Speaker break-in - Myth or?

[droptrd]

Ive only bought one "new" cab. And that one I set my "mini-rater" tone generator to sweap while i was at work for 3 days.

 

[moltenmetalburn]

True. makes a big difference as other have said less grainy less harsh and the low end gets fuller.

 

[Ventura]

It would be interesting to A/B two identical cabs, except for speaker aging, side by side to see how much of a difference a break-in period makes.

As mentioned above - it's INSANELY noticeable!! Crazy really... One's like syrup and smooth and buttery and gnarly. The other is noisy and flappy sounding. Identical cabs - V30's in this case.

V.

 

[Gsxrbusa]

Why would it be a myth?

unplayed speakers sound harsh and trebly.

punished speakers sound warmer and darker


Plain and simple



I bought a used VHT 4x12 that must have never been over 1.

It took longer to break in than any other speaker/cab I've ever experienced.

It was still getting warmer after a year of cranking it.

Absolutley! Bought my 4X12 fatbottom used and like new condition. At first I thought it sounded ok but a bit harsh. The more I play it the more I like it. Same goes for the ENGL XXL cab I bought new. At first I did not care for it but, within a week of normal band volume it sounded noticably better.

 

[FIREBALL]

a speaker thats not broke in will ruin an amp, its like aids for amps

 

[Motorpud]

I have two new V30's that desperately need breaking in.
I'm going to try the method Celestion suggests, but I'd also like to play some prerecorded stuff through the 2x12 in question. But....how do i do that? I need a stereo that accepts 1/4 jacks? Or do I make a speaker cable with one unfinished end and one with a 1/4 jack?
(not that I know how to do that )

You need this...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex%26%23 ... 8097978399

 

[RaceU4her]

i always thought it was more an excuse for not liking a new cab more than anything.

 

[Gainfreak]

Definitely not a myth but the process doesn't take as long as most people think.

 

[amiller]

I had another thought...yeah, it can happen. It's gotta be kinda tricky dialing in a new amp and cab setup. If the cabs not broken in I would think most of us would have a tendancy to roll off the highend on the amp. After the cab breaks in we would probalby start rolling the highend back in...'a head scratcher.

 

[D-Rock]

I have two new V30's that desperately need breaking in.
I'm going to try the method Celestion suggests, but I'd also like to play some prerecorded stuff through the 2x12 in question. But....how do i do that? I need a stereo that accepts 1/4 jacks? Or do I make a speaker cable with one unfinished end and one with a 1/4 jack?
(not that I know how to do that )

You need this...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex%26%23 ... 8097978399

Oh...that's it? From a stereo's headphone jack to the cab's in? Do I use it with a speaker or instrument cable?
Thanks by the way...

 

[MOAAH]

I have two new V30's that desperately need breaking in.
I'm going to try the method Celestion suggests, but I'd also like to play some prerecorded stuff through the 2x12 in question. But....how do i do that? I need a stereo that accepts 1/4 jacks? Or do I make a speaker cable with one unfinished end and one with a 1/4 jack?
(not that I know how to do that )

You need this...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dynex%26%23 ... 8097978399

Oh...that's it? From a stereo's headphone jack to the cab's in? Do I use it with a speaker or instrument cable?
Thanks by the way...

It's pretty easy to do, but a headphone jack is not the way to go, most have a reduced output(and a higher impedance) so as not to blow your headphones to pieces. All you need is a jack cord with one end being 1/4 inch and the other RCA. Just run the RCA from a CD player or other line level input to your guitar amp(with the 1/4 inch jack).
It ain't gonna be HiFi, but that ain't what you need.

 

[MOAAH]

It has more to do with the copper voice coil wearing in more so than the cone itself.

Could not disagree more. But then I've owned guitar and HiFi speakers for 40 years so I know they were never exposed to environmental conditions or over powering abuse that can corrupt a voice coil. The cone edge does play a major role in speaker break in, this is why Ted Weber offers different doping to his speaker cones. You cannot damage a voice coil from proper use and storage.
On a side note:
I've got speaker cabs so old they used cotton as an absorbing material rather than fiber glass or whatever batting they use today. They had a pair of 70s 85 watt Celestion drivers I drove so hard(close to 200Watts RMS) the magnets heated up enough to start to smoke the cotton. I almost died thinking the voice coils had melted until I took the cabs apart and noted all the partly burned cotton. After I removed the cotton they still worked fine, although I've yet to again drive them as hard as that day...BTW, each cab had a pair of these:

 

[Tawlks]

a speaker thats not broke in will ruin an amp, its like aids for amps

Sigged.

 

[blackba]

Speaker break in is not a myth in my experience. What is usually debated, is how long it takes and how much the change is.

What I find is that if I like a speaker new out of the box, it just gets better as it breaks in. I notice smoother highs, and overall less harshness. The speaker just gets more natural sounding.

I have noticed this with HiFi speakers as well. I had some cerwin vega home stereo speakers. They sounded pretty harsh out of the box. I remember commenting on their harshness for a few months. After a while, they didn't sound harsh to me. Could my ears have adjusted sure, but I think it was the speakers breaking in. Vance Dickenson talks about speaker breakin in his "Loudspeaker Design Cookbook"

 

[MOAAH]

It has more to do with the copper voice coil wearing in more so than the cone itself.

Too add to what I posted above, the speaker's spider also could benefit from a break in, but again, voice coil, highly doubtful if not total BS.

Oh, and here is a pic of my oldest speaker, can anyone say:
The very first Celestion EVAR!
Hard to get older than that

 

[amiller]

It has more to do with the copper voice coil wearing in more so than the cone itself.

Too add to what I posted above, the speaker's spider also could benefit from a break in, but again, voice coil, highly doubtful if not total BS.

Oh, and here is a pic of my oldest speaker, can anyone say:
The very first Celestion EVAR!
Hard to get older than that

Very cool pic!

 

[MOAAH]

It has more to do with the copper voice coil wearing in more so than the cone itself.

Too add to what I posted above, the speaker's spider also could benefit from a break in, but again, voice coil, highly doubtful if not total BS.

Oh, and here is a pic of my oldest speaker, can anyone say:
The very first Celestion EVAR!
Hard to get older than that

Very cool pic!

Thanks man!
It's even older than me

 

[Ancient Alien]

It has more to do with the copper voice coil wearing in more so than the cone itself.

Could not disagree more. But then I've owned guitar and HiFi speakers for 40 years so I know they were never exposed to environmental conditions or over powering abuse that can corrupt a voice coil. The cone edge does play a major role in speaker break in, this is why Ted Weber offers different doping to his speaker cones. You cannot damage a voice coil from proper use and storage.
On a side note:
I've got speaker cabs so old they used cotton as an absorbing material rather than fiber glass or whatever batting they use today. They had a pair of 70s 85 watt Celestion drivers I drove so hard(close to 200Watts RMS) the magnets heated up enough to start to smoke the cotton. I almost died thinking the voice coils had melted until I took the cabs apart and noted all the partly burned cotton. After I removed the cotton they still worked fine, although I've yet to again drive them as hard as that day...BTW, each cab had a pair of these:

There are a few factors that you are over looking.
I too have been into Hi-Fi for a long time.
There IS a mechanical breakin on the voicecoil, just as there is in a piston in a car engine.
During this process, the wires become almost polarized and the capacitance of the coil itself changes.
This also creates less resistance and higher power handling.
The cone, doping and vibrations through the spider are also a factor that will be noticeable.
The same thing happens to audio cable.
The more current that runs through them, their molecular structure changes and they conduct with less resistance.
On top of that, the magnetic field of the magnet actually degrades over time, though very subtle, it does change the tone of the speaker.

 

[MOAAH]

The same thing happens to audio cable.

Sorry mang, we will have to agree to disagree, cause the audio cable farce is the biggest crock in the history of HiFi, IMO

 

[Ancient Alien]

The same thing happens to audio cable.

Sorry mang, we will have to agree to disagree, cause the audio cable farce is the biggest crock in the history of HiFi, IMO

I agree with you in the sense of what people think they hear is night and day.
But you can't argue with the facts that all metals change after current is flowed through them.
Basic physics.
But I know what you are saying