Interconnect cable burn in

Do interconnects actually benefit from burn in? Fact or fiction?
Have you gotten your copy of the Audiophile's Guide to setup? Make magic with your system using this guide and CD.

[bongofury]

I'm still burning in cables from the 1980's. Can't wait to hear them.

[ranbymonkeys]

One of my favorite things is hearing the capacitors I change, well, change! If I ever got anything from PSAudio I would want one fresh off the line to hear the burn in myself. It's amazing how much they change.

[francois-xaviergonnet]

I think the "cable burn in theory" came from cable manufacturers and sellers. If you don't like the product, they tell you the burn the cable... This way they hope you will change your mind and keep the product at home.
Thanks not a joke, I think it's true !

[BlankBrain]

The issue with interconnect cable burn in isn't noticed very often because not very many people use interconnect cables in the northern hemisphere, then move them to the southern hemisphere, or vice versa. The cables become confused, and can't tell whether it's night or day. They suffer from sleep deprivation and don't know how to conduct themselves.

[audioreviews]

I read stories by cable manufacturers that speaker cables need a 500 hr burn in. And I remember one guy commenting on the "difficult listening phase between hour 150 and hour 200".

I also recall the story where a loudspeaker manufacturer had forgotten his cables upon setting up at a London Hifi show. So he rushed to the next hardware store and got a Black and Decker lawnmower cable, which he cut to fit his speakers. The show attendants loved the sound of that "attractive looking orange speaker cable".

Taken from "The Emperor's New Clothes"

[Slim-man]

Don't forget to burn the stereo-rack too😂

[thomasandersen]

I own the “gadet from Densen, which is a De-Mag CD, which play a sweep tone, which then “clean up” the system, and it works! I do it every 2 week or so. Cheers from Denmark

[jeremykabacinski]

All great answers and done with some humor! Thanks for that because this can be a very long, drawn out conversation. But I still love talking about it after all these years lol. Folks I'll try to make this short but sweet myself. Burn-in is not warm-up; those are two different things. Interconnects and speaker cables do not require much burn-in time; only a few minutes will do. That step should be done by the manufacturer to avoid embarrassment. So any company who advises you to do burn-in is either asking you to perform their testing for them or misusing the term burn-in. Do not pay any company extra service fees for burn-in (or demagnetization). Just familiarize yourself with the applicable warranty coverage (and lemon laws) prior to purchase. All of the above applies for amps and speakers especially because they are more expensive than cables. However, warm-up time is YOUR responsibility. Only amps need to be warmed up because it induces a state of thermal stabilization inside the amp. If for some reason a significant enough DC bias has developed across the transformer in the amp's power supply section, this can be very simply eliminated by briefly powering down the amp then turning it back on.

[AuricomX]

Yeah, I'm 30 years in business and last year I saw those speaker and interlink cables with arrows 😆
Thank you for sharing your great wisdom.

[peterbigblock]

Been recording music for decades. We have old cables. We have brand new ones. Mogami, Canare, Gotham cable. Neutrik, Amphenol, Switchcraft connectors. I’ve never once had a client, artist, producer, recording or mix engineer comment on the sound of new vs old cables, this brand vs that brand, etc. You plug in a cable, it doesn’t crackle or pick up hum, and you
never think about it again.

[EnpuerKT]

I loved degaussing my pc monitor, ah the 90s were good.

[rowgli]

One thing I've learned about hi fi is that there is a difference between 'hearing' a difference, and there being an actual, objective, measurable change. There is so much psychology at work.

[odizcvw]

Brave soul! Really well answered.
There is no question I can hear almost any capacitor burn in and even some resistors. I could imagine I can even hear a fresh solder joint burn in. But not sure I have ever heard burn in on an interconnect. I sure heard improvement with changing the RCA connectors. But no burn in.

[ropeburn]

Burn-in periods conveniently reduce the return period. Convenient for the seller who recommends it...

[SwirlingDragonMist]

I like the chill way you approached the topic, it reminds me of that Chill Audiophiles group on FB.

[andrewwebb]

The Irish are known for their sense of humour. I’m glad you didn’t fall for it. Was it sent on 1st April by any chance?

[edgar]

Paul, that's why people ask you. They want to hear YOUR opinion. Thanks!

[jamesrobinson]

I've had a cable burn out before, sorta. It definitely started sounding worse, turns out the jacket material had deteriorated.

[audiodemos]

Good to know that you are an honest person. I have hifi friends that believe that expensive cables make a difference. Even power cables. This is just nonsense.

[birgerolovsson]

Demagnetization of the system is very real and can make a big improvement.