Burn-in Naysayers:

[AdamWysokinski]

Well, the whole cable burn-in is truly hilarious - not only people believe that cables have a significant effect on sound, but also this effect varies in time

Though in audiophile circles there are much more striking oddities, such as people who believe that different RAM modules affect the sound of a PC sending data to an USB DAC or my favorite, unbeatable one: Acoustic ART

 

[spinali]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamWysokinski /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, the whole cable burn-in is truly hilarious - not only people believe that cables have a significant effect on sound, but also this effect varies in time Though in audiophile circles there are much more striking oddities, such as people who believe that different RAM modules affect the sound of a PC sending data to an USB DAC or my favorite, unbeatable one: Acoustic ART

Yes, it's kind of ridiculous.

However, with headphone break-in, the numbers seem to be around 65% pro break-in, and 35% con. Cable burn-in doesn't make much sense to me, either, but headphone break-in seems to have a basic rationale to some.

 

[xnor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif Maybe the ****busters on Discovery should do an episode on this.

Hehe yeah, had the same thought some time ago. But it would probably be too ridiculous / boring ... there's a chance to see sth like that in the old days, but in the latest episodes they just blow up random stuff.

 

[3602]

Kitchen grease fires..
Oh well. I'm not a devotee on this subject, however I do believe the higher-end you go, the more time it'll take for your gear to give optimum performance. Just not one thousand hours.

 

[nick_charles]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif however I do believe the higher-end you go, the more time it'll take for your gear to give optimum performance.

Why ?

Are electrons price conscious

 

[3602]

See...an HD800 takes more time to sound "right" than a PX200.

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by nick_charles /img/forum/go_quote.gif Why ? Are electrons price conscious

Touché

 

[brendon]

While I have not heard cables 'break in' (I have two same ICs and I used only one for a month. On switching to the other IC I could not notice any difference to the sound. If cables do burn-in it maybe very slight as I could not detect any difference). But I do believe that cables can make a difference.

I have another IC and the sound is slightly brighter than the 2 same cables mentioned above. Its a very slight but noticeable difference. But after many hours of usage I cannot detect any sonic differences with the other IC either. Again with just 2 ICs testing I cannot say for sure cable burn-in doesn't exist as (maybe !) other cables do burn in. Just because I have not heard it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3602 /img/forum/go_quote.gif See...an HD800 takes more time to sound "right" than a PX200.

As this is the SS forum, such statements are worthless without any reliable proof (and no, general opinion is not such a proof).

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brendon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Just because I have not heard it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

Well, do some ABX tests and see if you really can hear any differences between cables.

Every honest (that is not involved in cable industry) physicist, electrician or electronic engineer will tell that from the scientific point of view there cannot be any audible differences between normally constructed cables. There are cables that contain resistors which filters some parts of the audio spectrum and such cables may modify sound quality in the same way as separate equalizer does, but this does not apply to normal analog connections. Besides, hi-fi would be the only equipment that is affected by cables quality as such effect is not observed elsewhere.

 

[incipient]

I experienced burn-in first hand on my recently purchased Sennheiser PX-100.

When I tried it out for the first time I was rather disappointed (given all the glowing reviews it gets). The bass was excessive (perhaps muddy) & it seemed to mask out everything else. It simply didn't sound like a good or even a decent headphone.

But after a few days of listening I felt as though the bass had gotten subdued & there was more detail in the output. I didn't know about break-in back then & I thought maybe I was only fooling myself.

After maybe 2 weeks, the bass was perfectly normal & the highs & mid-range suddenly became much more clear. The difference after break-in, at least in my case, was quite dramatic, unexpected & very noticeable. And, I am not even an audiophile (not yet...).

 

[xnor]

Quote:

Originally Posted by incipient /img/forum/go_quote.gif I experienced burn-in first hand on my recently purchased Sennheiser PX-100. When I tried it out for the first time I was rather disappointed (given all the glowing reviews it gets). The bass was excessive (perhaps muddy) & it seemed to mask out everything else. It simply didn't sound like a good or even a decent headphone. But after a few days of listening I felt as though the bass had gotten subdued & there was more detail in the output. I didn't know about break-in back then & I thought maybe I was only fooling myself. After maybe 2 weeks, the bass was perfectly normal & the highs & mid-range suddenly became much more clear. The difference after break-in, at least in my case, was quite dramatic, unexpected & very noticeable. And, I am not even an audiophile (not yet...).

And now go back and listen to your old equipment for a week, then switch back to the PX100 and you'll see that there still is too much bass and muddiness, cause that's the way the PX100 sound. You'll experience what you described a second time.

And that is that.

 

[3602]

People say that the Sony E888 with bio-draphragms are earbuds with the most burn-in benefits. Thing is, 1)they're Asia only, and 2)waaayy too many fakes.

 

[brendon]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdamWysokinski /img/forum/go_quote.gif Well, do some ABX tests and see if you really can hear any differences between cables. Every honest (that is not involved in cable industry) physicist, electrician or electronic engineer will tell that from the scientific point of view there cannot be any audible differences between normally constructed cables. There are cables that contain resistors which filters some parts of the audio spectrum and such cables may modify sound quality in the same way as separate equalizer does, but this does not apply to normal analog connections. Besides, hi-fi would be the only equipment that is affected by cables quality as such effect is not observed elsewhere.

Leaving Science aside, if you happen by some chance to visit Mumbai India I would invite you to my house to hear the two cables. I can tell you with full certainty that there is a slight but audible difference in the cables. Whether its a inconsequential difference or not I cannot really say but you can hear a slight difference.

If you dont believe that the cables could have made a difference in the sound then maybe the cable that sounded brighter was not burned in properly !

 

[AdamWysokinski]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brendon /img/forum/go_quote.gif Leaving Science aside, if you happen by some chance to visit Mumbai India I would invite you to my house to hear the two cables. I can tell you with full certainty that there is a slight but audible difference in the cables. Whether its a inconsequential difference or not I cannot really say but you can hear a slight difference.

Well, I'd love to visit India so even listening to cable "differences" is a good excuse

However, I'm afraid that it wouldn't work since I don't hear any differences between cables (at least in case of cables compared so far). I use inexpensive brand cables only for two reasons: I cannot do them by myself (lack of time and equipment) and because these are pretty well shielded and my main system is place on a rack together with a TV setup. For my headphone rig I use DIY cables made by my friend.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brendon /img/forum/go_quote.gif If you dont believe that the cables could have made a difference in the sound then maybe the cable that sounded brighter was not burned in properly !

Yeah, definitely