[blkfi]

I have a pair of HD595's arriving today to replace my HD280's. If I don't burn them in and just use them normally from the get go, will I just have to wait longer for them to reach their optimal sound, or will I be missing a level of sound quality altogether that I would have achieved only with initial burn in?

 

[deadly55]

just listen to them, best burn in method in my honest opinion.

 

[AudioDwebe]

That's a good question. A lot of folks will say to "just listen" while you're burning in your cans. But I would suggest burn-in in addition to your normal listening.

Here's why: For me, normal listening is done at a low to moderate volume where the diaphram and anything else that might move and require loosening up only moves a slight bit. I actually do burn-in at a volume way louder than normal listening levels. This, to me at least, would seem to do a better job at stretching everything that needs to be stretched out.

I may be totally off base with this line of thinking, but it's worked for me so far so it'll remain my personal SOP.

 

[aimlink]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AudioDwebe /img/forum/go_quote.gif That's a good question. A lot of folks will say to "just listen" while you're burning in your cans. But I would suggest burn-in in addition to your normal listening. Here's why: For me, normal listening is done at a low to moderate volume where the diaphram and anything else that might move and require loosening up only moves a slight bit. I actually do burn-in at a volume way louder than normal listening levels. This, to me at least, would seem to do a better job at stretching everything that needs to be stretched out. I may be totally off base with this line of thinking, but it's worked for me so far so it'll remain my personal SOP.

'Way louder' could lead to damaged cans when taken in an over-enthusiastic context. Apparently burn in volumes should be higher than your normal listening levels. However, 'way louder' is another matter, especially if you already normally listen at loud levels.

Recording levels are different and you may well set your 'way louder' level using a recording that's not that loud. When you come back a day later your cans are damaged and you're wondering what happened.

 

[nikongod]

I normally follow a similar method to what AudioDwebe recommended, listen as much as you like but keep em running at louder levels when your not.

Get (burn to CD, MP3, whatever) a "white noise" track. play it on loop at about 90-96db (measured with a meter) for a few days on end. Its helpful to put the headphones between 2 pillows and wrap the whole mess in a blanket or towel, especially if you cohabitate with others who may not be sympathetic to your audio habits. White noise at 96db gets old fast.

This assumes that whatever you are running them off of can drive them to 96db without clipping (heh, thats sad if it cant) and that YOU are comfortable leaving that device on for several days. Im not comfy doing that to my amps, but some older portable CD players can achieve FRIGHTENING levels...

 

[krmathis]

That depends on the length of your listening sessions in comparison to the length of the potential burn-in sessions. If same amount of hours daily you will not have to wait longer.

In the end I am 99.9% sure you will not be able to hear a difference between the two methods. Do not simply see why.

 

[limin]

just leave stuff playing always for 2 weeks

 

[FlyingInABlueDream]

I would just do a combination of listening to them, and burning them in at night. When I 1st got my HD-595, they sounded great, but not as full as I wanted. After about 3 hours of usage, I went to sleep playing music through them all night. I did this for about a month. Using them, and burning them in as I slept with a combination of white/pink noise. After well over 100 hours, the sound expanded, and the bass became much fuller.

I don't understand when people say "don't listen to them until 100+/- hours". How do you know the sound got any better if you weren't listening to them in the first place? Those cans have a great sound from the start as it is (the difference later is not huge, but there), so start burning them in by using them!

 

[baka1969]

If you are a true believer in long and extended burn-in you can always just use a hybrid method. Listen and enjoy your music as you would normaly and when you're not listening just leave them running either music through them or pink noise loop.

 

[AmanGeorge]

Quote:

Originally Posted by baka1969 /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you are a true believer in long and extended burn-in you can always just use a hybrid method. Listen and enjoy your music as you would normaly and when you're not listening just leave them running either music through them or pink noise loop.

Yep - there's no good reason not to do this.

 

[RPHC]

I tried listening to mine out of the box - and they sounded way too tight. After about a week (100-200 hrs) they were audibly better especially in the low-end! So, pretend that shipping is delayed - set them up out of sight for about a week - you'll be glad you did!

 

[John Willett]

When I asked the designer of the HD 800 about burning in, he suggested 48-hours of pink noise at about normal listening level.

So I put the headphones over the box (to simulate a head), made a CD of pink noise and left them running for 48-hours with the CD on repeat.