Is speaker cable burn in real or just snake oil?
Cable burn in is snake oil. Think about it: By virtue of just using your cables, they 'burn in'.
2nd: If audiofools won't trust their own ears, neither should you:
At Polk audio forums they were talking about the benefits of cable burn in. I offered something like $2000 plus the cost of the cables. I would take six line level cables (either XLR or RCA) and burn two in and randomly label all of them.
I would create a simple text file with the answer key and zip it up with a password. I would make this file available and ship the cables. So they would have the this in hand when the cables shipped so no funny business from my end.
I removed all the traditional arguments that audiofools make:
1. Blinded testing. You can test them fully sighted.
2. You need a short duration: Ok, swap them whenever you like.
3. You need a long duration: Ok, swap them whenever you like. I even offered that they could have 30 days.
4. It's nerve wracking to have a test administrator. Ok YOU are your own test administrator.
5. But it needs to be in my system. Ok, They are shipping to you. They'll be in YOUR system
6. But the cables aren't 'high resolution' enough. The Bet is $2000 plus what ever cables you wanted. If you win you get $2000 and 6 free cables. If I win I get $2000 and 6 free cables.
The only thing is that we would all have to hire and escrow service, write a contract, and participants would fund the obligations.
I'm telling you I got heinous amount of mileage on that one. The backing away from their burn in position was so cringe that one member there said that it was so embarrassing that they handed it to me on a silver platter.
I don't think that thread survived their bulletin board migration.
A 2nd thread worth reading is at What's Best Forum. Where Uptone's Alex Crespi said that he would blind test his own USB 'regenerator' any time, any day of the week. When it was offered to fly out and do this in his own setup he farging ghosted WBF for 1/2 a year.
