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
Do cables really need "breaking in" ? The answer is a resounding YES. Will they ever FULLY break in under normal operating conditions within a hi-fi system ? I sincerely doubt it.

To those that have never experienced the difference between a cable that has been burned on a Mobie (or similar device) and an identical cable that hasn't, you have NO grounds to base your statements on. You are peddling hearsay based on YOUR preconcieved ideas and what you consider to be "common sense" and "logic". All i can say is that your "logic" is about as flawed as thinking that the Earth is both flat AND the center of the Universe. Just as the "heretics" known as Galileo and Christopher Columbus proved otherwise many years ago, we will someday have the technology to prove that MEASURABLE and AUDIBLE differences do exist in "burned" and "raw" cables.

While i can't speak for everyone, my experience is that interconnect cables used for hundreds of hours will typically demonstrate noticeably superior performance after "roasting" on a Mobie for a reasonable period of time. The use of another "cable burner" such as the Duo-Tech did nothing in my opinion / experience. I have no idea as to how effective Alan's "Cable Cooker" works either.

As to the "results" of "burning in cables" being positive, i think that most folks would consider increased clarity, smoothness, transparency, detail, improved harmonic structure and a more natural presentation GOOD things. As to the naysayers, put your money where your mouth is and find out first-hand. Music Direct ( or anybody else that may sell these things ) offers a 30 day return policy on a Mobie. Buy one, burn some of those $15 "competently designed" cables for two weeks non-stop and then give them a try. You can even "daisy chain" a few pairs if you make a trip to Rat Shack and invest in some double female RCA "barrel" connectors. If you don't notice a beneficial difference, then return the Mobie and get your money back. You won't be out anything other than the small cost of shipping. If you like the results, you will have made what could amount to a phenomenal purchase for the money invested. Either way, you can post the results right here for all to see, good or bad. You will be speaking with first hand experience then and nobody will be able to argue with that.

Until then, i consider any "negative" ramblings about cable burning or break in to be a moot point. Put up or shut up, your option. Sean
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Yes,especially if you are using MIT cables. The digital reference took all of 2 weeks to settle down. The other MIT interconnects took about a weeks worth of time. Maybe it is just getting used to them,but I do believe they need time to become one with your system. Cables are not passive as we would think and your electronics before and after them make minute changes to thier circuts to adjust.After all they do have the properties of inductance,resistance and capcitance. Please excuse any spelling errors as it is very late here,4:00am.
I've done direct fresh VS "cooked" speaker cable A/B's twice. First time with 4, identical 5 foot lengths of Kimber 4TC cut from the same spool and terminated in the same way (spades with Wonder solder). I was going to Bi-amp my Acoustat 1100 and needed the 4 identical lengths. First I listened to them fresh as pairs in a single wire configuration to make sure they were working ok. The two pairs sounded identical. I left the last pair hooked up to the 1100's and hooked the first pair up to my Duo-Tech enhancer in the basement. And I promptly forgot about the first pair. I then went on vacation for over a week. Upon returning, I fired up the system and 1100's and everything sounded as before. I then remembered the other pair of 4TC cooking (about 10 days by now) in the basement, brought it back up and swapped it out for the "fresh" 4TC pair. I sat down and pressed play.....GOOD GRIEF. The difference was immediate and not subtle. More open, more relaxed, more liquid, more quick..the usual suspects. I went back and forth several times between the cooked and fresh pairs of 4TC and it repeated each time. Things with the cooked 4TC got even better after about a day of "rest". I repeated the same basic experiment (this time with Apogee Slant 8's) when I upgraded to Audioquest Sterling II. Results were very similar but not to the degree as with the Kimber (the single 25 foot run of Sterling already had some time on it).

I'm not sure why there was a difference, but a difference there definately was and it was quite beneficial. I have a similar story with interconnect wire.
I really don't know the answer to this, but if cables can sound better after time, why doesn't your TV look better after you've been watching it all day or why doesn't the radio in your car sound better after listening to it for hours? I, personally, have never noticed any changes in any of these. There may be very subtle changes, but don't think there would be any major change.