Can You Expalin Why Power Cables Do This?


It has to do with handling and connecting a power cable that's been "broken in" before but has been laying around out of use, and what happens once you reconnect the power cable and it "settles in." (It can be a power cord on an amplifier or cd player, etc.)

Why, when you first plug in many power cables in the situation above, do they start out adding more bass weight and clarity to the presentation (often, not always). Then the power cable goes through a (stabilization, "settling in") or whatever you call it. With this stabilizing or settling in, the original bass and weight dissipates. The original clarity dissipates. Within a day or two (or 3) after "settling in," when you listen to the system, the presentation has changed. Now the presentation has lost some of that clarity and bass weight from before (I guess audiophiles call this a "tightening" of the bass, and the dissipation of clarity is called what? (the highs getting smoother?)

What's happening? Any EE's out there with a not too technical explanation in laymen's terms that average folks can relate to about this "re-settling?" I wish "broken in" power cables, continued adding the good attributes to the system before and after "settling in." (you know, bass weight, clarity etc.) I'd like to keep those sonic qualities not lose them. What's happening?
Thanks
foster_9
FWIW...

there are some great thoughts on display here... Al's for instance. But sometimes thangs just is waht they is... and for no good reason..

I suspect there are still things in the universe which defy imperical measurements, or escape evidentiary determinations, as to the how or why of them... and they remain in the camp (s) of ... “THEY JUST ARE.”

Science still has enigmas, and mysteries. Even Steven hawking said not long ago, some of his previous theories were crap... and has since revised them to better yet different perspectives.

Let's face it... the professor on Gilligans Island could make a microwave oven out of a pair of coconuts, but couldn't figure out how to patch a two foot hole in the side of a boat!

maybe being isolated on some unknown tropical isle with two gorgeous single girls like Mary Ann & Ginger, impaired his ability to construct boat patches.

I've peeked some during some run in periods... and not peeked substantially during others.... with respect to cable break ins & component burn ins. For the life of me something does seem to occur. things change. Audibly.

If my system isn’t sounding good for what ever reasons… humidity, exceptional heat, etc. I’m simply unable to enjoy it. Although these are rare occasions, they do happen. Sun spots? I’ve no clue really but they do happen.

I also know I simply can not adjust to errant sounds. Brightness or darkness are just that. I don't adjust well to those items per se, at all. neither do I adjust to overt sibilance. high freq negative artifacts such as shrillness, etching, grain, etc.... are simply things I am unable to adjust to amicably.

So as much as 'perhaps' there is some adjusting to, going on inside me, it sure isn’t to those less than effects one can and does notice in quite a few break ins.

Dull is dull. Bright is bright. Grain is tgrain. Dark is dark. Thick is thick. When such components of the sound are plainly evident, yet later resolve themselves away, I dare say the device has done far more adjusting than have I.

In fact as I 'get used' to the sound of my system it becomes even easier for me to detect aberations if or when they arise. it's like you and your home, or your car. you know how it sounds and can catch new or different sounds in it than some others who are unfamiliar with it/them. Right?

Why cables or what ever encompass change following non use or first time use seems self explanatory. It’s new! Stuff inside hasn't seen extended electrical energies hardly ever or for a while. Caps drain... eventually. motors work better once warmed up. ETc, ETC, ETC.

All I know is something is going on for sure, either way.

Case in fact... my Dodd monos sat for nearly a year seeing only THE most minimal playing time... maybe one or two nights in all of last year. it wasn't until the second night that they began to sound like they used to, exhibiting greater extension and bass command. They became more open and resolving as well with more time. Their associated power cords too usually had sat out nearly as long.

So... IMHO... if you ain't encountering such audible shifting briefly or extensively, either your system lacks sufficient resolve, or your hearing is what has changed for the worse more than anything else.... OR you've simply detached from reality and refuse to accept what your ears are telling you..

I mean no harm by this last point, but I'm no freak hearingwise either.... yet these are my own experiences… and I don’t drink or use chemicals, so unless I had some severe mental shift and broke with reality for a spell, I feel pretty good about what I’m disclosing here.

Why is it that plants grow better when music is played about them throughout the day? They don’t have ears. So I’ve no idea… but many have said this notion works.

Sometimes things just are…. Their how’s and why’s might not be something I need to know exactly. I just have to deal with them as best I can, taking them at face value and move on.

Blindjim

So... IMHO... if you ain't encountering such audible shifting briefly or extensively, either your system lacks sufficient resolve, or your hearing is what has changed for the worse more than anything else.... OR you've simply detached from reality and refuse to accept what your ears are telling you..

The error of this is the assumption of actual audibility.

A perceived difference isn't necessarily due to an actual audible difference.

While it's true that we don't know everything, that doesn't mean we know nothing. And one thing we do know, and have known for quite a long time, is the role that psychology can play with regard to our subjective perceptions.

A fact that is routinely ignored, dismissed out of hand or simply denied by many. And until that ambiguity is adequately controlled for (beyond ego and vanity), then one can't come to any meaningful conclusions.
maybe all of the magic has left the cord, and you should send it back to the Magic Audio Shop on Diagon Alley (that's in London, btw) to have the power cord magic restored
Unfortunately, Macd's explanation is perhaps as plausible as any I can come up with other than its often us that change in terms of what we hear from day to day and not our devices.
Macdadtexas I safely assume you do NOT ever hear any differences in powercords right? They ALL sound the same?