burn in time and run in with cabs

[paddy109]

I have seen these comments before when talking of new cabs. Can someone explain what this exactly means and why a cab may sound better once 'ran in'?

[HowieBass]

I think it's supposed to be related to the initial stiffness of a new speaker cone, or rather the actual suspension (the spider and the outer cone surround). As these are made to work their initial stiffness reduces allowing the speaker (and cab) to settle down into a constant mechanical behaviour which translates into the run-in sound.

http://www.eminence.com/2011/06/speaker-break-in/

[Phil Starr]

There's an old thread about this where one of the basschatters (Stevie) did some measurements to show that the effects of running in a speaker are negligible. In any case just using the speaker will run it in so it's not something you can avoid and not probably something to worry about.

FWIW it's easy to see how people are fooled into thinking they hear changes that aren't there. Our brains are much more sophisticated sound processors than any DSP. The usual reason given for 'running in' is to soften the suspension but I suspect changes to the cone are more significant as these will affect the higher frequencies to which we are more sensitive. We know that the cross linking bonds in wood fibre cones change with time and are affected by temperature and particularly humidity and it may be this rather than the suspensions that are causing the sound to change.

It's interesting and i have two identical speakers one of which I'm using and one keeping for some comparative measurements to see if I can detect any changes over time but I'm a white coated nerd, the average bassist probably shouldn't worry about it.

[Norris]

Last time I played with a sound guy he took a DI out of my GT6B, one out of the back of my amp (post-EQ) AND mic'ed my cab

[taunton-hobbit]

Barefaced Generation3 pdf extract:

5b. Woofer break-in
The 12XN550 drivers have extremely high power handling and maximum excursion. This
requires very tough suspension to support the cone and consequently this suspension is
tight when the woofers are brand new. As the woofer is used the suspension loosens up,
resulting in significantly increased bass response (both depth and fatness) and the
speaker becoming easier for an amplifier to drive, as well as the mids and treble becoming
cleaner and smoother as the ability of the surround to damp the cone vibrations improves.
This change occurs in a reverse exponential manner, so the change is most rapid early on,
particularly in the first five minutes of loud use.
It may take a number of gigs or loud rehearsals for your cab to settle into its long-term
parameters (and thus tone and performance). The midrange and treble response will also
improve as the softer suspension allows the cone to move as designed, both in its pistonic
behaviour and the multiple bending modes, giving uniquely even power response for such
a large high excursion driver. Note that we test every cab before it leaves the factory, and
part of that process is a frequency sweep from 100Hz down to 20Hz and back up again, at
fairly high level - this brief test alone does about half the breaking in, so you will never hear
the full break-in change with one of our cabs.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

[quote name='taunton-hobbit' timestamp='1421423388' post='2661058']
you will never hear the full break-in change with one of our cabs.
[/quote]You'll never hear it with anyone's cabs, the change is too subtle and your ears are too insensitive to hear it. For that reason you'll see legions of those who deny that it happens at all, though none of them have ever measured the changes, which really do occur.

[paddy109]

Great replies thanks and the Barefaced PDF helpful.

[tauzero]

[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1421407912' post='2660802']
There's an old thread about this where one of the basschatters (Stevie) did some measurements to show that the effects of running in a speaker are negligible. In any case just using the speaker will run it in so it's not something you can avoid and not probably something to worry about.
[/quote]

Although this is focussed on hi-fi systems, the principle is the same:

[url="http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/speaker-break-in-fact-or-fiction"]http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/speaker-break-in-fact-or-fiction[/url]

[Phil Starr]

[quote name='tauzero' timestamp='1421461247' post='2661663']
Although this is focussed on hi-fi systems, the principle is the same:

[url="http://www.audioholics.com/loudspeaker-design/speaker-break-in-fact-or-fiction"]http://www.audioholi...fact-or-fiction[/url]
[/quote]

Thanks, that's an interesting article. Pretty much confirming what most of us are saying, there will be changes but whether they will be audible in any practical situation is debatable, and you don't need much running in time to get those changes.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 28, 2022 by Jus Lukin