Is there a clear and logical scientific reason why components work better Whe. 'burned in' and does this mean they deteriorate from optimal state shortly after having been burned in?
High-end audio never ceases to amaze. Your question is quite valid but as usual people seem over the map with their responses. But that's another story.
Is there a clear logical scientific reason why new components and other electrical parts improve after a period of time? Since there are sonic differences and I dare say improvements in quite possibly every burn-in case, I'd venture the answer is a big yes - even if nobody to this day has discovered the reason. Does "science" ever really arrive?
But if burn-in phenomena exists (and it does), does it really matter if "science" cannot provide sound reasoning? A few examples come to mind.
1. There is yet to be designed a measuring instrument to measure sound quality. Since that remains true, we have only our ears to rely on for some of these things. That's one reason why it's important that we spend time developing and training our ears to discern what we hear.
2. I'm reminded of a discussion in another forums a few years back where 2 very well-known designers complained that their professional-grade, professionally-calibrated sensitive measuring instruments routinely failed them when they and their colleagues could easily discern changes with their ears only. Thus implying their measuring instruments ultimately were less trustworthy than their ears.
Not that it matters but my hunch is, since every wire and electrical part is manufactured less than perfect, there exists tiny fractures and imperfections throughout the object and hence all along the current's path. And perhaps when under load for x amount of time, the electrical current either by heat or some other constant minimizes some of these imperfections or perhaps "discovers" the optimal path from point A to point B. Thus potentially lowering the current flow's resistance. Aren't nearly all improvements the result of improved efficiencies and/or lowered resistance?
That's just a guess. But that could also explain why when a cable or other electrical part is taken out of the system, cryo-treated, then re-installed, that cable must go through the exact same burn-in process all over again. Because the state of the material has returned to an unused / new state just like when the object was right out of the box. But hopefully after cryo-treating, the imperfections are more minute than prior to.
As for my own experience, over the past 19 years I've purchased many new cables, components, speakers, and line condtioners. I've also purchased many wall outlets, fuses, plugs, IEC connectors, inlets, etc. With these smaller objects I usually install them all at the same time e.g. all AC plugs and IEC connectors together, all fuses together, all wall outlets together, etc. Minimally I can state the following:
1. There exists 3 types of object maturing or seasoning processes before performing at an optimal. Electrical burn-in, mechanical settling-in (for stationary mechanical parts), and mechanical break-in (for moving mechanical parts) or combinations thereof. All of which when reaching full maturity should always provide noticeably improved performance.
2. Small electrical objects like plugs, outlets, fuses, connectors, inlets, etc, seem to always or most always take roughly the exact same time to reach full maturity or fully burned in status. That's 53 hours of round-the-clock playtime. Like clockwork, give or take 30 min.
3. Larger electrical objects take longer to burn-in. For example, a 1M pair of IC's on average takes 5.5 - 6 full days of round-the-clock playtime. A 6ft pair of speaker cables most always takes about 7 - 8 days. Components usually between 7 to 12 days depending perhaps on complexity and/or transformer size.
4. Unlike mechanical setting-in, the electrical burn-in process seems to have a restart memory. For example, several times while burning in a pair of IC's or speaker cables, I've taken them out half-way through the burn-in process and installed others. Then a few days later re-install those that were still burning in. And the burn-in process seems to pick up pretty much where it left off. I've taken IC's out after 3 full days of burn-in and when reinstalled later they seem to reach full burn-in status roughly 2 days later. Rather than starting over from day 1 again.
5. Unlike mechanical settling-in, once fully burned in an electrical object remains fully burned in for the rest of its life. IOW, it has a long-term lifetime memory and the only time the electrical object needs a little warm up time is when the equipment is powered down, cold, or uninstalled and later re-installed. This warm-up time can take 15 minute to a full day or more but never needs to go the full burn-in process again.
6. Post-burned-in electrical objects taken out to be cryo-treated and then re-installed must go thru nearly the exact same burn-in process as when new. I presume since the cryo'ing prcoess alters the materials so they are returned to a like new / unused state.
7. Electrical burn-in does not require loud playing volumes. To the contrary, for years now I've been burning things in with the volume just 1 or 2 notches over zero and the burn-in times seem to remain essentially the same.
What I find most fascinating is that mechanical settling-in times are miraculously close to their electrical object counterparts' burn-in times. In fact, small mechanical objects settling-in times are essentially identical to small electrical object time frame of 53 hours. This leads me to suspect that maybe, just maybe there is no such thing as a real burn-in after all, but perhaps it's all just variations of mechanical settling-in when an energy travels.
These are some of my observations all of which are from a listening perspective only.
