I’m sure many of you have heard of burning in, or breaking in speakers, but many people still don’t know what the deal is about. Wether you’ve never heard of burning speaker in, or if you’ve burned in dozens of your own products, I think you’ll still enjoy this write up.
Let me quickly explain what exactly burn in is, and how what different methods exist to use.
When you buy a speaker or headset, the drivers tend to be hard and rigid, which gives a rougher sound while listening. If the drivers become softer and looser, they tend to give a different (and generally better) sound.
There are two main ways people go about burning in there speakers.
The first way Involves using the speaker or headset for a number of hours, using a broad spectrum of different tracks (40-80hr range). Listening to a variety of tracks will allow the drivers to play many different frequencies, which will “break in” the headset.
The second way is by using a burn in track, like JLabs Burn In Track. This method uses different white and pink noises, as well as frequency sweeps to break them in. This will insure that your speakers play every frequency, and will become broken in uniformly every time.
The question still remains- which is better? Well no worries- TechMan is here to help!
I performed some tests regarding burn in to tell you exactly what will happen using both of these methods. For my testing, I purchase 2 soundcore icon minis.
For the first Icon mini I used the regular listening method, where you play music on it for around 40hrs. This gave the speaker higher clarity, and a more “audiophile” sound. It plays the music, the way the music was created. Very clear details in the mids and highs, and a natural sounding bass.
The second icon mini was burned in using the JLab Burn In Track. This method gave the speaker a very warm sounding signature. It was (more) like listening to an old fashioned tube amp. The clarity and detail wasn’t as precise, but it was a rich “creamy” sound.
Which method do I recommend? Well it really comes down to preference. If you prefer a precise and clear detailed speaker, then go for the standard break in (listening to music). If you like a warm rich sound signature, then I recommend going with a burn in track like the JLab Burn In Tracks.
Let me know what you think of burn in, and what method you prefer to use! Feel free to ask any questions, or let me know if there is any area on which you would like me to expand.
Thanks for reading!
- footnotes: I actually gave away both of the icon minis, so I don’t have any pictures of them. When I write my review on them, it also won’t have any photos
I may leave it to the natural burn in like 
