Cables "Burn In"

Pbb, I understand your point on the last sentence of your post---I posted my response to Famaraca in Portuguese and it didn't get posted (I knew it wouldn't). Doesn't matter, I emailed it to him...

What I am going to write you're not going to like it--but "truth is a virus":

You lack good hearing--either clinically and/or cultivated.

I bought a pair of used Tice interconnects and I noticed the sound opening up after a few hours of play. At first I thought this was weird--weren't they TPT treated? I called George Tice and he told me I was hearing right--that it would take about 5 days for an old interconnect to open up.

If I can hear that imagine my reaction after Sean cooked some of my interconnects on his modded Mobie! Truly an amazing difference--even on my digital cable.

BTW, I am strongly anti-Voodoo--just read my analog posts defending a true turntable against the cult crowd.

Sean: Why dont you start a business? If you or someone you know has one of these machines, I would love to send one set of my old PBJ Kimber out to you (while keeping the other set "virgin"). Love to see if I hear anything I like.
(I am sure it might have negative results on some cable.)

Why don't the manufacturers use these machines?

Actually, some manufacturers do burn in their cables.

I do.

However, there is no precise and scientific basis that has yet been determined for what (if anything) is actually happening. My ears tell me something is happening.

Even after saying that, it seems that sometimes merely shipping the cables appears to "negate" the effects of the break-in process. One mfr I know has told me that he has changed his packaging and this seems to have negated the negation of the shipping process.

Keep in mind that today shipping can mean exposure to extreme cold, heat, x-rays, cosmic radiation, RF energy and magnetic fields.

Why any of this should effect the sound coming through wires is still very unclear - indeed some deny that it happens at all.

But, I do burn in all the cables that I ship and have found that cables auditioned here, virgin vs. burned-in do sound rather different (although in reality this is a subtle difference, best heard on a system that is very clean and neutral) but audibly so.

_-_-bear

Thanks for jumping in there Bear. It is good to have input from the professional side of the camp too. Like you, i've always wondered whether someone that has shipped me cables for burning was hearing the same thing that i've heard here. In other words, how much happened after i've shipped them back to them ??? Evidently, they must be hearing something pretty similar or at least enough to let them know that there was a noticeable difference / improvement from what they originally sent me.

Gumby: As to burning cables as a business, i have plans to build and possibly market a commercial grade burner. Just have to make the time to design and build it. I've already picked up most of the hardware but need to get down to the nitty gritty. If i could just drag myself away from the puter, i might actually be able to start doing something productive with my time : )

In the meantime, i would be glad to throw a set of your PBJ's onto the burning system that i'm currently using. That is, so long as you can spare a GOOD amount of time away from them. While differences DO occur overnight, i prefer to burn them for as long as possible. In other words, a week or two is better than a few days, etc... Since you have another pair that you could use as a baseline, one would not have to worry about auditory memory coming into play. If you are interested in doing something like this, drop me an email so that we can make arrangements. Sean
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Now, PBB. If Agon really were as one-sided as that, would your post even make it past the moderators? Certainly, this site is dominated by one point of view, and yes, that point of view is good for Agon's bottom line. But there seems to be some room for others to point out that there's more than one way to be an audiophile, and to suggest that some of the wilder marketing claims out there are just that--marketing claims. Just accept that you'll get flamed when you do, and take it like a man.