Why do new cables needs to be "broken" ???

Bignerd,

If you hook the cables up backwards and spin beatles platters backwards, does it sound forwards?

Bgrazman, I knew that answer... you just beat me to it!

But seriously, I don't know, yet they do take time and music to polish their performance as do tubes and semi-conductors. I believe electrons are the modern day alchemy of magic dust. Happy listening!

Here we go again.... I use to think it didn't make a difference and it didn't in my old system. Since I now have higher end equipnment I can definally tell a new cable it is very apparent. I do not know the sicience behind it but by using it it tends to break the resistance a bit I think. I notice the bass becomes more apparent and the highs better and new cable sounds very thin. Now with that being said I would love soomeone to measure the resistance in the wire before and after break in in specifice frequency ranges.

it seems like the answer to your question is: nobody really knows, but the phenomenon seems to be real. a simple way to see for yourself is to get your hands on a set of cables that have been used for a while and some brand new ones of the same model and switch back and forth. if you actually do get to do this, one thing to be careful of is to avoid bending, crimping, stomping etc. either cable during your switching back and forth - that might impact the comparison.

Hi Pierre.

"Why do new cables needs to be "broken" ???"

Is this why some enthusiasts are forever buying new cables!? If so, stop breaking them!

Sorry, couldn't help myself.

Pierre, hopefully you'll get more than just our explanation to the break in issue. I don't think anyone has all the answers to the phenomena but I do think the different answers, when combined, help towards a more complete answer.

First, we maintain the Burn-In and Break-In are separate issues. To use and understand these terms synonymously will likely lead to false and incomplete evaluation conclusions when auditioning cabling for one's system.

As we define the terms, Burn-In is introducing a cable to a higher volt/amp condition for a specific period of time than the cable would ever see in a music system. It's important too that this signal be at least fairly "hard" in it's wave form and ramp up and down from at least 20hz to 20khz. This helps settle the materials used in the cable to each other. Different insulators which interface with the conductors have different charge and release characteristics that seem to mellow a bit over time or even more so when introduced to a high volt/amp signal. I believe any conscientious and competent hi-end cable manufacturer should condition their cables in this manner as part of their final manufacturing process. Some do, some don't. Burn in is certainly beyond the means of most enthusiasts unless they have invested in a device specific that purpose.

Distinct from Burn-In is Break-In and, like it or not (and I personally don't), it is system dependant. We believe it has much to do with the Power Factor present and different in every system. A simple way to say this I suppose is that a given cable needs time to settle into how a given music system delivers the music signal. What all's going on in that cable I don't know. I don't think anybody definitively knows all the answers here but we know some of what's going on and that it's a real phenomena and much of what's causing it. This accounts for why one cable can take 25 hours to sound it's best in one system and then take 200 hours (and even higher in some instances) for the same cable to reach top performance in another system. We hear these variances all the time.

Burn-In and Break-In conditioning should go hand in hand. To evaluate a cable one without the other will never present the opportunity for a cable to sound it's best in one's system. Sorry folks, that's just how it is. Try being a manufacturer and having to go through all this in your product development process...it Sucks! LOL!

I suppose it might be good to assert too that I think most of the reason Burn-In and Break-In have become issues is that the better cables, electronics and loudspeakers being offered today perform with considerably more resolution than the audio gear of yesteryear making a cable (and all audio components for that matter) going through it's transformation distinctly discernable.

Notable products available for burning in cables include the Audiodharma made by Mr. Krafton of Audioexcellenceaz.com and the FryKleaner made by Mr. Hagerman of Hagtech.com.

It's likely Pierre I didn't answer your info request as specific as you would like. Forgive me but this is a good part of what I know and am willing to share. Perhaps Alan at Audioexcellenceaz.com and/or Jim at Hagtech.com would be willing to chime in here and share their thoughts or, at the least, you could contact them. Both are good gents.

Kindly,
Robert
RSAD