Can an interconnect cooker really be this easy?

[Cubdriver]

Here is my question - if we grant that cables 'burn in' (as an electronics guy I remain skeptical that some change that is audible but that instrumentation cannot measure takes place after a wire has been used for a while), how is it that this burn in ALWAYS improves their performance? Why do I never hear of any cables 'burning in' and sounding worse after said burn in?

-Pat

 

[Semanon]

But if a higher voltage than a typical audio signal is required for effective burn-in, how do cables ever get burned-in in normal use?

Such a conundrum you pose.

 

[Semanon]

Here is my question - if we grant that cables 'burn in' (as an electronics guy I remain skeptical that some change that is audible but that instrumentation cannot measure takes place after a wire has been used for a while), how is it that this burn in ALWAYS improves their performance? Why do I never hear of any cables 'burning in' and sounding worse after said burn in?

-Pat

It’s like a pie. Have you ever heard of a pie that’s better when it’s halfway cooked?

 

[Semanon]

Then once a few cables have been acquired, when I get bored by the current one, I just swap in one of the older ones, and just keep circulating out of and back into audio nirvana with each cable change, what with audio memory being as notoriously short as it is.

Can’t you just turn them around and burn them in, but in the opposite direction?

 

[Ordin Aryguy]

Here is my question - if we grant that cables 'burn in' (as an electronics guy I remain skeptical that some change that is audible but that instrumentation cannot measure takes place after a wire has been used for a while), how is it that this burn in ALWAYS improves their performance? Why do I never hear of any cables 'burning in' and sounding worse after said burn in?

-Pat

I also posed that question not too long ago... along with a little more to think about.

Burn In - Normal Distribution?

There is constant advocacy for burn-in of nearly every piece of gear in our audio systems, from amps all the way to power cables. Quite often the push for burn-in comes directly from the the manufacturer of the particular piece of gear themselves. Most often the burn -in consists of playing some...

audiokarma.org

 

[Cubdriver]

It’s like a pie. Have you ever heard of a pie that’s better when it’s halfway cooked?

No, but cooking is part of making the pie, and in the process it goes through very distinct, observable and measurable changes. And if you leave it in the oven, even at the correct temperature, and cook it for too long, it goes bad and is ruined.

-Pat

 

[Semanon]

No, but cooking is part of making the pie, and in the process it goes through very distinct, observable and measurable changes. And if you leave it in the oven, even at the correct temperature, and cook it for too long, it goes bad and is ruined.

-Pat

So are you saying we need a ‘recipe’ for cable burn in? Does it get better until it’s just right, then get ruined? Am I right that a half-cooked pie never tastes as good as a fully done one? And so turning around cables and running them in the opposite polarity doesn’t work and is like trying to unbaked a pie? So many questions…

 

[Cubdriver]

So are you saying we need a ‘recipe’ for cable burn in? Does it get better until it’s just right, then get ruined? Am I right that a half-cooked pie never tastes as good as a fully done one? And so turning around cables and running them in the opposite polarity doesn’t work and is like trying to unbaked a pie? So many questions…

No, what I'm saying is that I think cable 'burn in' is nonsense. I can't fathom what running any sort of signal, whether a specified 'burn in' one or just normal audio, through a cable could in any way, shape or form cause an audible change over time as the cable 'burns in'. It's a piece of wire. The frequencies carried are (relatively) low. If running a signal through it makes an audible change in the characteristics over time, then (as you stated above, and others have elsewhere), what makes it stop changing? If I feed it with x signal for y hours and it gets better, what happens if I do it for 2y hours - does it get even better? If not, why did it stop improving at y hours? If I do it for 10y hours, will it start to degrade?

-Pat

 

[Gibsonian]

Cooking is the key. And the longer it is, the more expensive it is, the better it is. Cryo first, then cook, sprinkle in a very large expense and wala, you have your masterpiece. Happy listening!

 

[egellings]

Can’t you just turn them around and burn them in, but in the opposite direction?

Nah, the 'lectric going one way and the 'lectric coming back would get all confused.

 

[WillVT]

Here is my question - if we grant that cables 'burn in' (as an electronics guy I remain skeptical that some change that is audible but that instrumentation cannot measure takes place after a wire has been used for a while), how is it that this burn in ALWAYS improves their performance? Why do I never hear of any cables 'burning in' and sounding worse after said burn in?

-Pat

I think that's the "burn out." Once they are properly burned in, it only makes logical sense that burn out begins. Until they eventually turn back to dust in a few centuries.
Except for the plastic bits. They'll be around forever.