What Exactly Does "Burn In" do for Electronics?

From a teleological point of view, it makes great sense for our auditory system to be good at classifying sounds while ignoring minor differences. You needed to know if a predator or something to eat is is nearby. It wouldn't have served our survival well if we attended to small differences in sound. Audiophilia is but a recent pin point on the evolutionary scale.

My early research was concerned with testing theories of binaural hearing, so I've done lots of forced-choice listening under lab conditions. We can tricked into attending to small details, but we aren't all that consistent in doing so, and variability among listeners usually swamps those differences.

Count me with the skeptics, although I'd swear I can hear break in of disc players.

db

Makes sense.

I do think I hear a difference with some new power cords, but so subtle its hard to be certain.

I definitely hear differences with different analog ICs. DIgital ones, less so.

And rolling tubes in my tube DAC....absolutely no doubt.

I think burn in is a real consideration for mechanical devices, like speakers. ALso for some electronic components, like caps and probably transistors.

I suspect there is "burn-in" aspect with wires as well, but to a lesser extent that might matter less practically in most cases.

It's shades of grey, not black/white. No two things are exactly the same nor do they remain 100% constant over time, but practical effect may still be insignificant or even nonexistent in many cases.

Almarg is correct to point out that there can be many factors at play to account for perceived differences over time, and isolating each is difficult in practice, especially outside of a highly controlled envrionment, like a laboratory. When the differences are subtle on teh grand scale of things, one must always wonder and not be too quick to associate cause and effect.

I guess it is the term "burn-in" that piqued my interest - I inferred a physical change, and there very well may be - whether magnetism, heat, or some "alchematic" result, lol. Anyway, it is very interesting, and I wonder if the those changes have ever been measured? I assume possibly resistance, and other qualities surely have, over time. My equipment has most always been pre-owned, so I have not really experienced the change. I appreciate the discussion and I definitely didn't start this thread to instigate argument.

06-17-14: Mapman
Makes sense.

I do think I hear a difference with some new power cords, but so subtle its hard to be certain.

These can be a bit different sound, as they have earth, neutral and live. Some shifty mains cable makers swap the neutral and live around, while all still works, they are attached then different within the primary winding of the equipment's mains transformer, as it has an outer feed and inner feed.

And this even though it's AC can this sound different, making the user think it's the actual mains cable itself causing the difference.

You can prove this to yourself with some cdp's that only have a two wire main cable with a reversable 2 pin mains plug on the back of them, each way sounds different to the other even though it's the same cable and plug.

Cheers George

"06-16-14: Almarg

06-16-14: Zd542
I have some Cardas cables that take forever. 100's of hours.

ZD, as I'm sure you realize I have great respect for your experience and your sonic perceptions. But a question: How do you know that the improvement you are perceiving after 100's of hours is due to the cables, and not to something else in the system that has changed in the meantime? Or, for that matter, something that has changed in the AC power, or even the temperature or humidity of the room?"

As far as knowing for certain that the sound I get with Cardas cables before and after break in, is actually due to break in, is that I can't know for certain. That said, its the only explanation that makes sense; at least to me. My system's usually don't change too much, so I don't have to deal with trying to listen around other changes in equipment (For the most part. I'm sure that there were some cases where I changed equipment during the burn in process.). The main thing that leads me to believe the results I get are due to break in is consistency. With my Cardas cables (Golden Reference), the cables have a sound when they are new, and a different sound when they are broken in. But its always the same. Also, they all take about the same time to notice the change. I wouldn't say 800 hours, though. Somewhere between 300-400. That's with a CD player on repeat playing white noise, 24 hours a day.

Could the break in really be due to a change in the AC? Its possible, but I don't think its very likely. I've done multiple pairs of the exact same cable, all with the same results. If the AC was to blame, you could just as easily get the sound that is the end result (after burn in) first, and then burn in to what the cables sound like originally, when new. Or, there could just be no change at all. Even if you've had issues with sound changing due to AC, it doesn't mean it has to be a factor every time. So, that's why I rule out AC. The results seem to be too consistent.

Temperature and humidity? Al, you have me on that one. I never checked. lol. I have no idea how much of a factor that will be. Some of my equipment is in FL, and the rest in NY. Humidity and temp in FL is fairly consistent. In NY it is not.

Just to sum up, break isn't something that any audiophile should be worried about. I feel that time is much better spent focusing on other topics. In the end, everyone gets the same results. If break in does happen, it doesn't matter if you believe in it or not. It will take care of itself all on its own, with a little time. And if it doesn't happen, or you can't hear it for some reason, you still have the same end result.