Do speakers really break in?

[Cirrus]

There's quite a difference between a new speaker and one that's been played at stage volume for 30-40 hours.

Do they peak, the degenerate? Or once broken in do they just get better with age? I do remember reading that speakers will wear out.

It depends on what your idea of a good sound is, I guess. I've heard of old speakers that are just too smooth.

To the people in this thread who thinks that speaker breakin is wholly imagined, why do you think that?

 

[supersonic]

There's quite a difference between a new speaker and one that's been played at stage volume for 30-40 hours.

Do they peak, the degenerate? Or once broken in do they just get better with age? I do remember reading that speakers will wear out.

To the people in this thread who thinks that speaker breakin is wholly imagined, why do you think that?

Not so much imagined, I was pointing out that in my experiences that my ears adjust to speakers. So I'm wandering how much of "Speaker breakin" is your ears adjusting.

 

[supersonic]

V30's are a prime example... They sound like hammered shit when brand new, but after a good 30-40 hours of stage volume they totally transform into a killer sounding speaker.

I have a quad of V30s' I bought 20 years ago. I also recently had a new pair (now sold). I honestly couldn't tell that much difference.

 

[IceMan]

Yes - they do break in over time, but the difference is going to very depending on speaker and the amp being used. Having said that - there absolutly is something to "ear fatigue" in terms of growing "used to" the sound of an amp or speaker over time. As any studio engineer or producer or anyone who has done mixing/recording will tell you that after so many hours of listening to the same thing - you HAVE to step away for a while to let your ears rest or 'reset' and then return to mixing with fresh ears. I've spent hours messing around with dialing in the most AWESOME guitar tone and then I go to bed and when I come back the next day - it sounds different!! Pisses me OFF!!!!! lol.

 

[Mailman1971]

Anything that physical moves will have a resulting affect on the object itself.

Yes Confucius.

Confucius also say, kitty with flea, better than pussy with crab.

Oh man.....that is hillarious!!
But true!

 

[TeleBlaster]

Depends on the speaker though I could not tell you why. I do notice a significant change in Eminence Legend V12-16's, but I did not notice much if any change in the Swamp Thang 12-8's.

 

[SteveK]

I'm going with the:

Yes..."Speakers break in".

But is it really something human ears can quantify? Over a period of time? I ask you this:

Does the cab loosen? Are the tubes and other electronics burning in? Has the room acoustic changed with weather/time? Did your guitar strings change? Do you have the same mood? Did your ears change at all? (more wax? )

IMO...speakers are the HARDEST thing to change in your rig. Speakers are speakers...they move and move air. It's paper and metal. Now....having said that....I did experience a notable difference when I change out the V30 for an EV12l in my Traynor YCV50 Blue. However...it was mostly at the top end. IMHO...the V30 wimped out all by itself in a single 1x12 combo. The EV12L took everything the YCV50 could push without farting out. But these are drastically different speakers. The V30's sound okay in some 4x12 cabs...it's a lightweight speaker that does well with backup as it colors the tone. The EV12L is a hardcore heavy duty speaker that puts out what it gets even at very high volume.

So these are the differences you have to try to decipher when you think you need a speaker change. I think just experimenting on the total package is more efficient. V30's in one cab with one amp sound way different than V30's in another cab.....let alone a different amp. If you decide you want different speaker in your rig...good luck!

 

[metalmaniac93]

Speakers break in and loosen up for sure; just like women do over time!!!

 

[Ventura]

Speakers break in and loosen up for sure; just like women do over time!!!

OOOOH!!! And now come the jokes...!!

They break in with a lot of play, just like a ho.
If da wimminz clean, you can look forward to a "creamback".
If da wimminz doity, you can look forward to a "greenback".
If ya really wanna cheap date, "scumback" all the way.
If ya like using colored rubbers, get a "redcoat".
Where's Dirty Shirley? Oh, she out back gettin' Jose'd by Herbert.

Help me Gents, I can't STOP m'self!!

Mojo

 

[Scumback Speakers]

Speakers continue to break in over a long period of time. Within 200 hours of playing they should be within the last 2-3% in my tests (200 hours at stage volumes for brands other than mine, I must add).

If you variac them (part of my FBI service), you get most of it done to within 90-95%. However, one thing the variac won't do is force the speaker cone to it's fullest excursion. Only high volume playing will do that as it sends a big signal to the speaker from a stop position and makes it extend further when you hit a power chord with volume. There's no way to do that with each speaker without actually playing it, or going through an extensive loop that goes at 30-40w in open air, which also takes awhile.

So the speaker will continue to break in very slightly after a variac break in.

As for speakers wearing out...sure, they wear out, but you should be able to get 25-30 years out of them if you don't do stupid things (i.e. drop the cab, stab the speaker ala Jimi or Pete Townsend, or like danyeo and put your foot through them). If you purposely crank up your 100w, dime the amp (that means putting the controls on 10) and only hook up 1/2 of your cab cuz you were bombed and missed the mono input and landed in one of the stereo jacks (meaning only 1/2 your speakers of the 4x12 are hooked up) you could cook some speakers quickly.

I've got an old slant cab from 67. It's got the paper voice coil 20w G12M's in it. The previous owners were Brian May of Queen, George Lynch from Dokken, and some band named "Nazgul".

It's survived intact for 45 years and it's rated at 80w. It's not impossible to run speakers for a long time if you're careful.

If you're not, then you'll be smelling burnt wire and cooked glue...not very pleasant, I can tell you that much.

Hope that answers everyone's questions. Been up since 4:42 am working so I'm hitting the shower, grabbing a cocktail and collapsing on the couch!

Have a good night!

Jim

 

[supersonic]

Speakers continue to break in over a long period of time. Within 200 hours of playing they should be within the last 2-3% in my tests (200 hours at stage volumes for brands other than mine, I must add).

If you variac them (part of my FBI service), you get most of it done to within 90-95%. However, one thing the variac won't do is force the speaker cone to it's fullest excursion. Only high volume playing will do that as it sends a big signal to the speaker from a stop position and makes it extend further when you hit a power chord with volume. There's no way to do that with each speaker without actually playing it, or going through an extensive loop that goes at 30-40w in open air, which also takes awhile.

So the speaker will continue to break in very slightly after a variac break in.

As for speakers wearing out...sure, they wear out, but you should be able to get 25-30 years out of them if you don't do stupid things (i.e. drop the cab, stab the speaker ala Jimi or Pete Townsend, or like danyeo and put your foot through them). If you purposely crank up your 100w, dime the amp (that means putting the controls on 10) and only hook up 1/2 of your cab cuz you were bombed and missed the mono input and landed in one of the stereo jacks (meaning only 1/2 your speakers of the 4x12 are hooked up) you could cook some speakers quickly.

I've got an old slant cab from 67. It's got the paper voice coil 20w G12M's in it. The previous owners were Brian May of Queen, George Lynch from Dokken, and some band named "Nazgul".

It's survived intact for 45 years and it's rated at 80w. It's not impossible to run speakers for a long time if you're careful.

If you're not, then you'll be smelling burnt wire and cooked glue...not very pleasant, I can tell you that much.

Hope that answers everyone's questions. Been up since 4:42 am working so I'm hitting the shower, grabbing a cocktail and collapsing on the couch!

Have a good night!

Jim

Thanks for the detailed info Jim.

 

[rupe]

I think the trick is to buy crappy sounding budget speakers and wait for the audience's ears to break in...you'll save dozens of dollars.

 

[rupe]

Here's a good example of how speakers break in...and eventually wear out. The first video was recorded through a '68 cab with original Celestions. They are somewhat loose and fizzy sounding. The next vids use the same amps, and for some of the clips the same cab loaded with new PVC Scumbacks. All of the tones in the second two vids sound better to me. The reissue Trainwrecks used make the vids worthwhile even if you don't care about the speakers.

 

[some dude]

I've broken in a bunch of cabs and what I've found I that sometimes the change is very minor, while others its almost night and day.

I've bought brand new Mesa cabs (not floor models) that sound just like my older Mesa cabs right out of the box. Virtually no break in that I could detect. On the other hand I have a set of WGS speakers that sounded like garbage for around 5 hours before they finally opened up. With the WGS I had my amp's bass on 0 and treble/presence way up trying to clear up the mud. Once they settled in my settings returned to normal.

 

[Ventura]

I just wanted to bring this one back before it went to neverneverland due to all the talk of the Deliverance and the FB cabs from Fryette on the main page.

Of all the speakers I've had experience with, the stock P50E 50W cones that come in these cabs change unlike anything else I've ever witnessed. They're zero to hero after some solid breaking in. Food for thought if any of you are planning on demoing a FB or D 4x12 and don't walk away impressed.

Peace,
Mo