This has always been my personal experience with various makes of speaker, although I'm sure there are many in the forum who will attest to a much stronger break-in phenomenon (which I am not disputing, just questioning). I contacted Polk via social media to ask how long the break-in period is. I had never heard Madonna's "Vogue" in this way. The detail is just mega and the sheer control it has on much of my music is unbelievable. Needless to say, Polk Audio will be on top of my shopping list the next time I’m in the market for speakers. ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 vs Polk RTi A1 Speaker Comparison In this review, we will be comparing specifications of Debut 2.0 B6.2 and RTi A1, two Bookshelf cameras from ELAC and Polk Audio. Dr. Sean E. OliveSenior Manager of Acoustic ResearchR&D GroupHarman International8500 Balboa Blvd.Northridge, CA, 91329Tel: (818) 895-5776. The various speakers I have bought new all sounded not good right out of the box. I was aware that I couldn't drive them hard, especially so soon. As far as "breaking in" the loudspeakers, this should have no effect on the performance or sound quality of the speaker; unfortunately this one of the many audiophile myths that, in most cases, has little scientific merit. For proper break in, we generally recommend around 40 to 50 hours of at least mid-level playback before doing any critical listening. I bought them with a nice set of B&W stands. http://www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/506dynaudio/. Practicing Curmudgeon & Audio Snob I very, very seriously doubt you damaged a driver. The combination of the Terylene dome tweeter with the three mid-range/low end drivers give the Polk Audio S60 a frequency range of 26Hz–40 kHz with 8 ohms of nominal impedance, 90 dB of sensitivity and with the crossover frequency being set at 2.5 kHz. I worked with literally hundreds of new speakers and they all do it. Knowing this, its their chance to bad-mouth other brands that do need break in, by saying there should be no breaking-in. I did like how they sounded at first listen, but they have improved much since I bought them. If the speakers are going to have a problem, you want it to happen sooner rather than later. It looks like you're new here. Is there anything wrong with this approach? If this seems unattainable, just continue the break in period with your favorite music and movies as you would normally enjoy them. I could hear a world of difference between the MA and the B&W's. I believe those manufacturers who claim that break in should not be needed are being sly in their marketing approach. The company also produces a wide range of other audio products, such as amplifiers and FM tuners. I'd recommend playing orchestral music to help break them in because of it's deep bass, high frequency content, and dynamics. While some people don't believe that electronic parts break in almost everyone seems ready to believe the mechanical parts can break in. If it was something that was majorly important, the hi fi dealer and the manufacturers would reiterate before walking out of the shop that it is absolutely essential and vital. I wish I never played the album now :(. I am about to take delivery of a brand new pair of B & W 685 speakers. Marantz AV-7705 PrePro, Classé 5 ch. I have had all types of music on from pop to rock to blues to jazz and orchestral. Let's have a brief look at the main features of Polk Audio RTi A9 and Wharfedale EVO4.4 before getting into our more detailed comparison. Keep the volume constant during this time and make sure the system is playing just loud enough for you to see the cone actually moving back and forth. I am glad I am a amatuer so that I can hear the speaker improve as it breaks in. Required break in time for the common spider-diaphragm-surround is typically on the order of 10s of seconds and is a one-off proposition, not requiring repetition. More Buying Choices $82.46 (9 … After seeing many reviews of the 685 S2's I simply had to go to my local hi fi dealer for a demo. You’re going from S50’s to 703’s - so the question is whether the 703’s will be significantly more … I read somewhere about breaking them in by playing low level back ground music for up to 50 hours. I'm hungry for curd & whey..... Bill - on the Hill They are excellent in small to mid size rooms and great for casual listening. Having said that, double check your wire connections at the amp end and the speaker end. Not any the the human ear would hear anyway. Read Wes Philips' review of the Focus 140. Initially I wasn't blown away with the bottom end. (right click each link and open in new window, or you will be taken away from this page), http://thestateofsound.net/2014/02/07/breaking-in-your-new-speakers/, http://www.eminence.com/2011/06/speaker-break-in/. The result is an entire line of weather-resistant audio products made to fill large outdoor spaces with rich, natural sound. I've had my cs10 for a few months now...and it sounds better each time its used...bass is more profound and present, mids and highs also improved..I'm a believer in speaker break-in lol. Atleast this is what I did with my speakers. Its to make their speakers look good, and the people who do not buy their speakers do not know how to hear. But, anyone who has ever bought a new pair of Dynaudio speakers has probably landed in the "speakers do break-in" camp. i also use -at first- something like the Sheffield Labs break-in CD, and leave it on while i am gone. They sounded so wide, so detailed, smooth and incredibly controlled. A spider and surround that is designed to provide consistent performance for ten years or more, would change its properties in a matter of hours? Polk Audio's R30 floorstanding speaker furthers the company's tradition of using high-quality materials and excellent engineering to deliver exceptional sound and exceptional value. Because life sounds better when Polk… Get it as soon as Thu, Jan 7. The surrounds, and Spiders loosen up which leads to an increase in bass and dynamics and high frequencies become more extended and open over time. Why Polk Audio. Let's have a brief look at the main features of Wharfedale 220 and Polk TSi100 before getting into … Of course, over time, you may perceive the speakers have changed or improved because you may have adapted to their sound. Polk Signature S15 American HiFi Bookshelf Speaker. I recently purchased a Polk cs10 center channel to compliment my tsi100 fronts. Now, has anybody seen that Muffette lady lately? I think that break in involves heat as much as anything. I was wondering what was the break-in period for the cs10? Product Description. The Speakers for All Seasons. The result is an entire line of weather-resistant audio products made to fill large outdoor spaces with rich, natural sound. Upgraded from Polk T50 These are still 5.25-inch woofers, so … Enjoy rich, detailed audio for home theatre and music the way it's meant to be heard, minus the letdown inherent in low quality, lesser-than speakers. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons! Doesn’t need sub or center channel. The most dramatic break in will take place in the first 100 to 150 hours. I used to believe in speaker break-in, but after trying over several months (to no avail) to break in a pair of Infinity Primus P362's that initially, out of the box sounded too bright, I contacted Infinity's Sean Olive and asked him how much longer I should continue the process. And, as someone mentioned, they probably break us in, too. Or alternatively play them at medium-loud level for roughly 72 hours (a long weekend) continuously. I laughed and nodded my head in agreement through the whole review. With something as powerful as air pressure, mechanics and sound pressure our speakers are responding to constant change, just as a musical instrument does as it is played. OP will begin to hear the difference after 200 hours of break-in. Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. 100 hours? I agree. The manual with my Paradigm speakers suggests that the sound will improve after 3-50 hours of play and I agree. So, put me in the 'pro' break-in column on speaker break in. Many audio experts and speaker manufacturers say that loudspeakers benefit from a break-in process. Yamaha HTR-5063 If you still notice the problem after tightening all the connectors, including the interconnects, turn it up and down to see if it is related to the volume level. Floorstanding Speaker / 20-100 Watts / 6 1/2" Woofer / 3/4" Dome Tweeter / Magnetic Shielded / Black Finish Amazon.com. Just look here! Speakers and all parts in audio change with humidity and with current changes in the system. The break-in period doesn’t really require anything special other than listening to music and over time your speakers will become more and more broken in. Then, the question is, do they reach a steady state or do they continue to improve over even greater lengths of time.? $109.95 $ 109. Sometimes a wire that isn't solidly connected will exhibit that sort of thing. Alright, a five year old thread brought back to life just in time for Halloween! Break in period is shorter than other speakers by Polk. Also, the voice coils in the speakers heat and cool, this changes the distances between the coils and the magnetic fields, changing the response of the drivers. How long you want to break in your speakers is one of those audiophile questions that doesn’t necessarily have a right or wrong answer. We took the DNA from Polk's instant-classic Monitor Series loudspeakers and re-imagined them for today's audio lover. FREE Shipping by Amazon. Wharfedale 220 vs Polk TSi100 Speaker Comparison In this review, we will be comparing specifications of Diamond 220 and TSi100, two Bookshelf cameras from Wharfedale and Polk Audio. but i think our own "adjustment" to the new nuances of sound coming out of the system play an equal role at least in this process. Return what you just bought quick and buy theirs that sound good out of the box,ploy. Does anyone know about breaking in speakers, and can give some guidelines? I use them exclusively for vinyl through vintage SANSUI reviver/amp. Well, if they kept them past the 200 hour mark, anyway. I know the speakers need a break in period and I have a plan to couple them with my Yamaha R-V98 receiver which is my go-to for 2 channel stereo listening. 4.6 out of 5 stars 3,026. The speakers will break in with use. And, amazingly, they only get better, never worse. Professional engineers have done tests and found no significant difference between a new and "broke in" speaker. A speakers sound certainly changes over time! Try wiring one of the two speakers out of phase, placing them face-to-face, and then playing a mono source fairly loud for several days. I've asked many designers that I've gotten to meet and almost all agree that break in occurs, and that when they design, they keep 'broken in' drivers on hand for designing use. I was playing the latest Depeche Mode album, "Delta Machine" and the frequencies of the synthesisers are so harsh throughout the record and I fear that it may have caused some damage. Polk Audio has also introduced smart speakers for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Affordable bookshelf speakers typically suffer from being too bright and sometimes harsh. I personally think speaker break in is electrical AND mechanical. I'm surprised that anyone would think that a speaker or any mechanical part would get to a place where it stops maturing. Or just listen to them and enjoy the music, knowing that if they do change over the first few hours of play, such changes will probably be subtle and not likely to dramatically alter the tonal balance of the speakers enough to invalidate any initial impressions you may have had of the speakers. Don’t forget there is a long break-in period for those speakers, they may sound crappy until they break in or they may go from decent to crappy for a hundred hours or more. I decided that maybe I should look to see what speakers I could get that were current and I did look at B&W specifically. So based on these two experts' opinions, I would say that break-in is not required. What do other people think about break-in, both electrical and mechanical, in speakers as well as other hi-fi components? Thank you. The company's headquarters are in San Diego, California.In 2006, it was bought by Directed Electronics. Breaking in speakers and the theories behind it is a very fascinating subject. I couldn't wait to get them home (Monday 24th November). They told me 8 hours. - Page 2 My Dad bought a pair of B&W 602 S3's some years ago brand new from his local hi fi dealer and he swore that they would be better than my Monitor Audios so I moved my RX6's out of the way and replaced them with his B&W's. 95 $199.95 $199.95. Itsy bitsy spider that lives in a spout...in a rainy part of the world...???? Aflack. Leaving them play for a week or two while at work at a moderate volume level will do wonders. However, after a 15 hour break in period, I found the S15 to have a superbly balanced sound with a surprising amount of punch to its bass. Think of it like vulcanizing. I wonder if our notion of speaker break-in, focused as it is on mechanical exercising of driver materials, is flawed, or at least incomplete. Perfect speaker for price. Heat will also change the values of electronic componets. Once broken in, the driver should measure/perform as do its siblings, within usual unit-to-unit parameter tolerances. An amp will change it's performance as it's transformers heat up. Let me know if I can be of any more assistance. I’m really glad I gave these speakers a shot. Just like all thing mechanical, speakers have moving parts that move more freely with time and effort. I say this because I think I can hear the slight crackling on other records during high frequencies. That is such a lie! in fact, it seems every time i listen to music my ears or brain need to warm up so i get into the listening zone. There is no set amount of time for break-in. at first they were a bit tiringly accurate and lean. Polk Audio outdoor speakers undergo a rigourous weatherproofing certification programme that far exceeds typical military specification weather tests. Discuss: Polk Audio M3II - speakers Sign in to comment. Let's have a brief look at the main features of ELAC Debut 2.0 B6.2 and Polk RTi A3 before getting into our more detailed comparison. So I tend to talk more about it as a mechanical effect so that people will take it seriously, instead of thinking about it as just some "wacky audiophile thing" about which they do not need to worry. Meanwhile, over at PSB, Paul Barton has conducted experiments on speaker break in and has found nearly no measurements to support the notion that driver performance changes over a typical "break-in" time period. The real question is, why anything else? Why is that we have to break them in seperately. Both factors could conceivably affect the frequency response of the speaker, especially at small time-scales. Not only does the speaker change within the first "breakin" period, but it also matures with age as well as changes every time you play it from a cold start up. If you can't hear a difference, don't waste your money. I felt there was a significant lack of bass but it was evident that these B&W 685's had massive scale. Please can anyone offer any advice??? When I got them home, I kept the music at reasonable volumes and just enjoyed them and excited to try what I already test at the hi fi centre and more. And now that I'm here, think about this. Connectivity Its typically the speaker's spider that needs breaking in. Lately ELAC America has been makin I noticed that the speakers became warmer and deeper after being allowed to break in. 50 hours would be the bare minimum. 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Do is just listen and enjoy, it happens slowly over time and effort you 're supposed to do just... How they sounded so wide, so detailed, smooth and incredibly controlled outdoor speakers undergo rigourous! Just listen and enjoy, it was brilliant and i know when something is in-tune out! For Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa just mega and the absolute control that these speakers a.. 10 hours now, maybe more of Dynaudio speakers has probably landed in the first 100 to hours... To be broken in before they really sound their best absolutely deny that there be. That lives in a rainy part of the box amp end and the theories behind it is a fascinating! Any critical listening was convinced that these B & W stands would say that all need! Get to a place where it stops maturing parts in audio change with and., Jan 7 to improve sound from Pinnacle BD-1000 plus A/V receiver 3/4 '' Tweeter. Anyone would think that a speaker or any mechanical part would get to a place where it stops.. It will break in, by all means break the speakers became warmer and deeper after allowed... Discuss: Polk audio M3II - speakers Sign in to comment first- something the...