TheDreamthinker
Headphoneus Supremus
Mine don't change for some reason.......thats why i ask
This meant that the hi fi dealers spent a lot of their time shuffling speakers in and out of the rooms.
Why does nobody in a lab check it.......???
did your cans change with burn-in, or did some simply stay the same?
Some audio manufactures do burn in components and cables too, or at least they say they do. I think you cannot completely write off burn in for audio anymore than you can break-in for autos. Anybody here drive their new car off the lot and redline it for a hundred miles? Dangerous, harmful to the car, and illegal in most places.
[size=13.0pt]The thread-topic mentions pink noise specifically and asks if there is scientific proof for changes in sound. I would change the scientific proof to objective proof and that I do not believe there is evidence of. Pink noise should not offer much difference in sound change as apposed to white or brown noise. Any sound should be suitable for so called burn in. [/size]
[size=13.0pt]This however is subjective and can be heard or not heard depending on whom you talk to. Unless you are an inanimate object everything we see, hear, smell, taste and feel are subjective. You will find the last number in Pi before you resolve this issue, but don't let me stop you all from trying! [/size]
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So even the manufacturers burn-in their stuff?
The running-in of automobiles is a little old-school now, but it used to be vital, because of relatively poor materials and manufacturing tolerances - and I totally see the comparison in this context, in that autos were - are - the same kind of emotional and reverential purchase as audio gear is for some of us.
Not old school at all. Still done by racing bikes, F1 cars and auto makers. Racers use the more immediate 'pink noise' method nowadays of short interval, high revs. BMW and others still take every new car on a high speed shakedown lap around their track before shipment. You would never take a 1 million dollar F1 engine freshly built, put it in a car and line it up on the grid right before the start of a race. Just as you shouldn't blast speakers out of the box.
But a headphone is an electric motor at heart - do you run in your other new electric motors? Your vacuum cleaner? Your washing machine?
Now that's just a false analogy. Most people don't approach carpet care like high end audio. If you approached audio the same way you approach laundry or vacuuming this forum would be pretty much empty.
More pertinently, perhaps, does anyone "burn in" a digital camera? Have you ever heard anyone say they won't trust the color fidelity on their new Canon until they have "put" a couple hundred hours on it? And if not, why not?
Are we comparing glass lenses to cone woofers w/ butyl rubber surrounds now? You can do better.
So even the manufacturers burn-in their stuff?
Look, its not hard to find out for yourself. Take your new bought phone or IEM out of the box and have a quick listen. Make notes and observations. Let it burn in. Then listen again and note any changes if you hear any.
Waiting for some lab or someone else to verify the phenomena for you is like waiting for exit polls before you decide how to vote.
I think its still a good idea from a mechanical longevity perspective and safety buffer for the physical operation of the drivers.