[raelamb]

Some great comments in this thread. Nice healthy debate. When I got my PRO 900's I was extremely disappointed. As a matter of fact I was ready to send them back and just get something else. Instead I sent them to Moon Audio and got them recabled balanced and I am so happy I did. When I got them back soundstage, separation, and clarity had improved and as I started to put them through their paces thay began to "improve"exponentionally. Now whether that was through burn in or me getting used to them or a combination of the 2 I cannot say. 40 to 50 hours is where they started to level out. I still felt the highs were somewhat strident and cold depending on the quality of the source mastering so I pulled the trigger and ordered the Sig PRO's balanced with Black Dragon from Moon Audio and they will be here today
 
Can't wait!
 
Giddyup.

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

Keep in mind you're reading the posts of someone with "the fool" as a username. Could be a troll post.
 
That being said, there's simply no consensus on whether burn-in is even real or not, let alone anything approximating an exact "requirement" of hours for certain headphones. It's as simple as that. Anything else is speculation. Sure, people's speculation should be respected if it's based on experience, but these are still opinions and NOT fact.
 
Here's my speculation, based on my experience: I've never observed burn-in myself. Now, I've certainly observed headphones changing in sound from one listen to another. However I've never been comfortable assigning an exact cause to this. It could just as easily be due to my changing moods, tastes, ear wax buildup, source material, position of the headphones, etc. In fact I still notice changes in the sound of headphones I've owned for years. Does that mean they're still burning in? I don't think so. It strikes me as a bit convenient that whatever someone's greivances with a particular headphone are, burn-in seems to solve. As if it were some sentience that knew what needed improvement. Find the bass too bloated? Burn-in tightens it. Find it too tight? Burn-in loosens it. Treble too bright? Burn-in tames it. Too dark? It brings it out. To me that seems like wish fulfillment. I've rarely seen a post where someone finds the bass to be acceptable, only to have the burn-in process make it worse. Why are the changes always for the better?
 
Here's a fact: we know that the components of a headphone or earphone degrade over time. Whether or not this physical degradation is responsible for a significant change in sound known as "burn-in" however is still unknown. I'd direct anyone curious to InnerFidelity and Tyll's article on the subject. In it, he measures headphones and he arrives at an interesting conclusion. He finds that there IS some change that occurs over time. However he also finds that the difference in sound is not as dramatic as some claim. It's a very subtle change, one that people will likely fail to detect in double-blind tests.

Hey Muppetface, I have read the article you mentioned.. I agree with you that each listen may bring a surprise and that may not in fact be burn in... it seems like burn in means something different to everyone. For myself, I have noticed changes from out of the box to 5-50 hours, the reason I have noticed this is because a lot of headphones have sibilance and for someone like me (who is very sensitive to it) I notice that it decreases after a few hours of the drivers breaking in; I don't think this could be attributed to mood or placement of the headphones on my ears because the sibilance never seems to increase again, its always tamed after some light break in..
 
That said, I do definitely lean towards your argument, as there are reputable articles that prove it.
 
I feel obligated to run my headphones 100-200 hours before writing a review because so many head-fi'ers won't take my reviews seriously unless that has been done, so I just do it, even though I could write the same impressions at 20 hours.. haha the politics of headphones.

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

Some great comments in this thread. Nice healthy debate. When I got my PRO 900's I was extremely disappointed. As a matter of fact I was ready to send them back and just get something else. Instead I sent them to Moon Audio and got them recabled balanced and I am so happy I did. When I got them back soundstage, separation, and clarity had improved and as I started to put them through their paces thay began to "improve"exponentionally. Now whether that was through burn in or me getting used to them or a combination of the 2 I cannot say. 40 to 50 hours is where they started to level out. I still felt the highs were somewhat strident and cold depending on the quality of the source mastering so I pulled the trigger and ordered the Sig PRO's balanced with Black Dragon from Moon Audio and they will be here today
 
Can't wait!
 
Giddyup.

congrats on the new purchase! The Sig Pros are a big step up and much more neutral than the Pro900s IMO.. 

 

[PerfectBass]

Hope I'm not late. Just ask Ultrasone! They will respond.
According to them, my HFi-580 should take no more than 200 hours of burn in to reach it's mark.
 

 

[thisismyname]

Quote:

Some great comments in this thread. Nice healthy debate. When I got my PRO 900's I was extremely disappointed. As a matter of fact I was ready to send them back and just get something else. Instead I sent them to Moon Audio and got them recabled balanced and I am so happy I did. When I got them back soundstage, separation, and clarity had improved and as I started to put them through their paces thay began to "improve"exponentionally. Now whether that was through burn in or me getting used to them or a combination of the 2 I cannot say. 40 to 50 hours is where they started to level out. I still felt the highs were somewhat strident and cold depending on the quality of the source mastering so I pulled the trigger and ordered the Sig PRO's balanced with Black Dragon from Moon Audio and they will be here today
 
Can't wait!
 
Giddyup.

 
Hope you like the signature pro, and share some thoughts after you get them
 
Some thoughts about the burn-in, I'm the one listening to HP for the whole day, and to me the signature pro changes from time to time
How much time exactly to burn it in? I have no idea
Just to note that using different equipment to burn it in may differ the burn in time a bit( and I dunno would cause how much difference).
Like if you plug a 800/T1 to an MP3, and using it to listen to music with a low music, who knows how much time will need for the burn in.
 
 

 

[drmind]

Quote:

 
Hope you like the signature pro, and share some thoughts after you get them
 
Some thoughts about the burn-in, I'm the one listening to HP for the whole day, and to me the signature pro changes from time to time
How much time exactly to burn it in? I have no idea
Just to note that using different equipment to burn it in may differ the burn in time a bit( and I dunno would cause how much difference).
Like if you plug a 800/T1 to an MP3, and using it to listen to music with a low music, who knows how much time will need for the burn in.
 
 

I've asked Ultrasone about the burn in time for the Signature Pro. They redirected me to the local dealer, who said that the burn in time is 80-100 hours. And recommended that I do it with pink noise.
 

 

[Audiowood]

Quote:

All ultrasone higher end headphones require at least 1000 hours of burn in, whether it is pro900, pro2900, and edition series,so i would suggest you burn your signature pro more.

Wow 1000hrs ... phew thats ALOT of burnt!!
 

 

[thisismyname]

Quote:

I've asked Ultrasone about the burn in time for the Signature Pro. They redirected me to the local dealer, who said that the burn in time is 80-100 hours. And recommended that I do it with pink noise.
 

pink noise- -
well...no need to struggle with how long is the burn-in time, it'll settle after some hours of usage, just listening to songs as usual

 

[Roller]

Can someone who listened to both Pro 900 and Signature Pro post how they compare to each other? And do the Signature Pro have any characteristic trait, like the Pro 900 have their bass presence?

 

[Ahzari]

Quote:

pink noise- -
well...no need to struggle with how long is the burn-in time, it'll settle after some hours of usage, just listening to songs as usual

I do the same, or if I am leaving the phones to burn in, I have a playlist of about an hour of some of my fav music with a 2 minute gap (for a break) so they can rest up before they start the hour again.. I read somewhere that pink noise may emphasize treble response when burning in (i have no idea if there is any truth to that, but I just avoid it).

 

[thisismyname]

I do the same, or if I am leaving the phones to burn in, I have a playlist of about an hour of some of my fav music with a 2 minute gap (for a break) so they can rest up before they start the hour again.. I read somewhere that pink noise may emphasize treble response when burning in (i have no idea if there is any truth to that, but I just avoid it).

2min seems be too little time for it to rest
a friend told me have half an hour rest every 2.5 to 3 hours, while another friend told not to use a HP more than 5 hours a day, and is recommend to use only 2 to 3 hour a day

well, i just listen to the music whenever i want

 

[Ahzari]

I usually leave mine overnight and let it rest during the day in addition to the 2min gaps.. never had any problems doing it that way, I actually got this info from a audio engineer that was a headphone enthusiast, but in the end it doesn't matter as long as you enjoy your phones

 

[maverickronin]

Quote:

2min seems be too little time for it to rest
a friend told me have half an hour rest every 2.5 to 3 hours, while another friend told not to use a HP more than 5 hours a day, and is recommend to use only 2 to 3 hour a day
well, i just listen to the music whenever i want

It all depends how loud you listen.  The louder you listen the shorter you have to listen.  If you don't listen that loudly then you can listen as long as you want.

 

[thisismyname]

I usually leave mine overnight and let it rest during the day in addition to the 2min gaps.. never had any problems doing it that way, I actually got this info from a audio engineer that was a headphone enthusiast, but in the end it doesn't matter as long as you enjoy your phones

I thought u r going to burn it in for the whole day- -

 

[baglunch]

So where's the best (cheapest yet not sketchy) place to get one of these.  Used is fine, but I don't see these coming up on the For Sale section yet.