Sakura Systems OTA Cable Kit

Bwhite,

My recollection is that the OTA as a speaker cable took some 200-250 hours of play for "burn-in" and that used as IC's perhaps as long as 3-400 hours.In both applications the first 100-150 hours were unusual in that they seemed to completely change in tonality in addition to the typical top end air & smoothness and bottom end definition/extension issues of other cable products.I would describe the final phases of burn-in as "settling in" with greater refinement,ease, solidity and coherency as the basic character of the cables had been fairly well established by that time.
Altho I can't really speak for Redkiwi,it's my impression that what you are reading as prolonged burn-in over many months is actually his reports and reactions to several alternate cable configurations that he has been playing with.

Caterham, I think you're right - Redkiwi was discussing multiple configurations.

So.. 400 hour burn in means about 16 days of constant playing before the cables settle in.

Do you agree with Slawney's assessment of the OTA's?

Bwhite,
Slawney is indeed a poet and I make no pretense of being able to match his lyrical stylings...but yes, I am in perfect agreement as to his assessments of the 47 Laboratory Stratos OTA.
These are a remarkable product and they have challenged most of my preconceptions about cable design.
Firstly, they are possessing of an incredible ability to follow even the most complex passages with speed,separation,articulation,pace and agility.
They capture the subtle emotion bearing nuances of dynamic inflections,both macro and micro, with aplomb.
They have an intense and engaging quality of living,breathing vitality and lucidness that I cannot recall having heard from any cable prior.
Tonally ,I find them hard to qualify,they don't seem to have a *sound* at all.
Mostly, they get out of the way of the music with a superbly natural coherence and otherworldly transparency.
One must consider that they can be fairly ruthless in revealing shortcomings or problems in one's system.
The Stratos OTA's will not gloss over the cracks with turgid,syrupy romance.Like the old saw goes-garbage in, garbage out.
The presentation is a bit more forward than some other cable products,tho not with any degree of pushiness or shortening of staging qualities.
If you have any dryness or aloofness in your setup, it will showcase that deficiency by laying it in your lap like a cold,wet fish.
My other caveat is that the single thin strand of wire is naturally somewhat fragile and the clever plastic terminations are somewhat ideosyncratic in use.
I have an audio related business and use the OTA's in 2 separate systems here and must regularly change out components for audition.I find that I must take a bit more time and care when swapping pieces to ensure the best connections.
Other than that,I have no inclination to audition any other cables again.They're that good.
Best,
Ken Lyon

I have not come across a cable that gets the start, body and decay of musical events so exquisitely right as the OTA cable. It is this kind of immediacy and natural energy that is so obviously present in live music and that yet so few systems come close to emulating. Much as I enjoyed and admire Slawney's post, and thanks Slawney for improving on the attempts here to describe the OTA, the difference (for me) is simple - other cables I have tried seem to swap one "sound" for another, whereas the OTA seems to allow the music to overcome the issues of "sound". I am not saying that the OTA is perfect, but I fear we audiophilanderers are often seduced by the superficial beauty of sound, when what's good for us is to be faithfully wedded to just the music. The OTA is an important step in that direction and one that no other cable I have heard comes close to.

I must apologise for my rambling and roundabout attempts to pin this cable down. I just cannot help playing with it to see what different configurations sound like (and I have tried several that I have not reported on here). And I have probably reported on more dead-ends here than successes, but I am just excited by this cable, and I get an overwhelming need to share my enthusiasm.

As to the burn-in issue, Ken is right, I have been trying different configurations and burning in new cable each time. Now you know I'm crazy.

Slawney, Slawney, my little grasshopper, you have strayed from the fold, failing to perceive "vision" in default to you reptilian brain stem that wants excitement. Hi Slawney, how you doin'? Seriously though, and without commenting on the price differentials (which are not relative, as some would argue), nor to the sound of the Sakura (which I haven't heard)... What I think is being missed here in a NBS Statement (your series 1, right Slawney?)and Sakura comparison (assumably IC's)is the synergy issue between IC's and spkr cable. NBS IC's are superior IMHO to their spkr cable - and many other speaker cables match well to their IC's sans their spkr cables. I look at NBS as an interjector of a certain nuance in harmonic complexity (deep into the harmonic fabric) and spatial realism (at the shallower levels of listening, in how sound waves move in space; symmetrical and continuous and with proper projection qualities) and at the deepest levels existentially (the deep intuitive grasp that the "event" of musical connection between mind and music is not cut by a soundfield that lacks a intuition of dimension). In the most advanced systems, these are the qualities that one is still after and a component that accomplishes it should not be relegated based on an immediate reaction to "speed', "detail", and the thrill of dynamic swing and contrast that are predomonantly appreciated at less deep levels of listening (which doesn't mean that they aren't important, just that they can get in the way if over-emphasized in relative value). What I have recommended to many people is a subtle mix: NBS Statement IC, usually between a tube pre and tube amp and a "faster" spkr cable that is capable of also translating the essense of the NBS IC attributes. Interestingly, in this application I have also ended at a thin conductor for speaker cables: AudioNote Kondo KSL. If I had all-Sakura electronics, then, of course, all Sakura cabling makes sense. But I dont know many audiophiles, including Slawney, who are at that place, or would stay there.

Slawney, from deep below, the "vision" is calling you through the sensitizing veil of the Matrix (its Halloween, you know)...