The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

[CTN]

...at least if you don't have the time to play guitar all day, is that you get to listen to great tunes allllllll day.

I've got my iPod fully loaded with a selection of awesome rock, blues and metal, and it's being piped into my new WGS speakers via my practice amp which has RCA inputs for audio devices.

Got a bunch of blankets and padding set up around the speakers so I could turn it up to a decent volume without making my own ears bleed or disturbing my neighbors, but I can still hear the music quite clearly. Got the bass boosted on the EQ, so the speakers are getting a nice workout.

Gonna go pick up my custom cab tomorrow, and hopefully by the end of the long weekend, the speakers will be nicely broken in and I can load them into the cab and enjoy a rich palette of tonal goodness.

huzzah!

 

[tenniso]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

i'm about to start doing this with my new Fender Mustang III v.2. its got an aux input for the ipod. its gonna be loud with 100 watts and a 12" celestion.

 

[Agileguy_101]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

Nice!

I thought I was the only one who still had an Ipod, hah.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

If I'm gonna buy a cheap Chinese Celestion, I'll buy it from Avatar; one of their Hellatones, that are less expensive AND broken in. Makes a huges difference- a new speaker- Ugh! CTN- from what i understand, breaking in a speaker takes a long effin' time if done by playing.

 

[King IzzO)))]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

The internet is full of bull**** Jerry, it's not that bad.

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

The internet is full of bull**** Jerry, it's not that bad.

No no..really King..its a ridiculous amount of play hours..something like 400! Till then the speakers really sound aweful! Its true though, cause when you unbox a new speaker, its very stiff, and yields no sweet harmonics and texture or organic response, and it doesnt get any better ( although you play that Stoner/doom./drone right?; so that might loosen em up a lot quicker-or tear em apart..you mihgt not notice the lack of tone cause of the bass heavy style you do). I got this from a boanfied source- i belive it was the Scumback dude on the Metroamp forum, and it jibes with my experience , and you know Ive got about 10 cabinets, although to tell the truth, most of them are vintage.

EDIT- no, Izzo, you actually are right in a way- I played my new Red Fangs and they sound amazing. Scary that they could even sound better!

 

[tenniso]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

i'm not a good enough player for it to be that important. my gear already sounds much better than i do.

 

[CTN]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

I know Jerry. I'm gonna be outta the house most of this weekend anyway, so except for when I'm sleeping (which is when my iPod will be charging), I'm gonna be running the speakers all weekend pretty much. From my meager research it should take about 40 hrs, not 400. By the end of the weekend they should be getting at least that much if not a bit more.

should clock in at about 12 hrs today.
probably 16-18 tomorrow and sunday as well.

If I really need to, I can go for another 12-16 on monday as well (long weekend for us)

It's been about almost 8 hrs so far, and already they're beginning to sound a bit sweeter and more musical. When I started this morning they sounded really cold and sterile.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

I've known about speaker break-in, and new caps in tube amps need 80-100 hours on them before they reach their optimum too. I discovered recently that new transformers need some time to become broken in too. That surprised me, although it made perfect sense when i read the reasoning.

 

[zzmoore]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

Speaker break-in.
Guess all those times I saw The Stones, Traffic, Trower, Genesis, Yes, Clapton etc etc etc. they sounded crappy because of the NEW speakers in their cabs.
Absolutely No Reason a new speaker HAS to sound "bad".
Like with many things, it is the player that equally adjusts to new speakers, amps, strings, guitars, cabs, etc etc etc.
All things in moderation,
Do not put all your eggs (and egos) in one basket...and other words of wisdom like that.
best

 

[CTN]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

doesn't sound "bad" per se. Just sounds a bit harsh. Sorta like how new strings sound a bit too bright, until they've got some hours on them, then they can bring the beef a bit better.

 

[SongsForTheDeaf]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

vintage amps= broken in speakers :naughty:

 

[MetalManiac]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

vintage amps= broken speakers :naughty:

Fixt. :biglaugh:

 

[zzmoore]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

doesn't sound "bad" per se. Just sounds a bit harsh. Sorta like how new strings sound a bit too bright, until they've got some hours on them, then they can bring the beef a bit better.

I was exaggerating to make a point.
Most speakers do sound "better" when the surround has relaxed. I just have to laugh at the Numbers I always see attached to this topic. Like 50 hours, or you need to play them for 80 hours. As if the speaker was NOT "broken-in" after 76 hours, but after 80 hours they are all set and ready to go. My experience is that Hundreds of hours are required to really relax a speaker. What is 50-80 hours.
I am fully aware of what speaker makers say/claim, and the tests and procedures they have performed. My opinion is just different is all.
If a speaker sounds better after 50 hours, I would say play it, or run music through it for 50 hours and enjoy the improvement.
Always go what what your own ears hear.
best

 

[SongsForTheDeaf]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

Fixt. :biglaugh:

haha Gotta test em before you buy em!

Fuzz just sounds so much better through 37 year old speakers

 

[CTN]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

I was exaggerating to make a point.
Most speakers do sound "better" when the surround has relaxed. I just have to laugh at the Numbers I always see attached to this topic. Like 50 hours, or you need to play them for 80 hours. As if the speaker was NOT "broken-in" after 76 hours, but after 80 hours they are all set and ready to go. My experience is that Hundreds of hours are required to really relax a speaker. What is 50-80 hours.
I am fully aware of what speaker makers say/claim, and the tests and procedures they have performed. My opinion is just different is all.
If a speaker sounds better after 50 hours, I would say play it, or run music through it for 50 hours and enjoy the improvement.
Always go what what your own ears hear.
best

yeah, when i got my first pair of retro30s for my old 4x12, I didn't bother breaking them in initially like I'm doing for this new one.

It took a couple of months of playing almost every day before it stopped sounding grainy and harsh. Fortunately, the G12-65s which were also in the 4x12 were well broken in so I was still able to record some nice tones. The Retro30s whooped the 65s' asses at recorded tones once they were broken in though. Crisper, more articulate, more in your face, and more lively sounding.

Only reason i'm breaking in these new ones is cuz these are a) my only speakers at the moment and b) going to have to get recorded tones pretty soon, so I need to get rid of the harshness soon as I can.

I don't really get where they get the numbers for how long a speaker needs to be broken in either, but whatever, any amount of breaking in is probably better than playing or recording it raw.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

You're breaking the speakers in with them out of the cabinet? Four speakers? Do you know how to run them out of phase while they're breaking in, so they'll make less noise?

 

[CTN]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

out of the cabinet, 2 speakers. Different speakers though - different voice coils, dustcaps, power ratings and magnet sizes - unlikely they'd cancel out perfectly if they were out of phase, but I can try that tomorrow.

 

[Little Pigbacon]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

You'll probably still get a fair amount of cancellation. If they're being fed from the same amp channel, that helps. If not, then the more "mono" the signal is, the better. Arrange them facing one another, with their frames as close together and as parallel to each other as possible.

 

[crusty philtrum]

Re: The nice thing about breaking in new speakers...

Speakers are funny. You're either breaking them in, or they're getting tired and wearing out. There is probably a five-minute period in their life somewhere where they are at the top of the hill and sounding 'right'. At that point, they should never be listened to again, as listening to them will start them on the long downhill road of decline.

And of course they will deteriorate with age even if not used, so .... one should buy many speakers, get them broken in, and change them at least as often as you change strings, prefereably more frequently.