[dBe]

James Covert ordered an MPC/SourceOne TD+ for use with his Tranquility DAC.  Our email conversation went like this:

James, I'm putting a little bit of time on the cable before I send it out to you later this afternoon.  I am attaching my Cable Characteristics sheet for you.  Break-in on this cable takes a while because of the teflon insulation on the wire.
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Dave - would you like to put some more break-in time on it today and tomorrow and ship it out Monday instead? Honestly, I really like that idea!
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Monday is a Federal Holiday = NO mail.  I could keep it cooking until Tuesday and send it then if you wish.  It will still need a little time to settle into your system.
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Seriously Dave - I'd really like you to cook that cable to death - like my Aunt Jennie down in Mississippi used to cook the cabbage!
JC
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I'll keep it on until I ship it.  It is interesting, though:  cable breakin is application specific.  I am using it to power a 1/2 HP motor that draws about 7A.  I will later move it to a lower current draw device - my Samsung plasma TV.  It HAS to have a multi-level break-in (current) to work the copper and the dialectric, but full break-in will not happen until it has been on the specific device it will be used on for a while.  I have tried to figure all of this out and all that I can come down to is the differeing energy states of the materials as they are excited by the current.  It's ultimately all FM I think.
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Dave - fascinating. So the idea is to start it out working it hard on high-current, then gradually ease it down toward the Tranquility SE levels?
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James, I got to thinking about this and it would make a good topic on my Circle.  Would you mind if I reproduced our emails on break-in and use it as a topic teaser?

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There it is - our conversation and some of my thoughts on break-in.  Please join in and add your thoughts and/or methods to this semi-controversial topic.  I have thought long and hard on this.  I've made measurements and done extensive listening tests: comparing identical DUT's before break-in (they sound the same) and then breaking one in and then listening again.  The broken in DUT ALWAYS sounds better).

Go figure!?!

Dave

[jtwrace]

Hopefully Albuquerque has a really good Psych Ward.   

[dBe]

Hopefully Albuquerque has a really good Psych Ward.   

I have a room for two booked.  You get the bottom bunk.  The meds are good 

Dave - he that listens to cables and caps and resistors and wire and tubes and his wife and..........

[Phil]

and maybe I can sleep on the floor...'cause I've used a similar technique.  Start the cord with an amp, then move to the source.  Now that I think of it, I've done the reverse too.   

It does seem that when all that breakin is done, it still takes a while to settle in with the gear it is powering.  Never understood why.

I also tend to use the 12 hours on and 12 hours off "method," believing this is ultimately faster than just keeping it on all the time.  But I have no proof that this works any faster than any other method. 

In short, I don't know what the hell I'm doing or talking about 

Phil

[dBe]

and maybe I can sleep on the floor...'cause I've used a similar technique.  Start the cord with an amp, then move to the source.  Now that I think of it, I've done the reverse too.   

It does seem that when all that breakin is done, it still takes a while to settle in with the gear it is powering.  Never understood why.

I also tend to use the 12 hours on and 12 hours off "method," believing this is ultimately faster than just keeping it on all the time.  But I have no proof that this works any faster than any other method. 

In short, I don't know what the hell I'm doing or talking about 

Phil

Phil, what I know is that you know that patience is what it takes when it comes to break-in.  So many people just don't realize what it takes for a system to come to full song when a new component is introduced.  All too often I hear people say: "yeah, I tried the XXXXX and it only took a couple of minutes to know that it wouldn't work."  I don't know how anyone can dismiss a piece of gear that quickly IF it is in the ballpark.  It takes time to settle in and time to decide if the change is worthwhile. Seems to me that you have a vision and a method that works.

Cool 

Dave

[gooberdude]

I'll add my 2 cents for the heck of it...

I essentially left this hobby 2 yrs ago.  back then, people had been discussing the same things for some time. I really hoped that by now enough people would have experimented w/break in so we wouldn't still be spinning in circles. This is disconcerting to say the least.

i've owned hagermans FryBaby for about 5 yrs, and recently purchased his FryCorder. burn-in is no myth to my young ears, and TBH i cannot stand to just let a component burn-in with normal playtime...its a waste of time & often uncomfortable. Suffering through burn-in just doesn't make sense.  We take aspirin when we have a headache, right??  Why not use a burn in tool to put this debate to rest?

Dave may be correct in that its FM.  Personally, i think there is a physical change that occurs at some level to the conductors & dielectric...but of course that hasn't been proven.

What i do know is whether you are running a power cord (for example) with a refrigerator or a generator (or whatever) it will never be fully run in. I've tried all sorts of difft methods, and the only ones that were reliable & predictable are when i used either the Frybaby or the FryCorder. I do agree with Dave that no matter what method of burn in you use, plugging the component in & using it as normal for a while is the last step.

The 'baby uses a 2volt signal, the 'Corder uses a 1 watt signal.  Neither are large, and according to J Hageman cables cannot be overburned w/his system.  I've read several accounts, back in the day, of people cooking cables with high currrent & 'bleaching' the sound...which wasn't reversible. 

I think its due to anecdotes like these that people shy away, and that's too bad...cause we've all experienced the new gear doldrums, and then the 'month later' revelations.

I can't offer any concrete evidence or theories as to why it works. If you read J hagermans white papers on the subject, he states that a # of difft things could be occurring, and that to figure it out might require experts in many difft fields of study. 

I can only toss out a good line from the movie 'Tommy Boy': "I don't have to stick my head up a cow's arse to find out how good the T bone steak is...I'll just ask the butcher."

Recent experiences w/the FryCorder can be found here: 

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=90585.0

matt