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New cables - To judge now or after burn in period?

I am in the midst of auditioning a host of Siltech speaker cables (Siltech Legend 380i & 680i) and interconnects (XLR and RCA - Siltech Legend 380i). Needless to say, they are quite a bit more costly than my existing QED cables (QED Genesis Silver Spiral Bi-wire & QED Signature 40 interconnects).

The Siltech cables are highly recommended by my distributor and seem to be well received by the audiophile press. However, doubts arise as upon trying them at home they do not sound as dynamic as my existing QED cables. While the highs are more resolving and I am hearing things that I have not heard before, the bass seems constricted and the music does not make my feet tap anymore.

Is that because the cables are brand new and have not been burnt in as yet? Or is it because there is no synergy between the cables and my particular system? Or is it a bit of both? If it is a burn in issue, how many hours of burn in is required before I should make a judgment as to whether I prefer the sound of the interconnects and speaker cables?

All inputs or observations are welcome.

128x128dcpillai
oldhvymec
5,101 posts
 
I agree cables change less than any other component. But some thing like tone arm cable and RCA feeds from a TT take a LONG time..
While they may not sound bad, they sure don't sound the way they will when they are broken in.. No it's not subtle at all..

There just isn't that much going on TO change.  But change they do.

I'm at 300 or so hours on my ZP3 Decware.. He put Audiophile caps in the thing.. They are real junkers to break in and put up with.. I can't tell if it's the cables in the tonearm or from the tonearm (RCAs)  or just a  bad choice in caps.. I'm just letting it play. I have some good surplus PIO. They tell the story in 2 hours.. 400-500 we'll see if the cables improve.

I'm still changing to Copper foils. Sorry to say but I didn't get either upgrade I ask for. Bees Wax caps in the tape section and copper foils in the phono sections..

I have a pair of well taken care of RCA, I know sound good, they have at least 5000 hours on them. Shunyata Research (great cables) Alfa I think.. The most I ever spent on a cable. I remember that.. They were conditioned 21 days...BEFORE the 5k + hours..

Regards
jrbirdman333
105 posts
 
Switch back to the old cables after awhile. See if they sound as dynamic as you remember them to be. 
baylinor's avatar
baylinor
1,443 posts
 
I installed new 4s11 canare speaker cables with double wiring to fit my recently acquired PBN speakers. I got about 30 hours on the cables and they have been all over the map so far, specially the first 25 hours. Sometime bass lacking, sometimes piercing highs, sometimes opposite. For real. The last few hours they seem to be stabilizing and I can start seeing their potential but it will take a lot longer to achieve it. So yeah, speaker cables do get better with use, not a single doubt in my mind.
njkrebs
41 posts
 
Our ears and brains are very sensitive to changes. I find any changes to a system seem “weird” because I’m used to hearing a song in a very certain way. It even happens at audio shows where the equipment I’m listening to is more expensive and by default should be “better”, but may not be initially. 
jerrybj
869 posts
 
I didn't like my Audience AU24SX interconnects when they first arrived.
The sound was very brittle. Opened up over 250 hours.

Now, one of my best purchases.
Saving up for speaker cables...
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