2. cables
  3. 140503-78269

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
 
So for me the matter of if burn in of an aidio csble makes a difference. It’s settled for me anyway. I am stating that allowing your cables to go through a burn in does make a difference. Now whether you think that difference sounds better is subjective but it does change how the csble sounds. To us it was for the better. 

Cable swap has been done. Time to go listen and see if I can pick out which one I’m listening to. 
Post removed 
barnettk OP
410 posts
 
@prof  

Ok DONE!!

So here it is for what its worth. Here is the short of it. 

Comparing the MA cable with the AQ cable where the MA cable has been burn in for 400+ hours:

We did 8 samples of the same record blind folded and leaving the room while my Son swapped between the 2 cables. He also said that he left the same cable on once during the session. The sample that the cable was not swapped was on the 6th session. Since you guys questioned our criteria for the tape test we agreed we would simply pick which one we felt sounded better for whatever reason, and not discuss it until after the test was complete.

Below are the highlights.

Me: I picked the AQ cable 8 out of 8 times for the cable that sounded better. Also the AQ cable is the cable that was left connected twice in a row. The difference to me was the AQ cable had  slightly better highs and mids, and the ghost image was right were I thought it should be. Overall the music seemed to just sound more pleasing. More clear, and natrual. The MA cable sounded good but had heavier bass to me. The music overall just sounded heavier if that makes sense. Still subjective because i you like a heavier feel to your music then you may have picked that cable to sound better, but to me the AQ cable had the edge. Not very different than my initial comparison however then I felt that the MA cable had slightly better imaging. The MA cable did produce a decent sound stage but in a blind test the AQ did a better job with.

My Friend: 
Also selected the AQ cable 8 out of the  8 times He felt that the MA cable sounded good, but just overall the AQ cable sounded a tab bit more clear. He also agreed that it was a little bass heavy that simply colored the music just a little to much. His suggestion was to turn the subs down and re-test until I explained to him the the subs were actually off. His comment was " it felt like there was just something missing" I tend to agree. MA claims you will hear things in your music that you never heard before. That was not the case in this comparison but just the opposite. 

My wife: 
Gave up after 2nd swap. I think she was simply tired of the whole thing honestly. 

The boy was swapping and had no vote. 

So what does it all mean?  Not much different than my original findings. My conclusion is still that the MA cable did come up after burn in. The A/B on tape showed it. The very fact that the MA cable sounded very very close  post burn in to my existing cable is also proof enough to me to say that burn in made a difference. Thats all I am trying to prove with this. The cable now sounds good enough to actually use but not good enough to spend the money on it to just switch cables. If you want to question my method Im sure some will do and thats ok. There is no way to do this in a vacuum, but it still does not make it less valid. I am not saying that the cable blows me away by any means, but it does sound better after the 400 hours and that should be a feather in MA's cap. I feel they are telling the truth about the need for the break in. 


Cheers and Happy New Year everyone
prof
3,504 posts
 
@barnettk 

Bravo for being open minded enough to follow through on your test!!!!!

I’m too busy enjoying my beach vacation at the moment to reply in detail.   Will get back when convenient.

Cheers
barnettk OP
410 posts
 
@prof

Ha oh sure you heave me over here working like a dog and you tell me your at the BEACH!!

Hey man man enjoy yourself and Happy New Year to you.
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