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Skeptic or just plain hard headed

So I purchased a pair of Morrow Audio phono cables. These are the PH3 with the Eichmann connectors. Wanted to start there to see if MA cables will be a viable option for my system.I think my story is not so unique to others who have purchased MA cables. So no need to go into the hu hum of burn-in in regards to MA cables, and how things sound bad at first, then gets better,  then excellent...yada yada yada. I know the story about this product.  I simply am one who is not a believer in electronics break in periods, or battery packs on cables, etc... Regardless of what side of the fence you are on in regards to that Im NOT trying to start that debate again please.. Anyway. After reading several reviews of the MA cables and understanding that most agreed that the cables needed a substantial burn-in time, and that the cables would not sound its best until this happens I decided to give them a try. Thinking ok lets get a jump on the burn-in period (if the concept is true). I paid for the 2 day burn-in service from MA. What I didn't expect is that when I got the cable it would sound as bad as it did in comparison to my existing name brand cable (not getting into that either, not relevant). I thought well the cable might not quite be up to snuff with all this talk about burn-in (if its true) but not that much of a difference.  I mean as soon as I dropped the needle on the record I immediately heard a profound difference in sound stage and clarity degridation. Needless to say this cable was destined to be returned to MA for a full refund and my thinking was "they are crazy if I am going to trade my cable for this cable" So I decided to give MA a call to setup the return. Talked with Mike Morrow (very nice guy by the way) and we had our differences in what I should expect out of his product. Now my Mother always told me that I have a hard head.. I heard that growing up all my life, and when you couple that with skepticism it makes a pretty, well lets just say not a very fun person to have a debate with lol. However Mike insisted that if I return the cable that I would be missing out on the fruit they would bare after 400 hours of break in. 400 hours??? really!. Oh at that point I was really ready to return them. I told all my friends "Mike must be nuts" (no offense Mike) no way am I going to wait a year to hear what this cable is capable of, AND I do not have any way to expedite the process...at least I thought I didn't until I found an old sound bar I don't use anymore with analog inputs. Ok I know you pro MA and  pro cable burn-in folks are chomping at the bit. Im almost done. Take your hands off the keyboard for just a few more lines. 

So here is the deal to be fair I am going to be open minded about this because Mike really made me feel like I would be missing out if I return the cable without a proper burn-in (great salesman), and since he had such conviction I now think I have to test this thing out right??. Now I know that there are testimonials out there about how the MA cable improved over 100s of hours in their system, and that they are now "blown away". However can you really hear a profound difference in a cable you play in your system over 170 hours or so?  I would think a gradual difference would be harder to detect. I mean my system seems to sound better to me everyday without making any changes. Is it because of  continued cable and electronics burn in?? maybe. Or maybe its just my brain becoming more intimate with the sound of my system. Well this test I'm doing should reveal a night and day difference from what the system sounds like today with the cable pre burn-in if there is any merit to the notion. In regards to does it sound better than my existing cable that is yet to be determined. I think my goal now is to prove or dis-prove if cable burn-in is a real thing. This whole idea has evolved from if it's an improvement or not over what I use today. We can discuss that later.

I now have the cable connected between a cd player , and a sound bar with a CD playing on repeat. The disc of choice for this burn-in is rather dynamic so it should be a good test. At the end of 16 days (384 hours) I will move the cables to my reference system and do about another 20 hours of additional burn-in to compensate for moving the cable. This will put a total of 452 hours of burn-in on the PH3. When I put this cable back in my system I sure hope it sings because this is a lot to go through to add a cable to your system. Mike if you are right I will eat crow and will preach from the highest mountain top that you are right, and that cable burn-in is REAL.  For me anyway the myth will be considered busted or reinforce my belief that cable burn-in is a bunch of BS. 

For those who will argue the point of cable burn-in I fully understand the concept, and I don't plan to get sucked down that rat hole and I won't argue that....yet because at the end of this test I may be in your camp and I don't want to have a steady diet of crow so for now I will remain neutral on the subject until the test is complete.  However I will be totally transparent and honest about the results. So not trying to make anyone angry as I know beliefs about audio are sensitive subjects, and rightfully so this hobby is expensive and I like you have a substancial investment in this. Just trying to get to the truth. I also understand that cable burn-in may actually happen when you consider it from a scientific perspective, but the real question is can you actually hear the difference.  

I will report back to this thread in 17 days from today (need at least one day to evaluate) with the results. 

happy listening!!

-Keith
barnettk
barnettk OP
410 posts
 
@geoffkait  

"It takes a tough man to make a tender chicken."

LMBOFFF... dude where do you get some of these sayings?? lol

" I think Morrow should be congratulated for being up front about cable burn in"

I agree that they are up front about what to expect, but I also agree with Aberyclark to the extent that you can't win in this situation in the event you don't like them. They will always have a reason. Lets just be thankful that companies allow you to return the product. It could very well be once you use them your stuck with them. So at least they can be returned with 100% of your money back. 

Sounding better or worse is going to be relative to what you had before right, and if you can tell the difference. All cable manufactures state that their cables needs time to break in so lets not put Morrow on an island. This would be true with any cable you buy. I don't think Morrow is doing anything any different than anyone else other than being very very matter of fact about making sure you understand the break in process is required. Furthermore Morrow is a small company and I do like the fact that you can call and talk to the owner. When you buy cables from larger manufactures you are not talking to anyone at that company, your at the mercy of the retailer and we all know that is no even playing field. I am overall satisfied with the service I received however I wish they would publish the entire instruction guide that comes with the cable on their website. There are some things in that document that would have saved me some money e.g. They state the cables SQ will degrade after 50 hours of use.. well had I known that I would not have purchased the 48 hour burn in service lol.. So don't half way tell the story if your going to be transparent about the process be transparent. At least I would have had an idea of what to expect other than a crappy sounding cable when I got it. Just saying. 
mrdecibel
3,065 posts
 
Morrow, from their beginning, was always into burn in. Geoff, yes. After several years, he and his team, this summer, introduced " dramatic and improved " changes in his cable design. Read about it. Once on his website, click the box " About Technology ". Then click " Latest Improvements ". Now read " New vs. Old Design ". Everything has changed, except they have always used the individual stranded wire design. But this element of the design has drastically changed as well. After I read about all of the changes, it made me wonder if the original design had any " rightness " to it, or, were they wrong this whole time, as I do have half a dozen pr. of Morrows, which do sound good, but not the best I have. Enjoy ! MrD.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Here’s what George Cardas says about cable burn in. Check it out.

http://www.cardas.com/insights_break_in.php
barnettk OP
410 posts
 
@prof  

Ok the gangs all here. We are about to begin. 

First up is the A/B on the recording I made to compare pre/post burn in of the MA cable to itself. Going to do this a little different this time. 

1. Everyone will listen to the recording. Simply want to get a feel for if anyone can hear a sonic difference between the two. Does it sound better overall? How is the soundstage effected, sheer amplitude, dynamic range. 

2. I am going to leave the room and have my friend position the tape on any half he wants, listen, then I will lave the room again and have hime position the tape to the other half listen, and see if I, and the remaining participants can tell which part of the recording they like the best. We will then change so the person working the recording can have a turn. We will do this 6 times and record our findings on paper. Obviously this will take some time so bare with me. 


The next test will be to compare my existing cable to the MA cable to see how close they sound. This will also be a blind test.

I think I will post the results of each test separately  then give a quick summary after everything has been listed to otherwise this will read like a novel in one post. 
mrdecibel
3,065 posts
 
Barnettk, I cannot believe you have been " pulled in ". You already observed the break in process. Or, were you imagining it the whole time. Enjoy ! MrD.
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