Is warming up your studio monitors a myth or true?

arta

New member
I just got one of my Tannoy Reveal 802 for mixing and I am curious to know if breaking in studio monitors is something that actually works. Are the materials in the monitors becoming flexible the more music plays, is it just your ears getting accustomed to them or is it all an old wives' tale?


And if true, is there some process to it like calibrating a plasma tv? Do you just play any music for a few hours or is there some special sound file you use?
 
Doesn't sound like a myth to me...but something that evolved into an unnecessary habit from the days of tube amps. Tubes do require you to wait sometimes before they are ready to go full throttle. I think its analogue (no pun intended) to "do I need to place my condenser upside down?" When mics used tubes back in the day to prevent certain elements from being damaged due to heat coming from the tube, they would turn the mics upside down to allow the hot air to rise to a less vulnerable part of the mic. All of what I am saying here is purely based on research and a lot of reading. I'd be interested to hear what a more experienced user has to say and I hope I gave you the correct information.
 
The way I understand it, playing pink noise through them at a decent volume for and hour or two should "loosen up" parts of the drivers so that you're getting optimal response out of them.
 
I think its just a myth. I have had JBL monitors and now I use the Yamaha HS8's. As soon as I flip the switch the sound is crisp and ready to go. Maybe it depends on the quality of the monitors as well, but I've never had to warm up my studio monitors.
 
Yeah, "warming up" kind of refers to turning your monitors on at the start of the session, but this was about breaking in (which is what the OP did say in the first sentence...) new monitors. That means indeed playing various types of material, like pink noise & other stuff with wide dynamic & frequency ranges, through them for a few days or weeks even, giving the parts and materials time to "settle" before the monitors reach their full potential. I've done it a few times, but can't say whether or not it made a difference. Some respectable monitor manufacturers do recommend it, so I guess it can't be all wrong either.
 
Example: Pro Audio FAQ | ADAM Audio GmbH

Question: How long does it take to burn-in my ADAM speakers?
Answer: Loudspeakers include movable parts. Therefore, they need a certain 'burn-in time' for a full excursion and adaption of these parts. After this burn-in time, the speakers reach their full acoustic potential.

To break-in your speakers, it is advisable to feed them with music signals of a broad frequency spectrum and different volumes for a certain period of time:
Up to one week for a 'normal' burn-in.
Up to four weeks for a reliable long-term consistency.
However, no responsibility can be taken for the correctness of this information since it always depends on both frequency and sound pressure level of the speakers usage. Furthermore, the real time a speaker needs to burn in is, to some extend, always due to the specific speaker itself.


I am sure there is more to the science, and maybe some extensive testing has been done
on the change of speaker sound over time, if there is a "settling" of the sound..ect.
 
Yeah, some testing has been done - and the results are always really subtle. Stuff that you can't hear at all unless you'd happen to have an un-broken-in pair to compare with. Your ears adjusting to the new sound is going to make a much more drastic a difference than the possible mechanical changes in the speaker.
 
Yes, minute changes most won't even perceive. By the time your done listening and learning the monitors one could be set. Nothing I would really worry about.
 
Reference Monitor Warm-Up

I recently upgraded from a pair of Rokit 5s to Yamaha HS8 studio reference monitors. While they haven't required any true short or long-term "burn-in" period, they do take couple of minutes to warm up when you turn them on. My set has five to ten seconds of low-grade static upon initial power-up, then over time I've learned to let them warm up for about five to ten minutes before doing any serious mixing work. One effect I had when I didn't allow a few minutes before use was I got some undesired R/L alternate panning from one of the stereo tracks in my DAW. I powered the monitors down for about two minutes, then switched them back on and waited five minutes before re-auditioning the mix and the problem was gone.


I just got one of my Tannoy Reveal 802 for mixing and I am curious to know if breaking in studio monitors is something that actually works. Are the materials in the monitors becoming flexible the more music plays, is it just your ears getting accustomed to them or is it all an old wives' tale?


And if true, is there some process to it like calibrating a plasma tv? Do you just play any music for a few hours or is there some special sound file you use?
 
It is a misunderstanding mostly. Their full potential is reached when they are fed a signal that make them hit their resonance peak, that signal they can receive at any time. Over time they do change, but it is on a scale that can be neglected. Instead, if they are passive monitors, ensure you are using an optimal amplifier to drive them, that is worth your focus. Then beyond the speakers it is of course also critical to have a good acoustic environment.
 
Hello!

I have just bought Mackie Cr3 monitors and it hurts my ears when I use them for mixing or listening to music. Does this means they need to break-in or it is a different problem? Thanks!
 
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