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Power Cable Break In - Such a Change!

I installed a new AudioQuest Dragon Source power cord from my Lumin X1 to my Niagara 7000. The power cord from the wall to the Niagara 7000 is also a Dragon but the High Current version. I bought that cord used.

So, when I first started using the new power cord everything sounded great. However, after a couple of days I started hearing a strident sound. Especially in the upper mid/ treble region. The bass was also constricted. I started blaming the sound change on another piece of equipment that was installed concurrently.

Now, I was under the impression that the Dragon power cord with its DBS system required no break in. But I did inquire about it to AudioQuest who responded that it would still need about 150 hours to break in. It's been close to that now and sure enough yesterday I started hearing the glorious sound that I heard from day one with the power cord only perhaps better.

I must say the difference during break in and now is quite remarkable, I don't remember any other power cord going through this amount of dramatic change.

ozzy

128x128ozzy
holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

Chris knows.  His experiences dovetail with my own.  Teflon is a PITA when it comes to break-in... hours and hours and hours.  Polypropylene is better when it comes to time.  Polyethylene takes less time, yet.  Foamed versions of each are quicker.  Thing is, they all sound different.  Teflon is clean and "fast" in character.  Polyethylene is the most organic, with polypropylene somewhere between in sonics

What about cotton then?

ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
7,498 posts
 

holmz,

I would not trust cotton to be much electrical protection with power cables.

ozzy

holmz's avatar
holmz
2,328 posts
 

Yeah @ozzy I speared off thinking about the higher freq interconnects and speaker cables.

rodman99999
6,159 posts
 

                   Regarding that dielectric polarization/break-in time factor:

     My first SR power cable (Reference  A/C Master Coupler, w/Polyethylene), didn't have their active shielding and MPC.     Took quite a while.    That cable's feeding a Hafler 9505 subwoofer amp, now.

      My second* had the MPC/active shielding (still: Polyethylene) and performed with excellence, straight from the box, with very little change over time.   A major difference, twix the two.

                  *Feeds Stealth Power Purifier and the rest of the system.

 

ozzy's avatar
ozzy OP
7,498 posts
 

holmz,

I made an interconnect a few years ago, in which the wires were stuck flat to some of the packing tape we use for sealing boxes. I taped them on both sides. I made sure the wires were very far apart. Worked pretty good actually, I still have them somewhere.

ozzy

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