Speaker break-in

Cooper,

I had a similar experience with my Totem Fire monitors, brought them home and they just didn't seem to be as "dynamic" as the demo models I auditioned in the showroom, but after a few weeks, they seemed to "relax" some and were noticeably improved.

I feel that our great hobby is not absent the "snake oil" sellers. Before purchasing the Totem's I never heard about speaker break in times, but I figured, since that recommendation didn't require an additional purchase, it was genuine, and like you, I will take some time to do so every time I purchase new speakers. I am currently waiting for a pair of JL Audio F113V2 sub woofers, when they arrive and get "dialed in", I'll do the same patient break in that I did with my new Focal Sopra No2's, which now probably have about 300 hours on them and to me do sound better than they did when I first received them.
 
I bought a brand new Rel S-2 subwoofer last December and at first it didn't seem to integrate all that well with my ProAcs even after following Rel's detailed instructions about placement and tuning. Having learned my lesson about new speakers though, I knew I'd have to play it for some weeks before it found its true voice. It's now working in seamless concert with the ProAcs. Patience is definitely a virtue with new speakers. As for snake-oil, well that's been with us in one form or another since time immemorial, so we just have to make (hopefully) sensible decisions about these things.
 
Cooper,

Thanks for your valuable insight and input. I am prepared for a longer break in period on my new subs (when they arrive), as I won't be able to play them continuously at a low volume, like I did with my Focal's. I suspect the suspensions on the sub woofer drivers will take even longer to find their "happy place" then those on the main speaker woofers.

I've had a lot of fun learning about high-end audio, it's been a four year journey since I started down this path, in the process learning gobs about digital audio, DACs, cabling, etc. I've thoroughly enjoyed that journey!
 
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