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Who says cables don't make a difference?

Funny, after all these years, people still say things like "you wasted all that money on cables". 
There are still those who believe cables don't make a difference.
I once did marketing for a cable line I consider to be about the best-Stealth Audio Cables. 
One CES, I walked the rooms with the designer/owner, Serguei Timachev. He carried a pair of his then new Indra interconnects. Going from room to room he asked the room runners to replace their source to preamp IC with the Indra. There was not one that was not completely flabbergasted and said that the Indras blew away what they were using. That was the skyrocketing of Indra and Stealth. The Indra became one of the best reviewed cables ever.
Serguei now makes the Sakra-an IC that blows away the Indra!
I don't understand why some still do not value cables as much as I.
mglik
glupson
7,842 posts
 
"Now suppose you are Mr. Morrow himself , why in the hell ! would you give to yourself this trouble and to yours customers too, advising them to burn the cables they sold to you or burning them for them... Why ?"
There may be a few reasons and one may be marketing. You have 60 days to return cables, but you are not allowed to return them before day #30. It makes it less likely that you will return it at all even for sheer inconvenience, missing deadlines, forgetfulness, and whatever else. Once you decide to skip though those hoops and return some of the cables there is a 10% restocking fee. That may set you back $700 for speaker cables (up to 3 meter length).
mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,209 posts
 
Glupson i thought about that advantage too.... But think about the trouble you give to yourself for 30 years in the business, burn in your cables and giving to others the same trouble KNOWING that this is bullshit?

In all probability the few return cables you spare yourself with dont equal all this trouble...

the only explanation that hit the road for me is that Mr. Morrow experiment that himself and know that for his cables the burn-in is not a myth.... This is the only reasonnable explanation...

And all the testimonies in this direction cannot be explained by an induced mass placebo effect taking place in several phases ....

By the way in these 2 hundred hours the cable audible effect pass indeed trough different stages that any customer can observe....
glupson
7,842 posts
 

mahgister,


I do not know anything about value of those cables, but do propose that one of the reasons for that approach is simply business.

Mr. Morrow is in the business of earning money from cable sales. If not, he would have been giving them for free. In this very competitive cable market, just like any other manufacturer, he needs to distance his products from others'. Emphasis on cable burn-in may be that approach.


Not having money-back return policy would make many potential customers skip his offerings so it would not be a good idea. Understandingly, he would be better off with less returns. Offering return policy, but making sure that it is discouraged under the explanation "you need time to settle" or whatever else, could yield multiple benefits.

"Story" (burn-in) with the cable, return policy (not to alienate potential customers), and a few hurdles to skip over while trying to exercise one's right to return, and you may get good sales with less returns. It is not an unusual business/marketing approach even without starting to talk about any real/perceived functionality. In fact, why would he do it any other way?

mahgister's avatar
mahgister
13,209 posts
 
You can return any cable from any company immediately after one hour listening if you are not glad with them...Money back... Then the burn-in advice will not save you much returns....

Altough your explanation seem rational in marketing term, the trouble of all this process is pain in the ass even for Morrow....And it is not the majority of companies out there that advise us to let the cable burn in....It is only a few....

Think about all the troubles associated with this "useless" process only to bet that a few customers will not ask for the money after 200 hundred hours of unsatisfaction?

I cannot think that Morrow lied to all customers for a few bucks, i think that he love cables, make it a business, is proud of his cables and listen to all kind of cables to compare with his own....The more probable way to explain this burn-in clause, is to think that he experiment it himself at beginning....Like me when i purchase one at my own surprize....

 Which customer will not ask for his money back for a cable he dont like, after 200 hours of listening , if he was paid many hundred dollars, even thousand dollars ?





glupson
7,842 posts
 

mahgister,

I am not sure why he does it, but delaying the possibility of return does make it less convenient and less likely to happen.


Any manufacturer has to find something to make her/his products stand out from the crowd. Cable burn-in may be one of those things. It may be a trouble to do it, but it is a part of the business.


It takes a lots of people at Coca-Cola to arrange for billboards, TV ads, etc. to make you feel connected to those smiling people drinking their Coca-Cola. It is a trouble, but they have been doing it for decades with one goal. To sell Coca-Cola.


It does help if manufacturer believes in what she/he sells so she/he may be more honestly enthusiastic about the product. If it were not about burn-in, what else would we be talking when mentioning Morrow cables? You see, even in these few posts, the hype and talk is about the burn-in. The story. The selling point.

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