5 Best Tracks to Break into New Hi-Fi Speakers

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When you purchase new Hi-Fi speakers, you’ll likely want to set them up and start playing music right away. 

One important thing to note is that they won’t operate at full capacity for the first few hours of use, which is called the break-in phase.

The good news is that your speakers will definitely sound better after this phase. If you want to enjoy your Hi-Fi speakers as soon as possible, you should break into them right away.

So how do you break into new Hi-Fi speakers? Playing music is the simplest solution. 

In the post, I’ll cover what breaking into a Hi-Fi speaker system means, how long it usually takes, and the best tracks to do it with.

What Does It Mean To Break Into A New Hi-Fi Speaker System?

Breaking into a new Hi-Fi speaker system involves playing music through the speaker for an extended period at modest volume levels.

Breaking in new speakers does the following:

  • Assist the speaker in achieving their musical potential
  • Helps extends the speaker’s lifespan

A lot of people are unaware that not all speakers are created equally. Even though two speakers may look similar, that doesn’t guarantee that they’ll sound the same.

In reality, there may be a significant difference in sound quality across various speaker types and manufacturers.

For this reason, breaking into new Hi-Fi speakers is crucial before turning up the volume. When you do this, you allow the speaker’s parts to acclimate, enhancing both the sound and the speaker’s lifespan.

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How Much Time Does it Take to Break into New Hi-Fi Speakers?

Understanding how long you must keep a moderate sound level is important when trying to break into new speakers. 

Depending on the type and manufacturer, different speakers require different amounts of time to break in.

However, it’s generally advised that you give your new speakers a minimum of 24 hours to break in before using them at loud volumes.

5 Tracks for Breaking into a New Hi-Fi Speaker System

The best way to break in your speakers is to play music with a wide dynamic range with a solid deep bass and something with a powerful high end. 

You should play the song loud enough, but not at its maximum volume. By doing this, the break-in time will move along more quickly. 

Playing music that you’re familiar with will also be beneficial since you can tell when the magic unfolds.

So here are the 5 best tracks for breaking into new Hi-Fi speakers:

1. The National Anthem by Radiohead

The National Anthem is a complex, multi-tiered wedding cake of a tune, as is typical of Radiohead, with acoustics and digital instruments blasting out in all directions, plus a brass band that seems to have shown up to the wrong appointment. 

The bass guitar sound that’s overdriven, the vocal treatment by Thom Yorke, and the Theremin-like howling in the background are all turned up to eleven.

Throughout the frequency range, your Hi-Fi speakers must find the ideal balance between organization and attack, energy and composure, and, most crucially, control and abandonment. 

If done well, this creates an exciting cacophony. When done incorrectly, it just sounds chaotic.

2. Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin

A vital loudspeaker quality is a capacity to go from “extremely quiet” to “quite loud indeed,” – whether it’s a voice, a solitary instrument, or a massive philharmonic orchestra in full assault mode. 

Few musical compositions are as effective at illustrating the dynamic power of an ensemble as Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue.

Within the first two minutes, it transitions multiple times from a somber piano to a brass, string, and percussive overload, and back again. 

Every time, the Hi-Fi speakers must make a move promptly and without showing any signs of undue strain, which is more complex than you can imagine.

3. Turn Your Lights Down Low by Bob Marley

Reggae is credited to Bob Marley for introducing it to a global audience. Still, Island Records’ emphasis on high-gloss Hi-Fi audio made the customarily gritty genre more approachable. 

It’s brilliantly illustrated by Turn Your Lights Down Low since it is such a roomy recording, and each instrument is secured in its part of the soundscape.

If the low-heat simmer and drive of the song are to impact, your speakers must depict each player’s placement on the stage and, most importantly, the space between them. 

This track is one of the few that uses space as an element so well, allowing you to break into your Hi-Fi speakers quickly.

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4. Jurassic Park Theme by John Williams

This one should be obvious, but it would be dishonorable to ignore. 

A speaker system should meet high standards for scale and authority since the stroke of genius in epic movie soundtracks is majestic and imposing.

Suppose you want to experience this piece at its finest. In that case, you’ll need a good level of openness for the layers of detail clarity to fill it, vibrant scale, serenity at high volumes, and other requirements.

Additionally, the growling bass is a tremendous pleasure if you have bigger speakers.

5. Das Spiegel by the Chemical Brothers

You won’t find a more stop-start, condensed, and overall condensed mix of electronically produced sounds than Das Spiegel, which makes it an excellent test of your speakers’ control over attack and decay.

Every sound on this album, except for the rhythm guitar’s strumming and the melodica’s blowing, has been created to arrive out of nowhere and stop abruptly.

The control must be martial, from the percussion style’s four-square boom-bap to the wails, hisses, and screeches in the background as the song build. The virtually continuous bass tones that are thrumming add to the challenge.

Final Thoughts

When you play these tracks loudly and repeatedly, the break-in phase will soon be over and your speakers will be operating at their peak efficiency.

If you know of other tracks that are great for breaking in new Hi-Fi speakers, let me know in the comments below!

A passion for writing and ongoing research projects gives Catherine an incredibly broad knowledge of all things. She has authored an incredible number of articles and can be found in the wilderness when not attached to technology or listening to podcasts.


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