Dear troubled EBM---To me,even a new product, not broken in, should show promise right out of the box.I have always been suspicious of the "Wait forever" for it to break in,syndrome.Break in?Or get used to the sound?Which one do you think,EBM!!
Let's face it,the Venustas sounded GREAT,out of the box.I WAS there,when we installed it.You claimed it had very little break in,and I loved it,as did the others present.Now I know you have at least 150 hrs on the new cables(probably alot more).Are you running your stuff night and day,hoping for what at this point probably won't happen.All this risks the other equipment that has to run,for this amount of time.What about those pricey Siemens CCa's,that are running(and aging,btw)in the hope you "learn to live with" these new cables.What gives?It doesn't mean these cables aren't good.It seems they are not a great match for you.That's all.Common sense should prevail,at this moment!Playing a system for enjoyment trumps playing it to overcome a lengthly break in period.At least there should be something positive sounding,by now!!
I hope you get some degree of satisfaction,though.Time's running out.Unless you can really believe you need 500 hours more.Why not go for an even thousand?You DO deserve better!!Make a choice!Keep breaking in these cables,beyond the current 150 plus hours,in a sound you don't care for.Or go back to what you had previously,and shorten them 5 feet more,as you originally wanted to do.You know you were happy with the older stuff,and you can save your money for more important things,like a nice vacation,or something else.
I do wish you the best!!