Break in time and method for V30s?

Scumback Speakers said:
Speaker break in is not a myth. I use a variac set to 9 volts with a digital timer ($25 from Home Depot) set for 2 hours on, 1 hour off to cool the speaker. I do this for 18-24 hours. Heavy magnet speakers take longer (V30/G12H/H75, etc), M series take a little less time.



And you're right as well. I used to use five classic rock albums in rotation on the CD player with the volume set to around 20-25w while my wife was at work. 24-30 hours of this and they'll be much better.

Be advised that Celestion uses a stiff spider/doping setup on V30's which takes a lot longer to break in than their G12M Greenbacks. Also, the heavier (50 oz) magnet resists moving the cone as easily as the medium (35 oz) magnet in the G12M.

Hit the button James!

:thumbsup:
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Old post but I'm curious about this method. What kind of variac are you using? I have one I've used for lowering voltages on amplifier but are those too beefy for this application?
 
Got it. So you have a cord from the outlet that goes to leads for the speaker: Is polarity taken into account here? + voltage to + on speaker, neutral to - ?
 
Faldoe said:
Got it. So you have a cord from the outlet that goes to leads for the speaker: Is polarity taken into account here? + voltage to + on speaker, neutral to - ?
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I take an old computer power cord, chop off the IEC end, leaving the 3 plug end alone. Strip the cable, put some spade connectors on the black and white, tape off the green wire. Polarity is not an issue, just get it 10v of power, set it on the magnet, cone up, let it go for 20-24 hours. If you're doing this in a cab, same thing but you use a 1/4" plug instead.
 
Scumback Speakers said:
I take an old computer power cord, chop off the IEC end, leaving the 3 plug end alone. Strip the cable, put some spade connectors on the black and white, tape off the green wire. Polarity is not an issue, just get it 10v of power, set it on the magnet, cone up, let it go for 20-24 hours. If you're doing this in a cab, same thing but you use a 1/4" plug instead.
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So the same method goes with 4 speakers in a cabinet vs a single stand alone speaker with the exception of the connector? Does speaker wattage have any affect on the break in time?
 
LP Freak said:
So the same method goes with 4 speakers in a cabinet vs a single stand alone speaker with the exception of the connector? Does speaker wattage have any affect on the break in time?
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You want to have at least a 5 amp variac. Then you can power up to 10 speakers with it set on 10v. It's a nasty 60 cycle hum, but it gets the cone moving about 3/16" up and down. That loosens up the spider, cone, and the doping to get it broken in. I don't recommend more than 36 hours, and only if you're doing heavy magnets (V30/G12H/etc). The larger the magnet the more the magnetic field that will keep the cone from moving as much. On a G12M/M75, etc I do them for 20-24 hours max. Speaker wattage isn't a factor, it's just getting cone/spider moving to make it more plable. Hope that helps!'
Jim
 
Cool, I was going to ask about daisy chained speakers. I found this video with this guy’s suggested formula for voltage.

 
I used the variac method set to about 5VAC for my 4x12.
That’s probably a very low setting, but I did not want to disturb anyone. One the other hand, it did not give me any headache for overheating anything and I just let it run for a whole week like that.
 
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