Break in for Vantage

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jmschnur

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How does one best break in these speakers?

Running at 90db as the manual states is pretty loud.
What kind of music/sounds/pink noise?? should I play etc. How many hours of pure break in sounds are best?

Joel
 
jmschnur said:
How does one best break in these speakers?
When I have broken in new panels or speakers, I just sit and play music and enjoy life. Some play the radio all the time. Some play a CD or album non-stop, but who wants to put that many hours on your spindle and lens, or cartridge.

Running at 90db as the manual states is pretty loud.
I agree...but there are others who live for the mid 90's and up :D

What kind of music/sounds/pink noise?? should I play etc. How many hours of pure break in sounds are best?
Generally Rap, Hip-Hop, Heavy Metal, stuff like that.... :) Just kidding....Play music that you like to listen to and over time the speakers will get better and better.

Dan
 
I put my Ascents on a satellite contemporary jazz channel and left them playing while I was at work all day. I figured that that musical genre would cover a bit of everything (dynamic, smooth, electric, acoustic, etc.). I just used them as-normal when I was home. I ran mine at around 70-80 db. They'll break in eventually no matter what you do - this just speeds up the process a bit.
 
Unless you want to push it and run them constantly it is going to take a long time before they start to show what they'll really sound like for the long run. I've broken in 5 pairs and each one took at least 4-5 months. I had a pair of Odysseys that seemed bright for the longest time. These Summits I bought in Jan are just now beginning to open up and sound amazing. They sounded good from the begining but they even are better now. My Ascents are great sounding speakers to me but these Summits take everything to another level in every aspect including midrange and I'm not just talking about the panels. The bass performance is another league altogether. When the Summits were brand new there were some things with the sound that just didn't seem right. But that has all changed now.

I just play mine with what I want to listen to at the time at normal levels and turn it off when I leave. ML says about 100 hours for break-in but my experience has been they take much longer. But then I don't do the 90+db thing for extended hours.

I'm sure many people audition new speakers that haven't been seasoned and then think what they are currently hearing is permanent character of the speaker. For example; here is a guy on Audio Asylum who acquired a pair of Vantages and decided in 5 days they were too bright and then returned them. Well, electrostats are typically a little bright until fully broken in, not properly fed or setup). He never gave them a chance.
A rush to judgement
 
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To break in my Logan’s I set my CD player to repeat, and set my pre-amp to a comfortable volume and let it play all day wile I was at school and work. It wasn’t tile I had about 100 hours on them till they started sounding good, and they kept getting better up till about 300 hours of use.
 
Oh cmon. You guys make it sound like they sound like crap for hours or even months :rolleyes: I heard the Summits at my dealer last week, the day they came out of the box, and they sounded great. Heard them a few days later, and they sounded very good, maybe better than before. Fact is if they sounded terrible out of the box, no one would buy them. Therefore, my advice is buy them and enjoy them from the beginning. They can only sound better. :)
 
Well I am leaving them on during the day-as you say they can only get better. I will wait for real teaking for a month or so.

Joel
 
I've had my Vantages for about a month and a half. For the first two or three weeks I was really scared that they were not sounding as I was expecting. They were not bright at all, rather the sound was subdued and boxy: A particular tambourine sound in one of my reference recordings (which I know extremely well, timbrically) was barely audible in the midst of other instruments. Imagine my dismay... The sound improved quite a bit since then but I am still waiting (hopefully not in vain) for it to truly open up (midrange is still a bit mushy in dense parts) and I still don't get that 'enveloping' sound I heard in a pair of Aeons at the dealer with the exact same electronics. I am glad to see that there are reports of the Vantages taking a long time to break-in. Can't tell you how many times I've thought about changing cables, changing amp, getting room treatments to get sound at least in the same league as I got from the Aeons ;). Waiting in hope...

//p
 
Sounding good

I have had ther speakres on with my complete CD Jaxx colleection for the last 70 hours-at night I turned the volume down a bit so we could sleep. You also need to break in a plasma set so the past three dayts I have left both on and shut the door.

A diet of Monk, Davis, Rollins, etc has started them off on the right track-

Thanks for all the advice.

I set up a new plasma tv at the same time and found that my previous cables were not keeping all the noise out so I needed to upgrade those before proceeding.

These speakers are a clear step up frm my prrevious Clarity's. Biggest difference is in the mid bass-now it is quite percussive when Ron Carter strums-befroe it was mushy. Of course these spekaqeres go a bit lower as well.As the break in proceeds the mid highs are getting smoother and this evening I am now listening with great pleasure.

Joel
 

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