How to burn in a loudspeaker cable

Burn in - this is a very debated subject and the overall feeling is that yes there is a burn in or break in period for all types of audio cables. Please read here

I would also like to say at this point in time that there is also a burn in or break in period for anything having electrical components!

How do you hear?

Let me first explain that not all people hear in the same way. Some people suffer from hearing deficiencies and have hearing loss at certain frequencies. Working in high noise areas or as a result of an injury causes this. There are also things like wax build up and fluid build up in the ears. And it might just be the case that a person does not hear the difference between a new cable and a cable that has been “burned” in.

I can only tell you what I know from my last fifteen years of experience with Audio cables from the very expensive 10,000 USD cables down to the modest 50 USD cables and yes they all need to be “Burned” in to give you the sound they were intended to give.

The Power cord

How to burn in a Power cord - This very easy to do because as all you have to do is plug the cable into the mains power outlet and leave it there. Switch on you CD player T/T and your amplifier and let it play for 24 hours. This is the initial period to actually hear a difference and then you will hear another change after about a week of constant use and then again after about a month of constant use. It is always interesting to go back to the untreated power cord and plug it in just to compare with the burned in a power cord. By doing this, you will really be surprised how the sound has changed over the past few days and weeks.

The Interconnect

How to burn in a pair of Interconnect cables - Again this is very easy to do because all you have to do is connect the interconnects from your source (CD player/Turntable/DVD player/DAC/media player) and plug the other end into your Amplifier and follow the same procedure as for the power cord. One thing to remember is that once you have connected your cables they must stay in the same direction. It is best to mark the direction with a tape if they are not marked from the manufacture. It is also a good idea to remove the cables for a clean every three months to help remove the static build up and also static build up from the connections.

The Loudspeaker cable

How to burn in a Loudspeaker cable - Again very easy as you simply do the same thing as for the other cables. You just connect your amplifier out terminals to the loudspeaker in terminals and follow the same procedure as above. It is also very important to mark which way the cables go (direction of flow) because they must be replaced in the same direction. Again it is advisable to remove the cables for an anti-static spray and terminal clean every two to three months to remove microscopic build up which has occurred on the terminals.

The result

It is very important for you to understand the reality of cable Burn in, because it can make or break a system sound if not done correctly. Also if cables are not looked after and kept clean and anti-static free it will not allow your system to sound the way that it could!

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