Cable Burn-In - Myth or Fact?

[Jim Hagerman]

I know many of you have been waiting on this opportunity for quite some time, so here it is. Happy New Year!

Full Disclosure: I am the guy who sells both the FryBaby3 and FryCorder2 burn-in generators.

Anyhow, I recently received a few email testimonials from a customer who was very happy; pleasantly surprised burn-in actually worked, and impressed by how much. Here are the screen captures:

A lot of folks don't believe this is possible, claiming it is all psychological bias, or something like that. We are just fooling ourselves and should be publicly ridiculed. I've realized over the years that all of the nay-sayers have one thing in common - they've actually never tried it! They just somehow 'know' they are correct.

What are the physics behind burn-in? I don't actually know, never been able to figure it out. I have some ideas, but not the chops to dig deep enough into the underlying mechanics to prove anything. I can only go by what has been shown to be effective. There are plenty more customer testimonials at my website, but they pretty much reflect what has been said above.

 

[Vacceo]

Burn in does not have anything to do with physics. It is about getting used to something, being it an actual or imagined change.

 

[Joe Smith]

The folks on this site will generally be responsive to actual measurements, but not to testimonials that involve statements such as "another world" and "another dimension".

 

[Ken1951]

Dude needs to read the room.

 

[Todd k]

wow. This ought to be a fun thread. Getting popcorn ready.

 

[Ken1951]

wow. This ought to be a fun thread. Getting popcorn ready.

It's a thread that should be closed and the pixels saved.

 

[JustJones]

You're traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land whose boundaries are that of imagination. That's the signpost up ahead - your next stop, the burn-in zone

 

[MAB]

What are the physics behind burn-in?

There are no credible physical mechanisms.
The pre-and post Burn-In (and cryo, etc.) contain not a hint of electrical change. And no evidence of audible change either.

nay-sayers have one thing in common - they've actually never tried it

Incorrect. AES and others have conducted properly controlled studies on all sorts of equipment audibility topics. People can't tell the difference. Even amps, my favorite is on page 80:

https://americanradiohistory.com/Archive-HiFI-Stereo/80s/HiFi-Stereo-Review-1987-01.pdf

Cannot tell the difference between a Futterman and a Levenson and a Pioneer receiver.
And to be clear, I have tried it. I was selling these gear in 1987, this did not surprise me since I (and our entire store staff) already had failed to tell the difference between Levinson and Audio Research amps vs. Niles multi-zone amps under blind testing.

I will admit, conductors don't get as many tests as amps and speakers. Perhaps it is because conductivity, and all of the related signal propagation, was solved well before the other more complex systems were developed (amps, speakers, DACs). Think Ohm, Maxwell, Onnes, Kirchhoff et. al. If cable break-in was a thing, don't you think applications more critical than audio would have investigated the heck out of it? High frequency applications would certainly need to know, many orders of magnitude more sensitive than audio. If the same level of changes that audiophiles believe they hear with their ears actually happened, my day job would be totally different!!! The common audiophile seems to think centuries of electrical studies and material science investigations has somehow let the audio community down by not finding what they believe their ears hear in their living rooms. In fact, every aspect of metal conductivity relevant to audio has been turned inside out. The thought that there are audible effects in break-in, or that a listener can hear the copper purity, is absurd. It's sad that

I don't actually know, never been able to figure it out.

This makes me sad.

 

[Blumlein 88]

So send one to Amir with instructions and some samples of un-burned in cables. Let him test before and after burn in.

 

[Chrispy]

Well perhaps somewhat brave to come here with such a silly proposition....I sell this thing, have no idea if or how it works, but I've convinced some others that it does something good to cables because I read that once, and I got some positive feedback per that suggestion as "proof"..... it is amusing, though. HNY indeed.

 

[Multicore]

I am a little alarmed at this combination of cables and burning. I must be a bit of a health and safety nerd.

 

[mhardy6647]

@Jim Hagerman
Good to see you here, albeit a bit surprised!

 

[mglobe]

I never have believed in cable burn-in, but now that I see those testimonials, I’m completely sold. Take my money. Please.

 

[TurtlePaul]

So send one to Amir with instructions and some samples of un-burned in cables. Let him test before and after burn in.

That would be a great test in reverse. Send a box of cables to a burn in believer. Put labels on them from one to ten. Ask which five have been burnt in and which haven’t. Make sure to insert the ‘fresh’ cables onto RCA jacks exactly once so they all have similar wear marks.

 

[Mr. Widget]

Really? Again.... geez.

 

[AdamG]

I know many of you have been waiting on this opportunity for quite some time, so here it is. Happy New Year!

Full Disclosure: I am the guy who sells both the FryBaby3 and FryCorder2 burn-in generators.

Anyhow, I recently received a few email testimonials from a customer who was very happy; pleasantly surprised burn-in actually worked, and impressed by how much. Here are the screen captures:

View attachment 339139

A lot of folks don't believe this is possible, claiming it is all psychological bias, or something like that. We are just fooling ourselves and should be publicly ridiculed. I've realized over the years that all of the nay-sayers have one thing in common - they've actually never tried it! They just somehow 'know' they are correct.

What are the physics behind burn-in? I don't actually know, never been able to figure it out. I have some ideas, but not the chops to dig deep enough into the underlying mechanics to prove anything. I can only go by what has been shown to be effective. There are plenty more customer testimonials at my website, but they pretty much reflect what has been said above.

Hi Jim,

Next time you want to promote one of your products please post it in the Desperate Dealers Section of the Forum as directed by our Rules for Vendors. Here is a link to these rules for your convenience:

Rules for Audio Dealers, Manufacturers, Members with Commercial Interest. This includes any Guest Contributors/Reviewer with Commercial endorsement

We have been operating without specific guidelines for members of the industry and this has caused a number of issues/complaints. So I thought it is time that we set some rules: Audio Science Review Rules for Dealers, Manufacturers, Reviewers and Members of Industry. We encourage...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Appreciate your cooperation and support Jim. I will move this thread there for you.

 

[DonR]

How do you make sure it's not all just imagined in your head?

 

[AdamG]

I have a very large bin chock full of pre-burned in Cables I will let them go at a huge discount if anyone is interested. Some have thousands and thousands of hours of burn in time. Therefore they are not only preburned but seasoned to boot.

 

[JustJones]

I have a very large bin chock full of pre-burned in Cables I will let them go at a huge discount if anyone is interested. Some have thousands and thousands of hours of burn in time. Therefore they are not only preburned but seasoned to boot.

Somehow that's not how burn-in works.

From the company website.

Don't throw out your old cables, bring them back to life with a good burn!

 

[Ken1951]

Somehow that's not how burn-in works.

From the company website.

I've found that cables, when burned, tend not to work very well!