It's been a while but here are my findings

[syberman]

Hello everyone,
It's been a while since I've posted after I got my Ultras but I'm here to tell everyone my thoughts. First, I'd like to say I don't have a ear for what's good or not. I just know if I like what I hear, then I like it, lol! secondly, I've upgraded from Bose to SVS. So that being said here goes:

I've had my speakers for about a month now and it took me a full week to tweak them. From crossover to large or small setup on OSD. I kept going back and forth. Testing blu ray movies and music cds or streaming mp3's. I believe I hit the sweet spot where I have my towers set to large and surrounds set to small. My x-over is set to 50hz. It does take time for the speakers to "break in" at least that's my opinion.

I am in love with these speakers!! The sound is phenomenal, crisp and clear. The surrounds really do their job and the bass on the towers are outta bounds. Mind you, I'm not a audiophile or tend to know any intricacies but what I can say is the speakers are staying and will be with me for quite some time.

Action, drama, suspense and horror movies sound ridiculously good and also my tv HD channels. I was watching shark week on Discovery channel and it was amazing to watch. I'm proud of my purchase and blown away by the sound. Thanks to everyone that helped me along the way.

Syberman


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[lovinthehd]

For those who didn't see his last appearance...http://forums.audioholics.com/forums/threads/theyre-here.107988/#post-1197983

Congrats!

Curious, no particular love for the subs or do they just blend in so well they're just part of the speakers?

ps hate to tell ya but you're squarely in the audiophile crowd at this point.

 

[KEW]

It does take time for the speakers to "break in" at least that's my opinion.

I might venture that you are the one who needed the break-in period to get used to your new speakers!

Often "familiar" gets the advantage over "different". I suspect that, had your Ultras been run for a month before you got them, you would go through the exact same period of "acclimation".

Regardless, enjoy the music!

 

[syberman]

Thank you! The subs in the towers are awesome!! They blend in with everything perfectly. I first had my front speakers set to small and there was no low end and my x-over was way off. I had a lot of help from Ed from SVS and he recommended the setting switch to large fronts and all surrounds to small.

Syberman




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[lovinthehd]

Thank you! The subs in the towers are awesome!! They blend in with everything perfectly. I first had my front speakers set to small and there was no low end and my x-over was way off. I had a lot of help from Ed from SVS and he recommended the setting switch to large fronts and all surrounds to small.

Syberman




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Well, I'd call them bass drivers, the towers don't have subs in them. I had to look back, thought you had upgraded subs as well as speakers but haven't yet.

 

[Verdinut]

I might venture that you are the one who needed the break-in period to get used to your new speakers!

Often "familiar" gets the advantage over "different". I suspect that, had your Ultras been run for a month before you got them, you would go through the exact same period of "acclimation".

Regardless, enjoy the music!

Kurt,
It's possible for some speakers to require a break-in period.

The suspension of some woofers and possibly some subwoofer cones will become more compliant after several hours of playing. When this happens, their Fs goes down by a couple of Hz, so is their Qts. I know this from experience in building several speaker enclosures over the years.

Also, some coupling capacitors in a passive crossover may need as much as several hundred hours of usage to smooth out the sound rendition of the high frequencies. I did not invent this assertion concerning the capacitors. This was told to me by a respectable and well rated capacitor manufacturer who specializes in loudspeaker crossover components.

Cheers,

André

 

[KEW]

Kurt,
It's possible for some speakers to require a break-in period.

The suspension of some woofers and possibly some subwoofer cones will become more compliant after several hours of playing. When this happens, their Fs goes down by a couple of Hz, so is their Qts. I know this from experience in building several speaker enclosures over the years.

Also, some coupling capacitors in a passive crossover may need as much as several hundred hours of usage to smooth out the sound rendition of the high frequencies. I did not invent this assertion concerning the capacitors. This was told to me by a respectable and well rated capacitor manufacturer who specializes in loudspeaker crossover components.

Cheers,

André

I will agree with a break-in of "several hours" I was really thinking in terms of the long duration often suggested. I should have coached it in those terms. Thanks for the correction!

On the capacitors, I trust you, but I do wonder if the difference is audible.

Manufacturers usually recommend an extended time for break-in, but I am convinced that it is really a way to keep customers from returning the speakers because they don't sound right the first day.

 

[Verdinut]

I will agree with a break-in of "several hours" I was really thinking in terms of the long duration often suggested. I should have coached it in those terms. Thanks for the correction!

On the capacitors, I trust you, but I do wonder if the difference is audible.

Manufacturers usually recommend an extended time for break-in, but I am convinced that it is really a way to keep customers from returning the speakers because they don't sound right the first day.

On the capacitors, it's possible for a break-in period for some of the more elaborate designed condensers, but I tend to believe that there's a more important factor in the placebo effect, or our hearing getting used to the new sound, because speakers sound differently.

 

[Dennis Murphy]

Kurt,
It's possible for some speakers to require a break-in period.

The suspension of some woofers and possibly some subwoofer cones will become more compliant after several hours of playing. When this happens, their Fs goes down by a couple of Hz, so is their Qts. I know this from experience in building several speaker enclosures over the years.

Also, some coupling capacitors in a passive crossover may need as much as several hundred hours of usage to smooth out the sound rendition of the high frequencies. I did not invent this assertion concerning the capacitors. This was told to me by a respectable and well rated capacitor manufacturer who specializes in loudspeaker crossover components.

Cheers,

André

Several hundred hours to break in a capacitor? Why? And what does "smooth out the rendition of the high frequencies mean? If we're just talking about frequency response, then that can be measured. I've used several tweeters that measure virtually ruler-flat with a capacitor(s) in line fresh out of the box. It's difficult to believe that any further improvement would be audible. I really don't want to start another debate about component break-in, but statements like this need to be backed by a plausible theoretical model, and empirical evidence.

 

[Verdinut]

Several hundred hours to break in a capacitor? Why? And what does "smooth out the rendition of the high frequencies mean? If we're just talking about frequency response, then that can be measured. I've used several tweeters that measure virtually ruler-flat with a capacitor(s) in line fresh out of the box. It's difficult to believe that any further improvement would be audible. I really don't want to start another debate about component break-in, but statements like this need to be backed by a plausible theoretical model, and empirical evidence.

By smoothing out of the sound rendition, I did not mean frequency response. The frequency response will not change with time, unless an electrolytic cap was used. The smoothing of the sound has to do with the opening and softening of the sound after a certain period with some types of capacitors, not all. It could have to do with the period over which someone gets accustomed to the new high frequency transducers.

As mentioned in my previous post, I was told by the capacitor manufacturer's representative whom I personally know, that some of their capacitors I used in crossovers which I built a little while ago, needed at least 200 to 300 hours to break-in to be able to enjoy their full potential. I had no reason to suspect that this acquaintance was a bullshitter.

 

[syberman]

Well, I'd call them bass drivers, the towers don't have subs in them. I had to look back, thought you had upgraded subs as well as speakers but haven't yet.

No, I haven't upgraded my sub yet. I will in the future but my Bic is doing fine for now. I'm looking to add a amp just for the front towers, or all my speakers, newer AVR and SVS sub. This will not be in the near future but it will become reality.

Syberman


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[Swerd]

I really don't want to start another debate about component break-in, but statements like this need to be backed by a plausible theoretical model, and empirical evidence.

Yes, agreed!

Statements like this must be backed both by a credible theoretical model and by some convincing empirical evidence. This evidence should include both electronic and acoustic measurements as well as human listening tests. And they must be done with the proper positive and negative controls.

When extraordinary claims are made, they can be believed only if they are accompanied by some extraordinary data.

By smoothing out of the sound rendition, I did not mean frequency response. The frequency response will not change with time, unless an electrolytic cap was used. The smoothing of the sound has to do with the opening and softening of the sound after a certain period with some types of capacitors, not all. It could have to do with the period over which someone gets accustomed to the new high frequency transducers.

"Opening and softening of the sound [of a tweeter]" is puzzling to me… and falls short of being convincing.

As mentioned in my previous post, I was told by the capacitor manufacturer's representative whom I personally know, that some of their capacitors I used in crossovers which I built a little while ago, needed at least 200 to 300 hours to break-in to be able to enjoy their full potential. I had no reason to suspect that this acquaintance was a bullshitter.

But you also had no reason to believe that acquaintance. He could have been a sales representative and not a technical representative.

Just what measurement was it that showed a capacitor reaching it's full potential after 200-300 hours of use? And was this change also accompanied by an audible change in a speaker's performance?

I often see people stating that humans can hear much more than speaker measurements can show. Frankly, I believe the opposite is more likely – measurements, especially electronic measurements can show many more differences than human hearing can distinguish.

 

[Swerd]

And back to syberman. I'm glad to hear how much you are enjoying your new speakers. Stepping up from Bose to SVS Ultra Towers must be quite exhilarating . Congrats!

Never mind the debate over break-in. No amount of breaking in of your previous speakers was able to compare to replacing them.

 

[Pogre]

Congratulations! I'm happy to hear you really like them since I'm always pushing SVS on the forums. I love mine too.

 

[lovinthehd]

No, I haven't upgraded my sub yet. I will in the future but my Bic is doing fine for now. I'm looking to add a amp just for the front towers, or all my speakers, newer AVR and SVS sub. This will not be in the near future but it will become reality.

Syberman


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I'd add the subs first, there is great improvement to be had over your BIC if you think the bass drivers in your towers were an improvement over it...especially if you have a large room/open space (I forget but seem to remember you do).

 

[Bucknekked]

Statements like this must be backed both by a credible theoretical model and by some convincing empirical evidence. This evidence should include both electronic and acoustic measurements as well as human listening tests. And they must be done with the proper positive and negative controls.

When extraordinary claims are made, they can be believed only if they are accompanied by some extraordinary data.

Swerd & Dennis

Several hundred hours to break in a capacitor? Why? And what does "smooth out the rendition of the high frequencies mean? I

Swerd & Dennis
Its posts like these that keep me coming back to the forum and keep me reading.
No antagonism, no name calling, no nonsense for the most part. Just information presented in a fairly straightforward way.

Along with everyone else, I see claims made that raise an eyebrow. Some of them are about extraordinary hearing abilities and others about extraordinary equipment abilities. Others , like equipment break in due to capacitors, I see and react to the same way: why?

I suppose its a handicap to some extent to have an education in electronics from back in the day of discrete electronics. When we learned our circuits, you could actually see the circuits and the caps and resistors etc etc. If a circuit for precision equipment needed 200 to 300 hours of breakin, that vendor would go out of business. Audio equipment is simple by comparison and a capacitor isn't rocket science.

Anyway, I appreciate your thoughtful answers and the detailed approach.

 

[syberman]

Congratulations! I'm happy to hear you really like them since I'm always pushing SVS on the forums. I love mine too.

Thanks Pogre, I'm having a great time listening to everything coming outta these speakers.

Syberman


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[syberman]

I'd add the subs first, there is great improvement to be had over your BIC if you think the bass drivers in your towers were an improvement over it...especially if you have a large room/open space (I forget but seem to remember you do).

Ya, I'm sure the SVS sub(s) would do very nicely with my setup but I need to take it easy because my wife would have a heart attack if I bought any new stuff. The wife factor is in play and I have have to have some tactics, lol!

Syberman


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[lovinthehd]

Ya, I'm sure the SVS sub(s) would do very nicely with my setup but I need to take it easy because my wife would have a heart attack if I bought any new stuff. The wife factor is in play and I have have to have some tactics, lol!

Syberman


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Well there are some that say you should do first then ask forgiveness later but I'm a lifelong single guy without such concerns Good luck on your next expansion step!

 

[Bucknekked]

Ya, I'm sure the SVS sub(s) would do very nicely with my setup but I need to take it easy because my wife would have a heart attack if I bought any new stuff. The wife factor is in play and I have have to have some tactics, lol!
Syberman

Spoken like a man who understands the WAF factor. I 100% support that.