Do speaker cables need a burn in period?

Not only is there no advantage to a manufacturer for lying about directionality or break in it doesn’t make sense at all to lie about it because directionality and break in are so controversial and would almost certainly be a turn off to a lot of folks, especially sensitive gullible newbies, and mean less business rather than more. Top high end cable manufactures like Audiopquest are *outspoken* on the subject of directionality, whereas other manufacturers might be “playing it safe” by not mentioning it, or don’t know, or dismiss it. The same logic applies to cryogenics, another hot button for naysayers. Most high end cable manufacturers routinely cryo their cables, whether they advertise it or not. They are smart enough to know that if they didn’t cryo their cables they wouldn’t be able to compete.

Yes I think "manufacturers lie or are just plain wrong".  The why is debatable of course but will seem obvious to many.
GK, no, I do not think "anyone who disagrees with me js engaging in a pissing contest". Just you.
For the others, just stating how and why I arrived at my understanding. No animus intended.  A few people might find some ideas to ponder.  As I pondered the "just listen" arguments and did my best to apply them. Probably enough said by me on this topic. Enjoy and share the music, by whatever means makea you happy.

cleeds,

"I don’t see that happening here at all."

As the thread is getting long, I cannot say for certain that I remember this thread itself has all the features of "ridiculous to measure" and "ridiculous to do blind testing" I mentioned, but it is frequently mentioned all over Audiogon forums. Just try to mention that something is or is not happening because double blind testing resulted that way. Or ask for measurements (few posts above are heading in that direction). You even have a poster who dismisses measurements and blind tests at the same time. I am not sure what is left then.

There was, for example, a thread with a person claiming that majestic changes happen when you take a cover off of an amplifier. For pure entertainment and with mind open (I do not belong to any camp in any way), I did it to one old amplifier I have around. It was simple enough so I thought why not. I reported that there was no difference. The response? It did not count and I was a troll. No other discussion was possible. My result was invalid only and exclusively because it was not what the person wanted me to find.

geoffkait,

Only quasi-technical babbling seems to be allowed.

>>>>That’s where you come in.

If you paid more attention, you would notice that I do not engage in strictly technical discussions. I do ask basic questions about them, though. It is because I am aware of my limitations on that turf and I try to learn. That is a skill you may find hard to learn, but education does not stop after you get a diploma. You can still try.

@andy2

I think in order to make a valid discussion, ones have to agree on some basic level which is our ears can identify differences in what we here. If you say that all differences are psychological then there is no point to further the discussion.

Agreed.

But if we want to understand reality, we also have to not ignore that our perception can be flawed, and influenced in any number of ways towards error. So, ideally, the most careful approach when we *really want to be sure* of a result, would be a method that reduces the variables, including the well known forms of bias.

Next, the argument that break-in is mostly psychological only works for the average buyer since he can only purchase a set of cable so he has to rely on his memory to tell the difference. This argument does not work for manufacturers since they have a lot of identical cables some old some brand new so they can listen to them side by side, therefore there is no need to rely on memory. So if they hear the difference then it’s not psychological.

But that analysis leaves out the whole point: that people can honestly be mistaken in their perception! The choices for explanation don’t sit between the false dichotomy of: "The phenomenon people claim to perceive is real OR they are lying."

The other option is they are MISTAKEN.

This is why controls for bias is foundational in scientific testing.

Cable manufacturers are just as human and prone to bias as anyone else. Bias influences, or just mistakes in perception, can happen whether you are switching quickly between A and B, or slowly over time.

That’s one reason why objective measurements are so helpful, which provide some evidence there IS a physical phenomena involved, and not just changes in our perception.

Would you agree?

Cheers!