That link in no way supports burn-in. Sorry but it doesn’t.
I just asked Mr Google about cable burn in and found a debate from 2004. One guy trots out the old ‘I’m an engineer’ nonsense and proceeds to explain that cables cannot burn in because it cannot be measured. Another guy then says it doesn’t matter that it can’t be measured because it can be heard. The first guy then goes on about his two year degree from some university and slags off the second guy a bit. The second guy then comes back and says that he is an engineer too, and points out the fact that his degree is much better and from a top flight university, and that despite that he still feels that denying something because it cannot be measured is an error. And so it goes on. That was 17 years ago. The debate will still be happening in another 17 years and the same old ground will doubtless be covered. Nothing will be achieved other than exercising the grey matter and passing a bit of time.
Ask yourself why almost nobody uses analog cable to transfer signals.
Only very old infrastructure retains analog cables, and I insist changes on the conductors over time are dramatic (for precise applications, voice is not the case).
With this approach we would not have invented the wheel.
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I don’t need to ask myself anything. I am not the one making the claims. It actually makes me angry that manufacturers make these incredible claims and then leave it to their customers to do the leg work to verify them.
As to you specific point, there are myriad reasons why digital data transmission is better for a huge range of applications and ‘cable burn-in’ is never mentioned once by any of them.
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Perhaps, although wheels are useful. Measuring why audio cables may or may not burn in, perhaps less so. But it passes the time and could be interesting. It depends what floats one’s boat.
Crikey, this is the thread that just keeps on giving.
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But not a lot.
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I crossed a line and must apologize. One of my posts was edited, for good reason.
Changing a bit topic, I am about to board a plane, should be back to Nice soon, tomorrow I will send you some pictures of the equipment with which I plan to perform my experiment.
Just for fun.
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It does matter, because;
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We want to base our world views on objective truths as much as possible, there is no reason why we would want to follow fairy tales, is there?
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For instance on the Naim forums, many times people are told to hang on to their poorly performing stuff because it needs time to burn-in. If burn-in is just an urban myth, then this advice is ill conceived and misleading, and possibly a waste of people’s time or money.
Ultimately, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence!
There is no such thing as analog cables, only analog signals…
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A breath of fresh, rational, air.
Rafael…I now have an image in my mind…do you remember the eccentric Professor in Back To The Future.
I hope that the humour is apparent en France!
J
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Another perception I have to change.
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Now that was a cable that was burned in.
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I truly think there are analog and digital cables, and power and signal cables, and they go in different trays and conduits in critical applications… As Naim does separating signal boards and power supplies…
Just to clarify we are talking about analog cables here, they can be interconnects or speaker cables. There is another thread for digital cables, I believe.
I have the same coax cables in my home that used to transmit analog TV and radio signals, now they’re used to transmit digital TV and Internet. They are still the same cables…
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Possible but please do not generalize.
Separating the cables makes sense - but they don’t necessarily have to be different types of cable. You can use the same cable for either digital or analogue use - though you need to use shielded cables for some purposes, and not for others. The materials used can be the same, though.
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Every (non-optical) cable is used to run electric currents through, and these can either be used in a digital fashion by converting the shape of the signal to 0’s and 1’s, or in an analog fashion by reading the full waveform as a signal. The cable itself doesn’t really matter…
Example of a digital signal:
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Somehow I cannot click a link in your post and did not find this text on Google, but I found this question asked to Bill Low from AudioQuest, Ray Kimber from Kimber Cable, Karen Sumner from Transparent Audio, and David Salz from WireWorld: “Do Cables Have an Expiration Date?”
Kimber says, “My thoughts are that a cable could deteriorate. The jacket could
degrade depending on the plastic used and the environment (UV exposure for
example), and the conductor could oxidize (such as if moisture was captured
under the jacket during extrusion). So, there are lots of factors in that question.”
But then blames pets mostly, “We have customers with cable from 1985
that’s been sent in for repair – usually it’s pets. Kimber has sold 1000’s of
miles of PBJ cable, which is a Teflon product, so unless mechanical trauma is
involved it could last hundreds of years!”
Salz: “My position is that cables only have an expiration date if their design does not
adequately protect them from internal corrosion and breakdown due to bending
stress. High quality cables actually tend to improve with age as they continue
to break in as they are used.”
Sumner: “Well-made cables oxidize relatively little over time. Find out
if your old cables are well made. Do they have impermeable, pressure-extruded
jackets and shiny, hard solder connections with high silver content solder that
seal the termination points? Do high-grade connectors cover the connections to
help prevent oxidation?”
Low: ““As for degradation over time, there is one main area of
vulnerability – cables with multiple bare-copper strands touching.”
All from: “Do Cables Have an Expiration Date?” on Audiophile Review. (Google for it)
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