What is burn-in? What does burn-in mean?

The running-in period of speakers and headphones is called "burn-in" by industry insiders. The burn-in process is like opening up the seven meridians and eight channels. It is a means and method to quickly stabilize the aging of equipment. Some components such as transistors, integrated circuits, capacitors, etc. have unstable electrical performance when they are new, and they need to be used for a period of time before they can gradually stabilize. For speakers, the burn-in of the speakers is also a key part of the burn-in; and for headphones, the burn-in is actually the burn-in of the diaphragm fold. The mechanical compliance of the diaphragm fold of new headphones is poor, resulting in relatively large distortion. After a period of use, the compliance gradually improves and the distortion will gradually drop to a normal level.

Is it necessary to burn in the machine?
Burn-in is the process of accelerating the maturity of the equipment by artificially using it in an abnormal way. Generally, the equipment is allowed to work continuously for a certain period of time. The characteristics of the sound of speakers and headphones that have not been "burned in" or have not been "burned in" enough can be described as "tight, cold, hard, and rough". The products after "burning in" are mellow, smooth, and delicate, just like the "taste" of new wine that is not fully fermented compared to aged wine. The word "burn in" is used very accurately, meaning that it should be carefully taken care of. It is not suitable to "fry", "deep-fry", or "burn". Instead, it should be simmered over a low fire.
Although hardcore audiophiles have a special "burn-in" process and related methods that can shorten the time, ordinary audio equipment users or low-end users can also not deliberately imitate the "burn-in" method. Listen to it for a few hours every day and use it naturally. After a few months, the "burn-in" process is generally completed and it has entered the beautiful sound stage. Friends who use mid- to high-end audio equipment and picky users can deliberately burn in their favorite products, and when the wild flowers are in full bloom, they can listen to the laughter among the bushes.

Does a machine only need to be burned in once?
If the speakers or headphones have been used for one or two years and have completed the burn-in process, each time you listen to the sound, it will take at least a quarter of an hour after the machine is turned on for the sound to reach its best state. This period of time can also be said to be the warm-up time required by the product. In other words, the speakers that have completed the run-in process also need to be tempered before they can reach the best state and produce good sound. This is a bit like the warm-up exercise before an athlete competes. This change is not obvious in low-end audio equipment, but professionals can hear it at a glance in audiophile and mid-to-high-end equipment. Moreover, the heavier and more powerful the product, the longer it needs to be warmed up to mature.

How to burn in a machine

As we said before, if we only listen to the music in a normal way, we can achieve the effect of burn-in after a period of time. However, a step-by-step and efficient burn-in can greatly shorten the Run-In time and make the equipment enter the best state faster. On the other hand, it can also warm up the equipment or speakers in the full frequency range in a more comprehensive and balanced way. This can explain why the audio equipment that has been used for a long time seems to have been burned in, but after a special burn-in process, the sound is still significantly improved. This is because the most frequently listened music frequencies do not cover every frequency range from high to low. Even if they are covered, the frequency and time of playback are difficult to be even, so from the perspective of burn-in, it is not a complete success. Another situation is that the equipment that has not been used for a long time or has been rarely used recently can be restored to its state as soon as possible through burn-in. To use a human analogy, after a certain amount of physical exercise, regular exercise to keep the body in the best condition will naturally greatly improve work efficiency! Therefore, mastering the correct burn-in method is actually very useful for picky professional players. This is a unique skill that has not been passed on for a long time, and you are lucky to have a glimpse of it here.

Download address of Audio100 sound testing software: http://www.elecfans.com/soft/58/62/2010/2010112395826.html
Generally speaking, the methods and knowledge of burning in headphones and multimedia speakers are similar, so I will explain them here. Finally, I will explain to you some key points of burning in headphones. To burn in a machine, you must first choose the right software and music records. This can be divided into two categories. In the first stage of burning in, a sound CD signal disc should be used. This sound CD disc records Pink Noise, also known as pink noise. The important thing is that the frequency range is wide, from 20Hz to 20KHz, and it should be played continuously from the highest to the lowest. This kind of sound disc is not difficult to find. Many audio and video stores sell similar test CDs or burn-in CDs. For example, the 8th section of the old XLO test disc released by Sheffield Lab can be called a classic in the sound of burn-in. In one section of the signal, various frequencies are interlaced. Although it sounds quite noisy, the effect of burn-in is very ideal.

Audio100 sound testing software
In the second stage of burn-in, the second type of disc is used - a music disc with both bandwidth and comprehensive effects. The first stage can be said to be like a martial artist opening up the "ren" and "tong" meridians. The purpose is to open up the full frequency. The focus of the second stage is to burn out the sense of music and taste. The CD tracks selected can consider classical music, symphony, opera, jazz, traditional folk music and pop music. The speakers or headphones should not be restricted to playing a single music for a long time, but must be mixed. Each type of music must be tried repeatedly.

A small audio test software
Finally, we enter the final third stage of burn-in. This stage is carried out with your favorite music type, so that the equipment can play this type of music to the fullest. The burn-in time at this stage is also a matter of course. The higher-end the product and the lower the sensitivity of the equipment, the longer the burn-in time required at each stage. For ordinary equipment, generally speaking, the burn-in time at each stage should not be less than 40 working hours.

Let’s start burning the machine

First, you need to download the sound software and prepare the relevant CD we mentioned above, so that the burn-in process can begin. If you can find a pink noise full-frequency scan CD track, it would be great. If you really can't find it, you can go to some audio websites to download a frequency generator to perform it on your PC. This kind of frequency sound software is very small and can manually set the frequency range and scan time. You can also choose the type of sound waveform, whether it is a square wave, a sine wave or a triangle wave, etc. In short, the frequency range of the sound must naturally be guaranteed to be between 20Hz-20KHz, and the full-frequency scan cycle should be as long as possible, and the setting time should be more than 30 seconds. If you use a full-frequency scan CD, it is best. After inserting the CD disc, select the track and play it repeatedly. If there is no repeat play function, you need to press Repeat repeatedly to repeat it. Generally, the total volume adjustment knob is adjusted to the normal listening position, not too large or too small, which is not good. From the perspective of the safety of the speakers or headphones, you can listen to the highest and lowest frequency points to see if the speakers or headphones are overloaded before playing, so as to avoid damage to the equipment. After confirmation, you can proceed.

The sound signal used for full-frequency scanning is not for appreciation. It will make people feel upset and headache after listening for a long time. Therefore, it is best to leave the room where the machine is burned in or do it when no one is at home in the first stage of burn-in. It is very good if you use the daytime working hours. In this way, there will be nearly ten hours of burn-in time a day, and such a stage will not take a long time to finish. If you find the noise of the burn-in machine unacceptable, you can place the left and right speakers in a front-to-face manner, so that the phases of the two speakers are opposite, which can offset part of the sound. Another method is to cover the speaker with sound-absorbing items such as quilts to cover the noise, but you must pay attention to the circulation of air, especially the main speaker with power supply and power amplifier inside. Long-term work without ventilation will increase the working temperature of the power amplifier and damage the speaker product. Therefore, leaving a gap for air circulation is also a problem that must be paid attention to. In the second stage, we can choose various types of music records and play each record once. Repeatedly playing the same record is also not good for the generating equipment. Therefore, this part of the work is a little more cumbersome and needs to be carried out under the supervision of someone. During the burn-in period, even when you are resting, you can still turn on the switch of the speaker and put it in standby mode. Although there is no sound signal input at this time, the power supply part, operational amplifier and power amplifier part are all in a powered standby state. Therefore, although the speaker is not working, the overall circuit is still in a powered working state. Putting the speaker in standby mode is also conducive to the early burn-in of electron tubes, capacitors and various semiconductor chips.