Do headshell (leads) need time to burn-in?

[Macca]

. The cricket was distracting so I shut my eyes. The soundstage which had had good "space" and placement & seemed wide, within the 8 ft between tge speakers went really wide. Far wider than the room.40ft? I could hear instruments in a location which rationally I knew to be outside the physical boundaries of th house. All due to removing the visual cue. And even though I know the reality I can switch the effect on and off by opening and closing my eyes. Next to that a bit of cable burn in is a bagatelle

Very true. With visual stimulus shut off the brain can pay a lot more attention to the aural stimulus. Although I understand that the idea that blind people have better hearing as a consequence is a myth.

One of the things about home cinema that always amuses me is the idea that having identical drivers all round is important. For multi channel music, maybe, but when you are watching a film 99% of your attention is on the visual side, there is no way you can also pay attention to a what is going to be a very minor difference in tone between your fronts and your surrounds.

[The Barbarian]

I'm surprised this thread hasn't touched on 'directionality' in resistors yet.

Doubt it but i always make sure the tolerance & value stripes are all the same way around

[Oldpinkman]

Very true. With visual stimulus shut off the brain can pay a lot more attention to the aural stimulus. Although I understand that the idea that blind people have better hearing as a consequence is a myth.

One of the things about home cinema that always amuses me is the idea that having identical drivers all round is important. For multi channel music, maybe, but when you are watching a film 99% of your attention is on the visual side, there is no way you can also pay attention to a what is going to be a very minor difference in tone between your fronts and your surrounds.

Absolutely right. Although whilst exact matching doesn't matter a hoot, the quality of the speakers affects the overall experience. I got to audition some Kef R700's last weekend with the Mrs. She still couldn't drive, after gynae surgery, and NEEDED a pair of tights from M&S, and I was buggered if I was driving into Maidstone on a Saturday just for tights. My price was a trip to the HiFi shop. Their 2 channel room was in use, but they had the speakers in the home cinema room, so we watched a bit of Batman and listened to a music Bluray. Wouldn't want to comment on the R700's at this stage for music due to the dodgy AV amp that was driving them, but the "feel" of the sound in this dem was mighty impressive. Note to self for when I move to France - ceiling mounted AV rear speakers work REALLY well!

Might start a new thread on hearing and brains...

[walpurgis]

I think a lot of the time, maybe all the time, it is our brains that are burning in, not the components.

Spot on!

Our ears and brains have to adapt to the sound of the system and any changes made to it. I use the term 'tune into' with regard to the period of adjustment. A new component in the system may take some time to 'tune into' before a valid opinion of its worth can be made.

I'm going to use the dreaded 'T' word here. Tannoys, every time I get a different pair they sound strange for a while. All Tannoy dual concentrics have a very distinct character of their own and take a while to get used to, Trouble is once you've 'tuned into' them nothing else sounds quite right.