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do speakers need a 'break-in' period?

Old 03-11-2004, 08:04 PM
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Default do speakers need a 'break-in' period?

i have read in several forums (all of which i now cannot find) that new (replacement) speakers in the doors need a 'break-in' period in order to put out good bass. is this true?

i have recently installed a set of diamond hex s600s and the bass is inaudible. it's been about a week but i still hear very little bass. they are just extremely bright.

any suggestions? is dynamat going to help? what other alternatives are there to dynamat?

should i try adjusting the settings on my amp and crossovers?

i have tried searching through the forums and just cannot find anything. someone please help! thanks.

dan
Old 03-11-2004, 08:12 PM
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Yes, speakers break in, but it is usually subtle. You can definitely check the crossover setting on the amp. If it is set high, well, you get the idea... Don't count on lots of bass from a door speaker. It's a free air enclosure with nothing but metal for the sound to reflect off of. This is part of the reason that even small subs in cars sound good. The enclosure makes all the difference in how a driver will sound.
Old 03-11-2004, 08:34 PM
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thanks for your response celeritas,

about how many hours of play before they're fully broken-in would you say? very generally speaking of course...

and has anyone tried brown bread for dampening?

dan
Old 03-11-2004, 08:58 PM
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The break-in should only be for a couple of hours worth of play, just enough pumping to get the speaker surrounds fully moving. As Celeritas said, it's a very minor thing, and you probably won't notice the difference.

I also suggest checking for crossover settings. You may also have the highs turned up so high they are aurally overpowering the bass. If you don't feel much bass at all it's probably missing, but consider turning down the highs if the speakers sound too bright.
Old 03-12-2004, 05:11 PM
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just use your speakers normally, just dont blast the music super loud for a couple days to be sure....
Old 03-12-2004, 05:36 PM
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I think Speaker break in concept is Poppycock.
Im guessing you put in some speakers and they sound worse than stock.
I would check to make absolutely sure your speakers are in phase aka the + and - wires to the speakers connected properly.

When installing new speakers best results are obtained by
matching power output from your head unit to the power rating of your speakers.
ie:25 W output per channel on an aftermartket radio should
be connected to a 100 W speaker.

You don't want to connect a stock S2000 stereo to speakers rated for 300 W for example.

And to reiterate what McGyver said , check your Bass , Treble or EQ settings.
Old 03-12-2004, 06:06 PM
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Originally posted by SeaDoXPL
I think Speaker break in concept is Poppycock.
Agreed.

Push the cone down and up once...and your speakers are broken in.

The only reason you'd want to do a full 10-hr break-in is if you're gonna run tests on it because the TS parameters change after playing time...


[QUOTE]When installing new speakers best results are obtained by
Old 03-12-2004, 07:22 PM
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Spending even five minutes with the bass pumping will tend to loosen up the speaker surround to its "typical" free-moving range...that's basically breaking it in. Moving it up and down a couple of times by hand won't cut it. It's not like you're going to get better sound over time like our engines gaining more HP as the rings seal, you're just giving the surround and coil a chance to exert its range of motion early on.
Old 03-13-2004, 02:57 PM
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Just switch the + and - speaker wire at the amp on one channel say the right side. If the little bit of bass you have gets worse switch it back. If it gets better you had a speaker out of phase. Make sure your electronic x-over on your amp is set to full range and not highpass. If it is set to highpass set the x-over adjustment to about 30- 40 hertz and up. Those Diamond hex speakers are kickass speakers.
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