Do speaker cables need a burn in period?

Ah, the the resurgence of the Post Modern World Vision.  My goodness, I hope not...  "The bounds of science can not contain the human mind" (Toynbee).  

Well hifiman5, your hero was also credited with the quote, Civilizations die from suicide, not by murder.  Seems to me that embracing a false reality, especially with how the physical world actually works, is far more threatening to social development.

So, back to the subject at hand: Do speaker cables need a burn in period?  Answer: Only if you believe the advertising written by Cardis, AudioQuest, SilTech, WireWorld and a few others.  I think Albert Einstein must have been in the midst of just this sort of conundrum  when he complained to a Princeton, NJ newspaper reporter, "Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the universe."

Possibly. Objectively, speaker drivers absolutely have been shown to measurably change until they break in. The resonant frequency drops during the first 48 hours of significant play. 

How much this happens is very much driver dependent. Some may do so very little, some a lot. I'm a big fan of Scanspeak, and their woofers and mids will definitely change until broken in. 

I've also had experience with capacitors in the crossover breaking in, but that's harder to prove. I'm convinced, but I don't care if you are. 

Best,

E

Dont forget the effects of seasons. As sun’s rays get more direct in the summer the subtle effects of the photons make a tremendous difference in the sound. 

Oh, look how smart we all are. Too bad we all can't hear as well. 🙉

@hifiman51  A few years ago i replaced my existing cables with some slightly longer ones of the EXACT same brand and gauge.   The existing cables had >1000 hours of use the new ones had none and I could NOT hear ANY difference between the 2 sets. I had a few friends over so I could swap  the 2 sets for them,  Back and forth we went and none of us could hear any difference between the sets.

I guess my system is missing  "dynamic swing?" so I was unable to hear what a "broken" in cable sounds like.  Also, please define what "dynamic swing" is????