Cable burn in

On the contrary, scientists are forever thinking outside the box - almost by definition. Nothing delights a scientist more than finding something that calls into question some of the things that we think we know. So, for instance, when Newton formulated the laws of gravity, it was with some happiness, nay joy, that it was discovered (by Einstein, principally) that his laws were almost but not quite correct.

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Question: do any other industries promote cable burn-in?

I imagine that in film production studios, they would have to wait a few hundred hours before editing films because the colours would not be accurate until the HDMI cables are fully burned in. That would be quite hilarious. :wink:

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Not unless they have a forum to argue about it…

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Nothing to do with molecules
a) there is no such thing as a ‘molecule’ in a sample of (nearly) pure copper
b) electricity is transmitted as the electric field ‘pressure’ of electrons.

a) There is no intelligence to ‘work things out’
b) The electric field ‘pressure’ of electrons propagated at near light speed, the pattens in a 1m long wire are established in less a hundredth of a millionth of a second.

By this model, burn in takes less than 10E-08 of a second.

The above is an illustration of this:
It doesn’t rule out all possibility of ‘burn in’, either physical or only perceived, it does however rule out the ‘current learning to navigate the molecules’ hypothesis.

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For example you have Nordost. Here is what Nordost says on burn in , on their site:

“During the manufacturing process, as insulation is extruded over the conductors, gases can become trapped. This combined with the high electrical charges often found in new cables, result in a brittle and bright sound that lacks the detail and depth desired for music reproduction. There are a few ways to solve this problem. One way to burn-in your cables is to simply hook them up in your home audio system and play music for a minimum of 100 hours. Even better, use a burn in disc, like Nordost’s [System Set-Up & Tuning Disc], which provides a track specifically designed to produces a range of tones that stress the cables and expedite the burn-in process.”

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I am sure they are pulling our collective legs:

Normally, we recommend at least 168 hours. However, our Reference level cables require at least 336 hours.

https://www.nordost.com/faqs-break-in.php

Also, they are contradicting themselves in 2 sentences in the directionality FAQ:

Yes, Nordost cables are directional. This is especially true for single ended (RCA) interconnects as the shield is connected at the source or output end only.

When cables are manufactured they do not have any directionality. However, as they break in, they acquire directionality.

That is also pseudo-scientific twaddle and easily disproven:

First gasses:
The oxygen permeability of 1mm thickness of PTFE is such that it will normalise to 95% of atmospheric equivalence within a LOT less than 24hours (I used to work on instruments where this was a problem we had to solve), Neither PE not PP improve on this by more than an order of magnitude… ruled out.

The ‘high electrical charge’ on cables.
This raises a question, do they mean charge - which requires high capacitance to store it or electrochemical processes to generate it, or are they referring instead to voltage.
a) Stored Charge: to have a significant stored charge without high voltage requires high capacitance (in the microfarads or higher range) this would be an appalling design for a cable… ruled out.
b) Electrochemical generation: the cable functions as a battery and burn in occurs as the battery runs down. This implies significant electrochemical reaction effectively causing significant electrochemical corrosion of the metal(s) within the cable… also ruled out.
c) High voltage / low capacitance: the leakage properties of the dielectrics concerned are limited by the bulk resistivity (no more than 10^16 Ohm.cm for PTFE) so with a less than 1nF capacitance, even a 1kV charge would dissipate to insignificant levels in much less than 24 hours. Not only that but I’ve never had a detectable shock (i.e. >60V) from an unplugged cable… ruled out.

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Ouch…

The cables may be very good, their explanation of ‘burn in’…

isn’t.

:wink:

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Well it does make you wonder yes… :innocent:

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At that price, presumably they lay down each atom of copper (or whatever metal they use) individually to get the best path for the electron fairies to go through the conductor.

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I feel they are not enough precise. In my case, the complete burn in of my last Chord took 176 hours, 24 minutes and 17 seconds. It’s my experience.

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Oh Fairies!
To justify the price, I thought they were employing Huginn & Muninn to fly the electrons through the cable.

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I feel you will laugh more with that now, as Nordost is also selling a burning cable device, the Vidar.
From their site:

“ The Nordost VIDAR uniquely combines three different functions all in one operation:
• It neutralises charges that build up around the cables and the insulation.
• It provides a very wide band and deep conditioning into the conductor core, which produces changes in the way signals pass through the metal.
• It ultrasonically conditions the surface of the conductors.
The VIDAR is constructed using the highest quality parts. Each conductor is fed by a bridge mode amplifier. It uses a total of 44 amplifiers in its circuitry. Each amplifier is held at a very precise voltage. The circuit is designed so that there is no difference in voltages between any of the amplifiers is zero.
The VIDAR uses a proprietary combination of
composite and complex signals to condition
the cables. Parts of the signal oscillate at ultra-
low frequencies, while other parts are in ultra-
high ranges which extend beyond the range of
video frequencies. The signal bounces in a
ping-ping ball-like fashion from one end of the
cable to the other. During the burn-in process,
ultra-low frequencies penetrate deep into the
core of the cable. The ultra-high frequencies zip along the surface. This method of signal transmission a set up beat harmonics, or heterodynes, between the two complex waveforms. In the digital domain, this would be referred to as aliasing products. These beat frequencies penetrate all layers of the cable.
The design of the circuitry also has a unique feature which drives electrons above the conductor into the dielectric (or insulation) area. The VIDAR not only sends ping pong signals along the cable, it also sends a similar signal from the centre core to the outer shield

in the case of interconnect cables. This function neutralizes the electrical charges discussed”

Which reminds me of…

“The cure for which there is no disease.”

.

…And that comment comes from someone who has a medical condition that is a SWAN (Syndrome Without A Name).

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I try to be, but you flatter me!

Well, if the VIDAR takes out the trash and fills the dishwasher too, I’m sold!

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You can impress your friends, show how tekie you are if your Vidar sits near your system. :joy:


Nordost Vidar

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I think I’d be worried about having a speaker cable that could be stressed to any significant degree by carrying whatever even maximum power audio frequency tones my power amp can feed into it!

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