Burn In = Voodoo?

Magasam, I agree with you about the psychological effect of being infatuated with a component as time goes by, but only if it is a true improvement to the one we had before in its place. If its not "better", we tend to hate it, don't we, ever more deeply as time goes on until we get rid of it. Its sort of like adolescent love affairs. No wonder the other gender keeps telling us, that we never grow up. Thank the Audiogods, we don't!!

Being one of the "scientists" of the group, here is my opinion: Electronics and wires do go through a phenomenon usually referred to as burn-in and break-in. The majority of the changes I see from my industrial knowledge is changes in the electronic charges accumilated through use, connection, and being energized. A brand new unit will not be the same as one that has been turned on and used (even if there is no moving parts). The other thing that occurs is mechanical and environmental stabilization. The change can be very subjective and in my audiophile experiences for the better. There ia also the perception issue -- if the sound presentation is different, human nature causes one to be aware of the changes, note them, and become more comfortable with them over time. As for freezing cables, I have access to Liquid Nitrogen, which provides me with the capability to freeze something to absolute 0 degrees (-273 degrees). I have heard of freezing cables, so one day at work I froze a cable to see what happens -- it was better sounding in my opinion. I froze all of my cables after that. The factor I couldn't separate was if the cable freezing made the difference, or the act of removing and reinserting the cable (mechanical wipe of the electrical contact surface)was the change. On a molecular level, the freezing forces the atoms tighter together, possibly causing a tighter atomic bond in the different components in the cable. Voodoo?? Perception??? If it feels good / works better, do it again.. If not, move on to the next experiment.

Cwlondon: So far as I know, nothing happens to a wire over time that affects how an electrical signal passes through it. But humans do grow accustomed to sounds, and that's the most likely explanation for most of the testimonials in favor of burn-in. (Expect spirited denials, however!) When salesmen and manufacturers recommend burn-in, they're taking advantage of our tendency to acclimate to the sound. Nothing wrong with that, as long as the customer ends up happy. Just don't let a salesman tell you the burn-in time extends past the free-return period.

Sam, my new CD player is a Cambridge D500 SE. I have talked a lot about it in the Digital forum. Basically, I bought it because I have been waiting for three years for this format war to be over, and in my opinion it is no more resolved today. It has a 24 bit/192 kHz DAC. I auditioned it against a Jolida 603, Linn Genki, Musical Fidelity A3 CD, NAD 540, and Rega Planet(not Planet 2000). It sounded as good, or better than the whole lot of them. I did find two superior players, but am not willing to spend that kind of money on a CD player if I will be buying again in the next year or two. Considering the opinions that some have on upsampling, a player will become a transport anyway. So, I think this is a great player for someone who needs to make a move today. Regarding break - in, it is not simply a matter of speaker cones and the metal contained in a wire(would also cover resistors). The points on annealing, stress relieving, fatiguing, etc. all changing many metal characteristics are well documented. Dielectric is ALSO changed for the better. This would be explained by the capacitors in components(amps, preamps, CD players, etc.), wire(the insulation), and speakers. The simplest test for this is to upgrade a capacitor in the signal path of your long owned speakers(on your midrange or tweeter). Simply replace a cheap cap with a much better one. You will be hugely disappointed(which caused a LOT of grief back to people making capacitor upgrades in the 80s - when the REAL good ones started coming out). Play the heck out of it for a month, and the sound WILL be much improved from the baseline. As I said, playing both of my CD players next to each other this past weekend proved to me how real break - in is. It was most definitely not a case of "getting used to the sound". The two players were both switched back and forth, via my input selector. And, having used liquid nitrogen extensively, it is not at absolute zero(I forget exactly what temperature is it at, -215F???). It is the cheapest, coldest method that is out there. That is why it is so popular. But, if you think about this theoretically, absolute zero means that there is no atomic motion. Liquid nitrogen(or ANY liquid) could therefore NEVER be at absolute zero. Nitrogen(or ANY element) would first need to become a solid, and then be further cooled to the point where atomic motion has ceased. THIS is absolute zero. And in reality, absolute zero has yet to be attained.

Jostler, would you mind doing an experiment:
Step one: Listen to your system with music, you know well.
Step two: Without detaching your wires from you gear, i.e. ic's, speaker- and power cables, lift them up, shake them vigorously, place them differently to where they were before. The greater the difference the better.
Step three: Immediatedly after that, listen to the same piece of music as before.
Step four: Tell us about what you perceived.

I agree, it has nothing to do with burning in new gear, rather with your contention, as I perceive it, that nothing happens to the wire, once it is hooked on. I don't mean to be imposing in any way, I'm just suggesting you do, what I once was told myself, because I was of the same opinion as you are now. Man, was I flabberghasted by the result.