Makaveli

how do you guys do it? kicker reccommends a 2 week break in period, is that at like low volume, regular volume, etc. how do you guys break in your subs? i thought it was like the first 30ish hours of play have it at normal listening volume, and after that let it rip.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

put a cd in, hit play. Enjoy.

fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

Kicker recommends you break in the subs.

Check out http://kicker.com/images/manuals/Com...ManualV2_1.pdf near the bottom they tell you how they prefer they are broken in.

Pretty much set it up on a bench, slap a 50 watt+ amp on it and put input of certain hz (depending on sub) to the amp input then adjust the gain so the cone goes to X max. Let it sit over night playing with no box.

Or if you want to take the lower tech way:

Just play it for 1 to 2 weeks at low to med volume. Just don't blare it till it's broken in.

That's what kicker recommends.

I didn't break in my subs, but they were preown'd and the previous owner broke them in.

napalmdemos

Thats a new one for me but Im gonna say

Makaveli

BS to what?

fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

That was the first time I heard of the free air break in also.

I say just put in a cd and play it at low volume and don't crank the gains or bass boost up. Let them break in afor acouple hours then increase the volume a little and keep going that way.

napalmdemos

To breaking in a sub.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Good for them. That's probably because so many knuckle heads crank the snot out of it 10 seconds after they have the amp hooked up and blow them sky high. Once the sub begins to function, some of the matierals will losen up a tad, and can change the parameters (and sound quality) slightly. But whether you break it in by a specific method or just start playing music really makes no difference.

fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

K, sorry was just stating something. I didn't mean to start a flame.

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

Who's flaming?

blyth18md

yeah breaking in a sub, isnt going to give you any kind of real performnace increase. Its mearly a period of time in which youre loosing up a stiff unused suspension, or "burning" off excess glue. give yourself time to get use to the sub, and give the sub time to get use to moving...dont want to blow your ears...or your sub...or both

fireturd350

iTrader: (8)

No one yet, but you know how 1/4 of the posts go. Seems just like everyone is quick to add in after 2 opinions are set, which turns threads into flames.

I agree though just as long as you don't crank it up to the max right away it should be ok.

Guest

its true you need to breaking in the subs. you want to heat up the voice coil and let it cool down so it doesn't short out.

when they make the subs there is like a glue around the coil and when you heat it up it kinda moves around but ones you get it to normal temp and cool it off it stops moveing and its less likely for you to short out the sub.

best way to break in the subs is run the GAIN on the amp about 1/4 way up and the bass at about middle on the head uint and play it as loud as you want as long as its CLEAN

thats how i do it and i haven't blown a sub yet .

you also sould break in AMP's as well. its just like breaking in a motor after a fresh rebuild

CAMp3RO

please tell me you're not serious about breaking in the amps.... and if you're gonna say wiring needs it too, its all over.....

Guest

not the wires but the caps

onebadwagon

do you have to break in your car battery too? how about your box, is there a way to break in your speaker box?



adam

Guest

i have never heard of anyone breaking in a battery and the box its self you don't need to break in just the subs. you can break in the subs in or out of the box.

CAMp3RO

there is absolutely no need to break in an amp

Guest

ok so your saying you would buy a brand new AMP and turn the gain up all the way and bass boost (you should never do that to start with) and play it as loud as you want? i have seen so many people blow an amp from doing that they blow out the power supply on the board.

CAMp3RO

turning your gain up all the way is stupid to begin with. i have yet to hear a good reason why you would. gain is not a volume ****. if your amp is setup correctly, you will not blow it. the reason why people doing this kill their amps is because its clipping, therefor its not properly installed. so i stand by my statement: there is no reason to break in an amplifier.

Guest

as i said in my other post you should never turn the gain up all the way. and as for breaking in an AMP its really up to who owns the AMP. i always break in my amps and subs.

br()bert

I think if your subs coils heat up enough to melt ANYTHING you have serious audio system problems. Also , except for maybe a fan on some amps and the gain, bass *****, their is are moving parts in an amp. This is the reason why some amps last so long. This is also the reason why breaking in an amp Is a stupid thing to even think about.

CAMp3RO

the reason why power supplies in amps die is because of playing a clipped signal too long (most commonly done by having gain up too high). an amp can put out double its rated power when it clips, stressing the power supply too much. if an amp is properly designed (most are) and it is properly installed and setup, extra fans are unneccesary (but a nice addition if its in an area of little air flow).

oh, and about the sub heat thing. if too much power is being sent to the sub, it can get hot. way too much power will fry it. but then again, you can kill a sub if its underpowered and setup wrong (no, underpowering alone wont kill it, but i probably just started a war with that comment and confused some people )

demicon

I had always thought of breaking in new subs like you would a new engine.

Yes it is designed to handle a certain amount of activity, but until things get in the proper "groove" there may be some trouble getting to that point.

Imagine a brand new engine, new oil, never run yet.

If you start that engine then stomp on the gas what will happen?

The idea is the same for subs and speakers in my opinion. There will be a noticable sound range difference with a new sub as opposed to a worked in sub.

Usually a newer sub's cone will seem stiffer and a bit harder to move, a worked in sub's voice coil will have been streched and lossened up to the point where the move easier manually. Usually a sub that has been worked in will produce a greater range of frequencies more noticibly.

A great example was my friend's Rockford 12 inch sub. When he first got it, it played, but t didn't hit much for highs or low, it was kinda punchy and that was about all.

As time went by, (weeks and months) the sub slowly gained more sound range and hit harder and harder.

Also you may notice if you take a new sub and put a high amount of power into it right away it is more likely to pop as it hits, while if you take the same sub once it has been used for a month and put the same power into it it will sound fine.

I do realise this does change with different product lines and different levels of quality.

redbird_400

lol Breaking in the subs? seems kinda odd so I just have one question... Why woulnt they do that at the factory? maybe they do but what happens, the sub sits for to long and the glue in the coil becomes hard and not so flexible there for doesnt take heat that well and burns up and wears down quicker? Am I thinking to hard? lol ummm I'm sure it shoulnt take like 30 days to break them in, maybe 5 hours seems resonable, just in case even just over a rumor, I would break them in for 5 hours before cranking them real loud, well I usually woulnt take them to the max after first installing them either o.O Just doesnt feel right, I would like adjust to it myself and listen for distortion and.. well yea...

demicon

I agree with you in most of that, and it does seem that newer subs don't seem to have to have that done as much or at all.

But, I emailed JL audio to see what they have to say.

here is the email...

Hi there,


Just a quick question. Is there any kind of a recommended work in period
for your subwoofers? If so what is it?


Thanks alot.


Chris Curiston


Hello Chris,
Well, you may hear the difference in the response of your system after about
around a week and half of use.


Enjoy

Ron Funk
Technical Support
JL Audio Inc.
e-mail: rfunk@.jlaudio.com
954-443-1100

Thanks for your interest in JL Audio.


Check out our website: WWW.JLAudio.com




I also emailed Rockford. Here is the email...



Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support
center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.
We will assume your issue has been resolved if we do not hear from you
within 48 hours.
Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.


Subject
---------------------------------------------------------------
Working in a new sub


Discussion Thread
---------------------------------------------------------------
Response (Sean) - 12/04/2003 09:10 AM
Chris,

Thanks for contacting Rockford. We usually recommend a 24 hour break
in period. This should be plenty of time for the woofers. Hope this
helps.

Customer (Chris Curiston) - 12/03/2003 08:33 PM
Is there any kind of a recommended working in period or method for new
subs?

If so what is it?


Question Reference #031203-000053
---------------------------------------------------------------
Product: Subwoofers
Sub-Product: All Subwoofers
Category: Install/Troubleshoot
Contact Information: demicon@yahoo.com
Date Created: 12/03/2003 08:33 PM
Last Updated: 12/04/2003 09:10 AM
Status: Waiting




I am not trying to be a jerk here. Please don't think I am.

In my personal experience with 2 different Soundstream subs, 3 different kenwood subs, 2 pioneer subs, 3 Rockford subs, 1 earthquake sub, as well as information from friends who have participated in car audio competitions, in a variety of cars, trucks and vans, and in a variety of enclosure designs and types. It seems that a sub will not only perform better but it will usually last longer and handel a bit more abuse if it is givin a chance to move around for a while in whatever enclosure you make for it at a moderate level first before treating it like it has been there for years.

Again, it seems that the newer subs are not as needy in this case. My 2 pioneers didn't seem to care whether they were worked in or not. But even they had a difference in range ability after about a week of use.

Again, try taking a new sub and manually moving the cone. Then take the same sub a month or so later with normal use and try to manually move the cone. I can guarantee it will be easier to move. This tells me that something must be losening up. Perhaps streching out or something.

Keep in mind as well, all my examples had no changes done in any part of the stereo or its configuration during the "break in " period. The sub just began to respond better on the same music.

I hope this clears some stuff up. I hope this does not start an arguement. I am only trying to get my point across with some facts.


:hail:

onebadwagon

the only things that actually move/wear in the sub would be the voice coil leads, the spider and the surround.

besides those things, nothing "wears".


adam