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Do cables really need "breaking in"?

The post about whether speaker cables matter has inspired me to ask another question...do cables really need a break in period to sound their best? Some people say cables need to be broken in or played for a while before they achieve optimal sound.

This sounds to me like it was invented by believers in astrology. Isn't that break-in period just allowing time for the human listener to get used to them? Has anyone ever done an A/B test with new cables vs. used cables of the same type and noticed a difference?

All I know is that new Porsche or new bed (or new girlfriend for that matter) feels totally different after you've had it for a month versus the first day. Ever moved into a house/apartment/hotel and noticed all kinds of distracting ambient noise that seemed to disappear after you'd been there for a while. It's human nature. Even if cables needed a break-in period, how could humans tell, with all these other much more noticeable factors distracting them?
matt8268
rhyno's avatar
rhyno
649 posts
 
first i couldn't believe cables sounded different--it didn't make sense.

but they do.

then i doubted that they could break in.

but they do...some more than others (i.e. silver cables change substantially compared to copper)

rhyno
marakanetz's avatar
marakanetz
5,473 posts
 
Theoretically Yes.
It can happen that you won't have to break them in but that's rare.
It can happen that you won't hear the difference between cables that had been running for 200...800 hours and brand new.
A conductor's break-in process is to direct electrons to the "right path" with minimal energy loss.

In bunch of cases breaking-in cables with your home equipment will bring you no success throughout long time of listening since breaking-in process might require much higher current to "straighten out" dielectric or semi-conductor nature inner impurities randomly residing inside the conductor.
bomarc
501 posts
 
More likely it was invented by cable purveyors, who wanted to discourage returns. "Don't like it? Let it break in some more." I've never heard of a properly controlled comparison of old and new cables, though you can expect lots of personal testimonials to follow.

Given that there is no permanent physical or chemical change to cables resulting from their use, the most likely explanation for any perceived change in sound over time is, as you say, psychological. And your final point is a good one, too: There are too many confounding variables to draw any conclusions about how a cable's sound changes over time, even if it does. But that never stopped anybody.
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