Marc Wielage Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 If the sound changes after being used for a few hundred hours, how do you know if you are burning them in or wearing them out? That's the same argument I've used with audiophiles. I've said, "well, if you burn in your cables or your amplifier for 200 hours, why do you think it stops there? Maybe it keeps getting worse... or it sounds better with 2000 hours of burn-in or even 5000 hours. Where does it end? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexander Lowe Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 As a mastering engineer, when a client brags about themselves being an audiophile, I raise my rates for them. Really. Because it sounds better.... Really. No, I'm being serious. I like the sound of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Blankenship Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I think sonic memory has something to do with what, specifically, you're listening for. A few years back I hand-selected a pair of Oktava microphones from a large cache of the same model. Oktavas vary a good bit in sound quality, unit to unit. I found two that pleased me and that also sounded the same. A year later I did the same thing, again choosing from a whole pile of mics. I hadn't thought to bring an original one with me for matching. When I got the two new ones home, they sounded identical to the original two. I think, partially, it had something to do with my selection criteria: for one, low distortion, for another, clarity in the highs, sound balance highs to lows, etc. I wouldn't put money on being able to match that exactly again, but I was rather pleased at the results from that event. I don't know if I would call it "sonic memory" as much as "criteria memory," but I think many of us have more sonic memory than we give ourselves credit for. After all, when we do a gig, we know what distortion sounds like, what a dull mic sounds like, how excessive sibilance sounds, etc., etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Collins Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I agree John, I announced in radio for years, had a fair share of national commercials, you get a sense of what your voice sounds like, from old tube Neumanns to Oktavas. There seems to be a sonic memory. I also remember songs having a bigger bass when we rolled 45's. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Arnold Posted March 20, 2012 Report Share Posted March 20, 2012 I dunno about burning in, but I wish my spare HD25s sounded like my trusty old ones. They just don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bondelev Posted March 22, 2012 Report Share Posted March 22, 2012 I hear it burns in even better if you use Monster cables. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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