Burn in vs perception

@nonoise 

+1

I decided to be nice today.  So as I read these various threads, I just kept quiet.  But then I read your post and I nodded approval.  So technically, I just fell off the wagon.  Therefore:

What is it with these people clacking away on their keyboards spewing nonsense.  Of course gear has burn in and cables have burn in as well.  Why all this, "well if I can't hear it then it doesn't exist."  Where did all of these Luddites come from?  Scratch that.  Where did all these theoretical physicists and PhD's in Electrical Engineering come from?  

The new power cords for my amps took two weeks to settle in.  The first 8 hours they sounded good.  Then they got so bad between 8 and 30 hours I could not even listen to the stereo.  I turned the volume down and walked away.  After that it might sound good one day and bad the next with the variation diminishing over the second week.  Suddenly one day the system sounded amazing.  But for a week or so I was starting to think my purchase was a mistake.

My HT system is mid-fi.  I have some decent Monitor Audio Gold speakers and a Marantz receiver- killer OLED monitor.  I bought some speaker cables for a few hundred dollars- didn't hear a big change.  Bought some good AQ HDMI cables in the $100 range.  Saw a little improvement, maybe in the picture but not in the sound.  The big changes came when 1) I moved my Furman Power Conditioner to my HT system.  That made a big improvement in the picture but I didn't notice much difference in sound.  and 2) ran an ethernet cable to my Apple TV box from my expensive audio grade network switch.  Again a large improvement in the picture.  The sound is good.  Typically, I wouldn't expect a mid fi system to have the resolution to reveal anything but the largest of changes.  For some reason I demand near perfection in my 2 channel but with HT I'm more concerned about the picture.  As long as the explosions shake the room and the dialog is clear, I'm good.  Maybe it is from growing up with a 19" B&W TV.

@tonywinga 

Sorry to draw you out so the others can take aim but I appreciate your honesty, experiences and ability to hear. 👍

Now watch this one get deleted. 😄

All the best,
Nonoise

So add it up burn in is bogus this time… yay !  Over and over it goes, on and on for ever. Like some I’ve been at it for 50 ish years but fortunately I didn’t get sucked into the crap part of the audio world. 

Interesting insights. I’d agree that there is a difference between extended warm-up and burn in. I find my tube pre (c2300) is improves after half hr or so and my DAC (Weiss) settles in after an hr. Burn in I have only experienced with speakers and tubes. I do feel the 300 hr burn in recommendations for cables and such seems dubious—can we really tell the difference after weeks of listening? If I’m a/b testing, subtle changes can be difficult to perceive after five minutes. How much of changes we hear with time have to do with our own moods, ambient noise, etc.

Audiophile: 

   "So I've done what was recommended and let this cable burn in for 300 hours, but it still sounds the same.  I'd like to return it for a refund."

Salesman:

   "I'm sorry but the return for refund period has lapsed.  I'd be happy to buy them back from you for say, 10 cents on the dollar?"