Cable "burning": Real or VooDoo ???

Steve, the dichotomy we are locked on here is probably not to be solved. I find it difficult to believe, that all of those who are aware of differences in the way a cable "sounds" after "burn-in" are victims of some sorts of mass hysteria, just as I find it difficult to believe, that the laws of physics should suddenly be null and void. So the idea, that something third is going on, which we really know nothing about, is perhaps not too far fetched after all. Double blind tests seem to show, that the " third factor" seems to lie rather within the psyche of the "believers", but since we know, that often the outcome of those experiments are heavily dependent on the experimental set-up and the maths involved and those factors again on the conscious or unconscious biases of the experimenters, also DBT are not really conclusive.
Hence, in my humble opinion, something like "sceptical modesty" would befit both parties in this never ending argument. I know of my own personal gullibility and know for sure, that emotional factors will influence the way I percieve things. So though of good musical hearing, I am also a sceptic. This dilemma however does not prevent me from enjoying the music. Besides, with new cables or not, my system never sounds the same. There are always subtle, however clearly noticeable differences to the day before.
The more complex the system, the more factors can influence the way it will perform. It can be likened to musical instruments, which also never sound the same from one day to the other. So I don't really care much, what causes a change, as long as the system "sounds right", i.e. musical and I'll start fretting and tweaking if it does not, until I've got it right again. Sometimes I also have to "fret and tweak" on myself, because, when I'm not "right", the system won't sound "right " either. So..and I say this with a selfironic grin .. the two way relationship between an audiophile and his system is a rather complex one, to say the least, and physics will never be able to explain all of it.

Sean, you're so right! Hearing acuity can be trained well beyond that level, which even complex measurements will be able to show. Another example for what our senses are capable of: Wine tasters or perfume testers ( vive la France )are schooled for years and can point out subtle differences which no chemical testing ever could and the industry depends heavily on their results. Why should it be different on the aural level?

Garfish,

Point taken. I guess the afterthought about Emerson and his hobgoblins confused me. Seemed like you were damning him with faint praise. Guess you meant to praise Caesar, not to bury him. Cheers.

Vantageaudio: Do you seriously find fault with Steve's assertion that all electrons are alike? Really? No, come on, do you? Are you saying they're different? Do different electrons move at different speeds or something? Or with less grain and improved soundstage?

Kdmeyer: As Steve mentioned, the heat buildup in audio cabling is so microscopically minuscule as to be negligible. And that's a good thing, because when metals (copper, silver, et al) heat up, their resistance to current flow increases. That would degrade their performance characteristics, especially for speaker cables.

Detlof: Wine tasters can indeed discern fine gradations between wines. But wines also have been proven to sometimes change with age and environment, whereas cables have not.

I would be highly suspicious, though, of a wine "expert" who looks at the label, sips some wine, and then says "Ah, yes, of course. Pinot noir. Domaine Carneros 1997. It certainly is," then after a palate-cleansing cracker, goes on to the next one, looks at the label, tastes the wine and says, "David Bruce Russian River 1998, yes, I could tell, it has the shadings that one would expect only from this vintage." And so on. Yet in audio, we're supposed to accept this sort of "testing" as "proof" of phenomena that are highly improbable or scientifically impossible.

As a former wine afficionado I must jump in here and say that I personally know two acknowledged wine experts and they have never expressed an opinion anything like that described by 70242. I do see his point, but we (the cables make a difference members) are not some group of followers being beckoned by the Pied Pipers of the Audio Press to parade behind their golden ears and march to the rhythm of their imaginary distinctions. Instead we are mostly experienced listeners with decades of experience with open, but still skeptical minds who are aware of audio phenomena that is not completely explained yet. What is gained by asserting we are all wrong and that we are imagining "burn in" or differences in coax cables?