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Showing 1 of 1924 conversations about:
6EQUJ5
459
Oct 3, 2016
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TelFiRESort of, kind of, not really. There is a slight difference but not that dramatic of a change when you break-in the headphones. It still does not get rid of the ear bursting highs. This drop is a disappointment, even equalizing to get rid of the highs doesn't really help. I still can't listen to "Like A Stone" for more than a minute before having to remove the headphones. Breaking the headphones in is not going to dramatically alter the sonic signature of these headphones at all.
I'm using PEACE to equalize but it's not helping at all to get to a sound signature I'm happy with. I like everything about this headphone except for the highs.
I'm using PEACE to equalize but it's not helping at all to get to a sound signature I'm happy with. I like everything about this headphone except for the highs.
6EQUJ5
459
Oct 4, 2016
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CheezeCakeAbsolutely not. The highs are still high and I haven't found a way to reduce them through an equalizer well enough to not entirely destroy the soundstage and vocals of songs. That tremolo effect in Like A Stone is just so ear piercing from the electric guitar that it's unbearable.
EniGmA1987
607
Oct 4, 2016
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TelFiREI used to believe that too, but then I owned a pair of Sennheiser PC-350's and they sounded like some of the worst headphones I owned when I first got them. However after a couple hundred hours they actually did significantly change in sound signature. Never experienced such drastic changes before that or since, but it is definitely a real thing on some headphones.
TelFiRE
605
Oct 4, 2016
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EniGmA1987Everyone has a story like this, yet somehow no one's ever once anywhere been able to provide any objective proof, anywhere. My money's on placebo and subjectivity.
Toga
0
Oct 4, 2016
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TelFiREIt's true there's no hard proof, but no one has ever disproved it either. The best test I've seen was from InnerFidelity:
http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/evidence-headphone-break#PRXTbfJXbzACqa8x.97
You can skip to the conclusion if you're in a hurry, but the tl:dr is that he does note a measurable difference, but can't for certain attribute it to burn in. So no, not any hard proof. But there is however, lots of documentation on the effect of 'mental burn-in' (getting used to something), and the placebo effect itself, which can be very powerful.
So in my opinion, while I'm not using the headphones, and since I'm loosening the clamping force a bit anyway, no harm in not giving those big drivers some work out, when they're just sitting there.
TianZi
37
Oct 8, 2016
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TelFiREIt's not really difficult to notice. If you have multiples of the same headphone you can just burn one in and leave the other new or rarely used. Doing a side by side comparison from the same source will make the burn-in effect pretty obvious. I happened to have multiple pairs of AKG Q701s in different colors, and also have multiple SHP9500s (because they were supposedly getting discontinued), and it's very easy to tell the difference between the burned in and new pairs in side by side comparisons.
Blindly grabbing one and knowing which it is just seems way too obvious to just be a placebo effect. The only possibility is if one pair, and it just happened to be the "burned-in" pair, for some reason was manufactured differently from the rest.
Blindly grabbing one and knowing which it is just seems way too obvious to just be a placebo effect. The only possibility is if one pair, and it just happened to be the "burned-in" pair, for some reason was manufactured differently from the rest.
TelFiRE
605
Oct 8, 2016
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TianZiSee that's the thing though. If it were a real thing people would donexactly that, and show with testing and actual results that it happens. Instead we just have subjective claims. It's just not real, that's all there is to it.
lo_tse
18
Oct 8, 2016
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TelFiREWell, if the final judgment on whether "burnin" is real or not depends on our ears, then there can never be a objective call. For example, if the measurement show there is an improvement in base response (after burnin) and yet some people cannot detect it and said there is no change, is the measurement flaw or unreal? Of course not (provided that the measurement is done properly). Just that the subject cannot hear that.
Even though if it is placebo effect, if the subject feel that there is an improvement after burnin, who are we to tell them that it is no true. We did/can not hear what the person heard.
Lastly, it is not inconceivable that for a sound transducer like a diaphragm made of certain material could settle a little after a lot of mechanical stresses even though the change may be very small.
Even though if it is placebo effect, if the subject feel that there is an improvement after burnin, who are we to tell them that it is no true. We did/can not hear what the person heard.
Lastly, it is not inconceivable that for a sound transducer like a diaphragm made of certain material could settle a little after a lot of mechanical stresses even though the change may be very small.
6EQUJ5
459
Oct 8, 2016
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lo_tseThe changes are very small but remember that ears are not made on factory lines. What you and I hear are totally two different things. There is a subtle difference if your ears can hear it but it's not that dramatic of a change in sound signature (day and night difference) as proven by the before and after measurements. There is a slight decrease in the HE-350's ear piercing highs but it is still there. I believe there is a little bit of break-in but not the dramatic change that everyone claims happens after burning them in. Some people say the HE-350's highs are fine but I disagree. The opening in Audioslave's track "Like A Stone" with the tremolo effects of the electric guitar are still way too high for my ears and cause a lot of listening fatigue.
Breaking or burning the HE-350s in can help to slightly reduce the highs but it will not cure the highs. The only solution is to equalize and make physical modifications to the headphones to reduce the highs. There's no need to use pink noise, white noise, etc... to burn them in. Just listen to your favorite music and let your headphones break in that way.
Headphone break-in/burn-in has already been referenced several times:
https://www.wired.com/2013/11/tnhyui-earphone-burn-in/ http://www.tested.com/tech/accessories/459117-science-and-myth-burning-headphones/ http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/evidence-headphone-break#0wfPZbWltdcJX4he.97
Breaking or burning the HE-350s in can help to slightly reduce the highs but it will not cure the highs. The only solution is to equalize and make physical modifications to the headphones to reduce the highs. There's no need to use pink noise, white noise, etc... to burn them in. Just listen to your favorite music and let your headphones break in that way.
Headphone break-in/burn-in has already been referenced several times:
https://www.wired.com/2013/11/tnhyui-earphone-burn-in/ http://www.tested.com/tech/accessories/459117-science-and-myth-burning-headphones/ http://www.innerfidelity.com/content/evidence-headphone-break#0wfPZbWltdcJX4he.97
TelFiRE
605
Oct 8, 2016
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lo_tseSound is a real thing, it is NOT dependent on our ears. What sound is produced is an objective, quantifiable, measurable fact.
lo_tse
18
Oct 8, 2016
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TelFiREYes. But I totally disagree with you that it is not depending on our years. Please look up the definition of sound in dictionary. Using your argument, taste not dependent on our tongue, sight not dependent on our eyes, smell is not dependent on our nose? We compare one headphone to the other based on how they sound to our ears, right?
It's perfectly fine that you do not think burnin is real (I am still not 100% sure). You are entitle your own opinion.
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