cable cooker, do they work?

Don't waste your money. Burn-in, whatever it is, is best achieved by just using your equipment--which is more fun anyway, because you get to listen to music while you do it!

You talkin' to me, Sean? First, I'd point out that I did not deny that cookers work. (I do, but I didn't in my post.) What I said was that whatever they do can be done without going to any expense at all. That's only negative if you happen to be in the business of selling cookers.

You are right that I've never tried one, and you might dismiss me as closed-minded when I tell you I have no intention of doing so. My own philosophy is that life is too short to spend time chasing after "effects" that have no known physical cause. As should be obvious, there are lots of audiophiles who disagree. Their opinions are as valid as mine. And vice versa.

Tell 'em the truth, Doc: Being able to hover above water is a very expensive proposition. Those of you whose souls aren't good enough can't appreciate what we do, but be grateful for that. Enjoy your mid-fi selves, and think of all the money you're saving!

As for Sean: Where do you get off telling me that anything I've said is false? And since when is scientific knowledge not relevant background for a discussion of audio topics?

It's an interesting little universe you want to live in: You're allowed to state your interpretations of your observations as facts. I'm not allowed to state my understanding of scientific principles as facts. What a wonderful conversation we won't have!

Gallaine: An appeal to reason? How dare you! Actually, you've asked a more complex question than you imagine. There have been published ABX tests of cables. I recall one in Stereo Review a few decades ago comparing 24 AWG and 16 AWG zipcord and 16 AWG Monster cable. It found that the 24 was distinguishable from the 16, but the 16s were not distinguishable from each other. But there are thousands of cables out there, so even a hundred such comparisons wouldn't prove the point. (The point, by the way, is that cables that measure similarly will sound the same. And cooked and uncooked cables measure VERY similarly, just to tie into the point of this thread.)

The more general scientific case goes something like this:
1. We know what the threshold limits of human hearing are, because we've tested them, and we're pretty sure they're right because the thresholds are pretty close to the physical limits of what the ear could possibly pick up. If the ear were much better than that, you'd hear the air moving around in your outer ear, and that constant low-level swoosh would drive you crazy!
2. We also have a thorough understanding of how electrical signals move through cables. In fact, if we know the basic measurements of a cable and the load it's connected to, we can plot out its precise effect on frequency response.
3. If we know how different the frequency response curves of two cables are, and we know how large a variation in frequency response we need to be audible, we can predict whether two cables will be audibly different.
4. Not surprisingly, objective listening tests have so far invariably confirmed such predictions.

(To those who fume that I am dragging science into a hobbyist discussion area, my only defense is that Gallaine asked. And I suspect that other audiophiles have wondered the same thing, which is why I thought it worth responding publicly.)

Cornfed: This is your response? If you think it's a syllogism, you should go back and read it again. Or maybe your understanding of the word "syllogism" is as weak as your grasp of the post-hoc fallacy.

Obviously, this is not a complete empirical defense. There isn't room, and for that matter I'm not really qualified to give it. The case I outlined draws on at least three different disciplines (biology, psychology, and electronics), and the research work spans decades. Anyone who really wants to understand this should start, as I did, with an introductory text on psychoacoustics. If you don't want to make that effort, that's fine. It's certainly possible to enjoy high-end audio without it. All I ask is that you respect the standing of those who have made the effort to participate in your discussions.

Sean, I think you're trying to disprove something I never said. At any rate, I don't want to engage in a long discussion of the physics of cables. Anyone who wants to get deeper into this will have to do a little reading on his own.

But you keep saying, and Mike has now echoed you, that you re not interested in any comments other than those related to personal experiences and observations. Observations can be very insightful, but they can also be very misleading. It all depends on how you interpret your observations. It's my own view that if you know a little of the science behind these toys, your interpretations will be more reliable. Which is why I think a little dose of science now and again is a worthwhile addition to any discussion of audio.