Loudspeakers need a break in or a run in order for them to produce sound properly, optimally or as intended by the manufacturer.
People use different break in techniques and at the end of the day if your method gets the job done then you might want to stick to it.
One question that a newbie music production student of mine asked me was whether tweeters need break in or not and I thought I should write a full article surrounding this topic.
The reason for this is simple. Not many people have articles written on breaking new speakers and it’s a worthwhile topic that can teach a lot to people that are just getting started in audio work or simply want to get the most out of their sound system.
With that said, Do tweeters need break in?
You don’t need to break in tweeters. As long as you can run audio through them and technically verify they’re working, you’re good to go. Breaking in is only necessary for speakers in the 16 to around 18 inch range because their internal mechanics demands it.
Tweeters don’t need break in at all, they don’t have any suspension to break in.
What is breaking in?
Breaking in is simply a process that is carried out on new speakers to make them perform the way they should. This process involves playing music on the speakers to stretch the spider fabric so it can produce audio as intended by the manufacturer.
A process reserved for low and mid range frequencies speakers which is why you don’t need to break in tweeters because they’re meant to only produce high end frequencies.
How to verify if your tweeter is working
Breaking in tweeters is pretty much unnecessary. You may think it is…maybe because your tweeters aren’t sounding right or working at all.
So I’m going to walk you through two techniques that you can use to verify that your tweeters are actually working.
Run audio through
The first thing you have to do is run audio through your speakers and put your ear to your tweeter.
Pay close attention to check and listen if they’re actually producing any sound. If they’re not then check and ensure that they’re connected properly.
If they’re connected and still not producing any sound then it’s probably time to replace them.
Tweeters get easily lost in the noise and its not always easy to notice that they aren’t working as they should be unless you take a closer look.
Required:
When listening to check if your tweeters are working as they should be, it’s very important that you know their frequency range so you know exactly how they should sound.
The frequencies range of tweeters 5kz to 20kh so all you pretty much expect to hear from them is the high range.
So don’t worry about getting no bass in them
How to make your tweeters sound better
It’s also important that you take good care of your tweeters, so I’m going to walk you through various ways you can ensure that your tweeters sound better.
Separation
You want to avoid large distance separation between the tweeter and midrange speaker.
This can make the tweeters sound pretty overwhelming in relation to the midrange.
It’s important that you keep the tweeter and midrange speakers as close as possible.
In order to avoid frequency isolation that can easily easily noticeable.
Reflections
Its a good practice to avoid pointing tweeters at close reflective surfaces such as glass windshields for car tweeters.
Sound reflections produced by tweeters can be unpleasant for the listener.
Tweeter choice
Consider going for some soft dome tweeters rather than a hard dome tweeter like those with metal such as aluminum or titanium.
Soft dome tweeters tend to be a lot smoother out of the box.
Importance of tweeters
The general importance of tweeters is that they provide the much needed high end that are needed to complete an audio speaker.
Low and midrange serve the function of producing the needed low end and midrange but you’ll need a good tweeter to get the full audio picture being painted with whatever you’re playing via your speakers.
Each individual speaker element has its importance and one isn’t more important that the other. They work or should work collectively to produce the desired audio output.
It’s important that you frequently check your tweeters to see if they’re working right so you don’t encounter any issues.
Final Thoughts
I have a full article on breaking in new speakers here and just you’ll find out.
Breaking speakers is meant for low mid speakers and not necessarily tweeters.
So you don’t really have to break in your tweeters, they’re fine as they are. The only thing you should be concerned with is checking if they’re mechanically okay to carry out the job intended for them.
