Cable Break In for the Naysayers
I still cannot believe that in this stage of Audio history there are still many who claim cable break in is imagined. They even go so far as claim it is our ears that break in to the new sound. Providing many studies in the way of scientific testing. Sigh...
I noticed such a recent discussion on the What’s Best Forum. So here is my response.
______________________________________________________________________________________________ I just experienced cable break in again firsthand. 10 Days ago, I bought a new set of the AudioQuest Thunderbird XLR 2M interconnects.
First impression, they sounded good, but then after about 30 hours of usage the music started sounding very closed in and with limited high frequencies. This continued until about 130 hours of music play time.
Then at this time, the cables started to open up and began to sound better and better each passing hour. I knew at the beginning they would come around because they sounded ok at first until the break in process started. But now they have way surpassed that original sound.
Now the soundstage has become huge with fantastic frequency extensions. Very pleased with the results. Scientifically I guess we can’t prove cable break in is real, but with good equipment, good ears, it is clearly a real event.
ozzy
Much of the foregoing conversation, only shows that not all Physics courses are equal. ie: @carlsbad2 - As a Physicist: to what theory do you lean*, regarding lambda? * There is NO wrong answer! Could/would you honestly say, that opinion jives with your Prof's? Electrical Engineering courses? FA'GET ABOUT IT! |
If the first link, in my above post, isn't working for the (genuinely) interested: https://theconversation.com/from-newton-to-einstein-the-origins-of-general-relativity-50013 Happy listening! |
“My Silver, Palladium, and Fidelium cables were all designed from the transmission line or waveguide point of view that electricity flows between the conductors, not in the conductors. The energy is transmitted in the form of an electromagnetic wave. Energy does, however, penetrate the metal conductor material and that portion of the energy becomes a secondary error or memory signal (time-delayed). The physics behind this suggests that the smaller or thinner the conductor is, the less time it will take for the electromagnetic wave to penetrate the conductor, thus resulting in a smaller timing error. As you know, many cable manufacturers have evolved to produce cables with smaller and smaller wires to minimize what they describe as the skin effect. Most of them, however, still view electricity flow as electrons inside the wire, like water in a pipe. This is an analogy that does not allow or account for phase or group delay in a wire." |
The cable company that I've been buying cables from since 2017, Audio Sensibility, offers cable break-in for an additional $10 CAD. I have never once ordered the break-in in my dozens of orders. Not that I am cheap, I just keep thinking that one of these times, I may notice a difference between new and ~100 hours of use. But I still have yet to find the right cable :( Not disputing the OP, just saying I have never been able to notice any change. I either like it in the first 20 seconds of use, or not. |
