What Exactly Does "Burn In" do for Electronics?

Search any topic on forum here and you'll see that there's overwhelming consensus on one's rig sounding best after about half an hour after turn on.

Cold, out of the box, not so good.

When brand spanking new, one can easily multiply that exponentially until, after awhile, half an hour is all you need.

Something has happened. Check out any spec on individual parts and you'll see optimum operating temperatures under which they are spec'd. That means they have to heat up some and not exceed those temps.

Again, cold out of the box, not so good. Warmed up, good. That should tell you something. Your pride and joy needs less time to sound good so what just happened?

I've heard the difference between brand new and broken in but others will tell you I'm crazy.

I assure you I'm not.

All the best,
Nonoise

I love it when people speak in absolutes. It's like when people demand. Limited life experiences are one source of this behavior or in this case, limited listening experiences.

Having a closed mindset implies one is not open to learning (hearing) something. Speaking in absolutes (or stating) demands no other course but the one proffered. It's akin to generalizing, which I do my best to avoid. It requires constant discipline.

All the best,
Nonoise

Our ability to hear differences is no less accurate than our ability to see or smell or feel differences. We'd all be dead at an early age otherwise. Those of us who enjoy this hobby have refined our hearing to a level more than the average person. The same goes for our other senses and those who employ them more than others on a regular basis be it due to hobby or employment.

With these differences come impressions that we catalogue in our memories. All it takes is a quick listen to something to familiarize oneself and then swapping out something to ascertain a difference. It's not that big a deal. The same goes for break in. It's right there, not going anywhere and we listen and listen and lo and behold, those tizzy highs are now softened; that midrange just opened up some: the bass just got tighter and more extended.

My hearing didn't just throw in the towel and told my brain to accept it. My brain didn't just say what the heck, it's not getting any better so let's move on. Nor am I now able to hear something that was always there and only realize it a week after. None of that makes any sense.

Someone should see how long it takes for this topic to resurface. Must be a slow news day, or Costco had a big sale on dead horses.

All the best,
Nonoise

Scientists tested a frog. They cut off it's legs and they said "jump!"

The frog didn't jump.

Scientist therefore concluded that when frogs lose their legs, they become deaf.

It's not mine but I had to borrow it.

High end reviews are full of burn in for cables before they are reviewed. Google practically any cable review and you'll find it.
Claims can and will be made that are false and they will have their followers. Does it follow that all claims are so?
Can it be that 100% of cable burn in reviews being always for the better simply back up the claim that cables need burn in, thereby validating the claim?

All the best,
Nonoise

On the contrary, the units are built to the spec that is finally agreed upon. It's just that anything new will not remain so and will alter over time until it's "broken" in.

Just because something is electric in nature and we can't see it doesn't mean that's there's no aging: wear and tear so to speak, over the short term. It's a big learning curve and we are just on the upward part of that curve.

I'm curious as to this: if we all experienced and agreed that the burn in was of a universally short nature, say a day or so, that there'd be general agreement. Using that as a priori, would it be so difficult to consider that some things take longer?

All the best,
Nonoise

It makes no sense that the expectation is for parts to fall out of spec in order to....

That was never said or implied. All that was is that things don't stay new. Tubes aren't the only things that age due to heating up. Anything electricity encounters the slows down it's travel heats it up. So cold, out of the box won't and can't sound the same as when on for awhile.

A really stupid attempt...

Really? Is this baggage from some older thread?

Nothing I know of sounds best, functions best, drives best, or operates best until broken in. Please name one thing that does.Then there is a long period of great performance. To say that it only doesn't apply to electronics is goofy, to be polite.

The signal doesn't magically travel through cables, capacitors, tubes, traces and the like and not leave a trace or have an affect. That affect is the lessening of the time it takes to sound it's best.

All the best,
Nonoise

Csontos, I didn't know what to take and am sorry if I inferred incorrectly.
No harm, no foul.

All the best,
Nonoise