listening to them first.

 
Sometimes at work, I let my headphones play without listening to them.
 
Oddly enough, I get more work done that way.

 

[Kneel2Galvatron]

Not sure how anyone could notice a subtle difference over the course of weeks or months.

 

[esldude]

  Not sure how anyone could notice a subtle difference over the course of weeks or months.

The difference is felt more than heard.  You feel it getting slowly better while remembering how it wasn't as good to start with.  Now of course the feeling is all that has changed.

 

[SilverEars]

 
The difference is felt more than heard.  You feel it getting slowly better while remembering how it wasn't as good to start with.  Now of course the feeling is all that has changed.

of course difference is felt than heard.  Our ears arn't a deferential calculator.  Difference is noticed by our brain, not heard.

 

[Kneel2Galvatron]

Hmmm interesting my HD650 do feel better I find since I purchased them back in march. Sound and comfort. I guess it makes sense to me now. Ear positioning could be a factor as well.

 

[Dark_wizzie]

HD800 feels the same from when I first tried them out.

 

[bigshot]

I measured the Oppo PM-1s when I first got them, and they still sound the same.

 

[elmoe]

  Hmmm interesting my HD650 do feel better I find since I purchased them back in march. Sound and comfort. I guess it makes sense to me now. Ear positioning could be a factor as well.

 
Of course. As pads get softer and you wear the headphones more, you get a better seal, which undoubtedly improves sound quality. My SA5000s had no bass when they were new, with time the pads got softer and now I got a perfect seal and the bass is much much more present.
 
Obviously measurements will tell you otherwise, but then again putting a microphone in between the pads is not a good way to measure frequency response of headphones dependent on good seal.