[Banshee77]

Will I need to burn them in and if I do what kind of music and how long should I do it.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Just enjoy your headphones. Burn in isn't going to magically transform them from what they sound like now. They may mellow/even out a very little bit, but I'd just enjoy them.
 
I had the XB700's and they didn't change with burn in. Just as boomy and aggressive the last day as they were when I first put them on.
 
I miss them. They were incredibly fun.

 

[Banshee77]

Thats why I bought them. I cant afford super nice headphones at the moment and I like bass so i decided that these were the ones for me.

 

[jasonb]

yup, just enjoy them. dont worry about break in.

 

[Mad Lust Envy]

Enjoy them, because out of all the headphones I have purchased, they were the ones that made the biggest impression on me. I was like 'WTFLOLTHEYAREVIBRATINMYSKULL"
 
I just wish the pads didn't irritate my skin.

 

[Banshee77]

Im pretty excited these will be my first non skullcandy/beats headphones.

 

[sugarkang]

Burn in doesn't exist. 
Only your perception of sound changes. 
Headphones and electronic gear isn't fine wine like some people like to think.
It's a machine. 
It's the same all the time.
 
The machine doesn't adjust to you.
You adjust to the machine.
 
By way of analogy, if you stare at bright red for a long time and look away, you will see green.
Your ears do the same thing.

 

[jasonb]

this debate again???
 
Quote:

Burn in doesn't exist. 

 

[Dirtyworks]

By your definition, sugarkang, headphones are a machine. Machines very much need to be broken in, though some more than others. Would you take a Lamborghini and push its engine 100% right away? Only if you're an idiot. Why? It needs to be broken in, because its a machine.
I do believe some headphones do break/wear in. The drivers' diaphragms, I'm assuming, loosen and thus change their sound.

 

[Slaughter]

Drityworks example is 100% correct. An engine should never be pushed until broken in.The parts need to seat properly. If I listen to a new headphone and write down my impressions. Then burn it in for 50 hours and listen again. My ears never got use to anything or have a perception. I heard it once for 15 minutes. The headphone now sounds different than my detailed written impressions. That would be burn-in. 200-300 hours, not sure about that, but 50 or so, sure. Ask anyone who has owned an M50. Don't be jealous because you can't hear burn-in.
 
Quote:

Burn in doesn't exist. 
Only your perception of sound changes. 
Headphones and electronic gear isn't fine wine like some people like to think.
It's a machine. 
It's the same all the time.
 
The machine doesn't adjust to you.
You adjust to the machine.
 
By way of analogy, if you stare at bright red for a long time and look away, you will see green.
Your ears do the same thing.

 

[jasonb]

while i don't totally agree that engines need to be babied when new, or headphones and speakers for that matter, i do feel that pretty much all mechanical things do tend to "break in" or "loosen up". i have definitely heard differences from speakers breaking in. it can be quite obvious in some tweeters. Infinity brand speakers always sound funny when brand new, the tweeters definitely don't sound right straight out of the box. i haven't used my XB500's enough to consider them broken in, i beat them pretty hard a few times, but never really listened to them for very long. on my HD650's i haven't honestly heard any huge difference from day one. maybe if i compared a brand new set to the ones i have i may hear a difference.
 
off topic for a second but i have read multiple sources say that engines shouldn't be babied when new. i have heard that you should drive it like you stole it right from the start. i beat on a brand new motorcycle right out of the crate and never had an internal engine issue, same thing with my current car. i was chirping 3rd gear the first day i had it, and now with 45,000 miles on it, it runs like new. i have also beat on a freshly rebuilt two stroke engine on a motocross bike right from the get go and that thing ran better than any other bike in it's class that i ever rode or raced against. 
 
speakers or headphones definitely don't need to be babied when new, but they definitely may sound different with some usage. it may be obvious, it may not be. no reason at all to baby them out of the box though.

 

[TheOtus]

Put the headphones on your head and listen to music. The best way. Most of the people who buy headphones don´t have a clue about this mythical burn in, here it´s made a damn issue all the time... Can´t understand. = /

 

[olor1n]

Just listen to them. What's with the perception that headphones can't be listened to straight out of the box? It won't harm you. If you need to accelerate the burn in just leave your tracks playing at moderate levels over night. God!

 

 

[sugarkang]

Engines have moving parts, pistons with oil. 
I will concede that it is always recommended to baby your engine for the first 3,000 miles.
Even so, and I agree that you should ease in your engine, you will not notice the difference in engine performance.
 
For headphones, whatever burn-in that exists which I will concede again for the sake of argument,
will NOT be perceptible to your ears.
 
One volume notch up at +3dB from wherever you were listening the week prior to burn in will affect your perception of the sound any more than the actual burn-in.  Does burn-in exist?  Yes, in the way that chemicals have half-lives, and atoms make up everything and will change over time.
Will you notice?
No.
Will you think you notice if you go looking for a difference?
Yes.  It's called confirmation bias. 
 
If you'd like some science, read this:
http://www.newton.dep.anl.gov/askasci/eng99/eng99535.htm
If you want to join a cult headed by David Koresh, then do that. 
 
Quote:

By your definition, sugarkang, headphones are a machine. Machines very much need to be broken in, though some more than others. Would you take a Lamborghini and push its engine 100% right away? Only if you're an idiot. Why? It needs to be broken in, because its a machine.
I do believe some headphones do break/wear in. The drivers' diaphragms, I'm assuming, loosen and thus change their sound.

 

[ProjectDenz]

Ugh not this audiophile crap tom-foolery again. Just enjoy those damn headphones. Don't worry about what people say about burn in because nothing is proven or will be proven. Some people give this hobby a bad name.