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Speaker Break In: Fact or Fiction?

Driver "break in", "burn in" or "run in" is a topic that's been debated in various forums for years. This topic continues to ignite occasional flame wars, fueled by the contributions of both uninformed and enlightened alike.

What do we really mean when we talk about "loudspeaker sound"? We've said it - we've heard it - but what should a good loudspeaker sound like? If we are being true to the goal of seeking higher fidelity, then an ideal loudspeaker should have no "sound" at all. In other words, it should be completely transparent, an open door to the musical performance.

Recent Loudspeaker Basics Articles

Tech Article: Loudspeakers & Power Ratings Part III: The Test Results
by Paul Apollonio — last modified September 25, 2008 05:24

In parts one and two, the case was made for the idea that real power handling in loudspeakers was intimately tied to the nature of the signal, as well as the electromechanical parameters of the speaker under test. In the final part of this three part article, Paul performs an experiment to determine if the underlying theory has merit, or if he is simply full of hot air. (Hot air is not good for either loudspeakers or authors.) What he aims to prove is without specifying the frequency content and crest factor of the test signal used, the power handling number/rating in loudspeakers IS MEANINGLESS.

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Tech Article: Loudspeakers & Power Ratings: What's the Deal Part II?
by Paul Appolino — last modified August 31, 2008 09:10

In part I of this series of articles, we discussed simple concepts regarding power handling in loudspeakers and common misconceptions surrounding them. In this article, we discuss the mechanics of loudspeaker clipping and work several examples of product failure at various power levels depending on what test signal is being used. We learn that without a knowledge of the test signal used, the power rating number for a loudspeaker system is meaningless. Read on to find out why.

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Tech Article: Loudspeakers & Power Ratings: What's the Deal Part I?
by Paul Apollonio — last modified September 02, 2008 13:05

There are two basic ways in which you can destroy a loudspeaker with power; thermally or mechanically. Everyone is familiar with the concept of being able to burn a loudspeaker. It gets too hot, and the voice coil wire burns, or worse, something else (like the cone) catches on fire and burns. We all go shopping with “How many watts can it handle?” This is like living in a vast desert with only a few filling stations and wanting to know your cruising range in miles. We ask how big is the tank, and not how many miles we get to the gallon. (What is the efficiency?) In part I of this series, we examine a few very simple concepts regarding power handling and common misconceptions surrounding them.

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Tech Article: Sound Bars with Chip-Based Technology Bridge Gap
by Claus Neesgaard — last modified June 26, 2008 04:52

High-quality audio is a critical part of creating a compelling home theater product line. With the availability of six- and eight-channel surround sound systems, consumers expect movie theater quality sound in their living rooms and bedrooms from their televisions. New Silicon-on-Chip Designs promise better and cheaper sound bar technology to fill the gap for those who can't build out full 5.1 systems.

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Pro Review: Dayton Audio WT3 Woofer Tester Review
by Mark Sanfilipo — last modified April 17, 2008 19:07

The WT3 Woofer Tester by Dayton Audio is a fast, accurate and affordable measurement tool that’s about as easy to use as it gets. Just load the included software, plug the probe into the nearest USB port, calibrate, and you’re good to go. It’s that simple! It’ll measure driver impedance and derive the all-important Thiele/Small parameters - critical to the loudspeaker design process. It will also measure the impedance of various components commonly used in the construction of passive crossover networks such as resistors, caps & inductors. Rounding out this feature set, the WT3 sports some useful extra utilities you’ll likely find handy. All in all, this is one item likely to be a favorite of the DIY community for a long time to come.

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Tech Article: Audioholics Subwoofer Measurement Standard Part I
by Mark Sanfilipo — last modified March 06, 2008 13:24

When it comes time to size up a subwoofer's performance, the proof is in the measurement! Audioholics takes a hard look at the science of subwoofer measurements in a two-part series covering a broad spectrum of measurement methods, useful to both pro and enthusiast alike. The purpose of both documents are to present a set of measurement guidelines by which a comprehensive objective assessment of a subwoofer’s performance can be developed. Included within this document’s definition of a subwoofer are: single & multiple driver subwoofer systems; powered and passive systems; systems featuring vented or totally enclosed cabinets; along with less common items such as dipole subwoofers. Let the science begin!"

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Tech Article: Subwoofer Measurement Tactics: A Brief, Topical Overview & Method Comparison
by Mark Sanfilipo — last modified November 12, 2007 06:57

You often see us measuring subwoofers using various methods such as: groundplane, in-room nearfield, outdoor on a pole, anechoic, quasi anechoic, etc in our product reviews and technical articles. This article discusses the different approaches to measuring subwoofers as well as tabulates the pros and cons of each method. Depending on the resources on hand of the reviewer, we will typically apply one or more of these methods and will note them as such in the reviews. The idea here is to eliminate external influences that complicate the measurements to yield similarly correct results for each methodology employed. The scope of this overview is limited to subwoofers only and the amplitude response frequencies range of 10 Hz to 320 Hz.

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Tech Article: Speaker Spikes and Cones – What’s the point?
by Jim Lesurf — last modified September 18, 2007 12:28

In recent years it has become common for items of audio equipment to be mounted using “spikes” or “cones”. These come in all sorts of shapes, sizes, and materials, at all kinds of prices. The Hi-Fi magazines sometimes ‘review’ these accessories, and recommend their use. However, are they worth buying and using? In this article, we consider their use with loudspeakers, and discuss some alternatives.

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Tech Article: Vertical vs Horizontal Center Speaker Designs
by Chris Seymour — last modified July 20, 2007 09:34

The center channel’s job is a tough one. The consensus is that around 75 percent of a movie’s content is routed to the center channel loudspeaker. Yet, the design criteria for center channels traditionally require that it fit as stealthily as possible around that big-box television, or that huge sheet of projection screen. The sound can’t go through your glass TV screen and projection screens are usually not acoustically transparent. Ideally, the sound should come from behind the image, through the screen as it does in the movie theaters. But while there are new options with acoustically transparent projection screens, this article will focus on the more traditional problem of what compromises result from the different approaches to center channel design.

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Tech Article: Loudspeaker Impedance, Series & Parallel Connection Basics
by Gene DellaSala — last modified May 21, 2006 20:00

More often than not a question pops up in our forum about speaker impedance and the result of connecting multiple speakers to a single amplifier. Thus we have prepared this introductory tutorial to help clear up some of these questions.

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Speaker Break In: Fact or Fiction?

How to Judge Loudspeakers - Sound and Accuracy

Recent Loudspeaker Basics Articles

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