Do speaker cables need a burn in period?
A most entertaining and illuminating thread here. Decided to bi-wire my speakers. Bought some new, high-ish end cables for the purpose. Well, they sound wretched: shrill on top, muddy on bottom, with a vacancy in the middle where all the sweet things live. Vocals sound more mumbled than sung, and all the instrumental nuance and detail I've come to expect in highly familiar recordings has disappeared. Naturally my first thought was, these cables need a break-in period. Which led me to this forum. Today will be Day Four with the new cables, and again tonight I will play some reference material, listening for improvement. Connections are perfect on both ends. Amp and speakers are tried and true. So I see only three possibilities. One, these cables are simply junk. Two, the break-in will take a while. Three, I am absolutely crazy; my memories of good sound are an illusion, and nothing will happen except my audioneural wiring will adjust to regard noise as music, creating the false impression that the cables have "burned in." You'll forgive me if I'm hesitant to embrace Explanation Three as some commentary here implies that I ought to. |
I read somewhere that soaking your speaker wire in cat urine for 24 to 48 hours will eliminate the need for "burn in". Something about the pheromones in the urine acting as a catalyst that causes the copper to deionize allowing the copper atoms to perfectly align in a way that provides purer harmonic resonance. Be careful not to let them soak for too long though, otherwise they begin to produce an annoying hiss. Actually, I didn't read that. I just made that up. Some guy probably read as far as "hiss" and is now enthusiastically squeezing his cat over a bucket. Kidding aside, if speaker wire "burn in" is really required, wouldn't it make sense for the manufacturers to "pre-burn" the wire before shipping? Seems like it would be a fairly easy thing to do and would prove to be good selling point. They can even pre-burn it based on musical genera. The blue spool was pre-burnt with smooth jazz, the red spool with classic rock, etc. Just a thought. |
Im comparing mechnical to electrical Actually there is nothing different from "mechanical" and "electrical". They are all made of electrons, protons, neutrals and so on. We human beings are guilty of such categorization that leads to falsification. Mechanical and electrical "break-in" is just the same in term of atoms or molecules aligning themselves. |
100% believe that any new audio equipment needs some hours to settle into its "groove" before sounding its best.Same as new cars dealers tells you to keep it simple for xxx amount of km then you can open it up.Yes Im comparing mechnical to electrical products but from the decades I spent in audio not counting the $$$ I spent I notice a improvement as the equipment breaks in.Can I prove it.Of course not but from personal experience it takes about 200 hours before the changes stops. |
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After reading from all here who find that cables need “burned-in” I am sure glad I purchased a Cable Cooker years ago I just condition them for 3-5 days (depending on the cable) play them in my system for about a day and then I don’t have to worry about it because the sound doesn’t really change - you get what you get |
geoffkait, "And while you’re at it see if they can get to the bottom of fuse directionality, why cryogenics improves the sound, and why premium fuses improve the sound."Those answers are all over the place. Once you are ready for them, I will tell you what they are. "And he does it so well. But he’s a two trick pony."You are half-right. I really do it so well. The rest is not call "tricks". It is called "art of wisdom". Or "wisdom of art", if you prefer it that way. |
nonoise: when I was a kid my stepdad used to drag race at New England Dragway (Ford GT500), as it was called then and I got to hang in the pits. Very educational. I do recall one event where some pro stock car had magnesium wheels (real mag wheels, he he!) and the beads diameter on those rear tires must have been too large or something because on take off, the rims spun in the tires and ignited the wheels and they burned baby! What colors, what smell! Truly Hot Wheels! The mad scramble to put that out was a calamitous riot. Needless to say that guy lost that heat and his nice car looked like ----. And twoleftears: Higgs boson does exist, at least there's evidence for it, but it's hard to pin these subatomic particles down as to location in time and space, which brings us back to Schrödinger's cat, which we'll never know if it's alive or dead, which bring us to back to maritime...say something maritime's kitty... |
Maybe glubson should call NASA or AES or MIT and see if they’d be interested in getting involved in researching cable burn in. In fact I nominate glubson to be the official cable burn in coordinator. Be sure and report back when you have the answer. 👨🚀 And while you’re at it see if they can get to the bottom of fuse directionality, why cryogenics improves the sound, and why premium fuses improve the sound. We’re all dying to know. |
Whatever way you can lead the new naming is fine, as long as it is a logical one. It is, kind of, funny to read about "things that haven't been discovered yet". For now, they are just a fantasy. Once they get discovered, they become a "thing". I do not doubt that someone may, one day, explain many things we are arguing about here. Including "burn-in" of the speaker cables. The tricky truth for half of the participants is that someone may disprove it, too. For now, it is "it will be discovered" as an indisputable truth. Many things in science have been finally discovered, but many have been discovered to be hoaxes, so to say. I hope to live to see the unraveling of the "burn-in" enigma. |
"The existence of a neutrino mass allows the possibility of a tiny neutrino magnetic moment, in which case neutrinos could interact electromagnetically as well; no such interaction has been discovered.[32] " I just pulled that from WIKI with only 5 mins time. Not as proof but just an example of the many things that haven't been discovered yet. Proven or unproven |
blueranger, "It could be better called by some scientific name years from now."No need to wait for years. You already gave one suggestion. Sometimes, it is better to call things the way they are and not what seems mysterious. Many things on these threads are just like "burn-in". Even if it exists, it is wrong. Nothing is burning, especially not anyone's ears. If someone would constantly call you a greenranger, you would, at some point, say "what is wrong with you". |
Burn in is just a name that people describe what they hear in wires changing in sound. It could be better called by some scientific name years from now. How about neutrino electrical alignment. Don't pick on me for choosing that word. Its just an example off the top of my head. Science will give it a better word in tbe future. |
