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break-in--bane or boon ??

as a reviewer , i often receive equipment which is new and has no playing time.

i have to decide whether to break in the component and if so, how many hours is necessary.

i have often asked manufacturers for guidance.

one cable manufacturer said the cables--digital, analog and power, required no break in. another said 24 hours.

when i reviewed a mcintosh tube preamp, i was told by a technician that no break in was necessary. all i needed to do was leave the preamp on for one hour in order that the tubes were "warmed up"

can someone provide an objective explanation as to the basis for break-in and how to determine how long to break in different components ?

for example, cables comprised of different metals, if they require break in, is there a difference in the requisite time for a given metal, e.g., gold, silver or copper ?

can someone provide an explanation as to what is happening during the break-in process ?

can one devise a mathematical equation to quantify break-in hours, as a function of the parts in a component ?
mrtennis
zmanastronomy's avatar
zmanastronomy
738 posts
 
I manufacture speaker cables and IC's. I cryogenicly treat them and I have to burn them in to sell them. It would be unlistenable if I didn't.
With that said, if I put a new power cord or IC etc. in my system and its bright or edgy, it's not my ears getting used to it if they break in over time and is not bright or edgy. Edgy is edgy, and there's no getting used to that.
I'm a firm believer in break in for cables, speakers and many other components that go into a system.
douglas_schroeder
1,824 posts
 
I know someone with a "Cable Burner" and I may borrow it and rerun the test. That would be interesting. Thanks for the idea. :)
douglas_schroeder
1,824 posts
 
BTW, my argument is in regards to simple utilization of a product, not use of tweaks or gagdets to enhance them; that is another can of worms. However, they could be tested quite simply as well.

I think it's time to get my hands on that Cable Burner.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
14,147 posts
 
FWIW I just arranged for Audiodharma Cable Cooking service for my new interconnects and digital cable. I won't have a chance to listen to the new cables before I get them back from the cable cooker and thus won't be able to compare A and B. Is that wrong? ;-)
zmanastronomy's avatar
zmanastronomy
738 posts
 
If you have a cable or IC that has many hours on them and have been in the system for a while, for a quick test, just turn them around and see if you can hear a difference.
It might not be that big a difference on some cables. But if it's a cryoed cable or IC, there will be a difference.
One of my customers took my speaker cables out for some reason and when he put them back in his system he called me up worried he had done something wrong. One channel was quite different. I asked him if he put them back in the same way they cam out. Sure enough, the cable on the channel that was not sounding right had the cable on backwards.
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