How to Burn in Headphones -Things to Know

What does burn in your headphones mean? How to burn in headphones? What are the things that we need to know before burning in? You might have those questions when you are reading this article title. When headphones are brand-new, their components must adjust to their correct positions before giving optimal performance. And this is the basic concept and goal of burn in. This "burning in" or "settling in" process is normal for products with moving parts.

In this article, we will explain why you need to burn in headphones and how to burn in headphones properly with the correct steps. Scroll down to read.

Why You Should Consider a Burn-in?

Because it is free, causes no harm to the headphones, and is an excellent way to become familiar with your headphones and their behavior over time. You may notice that fresh out of the box headphones tend to sound sharp and become smoother over time. This is because consistent use causes the moving components to settle in over time. 

Therefore, it is recommended to burn-in headphones right out of the box for optimal listening. This act of "burn in' is also referred to as "break in".

How to Burn-in Headphones Properly?

There are several methods to burn in your headphones. Common methods include playing a variety of music, white noise, pink noise, radio noise, frequency sweeps, etc., at a medium volume through the headphones. An excessively loud volume might harm or even damage your headphones. The music is usually played over a period of hours or days in order to break them in and get the finest possible sound quality. 

There are no statistics that show which way works best. Music is an obvious choice for burn-in, and it works well if you have different kinds of music on your playlist. Playing only one type of music, on the other hand, will not exercise and stress the whole audio spectrum.

These are the steps to burn in your headphones, take soundcore headphones as an example.

1. Simply connect your soundcore headphones to an audio source like your smartphone or MP3 player.
2. Set the volume to medium and let your music play for up to 4-5 hours a day for 5–9 days (while you are at work or sleeping). Besides using the music on your playlist, you can also use noises such as pink noise and radio noise. Do not listen to your headphones while the burn-in is in process.
3. After the "burn-in" time, your headphones should be ready to use.

How Long to Burn in Headphones?

There is no one right number of hours to burn in. You'll have to try to figure this out for yourself. Reading online reviews about your specific model is a great way to find out how many hours it needs or if it needs to be "burned in".

The average is around 40 hours. Audiophiles may burn in up to 100 hours, but most people will only burn in their headphones for 40 hours, and it begins soon after taking the headphones home from the store. 

No matter what the number is, the sure way to burn in your headphones is to play songs that push all of the audio frequencies, such as the lows, mids, and highs. Even after 10 hours of general use, you might be able to see a difference. You can keep trying new things by increasing the number of hours every so often and looking for improvements.

FAQ

What Does Burning in Your Headphones Mean?

Burn-in is the process of exercising your headphones. Before using new headphones for music or other purposes, you play a variety of frequencies and tones to wear the drivers and diaphragm in.

As the components of your headphones or earbuds break in, the sound qualities will change. And once the headphone drives begin to lose their rigid, out-of-the-box manufacturing sound, you will begin to hear the headphones as they were genuinely intended to sound, thereby having a better audio experience.

Do Headphones Have to Be Broken In?

Yes, most headphones must be burned in for at least 40 hours before they are at their best. The main goal of the burn-in process is to loosen the headphone's diaphragm and put stress on the driver.

Do Headphones Sound Better After Burn-in?

Unfortunately, there isn't a very clear answer. Even though most audiophiles agree that burn-in makes sound better, there are some that disagree. The reason is that everyone has a different idea of what good sound is. The best thing to do would be to be careful and take a safe approach when burning in your headphones. Listen to your headphones before you burn it in, and then listen again after the burn in process to form your own thoughts.

Be aware that each headphone model has a different sound after it has been burned in. It's possible that not all headphones need to be broken in. But the higher up the headphone ladder you go, the more it seems like a good idea to burn in your headphones.

Conclusion

At this point, you should already know how to burn in headphones. Burn-in headphones are a process to exercise your headphones by playing music, white noise, and pink noise at medium volume for hours or days. soundcore recommends burning in your headphones for 4-5 hours a day for 5-9 days.

There isn't a clear answer if the sound actually improves after the burn-in process. To know the answer, you will have to test it by yourself and have your own conclusion. After all, it doesn't cost anything, and it won't hurt your headphones. It's also a good way to get to know your headphones and see how they change over time.