For Your Edification and Enjoyment re "Burn In", etc.

After reading everything I could find on your writing, Douglas, I’ve come to conclusion that you would make a good Grief Counselor. The "poor me" don’t work Kiddo, please read on...

I’m going to quote YOU and how you evaluate a system in comparison.

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"I seem to occupy a position in the industry and community that is fairly vacant, that of eschewing most forms of system enhancements/methods called "tweaks", and endorsing other methods that some ridicule. It all comes out of building hundreds of systems, not theory".

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Here is the thing Douglas, "hundreds of systems", I have a BIG problem with what you imply. It takes me a couple of days to set up and at least a week for things to settle. To hit 100 hours, on 100 systems, I’ll let you do the math, let alone (S) HUNDREDS, and 2-400 hours for "Break in" to complete.

By your own admission you either didn’t spend much time with the systems you built, OR you spent the last 12-14 year at and 8 + hour a day job just listening. That’s a 2080 hour 40 x 52 year.

I’ll leave your testing procedure alone now, but it’s really BROKE, and your psiphon is just, atrocious. That’s county talk from a Common Man.

Douglas, the numbers just don’t jive buddy.. What’s up? Where do you find time to make a living, listen, evaluate and write your reviews?

Coffee LOL those hours approach pure meth numbers and immortality.
Just sayin’

Just wonderin’..

It took me 10 years to find out about ONE pair of 10 foot cables, your and extraordinary fella indeed..

From the age of 6 - 15 I was taught HOW to listen by a Master Jet Mechanic.. 9 years of being TAUGHT, then I got to listen.... for 50 more...

Skunk at the hen house gotta go...

@douglas_schroeder interesting article (with due respect to other, somewhat critical, responders above). Going slightly against the grain, I have experienced change in the sound of cables on one -- unique -- instance: when a cable is newly produced, i.e. has not been put under load after having been put together (soldered): I have found empirically that it takes about 10-15mins for the frequency response to extend on both extremes.
Of course this is anecdotal, but I thought the experience might add to the communal fun! Regards

I respect Doug for writing the article but this was no act or bravery, perhaps a small act of bravado but I dont doubt he is trying to help so we should only admonish for his hubris and incomplete methodology. I mean truly it takes hubris to believe that your opinions matter enough to publish.

I doesnt help that he only uses digital. After I got my vinyl rig to an acceptable point, I cant hear anything of consequence with digital these days. And yes I have used some very good digital. Not matter how good, at least in experience, it is just like polishing a turd. Dont be haters...just my experience.

I might be willing to send you my Audio Dharma cooker but I dont think from this whole exchange you have indicated that you would be willing to admit any error. Kind of like sending a cable to Frank Van Alstine for review. 

The one lesson learned is to not let your mouth write a check that your ass cant cash. I think we have dog piled him enough and lets just give him the benefit of the doubt because he published with good intentions.

"I seem to occupy a position in the industry and community that is fairly vacant, that of eschewing most forms of system enhancements/methods called "tweaks", and endorsing other methods that some ridicule. It all comes out of building hundreds of systems, not theory".

DS: Eschew. 
MC: Gesundheit.  

And that is more respect than this pompous and bass ackward comment deserves.

Thank you for your prolonged reply Doug. Again, no argument from me. I look at the manufacturers of such things as scam artists even if they believe in what they are doing.

Cable Cooker? I just returned from Audio Excellence's web site. Everything they make can be done in a home workshop with simple tools. None of it requires an education. None of it has a sound basis for operating as advertised. I think you should review the Audiodharma. Who buy's the equipment you review? Hopefully not you! 

Every human ear has a mechanism of accommodation. A tiny muscle, the stapedius, tightens up the ossicles in response to louder sound. The reflex is rather slow. It can not respond to impulse noises like gun shots. As it responds to louder music the sensitivity of the ear decreases but this varies with frequency. The end result is that treble and bass increase disproportionally to midrange at louder volumes. Add to this our poor audio memory, perceptual changes that occur with mood and other psychological factors and you have...a mess. Humans in general are very poor at analyzing the quality of audio information. They can tell you what they listened too and in gross terms tell you what it sounded like but they can not remember in fine detail what they heard. They can not reliably identify a single system out of a group of systems. What they hear changes with too many variables to be able to predict.
In order to be remotely reliable comparisons have to be made in rapid succession and repeated multiple times. Evaluations are relative. If a person's system is bright a system that is neutral will sound dull and so forth. What is normal for one person may not be to another. No method of calibration is used so you have no idea where a person is coming from.