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Cable burn in

Hi all. I’m guessing that what I’m experiencing is pretty normal. But it can’t hurt to get some feedback. I purchased a DMS-650 from Cary Audio which is a DAC/Streamer. Since hifi folks have highly opinionated views on cables, nothing is included with the unit. So when I set it up, I had to scramble and I found the three conductor cable that came with a cheap Sony DVD player. Then I replaced that RCA interconnect with a much better quality Blue Jeans cable. Initially the increase in quality was apparent and obviously worth it. However the sound could be hasrsh on certain recordings. Various tracks had a harshness that wasn’t there before. I’ve been playing internet radio during the day for burn in. Now that harshness has vanished. Sitting down to listen last night, things were actually too warm. Some tracks sounded almost muddy. The sparkle was diminished in an obvious way. I am guessing that once burn is complete the sound will settle happily in the middle somewhere. Is that a reasonable assumption?  I’m also likely going to order power cables and an interconnect from Audio Envy or maybe some other companies to compare. The guy who sold me the Cary Audio gear is not a salesy guy, but he did pretty emphatically recommend some higher quality cables. 

chiadrum
chayro
2,996 posts
 

You are going to hear people saying it’s all in your head and maybe it is, but I’ll give you my personal experience. Some equipment is not sensitive to cable changes and some stuff is very affected by changes. Some cables sound horrible out of the box, but get better. Some sound good at first and then vary up and down and some sound good and get better. I usually mark my calendar for a month and see where I’m at by then.

jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 

Only mechanical things need a bit of run-in - speakers and phono cartridges. The rest no! Certainly not wire! Wire is the biggest rip-off going - and makes the most profit. No wonder it is so highly touted by the various cable companies. They want the unwary consumer to believe that there is an ever-upward (and increasingly expensive) path towards cable nirvana! Nonsense! In a blind listening test a cheap interconnect/speaker wire/ power cord cannot be told apart. Those that claim to hear differences are affected by confirmation and sighted biases. So don't waste your money on boutique cables. Stick to Monoprice and you will be fine!

jasonbourne52's avatar
jasonbourne52
2,863 posts
 

It would be a wonderful world if changing a piece of wire produced an improvement. Alas, that is not Reality!

carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

Harshness isn’t in cables. Good cables can reveal harshness but don’t go back to bad calbles to mask it. Fix the source. You didn’t mention your DAC.

Also your tolerance for harshness can change. I fought harshness for a while with an amp. Sometimes it would disappear and life would be great. But it would come back.

Internet radio may be low res and thus you get rid of harshness.

So I’ll say harshness is a sign of progress toward a resolving system.

One thing you can investigaate is can you turn down the output voltage on your dac. Some good dacs have this feature.

Jerry

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
5,177 posts
 


Every new cable I ever bought needed time to break in.
Usually between 100-200hrs is enough to get an idea of what it will sound like and most will settle at around 200hr mark.
Used cables that were out of the system for few days take between few to 24 hrs to settle.
That’s been my experience.

BlueJeans are very decent cables but they’re obviously not end game.

In addition to upgrading your interconnects, look into improving the power cord for the Cary. 

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