-Do LED's need to be run for a while to "break" them in?

RI Chevy

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I am just curious to hear what other members have to say, but I read somewhere that LED drop ins need to be run for about 10 hours or so to "break in." Is there any truth to this? Do the LED's change tint at all after this happens?
 

mcnair55

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I have never read anything in any instruction leaflet with any torch I have purchased but others may have.You do not run cars in any more.
 

y260

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Their are similar claims in the audiophile community that "burning in" the drivers in headphones release material tension and causes a change in sound. But any such attempt to quantify these changes have always been unsuccessful, leading me to believe that if their are any post burn-in changes they are negligible or non-existent.

For LED's, the actual lumen output is much easier to quantify compared to the subjective opinion of how a headphone sounds. So I would assume that IF there is a "burn-in" on LED's we should be able to measure it fairly easily and consistently.

That is of course if lumen output is the "burn-in" variable. I'm not sure how we would measure something like tint in a relative manner.
 

Redhat703

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I noticed that my Malkoff M91W drop-in got a warmer tint initially, somewhere between M61W and M61N. After awhile, the tint becomes more and more neutral as my M61N which I like better.
 

Norm

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I noticed that my Malkoff M91W drop-in got a warmer tint initially, somewhere between M61W and M61N. After awhile, the tint becomes more and more neutral as my M61N which I like better.
How were you able to quantify your observations ?

Norm
 

mcnair55

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Their are similar claims in the audiophile community that "burning in" the drivers in headphones release material tension and causes a change in sound. But any such attempt to quantify these changes have always been unsuccessful, leading me to believe that if their are any post burn-in changes they are negligible or non-existent.

For LED's, the actual lumen output is much easier to quantify compared to the subjective opinion of how a headphone sounds. So I would assume that IF there is a "burn-in" on LED's we should be able to measure it fairly easily and consistently.

That is of course if lumen output is the "burn-in" variable. I'm not sure how we would measure something like tint in a relative manner.


I have just purchased a very expensive(to me anyway) pair of speakers and the instruction manual states in bold to get the best from the speakers they undergo a running in period of 100 hours and also that they are used at least once a week to maintain the optimum sound quality.I phoned the dealer and he confirmed to always do it with decent speakers.
 

Norm

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I have just purchased a very expensive(to me anyway) pair of speakers and the instruction manual states in bold to get the best from the speakers they undergo a running in period of 100 hours and also that they are used at least once a week to maintain the optimum sound quality.I phoned the dealer and he confirmed to always do it with decent speakers.
I bet he also recommended you use Monster cable or some other overpriced speaker leads :)

There aren't too many salesmen audio of otherwise I'd trust.

Norm
 

Redhat703

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How were you able to quantify your observations ?

Norm

I have M61W, M61WL, M61WLL and M61N. I turned the M91W and each one to compare the tints. At first (right after I bought the M91W), I could see the tint of M91W was similar to the M61W tint (not quite). Now the M91W tint is about in the middle of the two.
I'll try to take a picture later.
 

zs&tas

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I bet he also recommended you use Monster cable or some other overpriced speaker leads :)

There aren't too many salesmen audio of otherwise I'd trust.

Norm

Speakers do need running in. they have moving parts and are made to tight tolerances for sound quality and response, if you turned them on out of the box and put some real power through them you would very likely damage them.

cars still need running in, but millage is less and less with the improvement in materials and oils. also most engines these days are throw away units that cant be rebuilt anyways.

I have never noticed any difference between my lights on initial turn on and latter down the line, and as always almost the first thing i do is find the brightest setting - non of my manuals warn against this either ?
my 2 cents :)
 

jezdec

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YES....all electronic devices need "break in" time......I don`t know why, but they do.
 

mvyrmnd

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Burning in a LED can reduce its forward voltage, which will have an impact on its brightness, depending on how it is being driven. This has been recorded on multiple occasions with the SST-90. As for as a change in tint from burning in, I've never experienced it.
 

Norm

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As an ex sound guy I understand breaking in new speakers, I just can't handle the weekly running as being fact.

Norm
Speakers do need running in. they have moving parts and are made to tight tolerances for sound quality and response, if you turned them on out of the box and put some real power through them you would very likely damage them.
 

oeL

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Do the LED's change tint at all after this happens?

I bought two SC52w at the same time, one as spare. Then I compared brightness and tint against a white wall. In the last weeks, I used heavily one of them. Just compared again on: Nothing changed at all... I
assume that the human perception might "brake in": When your light is new, you might notice that it has a special tint. When you use it for a long time, your perception might change. You will focus onto the objects you are seeing, how far the throw is, and so on. I guess we have some kind of a built in white balance ;-)
 
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dbleznak

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Maybe it's just a myth that flashaholics use when they buy an expensive light and feel as thought they lost the "tint lottery".
 

zs&tas

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Burning in a LED can reduce its forward voltage, which will have an impact on its brightness, depending on how it is being driven. This has been recorded on multiple occasions with the SST-90. As for as a change in tint from burning in, I've never experienced it.

im interested in this , reducing foward voltage would increase your brightness yes ?
 

mcnair55

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I bet he also recommended you use Monster cable or some other overpriced speaker leads :)

There aren't too many salesmen audio of otherwise I'd trust.

Norm

I actually trust the firm i deal with and no he told me not to bother with monster cable as the runs i wanted were short enough to use a decent but not particularly expensive cable,he also tried to save me money by using a cable to connect my tablet but after a couple of days i ordered a Bluetooth audio connection for ease of use.
 

mcnair55

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Speakers do need running in. they have moving parts and are made to tight tolerances for sound quality and response, if you turned them on out of the box and put some real power through them you would very likely damage them.

cars still need running in, but millage is less and less with the improvement in materials and oils. also most engines these days are throw away units that cant be rebuilt anyways.

I have never noticed any difference between my lights on initial turn on and latter down the line, and as always almost the first thing i do is find the brightest setting - non of my manuals warn against this either ?
my 2 cents :)

Wow as i am in the automotive trade please state which engines are throw away as that is news to me.
 
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