I use Transparent Audio Ultra XL balanced interconnects and they are very much affected by the burn-in process. T/A says 100 hrs. which I now believe. My friend had a well used cable (same as above) and it sounded so good in my system I spent the big bucks to buy one. Couldn't have been more disappointed in the sound of the new cable. After much use in the system, usually with me out of the house, they started to break-in. The change was particularly noticeable in the treble freq. and low level detail.
FYI, I confirmed with T/A that the Cable Cooker is safe for their network boxes and based on my long and painful experience I will try to use one next time to shorten the process.
My cable now sounds like my buddy's when A/B even though they didn't when new. If it was all in my head, I could have easily said my $1775 cable was awesome, embarassed to admit I made a mistake. But the fact is it took the 80 hours or so before it sounded like anything I wanted to listen to. I have this argument with a electrical engineer friend (I'm an M.E so what do I know from electrons) and he says the same thing as posted above (electrons don't know the difference). But there are a lot of other factors in play here and I think we still don't understand all the reasons. I do believe it, though, when he tells me he can't hear the difference because a lot of people can't. My old boss once told me he couldn't hear or follow the beat of music (how white do you have to be to say that?!). Anyway, I now accept the fact that some people can't hear the difference, and Circuit City has plenty of fine equipment for them to enjoy. I, however, can hear the difference and am a tortured soul (aka audiophile) as a result.
