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I just purchased a pair of new floorstanders. What's the best way to break them in?
Follow Ups:
Thanks a lot for all your suggestions! I will now go and try to get the most out of my speakers.
Oh, another thing. Forgive my ignorance, but what exactly is "pink noise"?
it is:"Why the name "pink noise"? We all know that the 'color' white reflects all the colors in the spectrum, while black 'sucks' up all light. The color pink reflects almost all the light in the spectrum, apart from the pink light. In acoustics this has been translated tp sound.White noise 'reflects' all frequencies in the spectrum equally much (for instance within the audible area of 20 Hz til 20.000 Hz...that is: I can't hear much above 15 kHz, which is pretty normal at my age...33). Thus, white noise is a flat frequency spectrum, and sounds something like a roaring waterfall. Black sound (often called "digital black" on test CDs etc.) is total silence; i.e. no frequencies are 'reflected'. Pink Noise color the reflected sound spectrum just slightly. For every increased octave in the spectrum, the 'sound level'is reduced by ca. 3 dB. This sounds almost like white noise, but it doesn't sound as 'sharp' and 'noisy'. Pink Noise is often used by sound technicians etc. to calibrate sound equipment, i.e. to check that the equipment plays back the sounds that it is supposed to do, and does not color the sound in an unintended way. Therefore we all (at least here in Scandinavia) know the sound of pink noise (and white noise) from the flickering TV-screen after transmissions at night, or also when the 'test image' is shown during daytime. PS. The volume on this clip is low, due to the energy being spread out evenly in the spectrum, and because I haven't figured out how to adjust the input volume when recording on my Mac. You therefore might need to turn your output volume up, or listen with headset."
and;
"Pink noise has the same distribution of power for each octave, so the power between 0.5 Hz and 1 Hz is the same as between 5,000 Hz and 10,000 Hz."and try here:
http://www.siglab.ece.umr.edu/ee301/dsp/basics/rand.html#PGN
reverse the speaker cables on one speaker - so they are out of phase to each other - which will reduce the apparent "volume when they are placed facing each other as close as possible, through a blanket over them and have at it with a cd of the ocean. Use a cd of the ocean? Why? It is about as random as one can get and is about as full range as well. I found a cd of the Pacific Ocean, recorded during a stormy period (60 mins) featuring pounding surf, at a local Tower for under $5. Look in the environmental or nature music section.
This was passsed on to me courtesy of Hales speakers. They used this technique as well. Very effective and they felt the "breakin" was much faster with this type of "music" as opposed to FM or what have you.
The added benefit is that the volume can be reduced at night with still positve results due to the wide band (so I like to crank it to safe levels while away at work). Plus after a while you are under the impression you have beach front property.
dave clark
audiomusings
But seriously, that's a good tip. Thanks!JohnR
Typically speakers need bewteen 60 and 100 hours to break in.Connect your speakers up normally, place a CD in your player, hit play, set the volume at normal listening levels and note the position of the volume control.
Now move the speakers together facing one another with the drivers directly opposite one another and about 1" (2cm) apart.
Reverse the cables to one speaker only such that they are out of phase, reset the volume control to the previously noted level, put your CDP on repeat, hit play and come back 4 days later.
As an alternative if you want to avoid the CDP wear and tear, you could use a tuner and an all night station as your source.
Once your speakers are run in, remember to change the cables back to in-phase connection
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Play music at moderate levels. A tuner is helpful here. Break-in time varies widely, although most speakers will be about 90% "there" after 20-40 hours or so. A very few may need only 10 hours, and others over 100 hours.You will notice that the midrange seems to relax with time, the bass tightens up and deepens, and the treble looses its grainy sound. Also, voices will appear to become more centered in space, along with other improvements in soundstaging.
Some people think this is all imaginary, but to a larger or smaller degree, I have heard this in all the speakers I've owned (> 20).
Jim's suggestion left out one detail: wire one speaker out of phase (reverse the + and - wires). Then place the speakers just far enough apart so the cones don't touch, and cover both speakers with a blanket. Almost no sound will be heard, so break-in can proceed uninterrupted for days.
As already mentioned, the break-in times vary widely for different speakers. If you want to listen while you break in, make sure to start at low volumes for the first day and gradually increase up to your regular level over the next few days. It's important that the drivers be broken in gently.
I read somewhere that placing the speakers so that they face each other (about a foot apart) and just play music, something dynamic, has great results.
Also switch one of the speeaker's wires so that they are out of phase,this should cancel some noise and you can play it louder.
Having just finished building a new pair of speakers, I just played some tunes at my normal listening level. For the first ten minutes they sounded kind of constricted, lacking in dynamics and high end. Soundstage was kind of collapsed too. But after about a half an hour there was a noticible improvement. I'm sure the changes will be more subtle from now on, maybe even undetectable. I really think break-in time varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.
You could use a signal generator, but I have found that just playing music at moderate volumes will work. My favorite music for breaking in speakers is Metallica, very dynamic and demanding. Breaking in speakers seems to be a wait and see type of deal, in that over time the drivers will losen up and sound better.
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