Equipment Break-in: Fact or Fiction

Thanks, Spluta
This link proves that electric and electronic components wear out within time and break-in time is infinitessimaly measurable.
The reliability issues have to be sought for different purpouses whether it's for aircraft, hospital, audio or any different type of electronics.

If we could measure the "break-in" factor by some electronic means, then everyone would believe it, right? The main argument here, that I see, is that if there is no measured quantification of this phonomenon, then it is some sort of "psychological effect", or "self delusion". Isn't that what it is really coming down to? Some people only believe in measurements, and some people believe their ears. Same old story, using a differently phrased question. The same thing could be said for any piece of audio gear. Why buy a $50k audio system when a shelf unit has better specs and plays the same music? Any improvement in sound over the $129 shelf system must simply be "psychological". We are simply convincing ourselves that our high$$ systems sound better. There is no break-in, cables don't sound different, power conditioners can't make a difference in sound, tubes are "euphonically distorted", blind testing is the only true way, etc, etc, etc.

I agree with Seandtaylor's statement above. Let's agree to disagree. This is an argument that has its basis far from audio. It is in the individual's belief system. Some prefer to trust the limited measurement capacity of others, more than they would trust their own ears. Fine. Other people would rather trust their ears, than the limited measurement capacity of others. Fine too. The decisions made will directly affect the sound quality of each person's system. They will have to live with their philosophy/choices. My choices only affect what the results of my system will be, and nobody else's. The same is true with Seandtaylor's system. We promote what we feel is correct, and others can make their own decisions as well. Both of our viewpoints, actually, are made from a desire to communicate what each of us feels is a valid viewpoint, in a desire to help others with their decision making. Neither Seandtaylor or myself, would make these statements, if we didn't care about helping other people enjoy their systems, and possibly save money. We just have different ideas about how it should be done. That's all. Everyone can make up their own minds about what way they want to go.

Actually, this is not a relativistic, everyone has his own philosophy matter. Either "break in" or other audio phenomena are real--in the sense that they can make an objective (if not necessarily measurable) audible difference--or not. It might be true that some people cannot hear such differences, but this doesn't mean that there are no differences. If they can't hear purported differences, they may well be more skeptical that there objectively are such differences. But this, too, is not a philosophical or personal values/beliefs matter: either their skepticism is warranted or not. Of course, if they can't hear purported differences, then the differences will make no subjective difference to them, in which case it wouldn't matter to them whether the phenomena are objectively/not merely psychologically real.

Thanks Twl. Perhaps my system or ears are not sufficiently sensitive to hear difference ... I fully accept that this is a possibility.

You know, there's one post above that raises a question that has been on my mind regarding this issue .... "why does everyone report the sound improving during break-in ?" If break-in is a purely electrical phenomenon then wouldn't we have a good proportion of components sound worse after break-in ? However, if the effect is in large part psychological then this would go some way to explain why everything sounds better after break in since our brains are wonderfully adaptable to new experiences.

Now I'm not posting this to provoke the "believers", rather because I think it was a very interesting point.

Seandtaylor, I would respond to your question in this manner. Since I have no solid engineering proof of this phenomenon, I can't answer in terms of data. But I can point to the several posts on this thread where listeners who did not believe in break-in, were converted when they actually heard the phenomenon, even if they couldn't explain it. So, even though these particular individuals would have been psychologically pre-disposed to not hear the differences, they still heard them.

Regarding why nobody seems to hear "reverse break-in" where things start sounding worse with break-in time, it does happen, but then often goes back into the good sound again, as break-in time progresses. I have heard this happen and have heard others report the same thing. My gut feeling is that there is something happening to the equipment that is changed as electricity flows through it. Exactly what it is, I don't know, but I do hear it, and feel sure that it exists as a physical manifestation, and not a psychological one.

The reason I feel sure about this, is that I have, on many occasions, auditioned new items which I had no knowledge of. I had no way of knowing whether they would be good or bad or indifferent. I could tell the difference, good or bad, in these items. In some cases, even though I wanted to like an item, I disliked the sound of it. So I think that the psychological implications are really not valid.

About break in, now that I have concluded that I can hear differences in equipment, and am not self-deluding, then I can feel sure about my observations in the break-in arena. And I do hear changes taking place with time. I cannot fully explain every phenomenon that I observe, but that does not mean it isn't happening.