Power Cord burn in

Well consider the cable is in a brand new environment, and needs to feel at home. It takes some time for it to get used to its surroundings, the system its carrying electricity for, and of course the beneficence and attitude of the owner. Cables can sense a lousy attitude, so always be positive and optimistic about their contributions. If it likes you right off, the break in time will be short. If it is unsure, a longer break in time can be expected.

 

As I see it the 'burn-in' will always belong to the subjective domain.
That means the result will never be objectively transferable.

 

There is a belief associated with cable burn-in that cables also "un-burn" after long periods without use. Ergo, unless there was a freshness date stamped on the package, pre-burning could be a waste of time.

 

There's also a belief associated with burn-in of any kind that it takes place entirely in one's mind. I'm fairly neutral about the subject as I've never experienced the phenomenon and have purchased many pieces of equipment both moderate and expensive in price. We all experience things differently.

 

You'll notice I stayed clear of any analysis there. Just offering up the stock answer for the question.

 

There is also the phenomenon known as "burn out", which can be caused by worrying needlessly about how a power cord sounds.

 

Me too.

 

Cables are always contentious - and that is just the way things are.

But think how the electrons are flowing. Even in quite a thin wire of 3 square mm cross section, a DC current of 10A only makes the electrons move at 0.25mm/sec.

So if we have an AC current of 10A peak to peak - whether it is sinusoidal or + and - pulses at power line frequency, the electrons will move 4um one way in 1/60th sec, then 4um back again etc etc. So all they do is shuffle back and forth by about 1/20th the diameter of a human hair.

And therefore, how can a mains cable make any difference at all to the sound quality? (Other than, by the cable construction, attenuate RF pollution on the power line from getting into your equipment - see my posts on this elsewhere on this forum)

 

I am confused? can someone please explain how a power chord has anything to do with sound quality...

 

it usually follows a minor chord

 

o' so now we're talking conductive sound?

 

Check out some of Just Walking's posts, he does a pretty good job of it. Attenuating RF present on the waveform at the wall outlet, can make life a lot easier on a components power supply. The cord should also be shielded to prevent the cord itself from being an antennae for picking up more RF noise.

I am firmly in the camp that believes a cable can by construction techniques, and materials used, reduce the RFI signals. That will allow a component to sound better. Just think of it this way, the cable becomes part of the power supply filter network. That being said, I am also in the camp that most cables are vastly overpriced.

 

thanks for the info I will check it out...

 

what you really want is an isolation transformer, and well-designed transformers in your components...

 

Some think that will not help - the noise is mostly coming from your components, and not the outside world.

 

Audioquest Niagara 7000 has you covered, but be sure to use a good shielded cable between the Niagara and your component or the RFI can come in on the cable. Digital really does suck. We didnt have all this RFI stuff back when everything was analog. We need to get rid of all these digital switching supplies, cell phones, digital cable TV, internet, etc. Our systems would sound sublime. I lived just fine with 3 channels for years, I could do it again.




On second thought, I think I will just try to find decent shielded cables one day if I have a few extra bucks.

 

That is where Shunyata is headed with their new stuff. Claims they discovered new technology in trying to remove noise from medical instruments. Sounds pretty fascinating. Wish I had the bucks to try some of it, but I cant even pay the sales tax on their premium stuff

 

Caelin Gabriel has a great technical background but he is also a marketing expert. Hard to completely know which one is behind the mask. I like his work and I like the man - but sometimes I wonder if he has sucked me in.

 

Running a successful company pretty much requires both. Wish I had the disposable income to get sucked.

 

Very difficult to establish whether burn-in is real or not unless you take a very methodical, almost experiment like approach to finding out. I did a lot of experimenting with different cables, receptacles, etc. many years ago including cryogenically treating pretty much all of them, as well as burning in non-power cord cabling on either an Audiodharma cooker or the Nordost cooker, and power cords using the fridge or chest freezer as described above.

If you've ever cryoed anything (cabling, receptacles) the burn in process becomes even more apparent post cryo.

The simplest, most cost effective way to establish if burn in might be real to you in your system, even with power cords, that have been in the system for years, would be to buy a couple of the adapters I linked to early in this thread.

With components with very low current draw like phono preamps or, line-stage preamps, DACS or CD players, there is a very real chance the cord is not fully burned in even after years of playing music as I've said above.

If you are not a component flipper with a stable system and you're quite familiar with some of the music in your collection and how it sounds on your system, my suggestion is to take cords off those low current components when you are going away on a holiday, preferably for a minimum of two weeks, and daisy chain them and throw them onto your fridge or a chest freezer for those two weeks you are away.

Then reconnect them to your system when you return. Simply unplugging and re-plugging in various cables every once in a while will result in positive improvements as well, but you may be surprised (or not, count yourself lucky if you are not ) at what might happen after you have done this and connect back up.

The whole scenario assumes a decent system with some decent power cords (they need not be outrageously expensive-I run DIY cords in my system that cost about $70-$75 each) and a trained ear listening to familiar music in a familiar system.

Cost of the experiment will be under $20 for the adapters, so not a huge financial outlay for the curious, even if you end up hearing no difference.

 

and well-designed transformers in your components... will help

 

how does $600 sound to you (iso. trans)

or... $40 to get a nice hosp. grade line strip that will let you get rid of gnd loops

 

Oh my gosh....nothing!!!!! Unreal...