speaker break in

recently replaced drivers in a pair of older infinity bookshelves with audax drivers.was wondering what an average time is before the tweeters 'warm up' they are very detailed,just a bit harsh.also,what kind of power needs to be applied.

i moved them to the rear because i don't like to be without my b&w's. so now i do most of my 2-ch listening in 'natural surround'(1050) to give them some 'airtime'.

btw they are titanium dome.
they will be used as mains in my buddy's system because they simply blow away the infinitys he bought new,but i got a deal on demos for him,so they are already broke in.

With both Klipsch and Paradigm after a few hours to a couple days the sound seemed to "smooth" out a bit. I left the FM playing 24/7 at low volume and it did the trick.

thanks,but now it doesn't matter.my buddy(and i use that in the past tense) jumped the gun and wanted his speakers. so he's on his own,and he has no idea how to hook up anything,nor did he want to learn.he'll be wishing he paid attention when he:
a.smokes something.
b.has to pay someone.

but it seems like i read somewhere that some companies recommend 100 hours breakin.

i doubt a tweeter breaks in very much if at all.

it's my understanding(which could be wrong) that the tweeter is the most crucial to break-in.

well opinions are like you know whats, we all have one.

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Just wanted to add a trick that I use to break in new speakers or drivers (when I'm impatient). I will put my loudspeakers face to face, but not touching and wire ONE out of phase. I'll turn FM muting off and tune to white noise. Theoretically, if your pre/amp/receiver channels are perfectly balanced, and your loudspeakers are perfectly matched, you will hear no noise. In actual practise (for me) I've always heard a slight amount of 'hiss' but it's not too intrusive. By doing all this, it allows (almost) a full range signal to your speakers at a level that won't drive you nuts, however, caution is needed as you can damage your equipment this way too. IMHO, it all needs breaking in.

CMT

oops. I should've said 'damage your equipment by setting the levels TOO high'

CMT

yeah, i have a new space awaiting setup, but i have yet to take time to take pics of my gear. i do not currently have a digital camera (other than my phone), so that is holding me back as well. work sucks man. at least i changed the title to coming soon :-).

The only driver I ever needed to brake-in was a pro-type driver with a laminated pleated surround. They are a little stiff to begin with but after a few hours they became more pliable. You have already adjusted the 1050 to the new drivers, right?

PS. I had the opportunity to see how drivers are made and tested in a factory setting. You would be surprised at the difference between how we treat them compared to how they treat them before they ship them out.

nope,them speakers are gone. i just ordered new dayton and audax drivers to rebuild my 'little infinitys' so i'll be doing it for myself this time.may just leave them as mains for awhile and try to decide.but i do know this my treble stays set at 0db,when i connected the rebuilt speakers,within an hour i adjusted to -2db,by the time i was 'done' for the night,i was set at -6db.

i'll be using the same tweeters again,so it'll be nice to spend more than a couple of days with the speakers.

i utilize the stereophile "test tone and break-in" cd in my system. care must be taken, of course, with the volume as too much will cause damage.

as for 100 hours of break-in, i don't know about that. any new component, regardless of what it is, will sound a little rough around the edges when played for the first time. i would also suggest either playing fm (either tuned into a station or tuned between stations where you have only white noise) continuously for a couple of days or toss in a cd and hit the "repeat" button and let it go for a couple of days.

likewise, with my turntables (i own five)....whichever one i may be using at the time -- once a year or so is put through the wringer with the cardas test tone lp or the telarc omnidisc lp.

Speakers are one of the few things I can believe might break in, although the changes the mechanical system experiences over time is minute and for the most part complementary.

In any case, if you don't match the levels of the new drivers the output might sound bright. Try building (or altering the existing) resistor network to tame the Audax.

look back at the date. when i built the new cabinets for the daytons,i took into consideration the sensitivity of the audax.i've incorporated variable l-pads.after several months the tweeters really calmed down and i can raise the level.click on 'blade' and there's pics

Yeah, I've been into DIY speakers for about 23 years. I sort of think it's more our ears getting used to the new sound - I can never measure any real shift.

this was my first venture,i'm pleased.i'll do it again.would love to buy all the good programs and 'stuff'.till then it's WINISD.(and luck)

I know what you mean. I have several modeling program, a CAD package and some test instruments. My next major DIY toy will probably be a MLS analyser this year. Woot!

Welcome to the hobby!

Madisound and parts express are good toy stores.

thanks,parts express got a couple $$$$ from last year.i was i-ballin' some north creek kevlar woofers but i'm pretty impressed with the dayton reference line.i wanna play more but springs on the way so it's gonna be truck stereo time.