Is Cable Burn-In Real?

Let's all be honest: very few of our modern commodities are built to last forever. Especially the little things. For example, a disciplined person who takes care of their possessions might be able to make the right car last 20, 30, or even 40 years - but it will come with a lot of replacements over the years, from the tires to the brake pads to the fuses. If you purchase a home theater or an outdoor theater system, you'll notice a similar phenomenon. Your screen and projector, if properly cared for, could last a lifetime. But you'll probably spend a few more dollars over the years on some of the accessories, such as filters and lamp bulbs. 

There is talk on the Internet these days of a phenomenon known as cable burn-in - the process by which an audio-video cable, over time, actually improves in its ability to deliver its data. That's right - people on the Web are saying that they can actually hear and see their movies better once the cables they connect with have had a chance to get broken in . Better bass. Blacker blacks. The whole 9 yards. There are even some companies which manufacture and sell a type of device which purports to speed up this whole burn-in process with your cables, so you can enjoy the fruits of the cables' improvements without having to wait for them to age properly. So, is cable burn-in a real thing? Should you whip out your wallet and buy a burn-in accelerator off the Internet right now? If so, how does it work? The answers to these questions, in order, are No , No , and It doesn't .

For all of the of the debate back and forth on various AV-devoted message boards, no one has been able to come up with a rational, science-based explanation on how the phenomenon of cable burn-in works, and whether or not the burn-in would result in a noticeable improvement. If you ask most people - particularly people who have experience working with electronics - they'll tell you flat out that cable burn-in is not real. And even the ones who do believe that cable burn-in is a real thing cannot decide amongst themselves if the changes are noticeable by human senses. If you feel like there is something off about your outdoor cinema system and you believe the issue to be cable-related, the best thing to do is to make sure that your cable is unkinked and your connection ports are a proper fit. Beyond those two things, the only way to improve your cable's performance is to acquire one of higher quality. Just remember, even the top-notch cables will also need to be replaced, albeit farther into the future.