Best interconnect burn-in method

Good one!

Karl Popper believed science theories could be falsified, I.e., proven false by careful experiments. As fate would have it that philosophy is plainly false at least in some cases. We see frequently in audio, especially when controlled blind tests are claimed to prove such and such a thing must not work, that just because a thing is "falsified" in some test it doesn't necessary mean anything.

Skin effect is an issue at audio frequencies.

sure it is...

I agree, skin effect is an issue for audio frequencies. Don’t believe it? One need look no further than the 54 ga. conductor (thinner than a human hair) in Mapleshade’s Mikro Omega ICs to see that there isn’t really anywhere else the signal can travel except on the surface. Hel-loo! Obviously, as the size of the wire increases there is less of a skin effect. Nevertheless....

You could try one of these
https://www.haglabs.com/collections/break-in-devices

Skin effect is something brought to this hobby it's from very high frequency transmissions ie wave guides not in wire per say. unfortunately audio band is not considered high frequency when it come to transmission so skin effect is not something we need to worry about. Wire size for given power and construction to reduce electro magnetic interference as well as good conductor type to reduce resistance's is all we need to consider. 

Who's zooming who? Let's clear this whole skin effect thing up for once and for all. Here's the link to AudioQuest's page on cable theory. Zoom on down the page for discussion of skin effect in audio cables. Read em and weep.

http://www.audioquest.com/pdfs/aq_cable_theory.pdf

Uh, oh, Bessel functions. Yikes! I’m out. Guess I’ll stick with the dude from AudioQuest. Thanks anyway.

All those formulas and the theories and the generalizations (self admitted generalizations) in that wiki page on skin effect were idealized, tested, hypothesized, realized, etc (however one may wish to put it) with solidus lattice structures. Not conductive fluids.

One can make a hollow cylinder of conductive fluids and drop a magnet down that cylinder and the result will be different than if done with a copper tube. Lenz is still happening but...differently. Lenz, and everything else involving electrical formulae... as the vast majority know and expect it.... was based on the analysis of conductive solidus atomic lattice structure.

As the medium is not the same (with conductive fluids). The complexity of the mathematics shoots through the roof into the impractical and (currently) incalculable. We can make some general bits of analysis, but not much more than that, at this time.

Additionally, the page from wiki speaks not on the underlying meaning and origins of the observation of ’skin effect’. Just the practical engineering mathematics. If one wants to understand the limitations of the mathematics, then the page does exactly squat.

It’s very simple: The Map Is Not The Territory.

It is on the edge of such realities that the page from wiki can and does devolve into potential misrepresentation - as dogma. Big problem.

Just remember that burn in time  has two components. 1- You can get used to anything after a few months, and you will forget what sounded better. 2- The three month burn in time for components and wiring exists solely to get past the credit card refund window. I just ruined a great preamp. I had another model from the same company. My disappointment was excruciating. Now, three months later, I can't imagine why I thought there was such a big difference. Today, I am hooking up the good channel of the better one to power my sub amps. I can' t wait. (For years, I have been using identicle amps and preamps for mains and subs.) 

"Burn in" defies chemistry and physics.  But it does eat into the return for full refund period.

@dynaquest4   "Burn in" defies chemistry and physics.  

                          How so?

It also defies neurosurgery.

randy-11 asked, " do you guys even know what a dielectric is? "

As it relates to this thread, a dielectric is a marketing term used to sell $1.98 speaker and interconnect wires at a thousand percent markup.

A repeat, for those that desire not to remain willfully ignorant of the SCIENCE, regarding dielectrics and cable construction: (http://www.empiricalaudio.com/computer-audio/technical-papers/dielectric-absorption-dissipation-fact...) Further, by those that ACTUALLY KNOW something(ie: cable manufacturers), Dielectric Constants are figured heavily into design parameters/dielectric choices: (http://www.standard-wire.com/coax_cable_theory_and_application.html) and (http://www.ti.com/lit/an/snla164/snla164.pdf)

@rodman99999


Sorry but as usual by conflating different areas of electrical wave propagation science less than honest promoters are able to confuse ordinary folks out of large sums of money for meaningless so called performance improvements.

Dielectric becomes only relevant for non analog audio signals - ie at much higher frequencies such as your cable TV signal or HDMI digital etc.

Same as reflection coefficients and impedance matching become become important in transmission of electrical power over large distances (10’s of kilometers)

Conflating things means that this pseudoscience has a ring of truth to it. The real science clearly tells us that we don’t need to worry at all about dielectric properties for in house AC power or for audio signals through interconnects or speaker wires....

You could put it in the Freezer for the day. Then keep repeating this process and it will open up even more. The bass will become stronger your life will become so much more pleasing. You will wake up better in the morning not feeling Groggy.

I Usually like putting my Shiny objects in the listening room. This results in better seperation and absorbs the negative ions from the atmosphere. This helps the Speaker cables to feel more settled in.

If you think about it. When you move to a new home dont you need a few days to settle down and feel at home??

VOLTAGES are stored in a dielectric, and released over time, in any component/cable with measurable, "capacitance".     There's no, "pseudo" anything involved in that fact.   The complex musical signals, listened to via our cables, can be smeared by those voltages, released out of time/phase with the primary signal.   Personally, I've been aware of the effects of Dielectric Absorption since the early Eighties, and made my own cables of Teflon dielectric/silvered, 5 Nines copper, double-shield coax(government surplus), back then.    Remain hidden from truth, under your cozy security blankets, if you must(Dunning & Kruger would be so proud)!     (http://www.wima.com/EN/absorption.htm)

@rodman99999

Dielectric is important (it can add capacitance or store voltage as you point out) but not relevant when it comes to audio frequencies over distances of a living room. Air is ideal for speaker cables - so they just need an insulating jacket that is flexible.

It is is simple to obtain pro audio equipment that can accept XLR connections and can handle longer runs and higher capacitance in line level cabling.

If various interconnects are affecting the sound then it is a reflection of the poor quality build of the audio equipment. Usually consumer audio sounds dull and lifeless when using longer run cabling because the inferior design cannot handle the additional capacitance (what you call smearing).

Poor quality boutique gear is the main reason that an interconnect will make a difference.