"Breaking In" of Subs.

[LEN671 0]

Just as the Topic title states. I have been getting MIXED Responses on whether "Breaking In" your Subs is necessary.

What do you think about that or do you not do it at all. I have always "Broke In" my subs, but I have a Comp coming up in the next week or Couple of weeks from now. My subs are pretty much stiff, as I have just installed them today. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your Input on this matter.

Edited November 24, 2011 by LEN671

[ssh 924]

The more you play it, the suspension may soften a tad, I think it lowers the Fs?

But you don't need to "break it in" like you would a car. From day one, you can let it rip.

[orlando144 20]

When i get new stiff subs i plau them hard and they still hold up. They loosen up over time.

[Bob345 39]

I think it's beter to play them hard from the beginning.

[sound=vibration 34]

throw 20hrz at them free air for about an hour that should do the trick... Remeber dont go crazy with the volume free air.

[ssh 924]

throw 20hrz at them free air for about an hour that should do the trick... Remeber dont go crazy with the volume free air.

With no enclosure, the driver's mechanical limits can be easily reached with relatively little power.

[Shogen 325]

throw 20hrz at them free air for about an hour that should do the trick... Remeber dont go crazy with the volume free air.

reckless with no guidelines... lol ... are you being serious or a d1ck?

[Duran 387]

It depends on the driver(s) used and the type of suspension. 99% of woofers do not 'need' a break in, they do that every time you play them. That 1% of woofers you need to go easy on typically have a suspension so stiff it will tear the glue joints off.

[Dangrebel 89]

Aq.

[Skullz 8]

I don't do any type of break in, you'll know when they have been broken in though as they'll have a slightly different sound and better output.

[Julian 641]

Most woofers will pretty much keep the stiffness over their lifetime. Woofers are not cars in most cases you can run them to their full potential when you get them.

There will be some changes in the woofer's T/S parameters but will be fairly negligible.

[ssh 924]

throw 20hrz at them free air for about an hour that should do the trick... Remeber dont go crazy with the volume free air.

reckless with no guidelines... lol ... are you being serious or a d1ck?

He's bring serious, not being reckless or a dick.

[Beandip 3]

When i did my first recone I did. Well I went easier on it since I was my first time. I just played it free air at 20 hz for a little bit. soon as I was sure the glue was dry I just cranked up the volume to loosen it up. Other than that....no

Edited November 24, 2011 by beandip

[Impious 1,476]

Just as the Topic title states. I have been getting MIXED Responses on whether "Breaking In" your Subs is necessary.

What do you think about that or do you not do it at all. I have always "Broke In" my subs, but I have a Comp coming up in the next week or Couple of weeks from now. My subs are pretty much stiff, as I have just installed them today. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance for your Input on this matter.

It depends on what you mean by "break in". If by "break in" you mean playing the driver at a low volume for some arbitrary period of time then no, that is a useless endeavor. The only way to "break in" a driver is to actually exercise the suspension. Typically you can do this by simply installing the driver and using it like you normally would, allowing the suspension to loosen up naturally over time. If someone feels the need to "break in" a driver prior to using it, then the most expeditious method is to do as was mentioned above and play the driver with a low frequency sine wave free air at full excursion for a while. The only real time I would see a need for this is if someone were installing a brand new sub with an extremely stiff suspension at or just before a competition and the change in T/S parameters causes a measurable difference on the meter.

If you have a week you are fine, just play the damn drivers. They will be loosened up with regular, normal use during that time.

[chrishova 2]

My SMD did take a while to break in, Nick told me it would, I almost sent it back, lol... Still running it at 1800w due to electrical... It still POUNDS!!!

I'll be upgrading my electrical after the holidays!!!

[kirill007 52]

The more you play it, the suspension may soften a tad, I think it lowers the Fs?

But you don't need to "break it in" like you would a car. From day one, you can let it rip.

Most woofers will pretty much keep the stiffness over their lifetime. Woofers are not cars in most cases you can run them to their full potential when you get them.

There will be some changes in the woofer's T/S parameters but will be fairly negligible.

As you have read, no need to take it easy on the woofers in the beginning.

Funny that you guys compare them to cars.

Even cars don't need a break in time(as in driving it below half of it max rpm for a while and then slowly increase it.) Best way is to go thru almost all the rpm's (for example if the max RPM is 7200 you don't get above 6000 for a long time, warm up the car and then use a lot of RPM's the more variety you use in the RPM's the better/faster the car will be after it's "broken in", and it should increase the max. amount of mileage on the engine.)

[LEN671 0]

First off, I want to say thank you to all who gave their input to my Question. Secondly, Not that anybody cares or is going to be IMPRESSED, but the Subs in question are DC LVL6 12's and the Suspension is VERY STIFF!! They POUND pretty damn good off of one of my MMATS 3500.05 right now.

Would it make difference if I played a 20Hz. Tone while they are in the Box already at let's say Volume 10-15 on my Head Unit?

Again thanks to all who have given their Input and took the time out to Reply to my Question.

[pmureika 31]

First off, I want to say thank you to all who gave their input to my Question. Secondly, Not that anybody cares or is going to be IMPRESSED, but the Subs in question are DC LVL6 12's and the Suspension is VERY STIFF!! They POUND pretty damn good off of one of my MMATS 3500.05 right now.

Would it make difference if I played a 20Hz. Tone while they are in the Box already at let's say Volume 10-15 on my Head Unit?

Again thanks to all who have given their Input and took the time out to Reply to my Question.

My opinion would be no.

[ssh 924]

First off, I want to say thank you to all who gave their input to my Question. Secondly, Not that anybody cares or is going to be IMPRESSED, but the Subs in question are DC LVL6 12's and the Suspension is VERY STIFF!! They POUND pretty damn good off of one of my MMATS 3500.05 right now.

Would it make difference if I played a 20Hz. Tone while they are in the Box already at let's say Volume 10-15 on my Head Unit?

Again thanks to all who have given their Input and took the time out to Reply to my Question.

Depends on your enclosure tuning and power they are receiving.

the volume number on the head unit is meaningless.

Since Kirill thinks it's funny how people compare speakers to cars, I'll do it again. Saying the volume is at 10-15 is like saying "I'm going so fast, the engine is at 2000 rpm." Although this analogy isn't perfect since they aren't exactly similar, you get my point.

[Impious 1,476]

Would it make difference if I played a 20Hz. Tone while they are in the Box already at let's say Volume 10-15 on my Head Unit?

I'm assuming your enclosure is ported and guessing 20hz is probably well below your tuning, so the enclosure would probably approximate free air at that point.....which is good, you want easy excursion. I don't know what a level of 10-15 on your headunit actually means or how much excursion the driver would have at that point. If it was fairly low then the entire process is futile. You need to exercise the suspension to loosen it up, playing it at a lower volume level does not do that. You would want the subwoofer operating at or near Xmax to actually loosen up the suspension.

But again, if you have a few days or a week you have more than enough time to just use the driver like you normally would during normal play and that should be sufficient to loosen up the suspension.

[Adrian_D 520]

Aq.

Bleh...

I installed a pair in an SPL setup. First go, 1800w / woofer, nothing broke

[sound=vibration 34]

throw 20hrz at them free air for about an hour that should do the trick... Remeber dont go crazy with the volume free air.

Asu

reckless with no guidelines... lol ... are you being serious or a d1ck?

He's bring serious, not being reckless or a dick.

Serious alot of people do it when measuring TS peramters on a new sub, simple be careful with the volume knob and you will be OK! Thanks for the back up hinote!

[kirill007 52]

First off, I want to say thank you to all who gave their input to my Question. Secondly, Not that anybody cares or is going to be IMPRESSED, but the Subs in question are DC LVL6 12's and the Suspension is VERY STIFF!! They POUND pretty damn good off of one of my MMATS 3500.05 right now.

Would it make difference if I played a 20Hz. Tone while they are in the Box already at let's say Volume 10-15 on my Head Unit?

Again thanks to all who have given their Input and took the time out to Reply to my Question.

Depends on your enclosure tuning and power they are receiving.

the volume number on the head unit is meaningless.

Since Kirill thinks it's funny how people compare speakers to cars, I'll do it again. Saying the volume is at 10-15 is like saying "I'm going so fast, the engine is at 2000 rpm." Although this analogy isn't perfect since they aren't exactly similar, you get my point.

Yes, i think it's funny but it's a good analogy.

Just because you only push the gas pedal in for 1/4th of its maximum travel doesnt means your doing almost max RPMS or barely any.

It depends on the car/subwoofer and amp combination.(also the HU)

[NDMstang65 403]

Breaking in a sub = myth. If you play it, it will loosen up over time.

Breaking in an engine of a car = not myth.

There is a reason why you break in a cam and use break in oil. An engine is FAR more complex then a speaker will ever be.

[altoncustomtech 773]

I don't worry about break in on subs either. It's pretty pointless. Though, on a side note, depending on the engine, going all out on it is the way to break it in. Ferrari does it in a crazy way, much like this.

I wouldn't do that to anything of mine, but it is fun to watch!!!