Do cables really need "breaking in"?

I too am an engineer who likes to "see the data" but in audio, there is more than one way to take data. I get real tired of people who scoff at the idea that the ear can be a meaningful measurement tool and insist that it be backed up with electrical data before pronouncing the effect real.

The ear/brain combination is a GREAT measuring tool for judging relative differences. For example, if I were to play a sinewave below 100HZ to somebody and then a 1KHZ signal, and while no audiophile may tell me exactly what frequencies I played, I'll bet every audiophile on this planet could hear a DIFFERENCE between the two signals.

What we were talking about here were the DIFFERENCES that burning in makes in the SOUND, not the measured electrical differences.

You don't need electrical measurements to hear an effect.

By the way, when I typed Sean in my previous post, I meant to respond to Seandtaylor.

Every time that one of these threads go up there's always a big controversy. If you don't want to believe it then don't, it's your loss. I used to be with the objective crowd too, being an EE with audiophile inclinations, but I ignorantly refused to believe anything about cabling, tweaks, etc. All I had to do was quit arguing & try listening; *wham* I'm now a subjectivist to the n'th degree. Don't worry about the spec's, the measurements, the proofs of performance. Just listen; that's what this is all about anyway - remember?

I've only been through this topic about 300 times-- guess it's always popular or new to some.

A bit off subject, but relavent I think: In Oct. 2001, we bought a new, large, wide screen TV-- near $3K and from a major manufacturer. Right out of the box the picture was fine, but the sound was terrible. It sounded like a $19.95 transistor radio-- bright, edgy, an annoying echo, and fatiguing. News announcers sounded like they were talking from a culvert. This TV allows adjustment of bass and treble, and I did my best to correct the terrible sound quality. This helped a bit.

After the TV had been on for 6-8 hours, my wife came home and said "what's that smell?". Well of course it was the smell of the electronics of the TV "burning in", and then I realized that the TV speakers also needed to break in. The "burn in" smell lasted 2-3 days for me and 4-5 for my wife. I'd say it easily took nearly two months for the sound quality to smooth out and become non-fatiguing.

And now 3 months later, the TV sound quality is just fine-- well, for a TV, and I've been able to return the bass and treble settings to more normal positions. Am I supposed to believe that this improvement in sound quality/character is all in my mind? That no actual break-in/burn-in occurred except in my mind?

BTW, new and near new TVs of the same brand sound just as bad at the dealers, but when I auditioned it I thought it was just room acoustics. Cheers. Craig

Paulwp, i WILL go so far as to say that the differences in the "sonic signature" of cables IS highly system dependent. Whether this is due to superior design (stability) of the components or the lack of resolution within the system are but two of the possible variables involved.

As to doing cable comparisons, it is VERY easy to do an unbiased test using an "outsider" i.e. "non audiophile". Hook up two speakers side by side and run the system in mono. The channels should be "plumbed" electrically identical except for the ONE cable under test. Have the listener sit directly on axis centered between the two speakers. Differences in frequency response due to room loading characteristics are not really a factor since the speakers would be firing into near identical environments. This takes for granted that the speakers being used are relatively well matched in terms of frequency response and amplitude output levels.

Since the listener does not know anything about brands, various designs or what to expect from any of the devices under test ( DUT ), you can simply play a selection of music for them and switch from speaker to speaker as instantaneously as is possible. This takes the "acoustic memory" debate out of the equation.

Of course, you can't tell them what to listen for as that surely would taint the results. Not letting them see the cables in use prior to testing also helps keep things on an even keel. Since different designs may appear "thicker, more solid" or "lighter, more airy", the listener may enter the test with preconcieved notions or effectively bias what they hear or percieve to hear based on visually preconcieved ideas. No talking should take place until the listener has formed their own opinion of what they are hearing and is willing to voice their appraisal of the situation.

If the unbiased listener tries to verbalize the difference in sonics that you were also hearing WITHOUT any assistance or guidance from you, chances are the differences in the cables under test are EASILY noticeable. If they are unsure of any specific changes, differences ranging from very subtle to no difference at all ( within the confines of that system ) would be a logical conclusion. The fact that there might be a disagreement pertaining to specific sonic differences between several parties listening to the same system under the same test conditions would leave us with nothing more than a "subjective" outcome. This could not be taken as a positive OR negative but would require further, possibly more controlled, testing.

I have found that by using this method, i am easily able to confirm what i thought the differences in various cables in a specific system were by comparing notes with the un-interested party. While this may not be as "accurate" as DBX under controlled conditions, there is also nothing extra hooked up into the system to further taint or confuse the results. The ability to repeat the test on a regular basis with consistent results supports my previous statements to the fact that differences in cables DO exist and that they are audible.

With threads that get out of hand / quickly become polarized such as this one has, is it any wonder that AA has taken the stance that they have ??? Sean
>

My friend has the Cable Cooker. He burned my i/c's for 48 hours and now I can hear a big difference. My cables (system) sound more like music than before. It works.