What Exactly Does "Burn In" do for Electronics?

George, I can certainly understand your concern and your analysis seems like it might hold water. The problem with your analysis is that in reality tubes are cryo'd everyday in cryo labs around the country without experiencing any problems.

Mapman wrote,

"... its pretty much the wild wild west where anybody can claim anything at anytime with no substantiation and get away with it perhaps."

The difference being I have experience in cryoing audio items, 15 years of experience. Whereas you have, uh, none. So I guess it's actually YOU. who are claiming anything at any time with no substance. Duh!

Al gets a big -1

:-)

Mapman, not really sure what you hope to achieve in this discussion other than to reiterate common naysayer qualms and angst related to unconventional audio activities. Yes, it is a democratic hobby, so even those folks who have stopped trying to improve their sound a long time ago can express contempt or skepticism or whatever as it's a free country. If you wish to be recognized as the leader of the pseudo skeptics that's fine with me.

Mapman, not really sure what you hope to achieve in this discussion other than to reiterate common naysayer qualms and angst related to unconventional audio activities. Yes, it is a democratic hobby, so even those folks who have stopped trying to improve their sound a long time ago can express contempt or skepticism or whatever as it's a free country. If you wish to be recognized as the leader of the pseudo skeptics that's fine with.

With the cost of patents these days running around $10,000 bucks a pop that's a lot of spinach to get some supposed credibility. Besides, one stipulation for a patent is you actually have to describe in excrutiatingly detail how the things works. Furthermore, if someone in some godforsaken part of the world is clever enough to knock it off there's not a helluva lot you can do about it. Not to mention curious little audiophiles with too much time on their hands. Lol

The effect of burn in on dielectric materials and how it affects the dielectric constant is well understood and can be found all over the Internet by a simple Google, so you can just about ignore all the hoopla surrounding burn in of cables, anything with wires side, capacitors, transformers, things in that vein.