White noise is the randomly generated noise signal. The signal has equal power in all frequency. Some people suggested that it is good to use white noise for burn-in, because of its fair distribution of each sound frequency, from treble to bass. Aside from headphone burn-in, some people use it to help baby sleep easier.
Size: 5.04 MB
Length: 1 minute
White noise (collected from radio)
This is the white noise collected from the radio signal. It is the signal data between two radio channels. Some people prefer it and think that it is more natural.
Size: 5.04 MB
Length : 1 minute
Download white noise (radio) .wav
Pink noise
Pink noise is similar to white noise, it also contains the wide range frequency signal in the spectrum. It is commonly found in nature environment. Unlike white noise, listening pink noise is more comfortable. The sound is quite similar to ocean. Some people play it in the office for relaxation and concentration.
Size: 5.04 MB
Length: 1 minute
Frequency sweep (20-20000 Hz)
This frequency sweep is the sine waveform start from 20 to 20000 Hz, it covers the lowest frequency to highest frequency that most human can hear. Burn-in using frequency sweep can excise the headphone driver functionality for producing different frequency. Also, someone said that frequency sweep could be used for demagnetizing equipment.
Download frequency sweep 10 seconds (861 KB)
Download frequency sweep 20 seconds (1.68 MB)
Download frequency sweep 30 seconds (2.52 MB)
Ultra frequency sweep (10-30000 Hz)
This frequency sweep includes larger frequency range from 10 to 30000 Hz. Some high-class headphone has the frequency response from 10 Hz to 35000 Hz (or higher). Generally, it is hard to produce sound at frequency lower than 20 Hz.
Size: 861 KB
Length: 10 seconds
Download ultra frequency sweep .wav
Low frequency sweep (20-200 Hz)
This frequency sweep start from 20 to 200 Hz, it is used for specifically burn-in the lower frequency range. In fact, many consumer level (cheaper) headphones cannot produce any noticeable sound at 20 to 30 Hz.
Size: 861 KB
Length: 10 seconds
Download low frequency sweep .wav
Repeating frequency sweep
Here is the repeating frequency sweep between zero and different frequency. (Repeats every 1-2 second)
(Please use these wave files carefully, you should lower the volume (below 1/4 normal) before playing them, otherwise it may hurt you :-( )
Each size: 10.0 MB
Length: 1 minute
Independent low frequency wave
Here is the specified frequency tone files for your reference.
Download frequency files below:
| 5 Hz | 10 Hz | 15 Hz | 20 Hz |
| 25 Hz | 30 Hz | 40 Hz | 50 Hz |
| 60 Hz | 70 Hz | 80 Hz | 90 Hz |
| 100 Hz | 150 Hz | 200 Hz |
Sound channels mix
This is the mixed sound file from many songs and musical instruments. It includes the heavy bass, guitar, electronic, violin, vocal, male singer, female singer, etc. We put soundtracks with different frequency characteristic into it and make it "complex and rich".
Someone said that this file is loudly and scary, the sound content is too complex for the headphone driver and it will "stress" the driver to the limit. Also, someone said that after playing this, the headphone sound quality will be temporary downgraded. Use this file only if you want to stress your headphone.
Format: mp3
Size: 6.92 MB
Length: 3 minutes 01 second
Download sound channels mix .mp3
Heavy Drum
This is a repeating heavy drum wave file, it contains a sequence of drum bass. It hits the headphone diaphragm heavily and try to produce low frequency (going down to about 20 Hz).
Size: 8.33 MB
Length: 49 seconds
Various test sound
There are some test sound, they are the recordings from the natural environment, no modification or enhancement. I am collecting some higher quality recording now, I may upload them later.
These files can be used for comparing your headphones, or just for fun. :-)
Size: 490 KB Length: 24 secondsDownload shower (water sound) .mp3
Size: 880 KB Length: 44 secondsDownload car (starting a car) .mp3
Size: 596 KB Length: 30 secondsDownload churchwalking (people walking inside a church) .mp3
Size: 4.85 MB Length: 4 minutes 14 secondsDownload storm (rain and thunder) .mp3
Silence file (for burn-in rest period)
This is a silence playback file. It is a blank soundtrack and contains no signal at all. It provides the rest period for the burn-in process. Just insert it into your burn-in play list.
Some experts remind that we should give some break to the headphone during the burn-in process. Headphone diaphragm is fragile and cannot handle large workload. Large volume burn-in or loudly music may be harmful to the headphone driver. For the safety, most people suggested that we shouldn't burn-in the headphone over 5 hours continuously.
Here are three silence files: 1 minute, 5 minutes and 1 hour
Format: mp3
Size: 117 KBDownload silence 1 minute .mp3
Size: 586 KBDownload silence 5 minutes .mp3
Size: 6.86 MBDownload silence 1 hour .mp3
The mystery of burn-in
Some people call it "break in" or "run in". From the technical view, burn-in is the process to loosen the diaphragm of the newly crafted headphone and to stress the headphone driver. Although there is no scientific proof of burn-in, the effect of burn-in is solid and noticeable. The audiophile community generally agree that the sound qualify will be changed after burn-in. In fact, the term "burn-in" is not specifically used only in acoustic, it is the preparation step for the mechanical equipment and the process of making something more comfortable to use.
There are different ways to burn-in a headphone (and earphone), including white noise, pink noise, radio noise, sine sweep, bass, etc. There is no statistic for the efficiency of each method. Personally, I like to use different method to burn-in my headphones. I think each method have some strength and weakness for improving headphone.
Some people burn-in their equipment quickly and play it 50 hours continuously after bringing home. I think that the diaphragm is too weak in this state and we should not push it to the limit, especially using high (Or you may think that it is normal) volume. It may damage the headphone or even kill it. Many people reported that they broke their headphone because of improper burn-in, they are impatient and did not give it some time to grow up.
Importance of cable and cable burn-in
Some people asked me that "Why the cable is important ? Is it really important ?". From my real experience, I can tell you, yes. The cable is important to your audio system.
Let me put it this way, if you want to draw a good picture, the painting brush is very important, you should use the appropriate tool, but also the paper is very important. If you draw on a pure thick white paper, it will just honestly present the lines and color that you have drawn, and the white part should be purely white. One the other hand, if you use a normal cheap photocopier A4 paper, you can also draw a good picture, but the overall impression is not as good as using the pure thick white paper. Similarly, if you draw on a poor yellow paper, the feeling of the whole picture will be changed.
This is the difficulty of expressing the original idea accurately, it is not about the content information, it is the style and taste. It is similar to the cable case. If you have a great source or great amp, it is also important to transmit the signal originally and honestly to the headphone. Cables connect every part of your audio system, they are the blood vessel. They are important if the signal correctness is needed.
In fact, some people think that the cable can change the sound in some way. It was sometimes used for "turning" the sound quality. It is not the original idea of using good cable. I think a good cable is used for purely and originally transmit the signal to the other end, and it should be transparent.
Cable burn-in is a mystery, it is hard to prove the existence or effectiveness of cable burn-in. When we noticed the sound quality improvement, it can be the effect of the headphone burn-in itself. We have to actually do some AB test or blind test to prove it. Some people and company insist that cable burn-in is real and important. The cable believers think that although the cable does not contain electrical part or mechanical part, burn-in could change the copper state and electrons movement inside.
The interesting temporary sound quality loss
One day you may find that your headphone quality change during the burn-in process. It can be good change, or it may become dull and downgraded.
However, after this "bad period", your headphone wake up again and become better and better. Many people noticed that there is some strange "bad period" during the burn-in, the headphone strength and weakness can be exposed or suppressed temporary. It is the growth process of the high grade headphones. Many people was just scared and thought that they have broken the headphone someway.
I experienced this in my HD650 burn-in, the change was so noticeable (and scary). After that painful period, it really grew up.
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