Cable Burn In


I'm new here and new to the audiophile world. I recently acquired what seems to be a really high end system that is about 15 years old. Love it. Starting to head down the audiophile rabbit hole I'm afraid.

But, I have to laugh (quietly) at some of what I'm learning and hearing about high fidelity.

The system has really nice cables throughout but I needed another set of RCA cables. I bit the bullet and bought what seems to be a good pair from World's Best Cables. I'm sure they're not the best you can get and don't look as beefy as the Transparent RCA cables that were also with this system. But, no sense bringing a nice system down to save $10 on a set of RCA cables, I guess.

Anyway, in a big white card on the front of the package there was this note: In big red letters "Attention!". Below that "Please Allow 175 hours of Burn-in Time for optimal performance."

I know I'm showing my ignorance but this struck me as funny. I could just see one audiophile showing off his new $15k system to another audiophile and saying "Well, I know it sounds like crap now but its just that my RCA cables aren't burned-in yet. Just come back in 7.29 days and it will sound awesome."
n80

Showing 4 responses by nonoise

Again...the company he left does not see it necessary to make any such claims. That an engineer who left Belden makes claims about burn-in doesn't mean it's true.

Why would the company make such a claim? Their product is used in an industry where they're used as patch cords and made to be inserted and pulled out over and over and hold up to abuse at the hands of those in post production. Just slap them in you'll know they'll work. Mass production, even at a technical level, is still mass production, no matter how one tends to glorify it. You need the equipment to hold up to use and abuse. It has to work at a basic level, again and again. No need to talk down to those who don't work at your level as it's not germane to the discussion: it's a red herring meant to distract. 

Now take that level of engineering needed to do that and go a step or two further in refinement and you'd have a better cable for home use where you'd set it and forget it. The manufacturer needn't worry about the rigors of industrial use and pass on some sage advice so as to let it (the cable) settle in and do it's thing. 

The same reasoning you'd have as to doubt someone who worked at that level of expertise would ask the same of you. Who's to say? Tell me truly, is there anyone you work with who feels differently about cables? Do you have discussions about what's good enough for home use? Do you have co-workers who do indeed, use what they feel to be better cables than what you work with? Odds are, there simply has to be and I'm curious to know what they say. Are you in the minority or is what you feel about cables an industry standard?

All the best,
Nonoise
 

Right now I'm burning in a new set of cables that the maker states takes about 75 hours. The guy who designed them was an engineer at Beldin Wire & Cables. The price is very reasonable, the trial period is 40 days so there's really no downside to trying them out, and yes, I'm hearing improvements.

Is this "engineer" who used to work for a cable company who all naysayers say is good enough for audiophiles and who appears to make little on his cables wrong? They are an improvement over what I've been using to the degree that I'm keeping them, and they only have about 10 hours on them. Again, they're very reasonable when it comes to cost. I've paid more and gotten less.

All the best,
Nonoise