Do speaker cables need a burn in period?

cleeds,

This isn’t a scientific group.

I understand, but please make sure are not closing ranks too tightly; I and others who share my skepticism about some areas of high end audio are part of this group (insofar as you mean members of the audiogon forum).

But the seemingly endless demands that posters provide upon request some set of scientific data to accompany their listening observations isn’t going to get anyone anywhere.

I’m not asking anyone here to become a scientist and do all the testing themselves. I only ask sometimes in the more controversial areas of high end gear: "is there any data from anyone ELSE you can point to, to support what you are claiming?"

I’m not a scientist who has worked in the field of evolution, but if I say evolution happened I can certainly point you to all sorts of data supplied by those experts who HAVE done the work.

Nor am I chasing down everyone in every thread on the forum, cable forum included, demanding they justify their subjective claims. If I debate this at all, it’s almost entirely in threads that people create, like this FOR THE DEBATE on the subject.

As I’ve said before in other such threads, my system uses a mish-mash of cables; ones I bought long ago, loaners from friends who have gone through the high-end cable thing. So for instance, I recently needed another pair of interconnects and a pal has loaned me some Nordost interconnects. Will I blind test them in my system? Very unlikely - it’s a hassle, I’m busy, my pal is busy, I just need some interconnects. I might do a brief sighted shoot out to see if I perceive a difference from my other interconnects. And who knows, it’s possible I’ll hear something that sounds distinct, and I’d be happy to say "When I switched out my old cables for the Nordost, I perceived X, Y and Z change in the sound."

But, personally, I will not promote that beyond the level of "evidence" it really is. I’ll say it seemed to me to make a difference, but not that my anecdotal evidence gives me utter confidence. I’m just too aware of the facts about human bias and perception to warrant such a claim.

But here, you often get subjective impressions as some inviolable measurement. If someone hears cable differences and you say you don’t, well because their experience PROVES cables obviously make a difference (or burn in) then YOU must have bad hearing, bad gear etc.
The person maintaining skepticism is cast as a fool or a dogmatist.

That’s an attitude that I think really doesn’t help any forum, this one included.

Why are we back to auditory memory stuffs here. I feel like we are going back to the stone age. Something we already talked about.

When you take that trip back to the stone age, don't forget to pack your beliefs in mass hypnosis, mesmerism, mass delusion, being unable to trust your senses, high enough levels of naturally occurring drug like substances in one's system to promote hallucinations, and other voodoo and superstition. 

Oh, and stop repeating it as well.

All the best,
Nonoise

Prof,
You're right.  There is a massive world wide conspiracy in cable break-in.   They make tons of money out of it.  There is something I learned that if there's no money in it, there's nothing in it.  People don't go out of their way to do something for free.

Nonoise,
You can't handle the truth.

Query: if a cable is being burned in, deep in the forest with no one to hear it, does its sound change?