Burn In = Voodoo?

I beleive in pshcoacoustics, better power at night, and I think that livng with a piece is different from hearing it for the first time. I also beleive that over time you dont try as hard to hear a differece and relax allowing you to concentrate on the music. That alone allows it to sound better.

That said I had the oppertunity to compare two of the same model preamps. One was new and one was the display model. It was amazing how much better the broken in one sounded. I also think that my amps sound best after being on for a good thirty days. I absolutley hate turning them off.

I use to work with metal. Casting, rolling, and grinding. The characteristics of metal changes through certain processes like anneling or running current through it. I cant explain why but I know that it happens

I think that there a few who could explain it scientifaclly but the problem with the explanation is its hard to measure what ever changes the sound. I have a relative thats own a small computer company and we get in constant arguments on how one transport can sound different from another. He feels that digital is digital and there is no difference. We all know that isnt true and I think this situation fits into that catagory.

Most people with an electronics background dont learn about the effects of converting a signal to an analog soundwave. Not that there arent scientific reasons only that it is a highly unique and specialized feild. If you were to try to measure a difference you would need a meter that measuers and plots a sound wave. If it sounds different it must be shaped differently.

I can emphatically say that burn - in of a CD player is real. I just got a new player last month. The company includes a warning sticker on the player to let the player burn - in for 36 hours, before the player will sound its best. When I first hooked it up, I was disappointed. It was ever so SLIGHTLY better than my previous, long time player. And only in the area of detail. After over a month, I played both players next to each other(to try to hunt down a problem I was experiencing). The differences were now night AND day. It was startling, and brought a smile to my face. The new player was better in every area. Improving markedly in the areas of slam, dynamics, liquidity, and pace. Again, it was night and day. I have also experienced this with my current amplifier. Being disappointed and in panic initially, and feeling sublime about one month later(I also A/B'd that with my former amp). I am sure that people will feel that burn - in is just plain voodoo. But, I am one of the converted

We have had many posts on this subject, there no doubt is improvement in cables and components after several days of break-in, in my experience. Another factor which is hard to measure is your hearing adjusting to the different sound of the new item, as you become more used to it, sounds better etc.

Trelja, please reveal this new CDP you bought......

Magasam, I agree with you about the psychological effect of being infatuated with a component as time goes by, but only if it is a true improvement to the one we had before in its place. If its not "better", we tend to hate it, don't we, ever more deeply as time goes on until we get rid of it. Its sort of like adolescent love affairs. No wonder the other gender keeps telling us, that we never grow up. Thank the Audiogods, we don't!!

Being one of the "scientists" of the group, here is my opinion: Electronics and wires do go through a phenomenon usually referred to as burn-in and break-in. The majority of the changes I see from my industrial knowledge is changes in the electronic charges accumilated through use, connection, and being energized. A brand new unit will not be the same as one that has been turned on and used (even if there is no moving parts). The other thing that occurs is mechanical and environmental stabilization. The change can be very subjective and in my audiophile experiences for the better. There ia also the perception issue -- if the sound presentation is different, human nature causes one to be aware of the changes, note them, and become more comfortable with them over time. As for freezing cables, I have access to Liquid Nitrogen, which provides me with the capability to freeze something to absolute 0 degrees (-273 degrees). I have heard of freezing cables, so one day at work I froze a cable to see what happens -- it was better sounding in my opinion. I froze all of my cables after that. The factor I couldn't separate was if the cable freezing made the difference, or the act of removing and reinserting the cable (mechanical wipe of the electrical contact surface)was the change. On a molecular level, the freezing forces the atoms tighter together, possibly causing a tighter atomic bond in the different components in the cable. Voodoo?? Perception??? If it feels good / works better, do it again.. If not, move on to the next experiment.