There is no such thing. Its all gigantic BS. AC Electricity flows through copper wires into the speakers which convert them into sound via speaker diaphragms. The copper only needs to be as thick as possible to minimize loss from electrical resistance and shielded enough to prevent outside distortion due to stray magnetic fields. There is no such crap as burn-in of copper wires.
Your garden won't give better fruits and vegetable if you send the same water them via copper pipes or cheap pvc pipes. Its a matter of longevity. |
Yes, you need between 54 and 976 hours, off course, if you move them you need to start again. |
Burn-in and directionality are untested and unproven concepts that contradict the engineering and scientific concepts related to sound. Many people believe in this nonetheless, perhaps because they experienced this. But even here, how do you know if you just get used to the sound of the cables, so they sound better? It’s a subjective thing by definition.
I did did my own test, using Nordost Quattro Fil XLR cable’s. I had two identical interconnects, and I put one aside and used the other for six months. Then I compared them and didn’t hear any difference. |
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To be honest I don’t listen for cable burn in, contact enhancer burn in, system burn in CD results. Is that wrong?
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I’m not sure I have heard burn in benefits from very inexpensive cables either... |
That would be quite an average listener. With Purist Audio cables that I have I heard no or almost no difference after 300 hours, interconnects or speaker cables. In higher resolution system - maybe. Jim Aud of Purist says 300 hours for his better cables, and I agree.
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jdub07
A signal is a signal, right? Cable burn-in, seriously? I have been listening to hi-fi longer than a lot of you have been alive. I have never heard cables that sound better after burn-in and I don;t spend lots of money on speaker wire. If I have money to spend I spend it on something that will make a difference like upgrading components.
>>>>>Wow, are you a vampire?
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Spkr cables will change performance with a break-in. The time period will vary depending on many factors, including the hearing characteristics of the listener. From experience I would suggest 300 to 600 hours of burn-in for the average listener. |
A signal is a signal, right? Cable burn-in, seriously? I have been listening to hi-fi longer than a lot of you have been alive. I have never heard cables that sound better after burn-in and I don;t spend lots of money on speaker wire. If I have money to spend I spend it on something that will make a difference like upgrading components.
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Understand. Thanks. You were told wrong. No offense to anyone.
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yes, I should have been more clear. I was told it didn't matter which end was attached to the amp and which to the speakers...that's as far as my technical expertise goes |
Depends on what you mean by “directional.” All wire is directional.
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Clearly. Yet they sound great. Better than his previous cables which were directional
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Your cable guy must not have gotten the memo. Also, nothing wrong with maple blocks but I don’t think they are doing much vibration wise since the maple blocks provide a clear path for vibration.
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I prefer cables isolated from floor on maple blocks/sticks, like Pro Gold on connectors, never tried cryo. always followed manufacturer on direction, current cables non-directional according to designer... |
Thanks for reminding me why I never read your posts.
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Never addressing what I actually said, Kaitty is nothing if not consistent in his predictably lame response. I was speaking specifically and obviously about my personal take on home audio based on many years of experience, but somehow Kaitty arbitrarily connects me to pro audio because I'm successfully professionally involved in that field as a live sound technician and mixer. However, pro audio provides sound for live music which is, in fact, an actually important force that is far more powerful and relevant than Kaitty's oft ridiculed and silly fraudulent tweak business, the general impact of which seems to be providing laughs for those inclined to check out his stuff. Perhaps it's a parody of tweaking, but more likely a scam. No offense, Kaitty. |
There seems to be quite a disparity between pro audio and high end audio these days. As lot of it has to do with attitude. Pro audio needs what we used to call a sanity check or attitude adjustment. As things stand pro audio isn’t really much of a force. No offense, Wolfie.
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@wolf_garcia You will be right at home in Post Modern America!😬 |
Or, be a sane person and ignore all of Kaitty’s suggestions by simply plugging them in and enjoying them...you can establish correct direction by noting the direction indicated on basically every cable made...fishing line indeed, as if that causes them to escape the harmless vibration that travels through the air...also, what about the cables inside your speakers? Aren't they getting the brunt of the supposed negative impact of vibration? Ridiculous. Cryoed anything is another unnecessary mythological scam generally NOT used by cable manufacturers, and the contacts, if clean, between what are often gold plated non tarnishing plugs, sound fine and work perfectly without supposed enhancement. |
OK, here’s what you should do after purchasing any cables for best results.
1. Send them off to cryo lab. While many high end cables are cryod by the manufacturer, Cryoing twice is better. Once you get them back from the cryo lab give them about a week to recover from thermal shock before critical eval.
2. Establish correct direction.
3. Burn in using burn in track or burn in device.
4. Suspend cables from ceiling using fishing line and eye hooks to escape vibration and static electric fields.
5. Apply the contact enhancer of your choice to all electrical contacts.
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I called Morrow today to see where the cables I ordered were after having to hold the order until I returned from a vacation (on their way it seems), and asked them what I should do if I like the pre burned in sound...in jest of course...they did say I was the first to ask that...they told me to listen only a few minutes a day and un-plug them after. |
yes, jl35 that is true. When you change the direction of the cables all the old signals still use to going in the old direction collide with the new signals going in the new direction. Well, you get it, its a bloody mess. |
changing the direction works the same as unburning them in... |
@wolf_garcia Thou art powerful and influential. I'm sure you have sucked the life out of this thread! This must be the 100th or so thread about burn-in. Lifeless topic = Lifeless thread. Good job!😝 |
I prefer the sound of non "burned in" fresh cables so I can only listen to them for a short time, and have to either swap them out for new ones every few days, or simply disconnect them and replace them from a pile of identical cables that have sat around losing their mojo. I need to find a burn in reversing device that sucks the life out of cables, not unlike what this post might have done to this thread. |
and for many who believe in cable burn in, we don't listen to the cables while they burn in for a week, so it's not getting used to the sound... |
Yeah, again. Let's add to it - silver or copper or alloy ? I prefer copper for interconnects and silver alloy for speaker cables with my particular speakers. Both are Purist fluid cables. Solid state equipment. |
At least a week after cryo. When comparing cables at least two days.
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At the very least a few hours of not being moved.
Never heard anyone report cables sounding worse after a few hundred hours. |
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I question whether it's the new cable that's burning in or is it the listener getting used to them?
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all the new cables I have purchased came with a 30 day return period, and since burn in takes only a week or two, that was never an issue...and all the manufacturers said they would allow more time if needed... |
@jl35 Bingo!! 🧐 @mitch2 @jnorris2005 Not so much.😔
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No, they don't. Most burn in requirements are simply there to get you to keep the product beyond the return period. |
As we sailed into the mystic...... |
My experience is that cables sound better after a week of not being moved, and a few hundred hours of playing time, whether purchased new or used. You will know what you think in a week or two. Don't worry that electrical engineers cannot explain this. There is very very much that engineers and scientists cannot explain... |
Did milk squirt out of your engineer friend’s nose? One wonders if engineers are inherently closed-minded sometimes or if they’re taught to be like that.
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This subject always made me grin. A friend who has a degree in electronic engineering laughed at these thoughts. He said speaker cables do not carry enough current to affect their physical nature. Also, what is "burn in" or "break in" anyway? What actually happens? What happens to the cable that actually changes the sound? I've yet to see that explained to the point where it makes any sense. However, if that is what you want to believe, so be it. What if the cable "sounds" worse after break in? A change in sound isn't always to the positive. Have fun! |
The most of the “good” speakercables takes about 200 hours. |
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Absolutely! My QED Signature Spk. wire sounded pretty good from the start but it wasn't till about 150+ hrs. when "it" happened. Glorious sounding cable especially for it's very modest price. |
Components and cables seem to be affected by a 'breaking in' period.
What seems to be a simply electric path has subtle intricacies that, in the end, affect sound reproduction.
It seems like it would make a great thesis in EE.
For mere listeners, like myself, I just recognize the effect and play music.
When 'it' happens, I am a happy guy.
B |
Every cable needs burn in how long depends on the gauge.I just burned in new Furutech speaker cable about 200 hrs to sound its best.Anyone who says its bs never had a real high end system. |
Even if they're been used before, or cooked prior to shipping, they still need time to "settle" in the new system. |
Another way to facilitate burn in is to use a CD test/break in treatment like Ayre's Irrational but Efficacious CD Treatment. I can get impatient with break in and plopping the CD in and letting it run for an hour or two on repeat can greatly speed up the break in process.
Before and after can be a real eye & ear opener. After hearing the results, I now do it 2-3 times with playing CDs in between to any new component I get.
All the best,
Nonoise |
A long time ago, I decided not to agonize over cable burn-in. I had read post after post about cables sounding good, bad, bright, thin, dynamic, flat, and then finally, and magically (always after something like 500 hours), sounding great. Some folks even too listening notes to document their cable burn-in process. Why would anyone want to go through all that and how can anyone be sure that the perceived changes are due to burn-in and not the psychoacoustical effect of familiarization?
My solution was to research burn-in devices and to purchase an Audiodharma Cable Cooker, which I use to condition/burn-in all my cables, both those I make and manufactured cables I purchase. I recondition cables if I change connectors and after they have been sitting unused for awhile. After conditioning a cable on the Cable Cooker I simply do not think about burn-in since I have better things to do. |
