Do speaker cables need a burn in period?

I believe Blue Jeans cables use Belden.

Correct.

I bought a set of QED for not a lot more money than Blue Jeans cable but easily better considerably.

So you had Belden cables and thought QED sounded better?

It sure would be interesting to see if those impressions held up if you didn’t know which cables you were listening to.  I'd also wonder about your explanation for why one would sound "better" than the other.

I was subjectively "sure" my new music server sounded distinctly brighter and different from my old one. But in a blind test I could not tell one from another.

Same as when I blind tested some expensive AC cables against a cheap one. The expensive cable at one point seemed to alter the sound of my system. As soon as I didn’t actually know which cable was being used, the "obvious differences" between it and a $15 ac cable disappeared.

Blind testing can be sobering, and educational, that way ;-)

You didn’t really answer my other questions, though.

IMO Teflon was and remains overrated. I perceive that I hear a hint of a “sheen” (no, not Charlie) from cables made with Teflon dielectric. One of those irritant-over-the-long-haul things (not unlike Charlie). My preference is for cotton or foamed PE, regardless of direction.

Prof,
No need to be coy.  Cheap stuffs are cheap.  A Ferrari is expensive for a reasons.  I'd like to hear how you can spin a Toyota is better than a Ferrari.  

Belden is basically some Home Depot stuffs passed up as speakers cables.  

@andy2,

Your analogy to a Ferrari and a Toyota is begging the question. (There are obviously gross physical differences in design and well-attested technical reasons why a Ferrari can outperform a Toyota in various ways - and since we are talking about the real-world, they are measurable. If you suggest high end cables outperform belden cable in an analogous way, can you tell us how this occurs, and provide or point to any measurable data for the claim?).

But I don’t see how we can get anywhere the way this is going because you just keep asserting claims when I’m asking what justifies your claims.

Maybe one more try:

Do you think the "higher end" cables, such as your QED, transmit sonic information that the Belden cable is incapable of transmitting?

pcrhkr  If you think I am out of my mind for believing cables require burn in (some more, some less), look at yourself first!  Big expert you are. 

I've had 20+ years experience as a beta tester for a cable manufacturer (high end cables).  Maybe Belden or Monster cables are so limited in their sound capabilities/materials that burn in doesn't exist for them.  I've tried Monster 300 and 400 series (about six varieties) cables decades ago and couldn't hear a difference after 50 to 100 hours of use.  However, testing out high end, complex design and exotic material cabling requires burn in to extract their stable sound capabilities as well as directionality.