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Burn-in and Equipmemt Value

A lot of people strongly believe that burn-in results in better sound quality and some will even pay more for cables that have the burn-in done by the manufacturer. If burn-in is real, then why isn't used equipment worth more than it is? At a minimum, shouldn't the demo equipment from a respected retailer be worth more when manufacturer warranties are still in play and the equipment is essentially new?

As a side question, why is it that any perceived change in a system where burn-in is credited it is assumed that the burn-in was on the newest piece of equipment? Some users report changes from burn-in hundreds and thousands of hours down the road.

I understand break-in on speakers and tube amplifiers, but struggle greatly with things like cables and digital sources.
mceljo

Showing 4 responses by mceljo

mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
Burn-in is free, bit does take time. A long burn-in takes some effort.

Speakers are mechanical with physical movement so it makes perfect sense that things can change with use. I am not sure how much of what I hear with my tube amp is just warm up vs. actual break-in, but it seems that something has changed. I don't believe that solid state really benefits from warm up or break-in and this goes for cables as well.

People pay for cable burn-in so it seems that those same people might pay more for a demo amplifier or speaker. The used market come with more risk of abuse so I can understand paying less.

Why is it that burn-in is generally assumed to always result in a positive change? Why can't speaker cables wear out?
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
I think what Mrtennis was saying is that an experienced listener can tell the difference between a cd playing music and one playing white noise!

I would also love to know more about being able to tell a difference in how equipment was broken in...

My personal opinion is that any change from break-in on the vast majority of equipment is more about getting used to a change in the way something sounds than it getting better with time. When I got my tube amplifier, some music was immediately superior and others didn't sound right because I was so used to hearing it a certain way previously and simply sounding different was enough to get a negative response. Now I am enjoying pretty much everything.
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
But as long as the peanut gallery has an expected outcome placebo is nearly impossible to separate. I would prefer to swap them out without the owner knowing and then see if there was any notice or reaction.
mceljo OP
1,357 posts
 
Take speaker cables for example. One would say the current flowing in them does something to them that is attributed to "break-in" so it seems reasonable that this same effect would continue to have the effect and at some point become a degradation of the materials involved.

How long do vibration isolation devices take to break in?
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