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In Reply to: run-in period for Harbeth HL Compact 7ES posted by TOOL on September 30, 2001 at 02:47:45:
Hi Tool,I've had my new Harbeths for 3 weeks now, and have been placing them in different positions and heights, adjusting toe in angles, as well as tweaking them with different cones. They work well with lots of space around them, and on good stands.
They may sound closed in to some, but I will tell you that I have heard lots of audiophile speakers and listen to lots of live music, and the compact seven is the most realistic portrayal of live music I have heard, which is why I chose them. I was really tired of speakers that feature airy soundstages, transpancy, detail etc. because the designer tweaked the sound to this end while sacrificing a realistic frequency response.
Anyway, lots of things happen to speakers over the years, and the sound does change. I have been burning mine in 24/7 for two weeks and I am getting better sound. Its good enough for me now, and can only get better.
Follow Ups:
You may be right there. I've heard reports of Ls 3/5a taking 3 years to break in. And a good ten years to have their performance constantly improving. No wonder the older versions of these venerable speakers are the ones being much sought after, with 15 ohms versions
becoming a predilection. Your Harbeths may be no different, and patience is the key!
The only way I could ever imagine speakers taking 3 years to break in is if the user plays them for about an hour every 3 weeks. And after 10 years the drivers are more likely to be rotting than still breaking in. I've got a pair of vintage Rogers LS2's with decayed woofers sitting in my room as it is (still trying to find replacement drivers but not having luck, they're a friend's). Longest I've ever heard a driver take to break in (with HEAVY break in procedure) is under 300 hours. 10 years of constant playing is rather rediculous..--Alan
My friend I won't argue with you. Go to the Yahoo ls 3/5a users group. I got the information from them. MOst all are owners of the beeb designed speaker.
let's say I completely ignore the previous owner's usage. (which is around 2.5 years)if I average about 3-4 hours a week. that would mean I need about 25-30 weeks to clock 100 hurrs. or 50-60 week to clock 200 hours. thus, max break in period should be roughtly 1 year?
that'll mean I have about 10 months to go. :(
Do it the standard way, but you would have to go without music for about 10 days:Face the Compact Sevens towards each other, almost touching.
Wire them out of phase, so their output cancels out. You will be surprised that very very little sound can be heard, even though you may be driving them really hard, so be very careful NOT to overdrive them!!!
Play back the XLO or Purist enhancer CD 24 hours non stop at a REASONABLY moderate level to run in the speakers. MUCH more effective than music, because they use continuous pink noise that work the driver and tweeter continuously. Music signals fluctuate in intensity, and thus do not drive the speakers as thoroughly. Burn in will take a lot longer to burn in.
DOn't use your high end SACD player for this as you will wear it out or damage it through constant playing. Use an old CD player.
Or if you are still using a high end CD player, go ahead and run it to the ground with this burn in process, which will give you an excuse to upgrade to an SACD player! :) Just joking of course. Better idea to sell the CD player (theses are still in demand) and channel the money to a new SACD player.
Again, drive the speakers at a moderately high volume, but DO NOT OVERDRIVE!
All the best! Is your Compact 7es the version 2 type?
Assumming you have a good supply of vinyl and you are not into re-issues?
Yup, I think most people for hardcore breakin do the out-of-phase thing with pink noise or pink noise interspersed with busy music (Prodigy "Firestarter" in my case). I turn it up more and more throughout the breakin process but always make sure the peaks are within the driver limits so I don't damage anything. After 200 hours or so if things are still a little stiff I use a tone generator to help, like a 15 hz tone for midrange/woofer (so you don't hear much but it does a great job of loosening stiff 6.5" drivers). ~24 hours a day (if it gets annoying, put speakers closer together facing each other and then put something on top like lathers of clothes to help muffle the sound leaking around the edges) x 2 weeks = 300+ hours.
thanks for the advice.wow. how do I know whether it's version 2 or not????
any indication? serial number? or what? learning something new again.
It will say 7 HL ES 2 on the front baffle, if its version II. No need to sweat it if not, as there is minimal difference.Anyway, the reason why you get so little sound when you wire them out of phase is that the Compact 7 pairs are matched so closely, you truly get an opposite image from each speaker that cancels the other very effectively, more so than other brands.
why would Harbeth want a version 2 for their 7ES? what is the difference? marketing ploy?anyway, I'm pretty satisfied with mine...I got a used pair anyway. the previous owners treated them well.
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