Burn In speakercable

[Andre Visser]

Ikoflexer, I was only talking about the initial 'test'.

 

[iko]

Yes, definitely agree. I've just posted the wiki page. Needs more work, of course, but you will see in section 4.3 Test Part 1 that it is like that.

Test of ability to classify speaker cables as burned-in or not - diyAudio

 

[Andre Visser]

Are we talking about interconnects or speaker cable testing at this stage? RCA's are for interconnects. Perhaps only talk about cable burn-in.

 

[Pano]

I believe we are limiting this test to interconnects. RCA-RCA.

Just a thought. Should we supply Andre with 3 cables to begin with? 2 new cables and 1 burned-in. That way he has 2 virgin cables as a baseline and will not risk burning them in by accident - prolonged listening.

 

[Steve Dunlap]

I believe, that with what appears to be an agreed on procedure, that several here would take this test. I would.

 

[iko]

I also thought we were talking about burn-in of speaker cables. Andre, is that ok? We can leave out any discussion of interconnects.

 

[iko]

I believe, that with what appears to be an agreed on procedure, that several here would take this test. I would.

Hi Steve! Can you please clarify if you agree to take this test to find out if you can hear the difference never having done so in the past, or if you can hear the difference having already done so in the past?

Thanks for willing to help!

 

[Pano]

Well that is something we certainly need to establish first! Tho the title of the thread is about speaker cables, I thought we had switched to interconnects for the this test. No?

Getting 10 sets of speaker cables to Andre is going to be a lot more expensive.

 

[Andre Visser]

I also thought we were talking about burn-in of speaker cables. Andre, is that ok? We can leave out any discussion of interconnects.

It would be easier for me to test interconnects but let's hear what the others say.

 

[iko]

Sorry guys, then it's my mistake. Looked at the thread title and didn't read all the pages, so I assumed we talked about speaker cables.

OK, I will change the wiki page to say interconnects. SY, everybody else, is this ok?

 

[Pano]

OK by me.

Andre, do you have a brand or type of interconnect cable in mind?

 

[SY]

SY, everybody else, is this ok?

Whichever:
1. Andre thinks will show the easiest-to-detect differences.

2. Andre thinks will have the longest burn-in time.

Either way, the procedure is the same.

 

[Steve Dunlap]

Hi Steve! Can you please clarify if you agree to take this test to find out if you can hear the difference never having done so in the past, or if you can hear the difference having already done so in the past?

Thanks for willing to help!

I believe I have heard differences in past comparisons, but I know I have also heard differences when nothing was changed. Now, I am just a bored old man looking for answers.

 

[Steve Dunlap]

Sorry guys, then it's my mistake. Looked at the thread title and didn't read all the pages, so I assumed we talked about speaker cables.

OK, I will change the wiki page to say interconnects. SY, everybody else, is this ok?

It is OK with me.

 

[iko]

Great, I changed the wording in the wiki. Please feel free to contribute to it if you'd like.

Test of ability to classify interconnecting cables as burned-in or not - diyAudio

 

[Speedskater]

(big snip)
Also, and very important - The voltage using a square wave and a digital multimeter must be measured at the end of each cable. The reading must be precisely the same every time. This is to ensure exact volume level match. The human ear is very good at telling the difference between even slight volume level changes. These changes are most often what audiophiles hear when they claim that one item is 'brighter, deeper, more sound-stage, resolving', etc. over another.

I did not make up these rules. It is nothing more than scientific method, and is the only way a listening test can be valid using a 'simple A/B test' as requested by Andre.
More can be read HERE and HERE

If all the cables are made from the same batch of raw cable and they are all the same length, then the chance of any level change is about zero!

If we are testing cables of different constructions, then I don't think that a square wave is the best choice for a test signal. Different cable constructions may handle the very high harmonics of a square wave differently, resulting in different signal levels in the mid-range, where it counts.

 

[Pano]

Thanks for the Wiki, IKO.

 

[MJL21193]

Wow...
There's a word that comes to mind that describes these latest developments: Absurd.

I feel ridiculous just reading it.

Oh look, a wiki too.

 

[Andre Visser]

Andre, do you have a brand or type of interconnect cable in mind?

At the bottom of this post is some cables that I have tried, burn-in vary from about a week to more than two weeks.

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/everything-else/156207-burn-speakercable-49.html#post2031943

It is not cheap though, jleaman offered to make some silver IC's which should be interesting to try.

 

[marce]

Just a thought, but couldn't a test be devised similar to the "Modified Rhyme Test" to test if there are audible differences.