Breaking in Speakers

[44me]

My understanding is that the break-in period is to loosen up the surrounds. It’s well accepted in speaker design to break in a driver before making measurements as parameters shift during the first few hours of operation. It certainly makes sense that hitting a brand new driver with high peak power before the surround loosens up could result in a creased cone. I don’t buy the idea that that the voice coil needs time to seat. That implies that it’s mechanical relationship with the cone changes, which doesn’t make sense since it must be rigidly attached.

- John

 

[Audere]

My understanding is that the break-in period is to loosen up the surrounds.
- John

I have seen more change in the stiffness of the spider(s) but it would probably depend on the speaker design

 

[44me]

I have seen more change in the stiffness of the spider(s) but it would probably depend on the speaker design

In my experience I’ve had no way to distinguish whether it’s the spider or the surround. I’ve always assumed (yes, I know what they say about assuming) that since the spider is metal, and it’s flexed below its elastic limit that it’s properties do not change with time. I don’t have the mechanical engineering background to really know whether this is true or not. Did measuring driver components separately lead you to this conclusion?

- John

 

[Audere]

In my experience I’ve had no way to distinguish whether it’s the spider or the surround. I’ve always assumed (yes, I know what they say about assuming) that since the spider is metal, and it’s flexed below its elastic limit that it’s properties do not change with time. I don’t have the mechanical engineering background to really know whether this is true or not. Did measuring driver components separately lead you to this conclusion?

- John

The spider of a speaker is the pleated part which connects to the cone near the voice coil at the front of the motor assembly. Some more expensive speakers have 2 spiders.

The frame (or sometimes called basket) is the metal part you are probably thinking of.

I decided the spider was the source of most of the changes by doing optical distance measurements during operation to the cone near the voice coil and surround.

 

[44me]

The spider of a speaker is the pleated part which connects to the cone near the voice coil at the front of the motor assembly. Some more expensive speakers have 2 spiders.

Thanks for the clarification. I’m not sure why I was thinking it was metal.

It certainly makes sense then that the spider will loosen a little after a few hours of operation.

 

[JMX]

Has anybody researched if there really is a difference between using a special break-in procedure or just breaking in by using the speaker in the reallife situations?

 

[throbgod13]

it would stand to reason that there is a "break in" period.. paper surround pulp fibers will stretch, and tear slightly.. i don't think that there is a break in for butyl rubber surrounds.. and with the spider, the fabric will weaken slightly..

as for the voice coil, i really don't think that there is any break in.. if the voice coil, or the former that the voice coil is on, is scraping the magnet structure, the speaker is failing anyway..

if you are referring to a tonal break in period, it does happen.. it's the way that cone distorts when it's pushing air.. the cone will naturally have a particular shape that it will finally shape into.. remember, the cone is basically paper-mache.. unless it's a poly, or aluminum.. which are "colder" sounding than paper.. the cone is going to distort it's shape even if it's poly-coated, or reinforced in some way..

once the cone builds a "memory" to the way that it flexes during it's excursion, this is when people refer to the speaker being "warmer", or broken in.. kinda like folding a stiff piece of paper, the crease is the cone flex/distortion..

i suppose that you can break a speaker in, in whatever way that you feel is best.. and if that means, playing at full blast or playing low level for X amount of hours..

do what you want, but eventually your new speakers will break in..

i know that cabs DO break in.. especially full-birch plywood cabs, the resonant frequency will shift after a few years.. MDF based cabs take longer to shift..

 

[otis_thick]

http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-center/techtips/d--03/28/2006

The above is from Sweetwater tech tips. I also received "break in" instruction with Eminence woofers.
This is from the Eminence site: http://www.eminence.com/faqs/faq23.asp

Speaker break-in will vary from model to model. It can even vary between two of the same model. The degree to which a speaker has reached break-in is a very subjective topic. Some players like them right out of the box and others want to beat them to within an inch of their lives. Most players hopefully fall somewhere in-between. There really is no "magic" inherent in speaker break-in methods. The speaker will continue to break-in naturally throughout its lifespan, but the most noticeable amount will occur early on. Some of the most widely used techniques for break-in include: Playing music through the speaker at moderate volumes for a few days (some players even have specific songs they use), Using a Variac, Hanging the speaker with the cone facing downward to promote suspension sag, and Physically moving the cone up and down. We often use a noise signal generator at 20Hz with enough current to get the speaker moving smartly for a few hours, but without abusing it. Guitar speakers are generally not accustomed to very low frequencies and it is easy to harm them if you are not careful. The most highly recommended and safest way is several hours of higher volume playing.

Good luck

 

[keyboardguy]

http://www.sweetwater.com/expert-center/techtips/d--03/28/2006

The above is from Sweetwater tech tips. I also received "break in" instruction with Eminence woofers.
This is from the Eminence site: http://www.eminence.com/faqs/faq23.asp

Speaker break-in will vary from model to model. It can even vary between two of the same model. The degree to which a speaker has reached break-in is a very subjective topic. Some players like them right out of the box and others want to beat them to within an inch of their lives. Most players hopefully fall somewhere in-between. There really is no "magic" inherent in speaker break-in methods. The speaker will continue to break-in naturally throughout its lifespan, but the most noticeable amount will occur early on. Some of the most widely used techniques for break-in include: Playing music through the speaker at moderate volumes for a few days (some players even have specific songs they use), Using a Variac, Hanging the speaker with the cone facing downward to promote suspension sag, and Physically moving the cone up and down. We often use a noise signal generator at 20Hz with enough current to get the speaker moving smartly for a few hours, but without abusing it. Guitar speakers are generally not accustomed to very low frequencies and it is easy to harm them if you are not careful. The most highly recommended and safest way is several hours of higher volume playing.

Good luck

The Sweetwater article was referring to studio monitors, and the Emminence article seemed to suggest it was talking about guitar speakers.

Ahh, clear as mud......

PS I asked someone at Avatar Speakers and he said "I never heard anything about breaking in speakers" and he uses Emminence...


Mike

 

[A9X]

Has anybody researched if there really is a difference between using a special break-in procedure or just breaking in by using the speaker in the reallife situations?

I've measured differences in T/S parameters between fresh out of the box and broken in using my methods. Not much, but definitely there.

If you have a cab, easiest is to plug it into an amp, give it some FM interstation noise (just off station is even better), starting at a modest volume, then build it up over time, ie tweek the vol every time you go past it. To keep noise down, put some blankets on the ground and lay the cab face down. Basement or garage is best so it's not annoying.

If your cab has an even number of the same drivers, reverse polarity on half of them and they move lots but make almost no noise.
When I buy new drivers, I do both of the above; FM noise and mount them in pairs out of phase.

 

[otis_thick]

This is from Kicker Corp. [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Note they ARE talking about woofers but they mention that any speaker has a break in period.

Important Break-In Information:
Due to the complex nature of any speaker, it requires time to break-in. Especially in sealed enclosures,
break-in is a must in order for woofers to produce optimum low bass response. Approximately two weeks
of daily playing will allow the suspension to break-in and reach its optimum equilibrium. ****The “broken-in“
sub will exhibit stronger bass performance, smoother response, and greater low bass extension.****
For those of you with more sophisticated audio equipment, KICKER subwoofers can be broken-in on the
test bench overnight with the following procedure.
Freeair Break-in Procedure
1. Connect the speaker to a power amp of about fifty watts or more. The speaker should not be mounted
in any enclosure - just freeair. Please make sure it will not walk off the bench while it is playing!
2. Connect an audio generator to the input of the power amp, and adjust the generator to approximately
the frequency in the chart below.
3. Now adjust the gain on the amplifier and generator so that the cone is moving to Xmax. This can be
determined visually by looking at the “blur depth” of the logo on the ISD. A close approximation will do. See
chart below.

NOTE: Keep in mind that as the speaker is used under normal conditions the break-in will continue, so if
you don’t have time for the complete break-in period the speaker will still break-in itself under normal
usage.

The manufacturer says break them in as well as they explain what is physically happening when you break them in-along with the benefits for breaking them in.