I heard those who flunk out of helicopter school go to maritime.
Do speaker cables need a burn in period?
I have heard some say that speaker cables do need a 'burn in', and some say that its totally BS.
What say you?
What say you?
1,164 responses Add your response
First of all, resistance is a scalar quantity, not a vector, therefore it has no intrinsic direction. Just like temperature is a scalar value. It's does not make sense to say this direction temperature is higher vs. the other direction. Resistance is calculated from electron mobility - that is how mobile the electrons given a certain material such as silver, copper ... Now since it's hard to measure mobility of a single electron, usually mobility is measured by average using a bunch of electrons regardless of direction, at least in concept. So the mobility of electrons should be the same left to right, up to down to sideway. Therefore resistance should be the same left to right, up to down to side way and so on. But what if you want to know the mobility of a single electron? Supposedly on the left side of the electron, there is some impurity such as an oxygen molecule or some gap in the lattice structure, now if you want this electron to move to the left, it would have less mobility vs. if you want this electron to move to the right. In practicality, these impurities in the metal lattice are more or less randomly distributed so on average they cancel out therefore regardless of direction, the mobility of the average should be the same in all direction. Anyway, I have to get back to work. Will continue later. |
andy2245 posts 09-26-2018 3:59pm First of all, resistance is a scalar quantity, not a vector, therefore it has no intrinsic direction. Just like temperature is a scalar value. It’s does not make sense to say this direction temperature is higher vs. the other direction. Resistance is calculated from electron mobility - that is how mobile the electrons given a certain material such as silver, copper ... Now since it’s hard to measure mobility of a single electron, usually mobility is measured by average using a bunch of electrons regardless of direction, at least in concept. So the mobility of electrons should be the same left to right, up to down to sideway. Therefore resistance should be the same left to right, up to down to side way and so on. But what if you want to know the mobility of a single electron? Supposedly on the left side of the electron, there is some impurity such as an oxygen molecule or some gap in the lattice structure, now if you want this electron to move to the left, it would have less mobility vs. if you want this electron to move to the right. In practicality, these impurities in the metal lattice are more or less randomly distributed so on average they cancel out therefore regardless of direction, the mobility of the average should be the same in all direction. Anyway, I have to get back to work. Will continue later. >>>>Uh, no offense, but there are so many technical errors, mistakes in logic, naïveté, and misunderstandings in that post, Andy, I hardly know where to begin but will maybe take a stab at it later. So to speak. We’ll see. Anyone else, of course, feel free to comment. Agree, disagree. Someone here must surely have an idea. Yes? No? Maybe? A legal opinion? |
glupson I even watched a few videos with different approaches on the Internet. Even the simplest ones look very risky to me, but that is not saying much. Thank goodness there are people who can actually pull it. >>>Speaking of different approaches you ought to consider trying some, you know other than your usual bland blah blah blah. No offense. |
@geoffkait Yes, I have rolled up my sleeves and investigated aftermarket fuses of several varieties and directionality of those fuses. Bottom line is that I do not perceive differences between those aftermarket fuses and my typical Littelfuse or Bussmann fuses (I do however perceive differences in SQ between cables, so go figure). >>>>Let me get this straight. You perceive differences in directionality of cables? Or just differences between cables? What are you trying to say? Most of those aftermarket fuses are still in my gear and I have no reason to remove them since I own them, they work, and they don’t seem to make things sound worse. Were the aftermarket inserted in the correct direction? If you can’t hear directionality and if you can’t hear the difference between fuses one assumes half of them are still in the wrong direction. No wonder you can’t hear any differences. That’s what I mean by trying to get to the bottom of things. Obviously you’d rather stick to your guns. My own trials and observations of those fuses and common sense related to the length of a fuse wire compared to the many signal traces, electrical parts, and feet of wire present in most equipment are what has led me to be skeptical of what others report hearing. However, for clarity, I do not question what they hear, just the reasons why. Also, unlike some others, I am fine with this difference of opinion and feel no need to change anyone else’s mind. >>>>We’ve already addressed the copper traces on printed circuit boards. They aren’t directional. But all the other wires are. That is part of why you can’t hear directionality. Obviously I can’t know all the reasons why you don’t get good results while many tens of thousands of others do get good results. |
andy2 Geoffkait,If I were to ask you to make a directional wire for me how would you do it? For example, I want a wire that measure higher resistance from A - B, and lower from B - A, what manufacturing technique would you use? (Alien technology is not allowed). Don’t worry, it’s not alien technology. It’s not rocket science, either. It’s super easy. Here’s how you do it. This is how the big boys do it. Don’t tell anybody. This is very hush, hush. When the big old spool of wire is delivered from the wire manufacturer, take a length of wire - keeping track of the start and end of the wire by marking it. Then, construct a digital cable that requires *only one* cable/wire. Then insert the cable into the system and evaluate which direction sounds best. Or you can bipass fuse with a small length of the wire that you marked. Then listen both ways. Voila! Then you will know how to CONTROL DIRECTIONALITY for the rest of the giant spool of wire. Problem solved. You can also instruct the manufacturer to wrap the wire on the giant spool as it comes off the final die. Now all interconnects, speaker cables, power cords, tonearm wires, HDMI cables, etc. can be easily constructed so that arrows will show the correct direction. |
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>>Speaking of different approaches you ought to consider trying some, you know other than your usual bland blah blah blah. No offense.geoffkait, You do have a talent. The only one you have, it seems. Your posts are frequently exact words that others would tell you. You know yourself well and project. I cannot try some other approach than usual bland blah blah blah. Had you not put the request for "no offense", I could try. This way, you limit my honesty. |
Do cables need burn in? Depends on your standards of evidence. If audiophile anecdote is good enough for you, then yes they "need" burn in. But by this same standard of evidence you'll find people who say everything needs burn in, and every tweak works, and everything makes a difference. So, it's your time and money. Maybe you can start with a cable cooker ;-) |
Use google and you will find it. I was shocked at the content. Addendum: http://www.machinadynamica.com/index.html 🐍💩 |