Rick B.;260174 Wrote: > I think that our ears may indeed need to "break in" with new equipment. > It's well-known that our eyes do the same thing with perscription > glasses. Case in point: > > When I was first prescribed glasses for astigmatism the doctor > explained that for a while I would see straight lines to be curved > until my brain learned to straighten them out. I didn't believe him but > that's exactly what happened. > > I'm suggesting that our ears may also have to adapt in a similar > fashion. New equipment may have colorations that alter the sound a bit > and our brain learns to adapt and make up for the differences > somewhat. > > I'm not suggesting that our ears can make a silk purse out of a sow's > ear but it may explain break-in beyond just the electronics.
This is a very astute observation and plays right to the heart of the "burn-in" phenomena IMHO. What we hear is not absolute reality - it is merely an interpretation by our brains of what our senses detect. Hence everyone's experience is slightly different. There is no truly credible scientific evidence that burn-in really happens in reality. The only way we have to judge is through our somewhat susceptible personal interface. I note with some amusement that some manufacturers have taken to using the term "quantum" now that we have microscopes capable of rendering individual atoms...so, because we can't see a material change at the atomic level, the effect must be at the quantum level...if quantum effects really could affect the flow of electrons in this way, we really have a bigger problem on our hands than hi-fi!. There's no doubt that anything with a moving mechanical component "breaks-in". However, I think the jury is still well and truly out on cable etc burn-in. I think this is all perception - like Ricks glasses - eventually we just adapt to the sound. It always seemed irrational to me that things always get BETTER over time. Why? And then, eventually we get tired (bored) with the sound and want to change it anyway. It's like that bell curve... start at the pit of despair, climb slowy up the burn-in slop, reach the plateau of contentment and then the long but inevitable slide down the slop of disillusionment. -- Phil Leigh You want to see the signal path BEFORE it gets onto a CD/vinyl...it ain't what you'd call minimal...SB3+Stontronics PSU - Altmann JISCO/UPCI - TACT RCS 2.2X with Good Vibrations S/W - MF X-DAC V3/X-PSU/X-10 buffer (Audiocomm full mods)- Linn 5103 - Linn Aktiv 5.1 system (6x LK140's, ESPEK/TRIKAN/KATAN/SEIZMIK 10.5), Townsend Supertweeters, Kimber & Chord cables ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Phil Leigh's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=85 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=42388 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
