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Cable Burn In

I'm new here and new to the audiophile world. I recently acquired what seems to be a really high end system that is about 15 years old. Love it. Starting to head down the audiophile rabbit hole I'm afraid.

But, I have to laugh (quietly) at some of what I'm learning and hearing about high fidelity.

The system has really nice cables throughout but I needed another set of RCA cables. I bit the bullet and bought what seems to be a good pair from World's Best Cables. I'm sure they're not the best you can get and don't look as beefy as the Transparent RCA cables that were also with this system. But, no sense bringing a nice system down to save $10 on a set of RCA cables, I guess.

Anyway, in a big white card on the front of the package there was this note: In big red letters "Attention!". Below that "Please Allow 175 hours of Burn-in Time for optimal performance."

I know I'm showing my ignorance but this struck me as funny. I could just see one audiophile showing off his new $15k system to another audiophile and saying "Well, I know it sounds like crap now but its just that my RCA cables aren't burned-in yet. Just come back in 7.29 days and it will sound awesome."
n80
jea48
2,944 posts
 
n80 OP
63 posts 07-24-2018 8:06pm

I believe you. I doubt it is anything I would ever notice and it does sound like a very clever way for a cable company to excuse a bad product. I mean, how do you compare what you are hearing right now vs what you’re hearing 7.29 days later? Just sayin’. But I’m an eternal skeptic.

I mean, how do you compare what you are hearing right now vs what you’re hearing 7.29 days later? Just sayin’. But I’m an eternal skeptic.
You could buy a new second pair of the same cable. Listen to both pairs. A/B each pair in your system to see if both pairs of the cables sound the same to your ears. If you cannot hear any difference between the 2 pairs then put one pair up and do not use that pair of cables. Burn in the other pair for 175 hrs, or what ever.

Pull out the new pair without any hours on them. A/B that pair against the pair that has 175 hours on them.
(If you have a CDP or DAC listen to the burned in pair on your system for at least a week before you preform the A/B listening test. This will condition your ears to the sound of the pair of burned in cables. Play CDs with piano and female vocal. Pretty much any Diana Krall will do. A/B the burned in pair of cables against the new cables without any hours on them.)
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david_ten
2,509 posts
 
Keep your mind opened.
analogluvr
800 posts
 
N80 just because people say something is a thing doesn't mean it's a thing LOL. You haven't heard anything yet! There's crazy people that believe that changing out a power cable or a fuse will make a big improvement on the sound!   You have to think about that one… Something that is not even caring the signal, that doesn't even make any measurable difference, somehow has a massive improvement??!
Then there's the one about power cables and fuses being directional! Even though they're all carrying alternating current, which by definition means it flows both ways, somehow there's a right way to orient these things. 

 Be very very careful! There's a lot of total BS in the audio file world that has been created purely to separate you from your money. 
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
For a while in the automotive performance world (street, not track) there was the craze for so called grounding kits. This was a large diameter wire to help ground the car's electrical system better than the factory ground(s). For years people spent money on these and made wild performance claims....that you could just feel in the seat of your pants.

I'm not equating this to cable burn-in. jea48 has proposed a very logical method for assessing the phenomenon. It remains very subjective of course and even his method does not control all variables. 

I know I keep beating the same horse, but if this is a real issue, or even a marketable issue, why aren't cable makers selling pre-burnt-in cables....for a premium, of course?
david_ten
2,509 posts
 
George, there are quite a few cable manufacturers that recommend break in / burn in. Some also offer cable burn in services included in the price or as an add on service. 
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