Speaker break in question.

[speyfly]

Hi guys, I have a new 16 ohm Creamback and was thinking about using audio tones to do the break in while I'm at work and I'm leery of using one of my tube amps to do that, don't like the thought of one of them being on for 8 hours.

That being said, I have an old SS Marshall MG30dfx but it's a 4 ohm amp and since its not an ohm match and I don't want to burn down the house along with all my gear, what's your thoughts on this!

Thx

 

[fitz]

Hi guys, I have a new 16 ohm Creamback and was thinking about using audio tones to do the break in while I'm at work and I'm leery of using one of my tube amps to do that, don't like the thought of one of them being on for 8 hours.

That being said, I have an old SS Marshall MG30dfx but it's a 4 ohm amp and since its not an ohm match and I don't want to burn down the house along with all my gear, what's your thoughts on this!

Thx

16 ohm speaker on a 4 ohm SS amp will just lower the output watts to about 1/2 of amp rating.
Double safe leaving it loop tunes through the new cone.

 

[speyfly]

16 ohm speaker on a 4 ohm SS amp will just lower the output watts to about 1/2 of amp rating.
Double safe leaving it loop tunes through the new cone.

Hi fitz, can always count on you and your knowledge to help a brother out .
So the power trans will run cooler?

 

[fitz]

Hi fitz, can always count on you and your knowledge to help a brother out .
So the power trans will run cooler?

Counting on my knowledge could be potentially hazardous.
But old Marshall SS amp manuals list the output watts reduction when running higher ohm speakers.
I used to run two 8 ohm cabs in series for 16 ohms into my 3210 to cut it down to about 50w.

 

[fitz]

BTW, I ran my DSL all day long with Spotify on my phone cranked through the clean channel to try to "break-in" a pair of 70/80's.
I had pillows and blankets in front of the speakers - the whole house was vibrating like a giant subwoofer.
At the end of the day the speakers sounded like 70/80's, so I put them in a box, on a shelf, in a closet, and put something else in the MX112 cabs...

Just got a G12H-30(55) that I put in one of my Ceriatone cabs.
It's a little crisp, but I'm just going to play it when I play it - it'll mellow out.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

You'll have to break that Creamback in for several days with loud music. I've had three, they all took about two weeks to break in, 24/7, 60 cycle hum from my variac. They use really stiff suspensions and it just takes a REALLY...LONG....TIME.

 

[speyfly]

You'll have to break that Creamback in for several days with loud music. I've had three, they all took about two weeks to break in, 24/7, 60 cycle hum from my variac. They use really stiff suspensions and it just takes a REALLY...LONG....TIME.

I've heard they take a long time to settle in so the break-in while I'm at work thing is going to really speed things up. Found a YouTube 9 hour track that should give me what I need
speaker break-in tones

BTW, I acquired a sc75 65/8 in a trade and it's one sweet speaker. Been looking at all the others, have a couple I'd like to replace.

 

[clutch71]

I woild be leary of playing for 8 hours while away. Could (and I will differ to the experts) over heat the suspension coil and cause damage due to time and heat.

Dr Decibel has recommendations (or used to) on their site. I had a 16 ohm Creamback and I tried everything and was never able to break it in.

 

[PelliX]

Thinking out loud here, but most break in comes from the spider's coating 'breaking' as it flexes. We all know that you can check polarity on a cab or speaker by hooking up a 9V battery and checking in which direction the cone moves. Instead of creating a lot of noise, wouldn't a simply 9V supply with a chopper circuit do this "inaudibly"?

It sounds awful, but the more I think about it, the more sense it would make.

 

[speyfly]

I woild be leary of playing for 8 hours while away. Could (and I will differ to the experts) over heat the suspension coil and cause damage due to time and heat.

Dr Decibel has recommendations (or used to) on their site. I had a 16 ohm Creamback and I tried everything and was never able to break it in.

The track that I would be using has rest periods to let the voice coil cool down.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

@speyfly fly When I used to use my stereo to break speakers in (before I got a variac), it was set around 25-30w and I cranked all of my classic rock LIVE albums...Humble Pie Rocking the Fillmore, BOG, Johnny Winter And...Live, UFO Strangers in the Night, and maybe some Deep Purple or Black Sabbath.

They have a lot of dynamics which will help flex the spider and the doping on the surround. Of course the 60 cycle hum I use now is because I found the low notes move the cone/spider/etc farther, which breaks them in faster.

I run mine in a closed back cab, with a lid that that has air holes for heat dissipation. Usually 24 hours is good for an M75 or J75, H's take longer since the magnet controls the cone from moving better, so they need more time.

But if you've got a nice dynamic set of tunes, run them for 3-4 days, and you should notice a difference.

@PelliX The 9v idea won't move enough air to break in the speaker spider/cone/etc. You actually have to move the cone about 3/16-1/4" in & out to allow the parts to be more flexible. So you need the volume to do it right.​

 

[PelliX]

@PelliX The 9v idea won't move enough air to break in the speaker spider/cone/etc. You actually have to move the cone about 3/16-1/4" in & out to allow the parts to be more flexible. So you need the volume to do it right.

OK, you're more knowledgeable on this topic than I am by far. So, presuming we increase the voltage and current available by a factor of X (to be determined, of course) and do pulses every second or some other very slow rate, perhaps reversing the polarity here and there - would that do the trick? I don't see the need for the 'fast' movement you would have when actually creating sound - am I missing something obvious here?

 

[Scumback Speakers]

The speaker won’t be affected by reversing the polarity. All it wants is to get exercised to break into parts and make them more pliable. I run my variac at 11 V but it also has 20 amps behind it so it doesn’t get too weak with the signal. You should have at least 5 A minimum. I have the 20 amp model because I break in 10 speakers at a time.

 

[PelliX]

The speaker won’t be affected by reversing the polarity.

If I feed the speaker DC it will move in one direction (and back when that drops to zero again). To simulate the 'full travel' that one would get with normal AC, I figured maybe flip the polarity every 10 bursts of DC or something like that. All just mental doodling, though. Sometimes you think of something, and somehow don't spot the obvious reason that nobody else is doing or has thought of it. I was having a case of that.

 

[Dave_11]

I made some fairly rapid progress on a 10" creamback using the technique in this thread:

Speaker break in HACK!

Ok I've stumbled upon something that has given suprisingly GREAT results and requires nothing but your hands and optional tooth brush... So about a month ago I picked up a Weber Legacy 10 which is a Celestion/Greenback voiced 10" speaker with a big 30oz magnet and 75hz cone. I installed the...

www.marshallforum.com

I'm not sure if it's broken in, but it's definitely better than it was.

 

[speyfly]

Well, I'm happy to say that after the first day of unattended break-in, the house didn't burn down, the amp was still working and the speaker was doing what it was intended to do, make noise.

Think I'm going to use this method a lot if I like the final results.

 

[Scumback Speakers]

If I feed the speaker DC it will move in one direction (and back when that drops to zero again). To simulate the 'full travel' that one would get with normal AC, I figured maybe flip the polarity every 10 bursts of DC or something like that. All just mental doodling, though. Sometimes you think of something, and somehow don't spot the obvious reason that nobody else is doing or has thought of it. I was having a case of that.

You can overthink this stuff...which is why I posted what I do to thousands of speakers.

 

[speyfly]

Scumback Speakers,​

While I have your attention and I value your opinion, what is the perfect 1X12 closed back cab for your Scumnico 12" 65/8 for late 60"s - early 80's rock/blues? I have one in a Freidman Vintage 112 but I really would love your opinion on this subject.

Thx,

EDIT:
I think my question is a little out of line since I know that I asked you to endorse a cab so...

How about cabinet size and any other info you would like to share and if necessary I could start a new thread.

 

[2L man]

If stretching spider and surround help using vacuum chamber does it without much noise. One day one direction and next day speaker turned. Perhaps some AC from variac/resistor added to stretch as well? There flow some air thru voice coil cavity which cools but possibly air should be filtered from open side?

 

[Shred Monster]

Hi guys, I have a new 16 ohm Creamback and was thinking about using audio tones to do the break in while I'm at work and I'm leery of using one of my tube amps to do that, don't like the thought of one of them being on for 8 hours.

That being said, I have an old SS Marshall MG30dfx but it's a 4 ohm amp and since its not an ohm match and I don't want to burn down the house along with all my gear, what's your thoughts on this!

Thx

2 hours solid playing will suffice. I only buy 2nd hand cabs. Well and truly broken in .