Cable Cooking/Burnin

I'd say they are real depending on the cable.

11-08-15: Geoffkait
That's an interesting theory. How would you explain break in of cables with an air dielectric? Furthermore, how do you explain the barrage of testimonials regarding the break in of capacitors?

Hi Geoffkait, air dielectric? The closest you can get to an air dielectric in audio cables is putting bare wire into tubes of insulation. The wire will still touch the insulation in spots and is still surrounded by insulation. This also separates the wires more which will raise inductance. There is no free lunch.

As for capacitors, it's still the same concept except you need a specific capacitance. In cables we do not want excessive capacitance or inductance lest we change the frequency response.

I am not disputing that the sound does change with "break in" I am just suggesting that the sound changing is not necessarily a good thing. Yes that is contrary to what people report.

You are correct, it is just a theory but so are most of the other thoughts on the subject.

I have not had a chance to play with a cable burn in machine yet. I would like to, but find the price of admission a little steep. I have heard good reports from people I respect. From what I have heard reported about them, they do not use a music signal to break in cables. They use a higher voltage signal that I'm guessing does something else to the dielectric than a normal music signal does. This possibly takes the cable farther away from normal "break in". From what I've heard reported the effect does wear off. Requiring further burning on the machine. This simple fact leads me to believe it is doing something other than accelerating normal break in.

Just my 2 cents.

Sarcher30 wrote,

Geoffkait: That's an interesting theory. How would you explain break in of cables with an air dielectric?"

Not sure I can explain it. Except that it hints that break in involves more than the dielectric. Perhaps the metal crystal structure is affected, difficult to say.

"Furthermore, how do you explain the barrage of testimonials regarding the break in of capacitors?"

I myself did not mean to say there is no break in of capacitors, I'm just saying there are reasons to doubt everyone who testifies is actually hearing what he says he's hearing, that's all. Who decides that 200 hours or 500 hours or whatever is the point when the sound stops improving? I mean, come on! Monkey see monkey do. ;-)

"Hi Geoffkait, air dielectric? The closest you can get to an air dielectric in audio cables is putting bare wire into tubes of insulation. The wire will still touch the insulation in spots and is still surrounded by insulation. This also separates the wires more which will raise inductance. There is no free lunch."

Yes, but touching the insulation in spots is better than touching it all along the entire length, no? Besides you. An use standoffs like cotton or foam to prevent the conductor from EVER touching the insulation.

Geoff, Cotton and foam still have a higher dielectric constant than air. Ideally we would want to have the cables in a vacuum as air still has a dielectric constant of 1.0. Not likely to happen though. We just have to do the best we can that is practical to do.

Geoffkait,
I think you're 500 miles high.
What did you use?
I wanna try!