I'd be shocked if a speaker out of the box someone doesn't like magically transforms into something they love after 200 hours.
The essence of the sound will not change that much in my experience.
Upgrade from B&W 802D1 to Focal Utopia Scala Evo
If you had the chance to upgrade from the B&W 802D1 to the FOCAL UTOPIA SCALA EVO, which would you choose and why?
That's my point..... I had a pair of Thiel speakers in the 90's and no matter what I threw at them they never sounded good. When I got my 802Ds they sounded great out of the box, never even noticed if they broke in or not. Heck, Focal directly suggested over 400 hours of break-in. WTF. I'm starting to think they are depending on the brain to adjust to the new sound and accept it. |
@onehorsepony speakers and phono cartridges are the two types of components that can easily go from horrible and unlistenable to great. With speakers you have drivers that need to move to loosen up and begin operating properly, e.g. woofers that will begin to push air to produce more bass. The bass is what balances out the brightness. You also have crossover parts such as capacitors that take time to settle. Wiring too. |