Headphone... break in? [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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asterisk
09-24-2004, 02:35 PM
I just bought a pair of Sennheiser HD 497 cans and they sound good. I'm coming from a cheapie pair of Aiwas and prior to that 3 pairs of damn Sony 700DJs that I thought I had to have in my club DJ days... :rolleyes:

I'll mostly be using these with my computer/cd player and at the college radio station during my show. And note to all you bedroom DJs, a community radio show is an awesome experience if you ever get the chance!

At any rate I've been reading on a few sites that some headphones benefit from a "break in" period where you play some dynamic music at louder volumes for a while. Is there any truth to this?

ericl
09-24-2004, 03:05 PM
Hey *,

I have the 497s. in fact I'm wearing them right now. I really like them, I'm considering getting a headroom total bithead for them.

anyway, about break in, I'm not very good at observing more subtle changes in gear, and if i do i usually attribute it to what I am listening to, both the recording and the playback mechanism. That said, I did observe some changes in the bass performance on these headphones. At first the bass was pretty strident and almost painful on my ears to listen to, but after I had them longer it seemed to smooth out and become more tuneful and nice to listen to. So, maybe that was "breakin"..

hope this helps
eric

Dusty Chalk
09-24-2004, 05:38 PM
At any rate I've been reading on a few sites that some headphones benefit from a "break in" period where you play some dynamic music at louder volumes for a while. Is there any truth to this?I'm not familiar with the 497's, but yes, I have experienced break-in. There is some controversy regarding this -- specifically, whether or not the "louder volume" part is necessary. There is lots of theory (on Head-Fi (http://www.head-fi.org/)) discussing why this might benefit loosening up of the bass, but I'm not sure how it would tighten it up. My personal experience has been more towards the higher frequencies -- if they're shrill and/or buzzy, I have found playing them extensively helps to tone them down.

RGA
09-24-2004, 08:36 PM
Some speakers break in some don't some do and are unnoticeable. My current speakers have shown break in as did my B&W's - Not so with my other speakers and not with my Headphones.

asterisk
09-25-2004, 09:54 AM
Thanks everyone for your input. When I first got them they sounded a tad sharp but either I got used to them or they have mellowed/smoothed out.