B&W 602S3 Break In

[2Channels4Life]

Hello All,

New member here and was wondering if I could get some insight into how long the 602S3's typically take to break in.

I have had mine for about a week and put about 40 hours on mine and they still seem to be on the lifeless side. The bass is a little tubby and the highs still a bit crispy. I have them positioned almost 2 feet from the rear wall and 6 feet apart.
The room is a bit small at 10' x 11' which could be hindering my bass performance. But im hoping the mids open up some and the highs mellow a bit .

My previous speakers where Paradigm Mini Monitors and some Energy C1's.

Im currently running a T43 which is loaner since my Kenwood BASIC componets crapped out. Im running a NAD C521BEE CD player for the front end.

Im looking to step into a NAD C352 or C372 integrated amp in the near future.

Thanks for any help. I look forward to contributing and talking with everyone.

[steve998]

Hi,

I have the 600s3 and 601S3 speakers (on different systems). I thought the same as you for the first 100 hours or so. I used to leave on my CD player on repeat when I went to work to speed up the process.

IMHO the speakers sounded much better after 100 - 150 hours. I also found that the 602 speakers where a bit overwhelming in my size room.

I like the slightly recessed mid range of the 600 series and I have not heard any speaker <£500 that I like more.

The bass firmed up considerably on my speakers after a while (but it still sounds 'tubby' or rubbery!) The teeter can be overly bright with some recordings, but at least they are an exciting speaker to listen to!

enjoy

[PewterTA]

Yep, I'd give about 100+ hours to really start enjoying them. Which should equal out to about two to four weeks. After that you'll start finding yourself amazed at how much you like them. They definitely get rid of that "flat" feeling they have after that time...

and it's not just a memory/brain learning thing. My friend helped me set up my 604s the first night I got them. After that he didn't hear them until about a month or so later (maybe 5 weeks). He was blown away by the difference in sound (which he mentioned, I didn't ask him about). So I knew there's a little bit of something to this whole "break-in" idea.

[2Channels4Life]

Thanks for the input. It's what the dealer mentioned but thought I would confirm it. I gave the T743 back to my friend and picked up the C352 today. Now I need to let this settle in as well. Hopefully it wont take as long as the speakers. Man I hate break in periods.

[dinyaar]

602 s3

Hi the dealer here in india said the drivers require about 60 to 80 hours to reach the optimum performance level. I have the 603 and the 704 and was totally dis satisfied by the sound when i paired them with the NAD C352 and later the C 372. After some research i bought the Rotel RB 1080 power amp and am now really liking the sound. The amp really controls the speaker, the bass is better. regards.

[Clepto]

About 30 sec - 2 mins, what will take longer is for your ears to adjust to the nuances of the speaker's particular sonic characteristics.

From an electrical/mechanical standpoint, the only measureable change in a speaker will happen literally in seconds, especially if a speaker were in storage for a while.

Everything else is purely subjective.