Why Aren't All Cables Pre-Burned In?


Most folks don't buy enough cables to justify their own cable burner. Yet, many cables take 2-4 weeks to burn in. This makes it very difficult to compare cables (did I just answer my own question?). Why don't manufacturers burn them in so you can tell what they sound like when you unwrap them and plug them in? Does the burn-in go bad after they sit on the shelf for a while? If so, wouldn't the second burn-in be quicker when you brought the cables home? I don't get it. Help! Thanks in advance. Hey, maybe some cable companies are out there listening.
ozfly
It would be very expensive for amy to do as each machine can only cook so many cables. A company doing any voulme at all would need like 20 machines.
Many dealers offer this service for free when you purchase cables through them.
Even after cable cooking you will still need some music time to complete the process though.
My understanding is that the burn in does indeed go bad if the cables sit on the shelf for a while (several weeks). It's not in fact clear that the second burn in would be quicker than the first.
Pure Note Audio Cables is one of the few mfgs. to do this at no charge. The use the AudioDharma cooker. Still the cables require some system time.
JC Audio is correct and I would like to add that most people once they order equipment, be it cables, speakers or electronics, have very little patience when it comes to dtaking delivery. I totally understand why. Anticipation can create anxiety. :)
A lot of audio dealers have demo sets (likely burned-in) for try out at home which should show you what they'll sound like after burn in. Easiest way of comparing cables and another reason why dealers are an invaluable asset.
Bomarc, you may be right ;-) But my key concern was being able to compare multiple cables correctly before the trial period expires. Right now, what I'm hearing is that, with a few exceptions, the only way to do that is through dealers and to be sure they precook their cables for you. Thanks for the advice. Anyone else?
We've been breaking in signal wires here before releasing them to customers for the past six years.....

Bob Crump
TG Audio/CTC Builders
HMS pre burns in all their Gran Finale cables!

Christian Brouwer
Importer of the Gran Finale
I burn in all my cables at my customers request for free,
Same as power cords...
Before I do power cords, I ask if the customer wants it burned in , for the fact the prongs on the plug would be marked, as making the power cord look used. I hear that David El'Rod is going to start burning his cords also.
Bob Crump is telling the truth. I bought one of his phono cables recently and it sounded magnificent right away. It blew away the Harmonic Tech Silver phono cable. The sound really didn't change much after playing it for a length of time, which makes me believe, it was burned in when I got it. If you don't know TG Audio cabling, you owe it to yourself to consider it as it is superb cable at a realistic price.
Hi Audionut! Glad that the phono link worked out for you.....I burn-in the interconnects on a couple of MOBIEs for either five days or thirty days at the customer's option....Wires pick up static in transit due to very low humidity in airplanes so I squirt the wires down with Nordost anti-static spray and put them in Faraday cage bags and they are still "bright" for a few days after arrival. I haven't changed prices in over six years so the ICs are a comparitive bargain. There will be a fancer version using 99.99997 pure silver shortly and they are not as much of a bargain as the wire was double the pricing of the 99.997 pure wire in the standard ICs.....Problem with silver is that it needs some help to break in as it will never break in at the voltages and currents normal in an audio system.....
I plan to break-in my Empirical Audio cables as well, but I would have to delay shipment of them at this time. I get the feeling that folks want them quickly rather than broken-in. It only takes about 10-20 hours in a system anyway.