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Do cables really need "breaking in"?

The post about whether speaker cables matter has inspired me to ask another question...do cables really need a break in period to sound their best? Some people say cables need to be broken in or played for a while before they achieve optimal sound.

This sounds to me like it was invented by believers in astrology. Isn't that break-in period just allowing time for the human listener to get used to them? Has anyone ever done an A/B test with new cables vs. used cables of the same type and noticed a difference?

All I know is that new Porsche or new bed (or new girlfriend for that matter) feels totally different after you've had it for a month versus the first day. Ever moved into a house/apartment/hotel and noticed all kinds of distracting ambient noise that seemed to disappear after you'd been there for a while. It's human nature. Even if cables needed a break-in period, how could humans tell, with all these other much more noticeable factors distracting them?
matt8268
smw30yahoocom
154 posts
 
I really don't know the answer to this, but if cables can sound better after time, why doesn't your TV look better after you've been watching it all day or why doesn't the radio in your car sound better after listening to it for hours? I, personally, have never noticed any changes in any of these. There may be very subtle changes, but don't think there would be any major change.
bomarc
501 posts
 
Sean: First of all, I don't like participating in discussions in which someone tells me to "shut up." As for your "flat earth" reference, I don't think anyone here wants a discussion on scientific method, so I will only state that all of your experiences with a particular product do nothing to challenge the suspicions of some of us that perceived changes in cable sound over time may well be a psychological rather than a physical phenomenon.
mg123
192 posts
 
SMW30: not all situations offer the resolution necessary to hear the "breaking in" of cables or electronics. The car is one good example, where the ambient noise is so great, you would never hear those changes. As for the TV: Most of it is on all the time, so its not "all day" thats critical but whether its brand new. It definitely looks better after a few weeks of watching compared to brand new. This was very evident with my projection tv. My DVD/CD transport got much cleaner and smoother after about 3 weeks of use.
seandtaylor99
1,262 posts
 
Maybe some surface oxidation of the conductor occurs (which will make the sound slightly less bright. Perhaps some charging of the dielectric insulation occurs. I would not discount the possibility that the (measurable) characteristics of the cable change, but I'd like a proponent of the burn-in theory to show me their measured results.

However I think it is more likely a psychological effect : the brain rapidly adapts to new tonal balances, and comes to like them. I have a hifi in England at my parents' house and one in the US both of similar quality. I have noticed that on my vacations in England in the first few days my UK system sounds worse than my US system. Then when I return home the first few days after I get back my US system sounds worse. Over the long term I am very happy with the sound of both systems ... they're just tonally different.
1953
140 posts
 
Sean :

My A/B test under what turns out to be controlled conditions IS data. Though not measured with a scope & voltmeter but rather with my ears, it's valid data non the less. The tools of measurement were just different from those typically used to measure electrical components. It would have been nice though to have a set of electrical measurements. To try for a correlation for such sonic effects to measured electrical effects I imagine would require a rather large test matrix.

I suggest you repeat my experiment and report your results.
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