Breaking in subs

this is sort of a stupid question i think, but is there a break in time on subwoofers? Oh Man Theres Troy

Most speakers (not just subwoofers) sound better after a couple hundred hours of use.  So yes, there is.  Is there a special procedure you should follow?  Not for car audio speakers, no, although I usually recommend running them at no more than 1/2 power for the first few days just to be safe. Support the12volt.com

Like DYohn said... run them at lower power in the first few days.  If you blast any speaker in the first few days you run a risk of injuring the speaker.That's my opinion. Take it, leave it, or correct me.

arrow12 wrote: If you blast any speaker in the first few days you run a risk of injuring the speaker.

How? I have heard this MANY times, but nowbody has ever told me how. I personally don't believe that you will hurt it, and neither do the engineers I know. WFO from the minute I get it... Never blown a speaker yet. Yes, a break-in period CAN change the sound, but to not break on in? Not an issue, AFAIAC.It all reminds me of something that Molière once said to Guy de Maupassant at a café in Vienna: "That's nice. You should write it down."

break-in DOES change the sound..... the parts of a speaker are stiff when you get it. i do belive that you can damage the speaker, but i would like to know why/how.

I've known a few people who have damaged speakers by blasting them the first few hours.  I know someone who screwed up an Alpine Type X in the first few hours because it is such a stiff speaker right out of the box.  It may have nothing to do with breaking in, but I hope my friends don't have that bad of luck.That's my opinion. Take it, leave it, or correct me.

haemphyst wrote: arrow12 wrote: If you blast any speaker in the first few days you run a risk of injuring the speaker. How? I have heard this MANY times, but nowbody has ever told me how. I personally don't believe that you will hurt it, and neither do the engineers I know. WFO from the minute I get it... Never blown a speaker yet. Yes, a break-in period CAN change the sound, but to not break on in? Not an issue, AFAIAC.

It's mainly to prevent mistakes.  Let's say someone wires up a new subwoofer with a lower impedance to his amplifier and runs it full bore without adjusting the gains, bass boost, subwoofer volume control, ect.  Running it at half volume at first will prevent any damage something like this may cause.

I think subs definitely need to be broken in.  I can say that from my own experiences.  I blew three Crossfire 15" BMF's within the first couple of weeks that I got them.  The guys at the audio shop couldn't really figure out what was going on.  I got them replaced but took it easy on them in the beginning instead of throwing them in and blasting them immediately.  I have had the same two subs now for atleast six months and have had no problems whatsoever.  I'm convinced that not breaking the first three in is why they blew.

it is like the muscles in your body.  You dont go run a marathon without stretching, you would over-exert and pull something!  Think of the speaker the same way

Great analogy by coppellstereo. Its definitely a good idea to break in speakers (especially subs) before you go blasting the volume. I've heard a lot of subwoofers get much better in time by breaking them in. Midbass and other coaxial speakers are no exception. Of course the type of speaker has a lot to do with this, but it is generally good to not go over half volume for the first couple of days regardless of brand or speaker size.