Ok, so the M80 are here and sound great. Is there a break in time

There shouldn't be, but technically the T/S parameters can shift if you push them hard enough to where you are heating the voice coil. But it is more of a temporary thing once the signal is not present anymore.

It's really no big deal. However long it takes you to enjoy a pint or two while listening to some tunes on your new speakers. That's "break-in".

Actually its about 6 months. After that you will find that the permagrin starts to wear off, but the speakers still sound amazing. Oh, wait, you are talking about the speakers. carry on...

Troy, drivers cycle hundreds or thousands of times per second. Any permanent break-in occurs in a matter of seconds and probably took place during testing at the factory. Enjoy.

Your speakers are already broke when you get them.

Has Axiom confirmed a test being run on each speaker before it leaves?
It would be cool to hear the testing method, wattage, lenght of time etc.

I am not aware of any article that Axiom has produced on speaker testing before it leaves the factory but many times on the forum Axiom staff has mentioned each speaker is checked for operation before leaving the factory.

I don't imagine it is an overly exhaustive test, most likely simply hooked up, checked for sound/clarity from each driver and then sent on its way to the consumer.

The extensive testing is done long before the speaker is sold to the consumer with each new version/design change.

I seem to remember something about it being Slayer, but I'm not sure.

Attaboy Ken, go all stabbity on a guy who just died.
Jeff Hannerman Obituary.

I am not sure why some speaker companies insist there is a break-in time, I, personally, think it is all nonsense. I believe it has been said many times before, it is your EARS that are "breaking in", not the speakers.

Sometime ago I listened to a radio documentary where a marketing company figured out the optimum length of time to offer a product as a free trial. In this case, "optimum" meant 'long enough that the consumer felt they could buy risk free but also long enough that the likely hood of the consumer being willing to return the product, was greatly increased."

My opinion is that a stated "break in period" is designed to serve much the same purpose. Eventually, you get used to them and the thought of going through a return cycle starts to feel less inviting.

Trial periods, however, are great especially for the consumer in this new online purchase world. One just has to enter the transaction being mentally prepared to take advantage of it if you don't get exactly what you expected.

By the way, this radio documentary is a weekly show on CBC radio that talks about marketing. It is quiet aptly named "Under the Influence."

It's clear now as to what prompted you to tune in!

An interesting analogy and no doubt quite correct, however, when it comes to the topic at hand, speakers, most of these companies still sell through retailers and it is the retailer that determines any sort of return policy, not the manufacturer. Unfortunately, unless you have some sort of arrangement with the dealer, after you buy them and take them home and use them for awhile, the best case scenario is an exchange, not your money back.

Awesome show! I catch it whenever I can.

Ken, I think you are referring to the torture test Axiom does on their speakers where they run +700W through the speakers for hours on end. I am pretty sure this isn't the same as a test run before shipping the speakers to the purchaser.

They also put each speaker though a 'quasi anechoic chamber' at the end of the line. I'm pretty sure Ian explained that here some time ago. What they did was build a small chamber on the line and calibrated it using a known reference speaker and measurements from the full chamber. As I remember it, this was a way to verify that the response of each speaker was as expected.

Yes, Ian has occasionally spoken of the "big" chamber to distinguish it from the "mini" chamber used in testing all drivers, as Alan described here

There is data that definitely shows changes in the characteristics of the drivers after the break-in; actually hearing these differences is another story.
My point of view is that at least the bottom end should improve a bit; all the rubber parts (gaskets and surrounding of the diaphragm where applicable).
How long is needed it's another issue; I would guess that it varies wildly, and that in some cases the speakers are broken-in when you receive them.

it may be that enough "audiophiles" believe speakers, like speaker wiring, need some break-in time, so:
some manufacturers say their speakers need it.
they sell more.

simple enough, i think.

I'm fairly sure I heard a difference around 20hrs.
The highs seemed to mellow out a bit. At that time I really began to notice how clean they sounded.
It could be that I hadn't really turned them up until around that time.
I listened an hour here and an hour there. They were never on without me listening in those first +/-20 hours.
It could have been me, their position, any number of things really.
It did happen while I was listening. All of a sudden its like they relaxed.
Up till that time I wasn't sure I'd made the right decision. All smiles since.

I had a similar experience with my first pair of M22's on stands. But I attribute it to the source material played (Alicia Keys). She just made those speakers play smoother and deeper than I've heard them before.

Thank you all for bringing up this great discussion regarding the testing that is performed on production loudspeakers. It IS very involved and includes various forms of testing at a number of points during part production and final assembly. In fact, we decided that this would be a great topic for an in-depth video on the subject. Watch for it soon!

I think to spruce up the video a bit, we should get the most excellent of actors, Steven Seagal to Karate chop an assembled M80 cabinet in two for a cross-section.

You should do two videos on breaking in speakers, and call the second one Electric Boogaloo.

listen to the first 30 second of michael jackson's "man in the mirror" on a brand new out of the box pair of speakers. Pay attention to the synth chimes at the start. Then listen again after 20 then 40+ hours "break in" time.

New tweeters will almost always break up a bit with this torture test, and it's easy to hear them struggle new out of the box with this one.

Tweeters in general will definitely settle down and mellow out. Woofers I'm not so sure.

Well, there's one data point in the anecdotal column. Ball's in your court, science.

Actually i did mention this many years back on my first trip to the Axiom Factory including taking a picture of a test chamber on the factory floor.
See thread here:
http://www.axiomaudio.com/boards/ubbthreads.php/topics/34543/The_AXIOM_TOUR_2004

Wow, hard to remember that far back, pics/review are on page 9.

Thanks again Chess

They have a pill for that. Can't remember the name thought.

Glad to know I am not the only one, wait what were we talking about?

Well, we're not it the beer thread, so it can't be that.

We are just breaking in the thread before we ask the real question.

At pg.4 I think this thread could possibly be more broken than in.

T u r n i t u p! !

Awww maaaan! Now we gotta go another 4 pages to break in the turnip.

No worries!