[camille]

...i wonder could you just connect to a stereo and let it run for days on end? and/or does it need to be joined w/ something like say an amp on the other end? thanks.

 

[meat01]

Just connect it and listen to it and enjoy the music and don't worry about burn in.

To answer your question though, you would need a signal to be running through the cable in order to "burn it in"

 

[hansel_ng]

from http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messa...79/127865.html

Cable Burn-In Is a Waste of Time

You'll also often hear that you should burn-in your speaker cables, as well as your components. These burn-in periods have as little effect on your home theater as the length of your speaker cables (see Chapter 5).

Cables don't have some sort of "memory" that is altered in the first few hours of use. This is a slight misunderstanding of electrical fields involved. Yes, electromagnetic fields do have an effect on the dielectric, the white foam that surrounds the center wire of your interconnect cables. As the audio or video signal sweeps up and down (all "within" the cable), the effects of the first half of the signal are reversed by the second half. If you have an electronics background you know that the electromagnetic field depends on current moving through a wire, and it's this current that turns out to be the overriding factor in how a cable behaves over time. With interconnects, very little current is flowing through these cables, so burn-in is essentially a waste of your time.

The one way that a signal can alter the cable is if the signal has enough current with it to heat the cable, and to melt the cable's crystalline structure. This type of burn-in is prone to bring the fire department running rather than your local home theater enthusiasts. -- Robert McElfresh

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hansel_ng Cable Burn-In Is a Waste of Time * * *

He didn't ask for a comments on whether burn in makes a difference, etc. He asked how to do it. Do we have to start this debate every time someone asks a simple question? Let's stick to the topic.

P.S. I believe meat01 is correct as to how to do it.

 

[hansel_ng]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilS He didn't ask for a comments on whether burn in makes a difference, etc. He asked how to do it. Do we have to start this debate every time someone asks a simple question? Let's stick to the topic. P.S. I believe meat01 is correct as to how to do it.

To give you an analogy, if person A was under the impression that he needed to plate all his teeth in gold to prevent decay, and asked me which dentist could do it, I'd point out that there is no need to plate your teeth in gold in the first place.

I'm just adding another perspective, which this question begs, no matter how many times it's been asked. Why are you being so abrasive? But then again, I guess that's how you chalk up 1000++ posts.

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hansel_ng To give you an analogy, if person A was under the impression that he needed to plate all his teeth in gold to prevent decay, and asked me which dentist could do it, I'd point out that there is no need to plate your teeth in gold in the first place. I'm just adding another perspective, which this question begs, no matter how many times it's been asked. Why are you being so abrasive? But then again, I guess that's how you chalk up 1000++ posts.

Oh I get it. So if a person asks a direct question about how he should burn in a cable, and he only wants factual information about how to do it, he needs to put a disclaimer at the end of their first post saying that he justs want an answer to the question. Otherwise, he (and others interested in the same question) have to suffer through responses dealing with whether burn-in exists, etc., and the endless debate that will then ensue.

If someone asks in the headphone forum where they can get a good price on the HD 650, is it responsive to suggest that the HD 650 has a "veil" and a Grado phone would be a better choice?

You're off topic and your purpose is nothing other than to advance the usual tripe that these legitimate types of questions seem to draw. In any event, you've made your point, educated those who aren't as smart as you, so let's keep the thread on topic. Thank you very much.

 

[Eisenhower]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilS Oh I get it. So if a person asks a direct question about how he should burn in a cable, and he only wants factual information about how to do it, he needs to put a disclaimer at the end of their first post saying that he justs want an answer to the question. Otherwise, he (and others interested in the same question) have to suffer through responses dealing with whether burn-in exists, etc., and the endless debate that will then ensue. If someone asks in the headphone forum where they can get a good price on the HD 650, is it responsive to suggest that the HD 650 has a "veil" and a Grado phone would be a better choice? You're off topic and your purpose is nothing other than to advance the usual tripe that these legitimate types of questions seem to draw. In any event, you've made your point, educated those who aren't as smart as you, so let's keep the thread on topic. Thank you very much.

A: "How do I contact aliens?"
B: "You can't, they don't exist"
A:"I didnt ask if they existed, I asked how I could contact them!!!"
B:"...."

 

[PhilS]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eisenhower A: "How do I contact aliens?" B: "You can't, they don't exist" A:"I didnt ask if they existed, I asked how I could contact them!!!" B:"...."

Good one. You really got me. I withdraw from this discussion as there is no way I can interact with such superior intellects.

 

[bigshot]

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhilS He didn't ask for a comments on whether burn in makes a difference, etc. He asked how to do it.

Trick question! The correct answer is, it doesn't matter if ANY end is connected or not.

See ya
Steve

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille ...i wonder could you just connect to a stereo and let it run for days on end? and/or does it need to be joined w/ something like say an amp on the other end? thanks.

Yes, it has to be connected to at least some resistors at the other end («short-circuiting» plus and minus poles). If you choose relatively small values such as 1000 ohm, the burn-in process will theoretically be accelerated compared to just terminating it with the (~50 kOhm) input of an amp, as the low resistance provokes higher currents.

However, don't expect too much from cable burn-in. The effect may be minuscule to nonexistent with some cables. I've only experienced a clear burn-in effect with one cable so far: a Zu Mobius headphone cable. (Note: it also works without understanding the mechanism behind it, if it works -- as it was in my case.)
.

 

[ken36]

Learning to do my own research? Difficult at first. Much easier to throw out the question and hope for an answer that works. Of course, there are believers and non-believers and there is a ton of evidence to support both views. Another thing, I needed to remember, is to leave my very fragile ego at the door and concentrate on getting the right sound. If I feel I'm attacked, I turn the other cheek so I don't suffer. Just a thought.

 

[bigshot]

There is not a ton of evidence to support both views.

See ya
Steve

 

[Black Stuart]

If you ask an electrical engineer about 'cable burn in' if he's polite, he will titter (laugh). There is no such thing. What happens is that your ears will accustom themselves to the slight change in sound that may, or may not happen with a change of cables.

If you don't accept this reality, organise a blind test and see for yourselves - another way of putting it is - the Emperor is bollock naked.

Stuart

 

[HumanMedia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Stuart If you ask an electrical engineer about 'cable burn in' if he's polite, he will titter (laugh). There is no such thing. What happens is that your ears will accustom themselves to the slight change in sound that may, or may not happen with a change of cables. If you don't accept this reality, organise a blind test and see for yourselves - another way of putting it is - the Emperor is bollock naked. Stuart

Well I know a couple of EEs who do believe in cable/dialectric burn-in. So should I titter and laugh politely about your statement?

 

[Solude]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Black Stuart If you ask an electrical engineer about 'cable burn in' if he's polite, he will titter (laugh).

No I won't. But then if all I knew was the 'scratch the surface, bare bones, half-truth' of university then I might