morrow audio

I find it to be surprising also, because I'm not sure how the miniscule amounts of current that flow through a phono cable could result in a difference between when the cable is used frequently and when it is not used for some length of time.

If you are using a low output moving coil cartridge, depending on loading the amount of current would be no more than a few millionths of an ampere with most recordings. If you are using a moving magnet cartridge, it would be far less than that.

Regards,
-- Al

Al, Using a Grado Sonata. A mystery, but a true fact none the less.

Hi Repluso

I don't know if you saw this but Morrow details the break-in process here as well their findings through the various parts in the whole period.

http://www.morrowaudio.com/breakin_2.html

They included a printout of this when they send you your cables. Was it not included with your phono cables?

Morrow is pretty up front with what you will be in for with them. If you are having a problem with them why not contact them directly? They all seem like reasonable people who will work with you. Maybe they can break-in the phono cables for you. They did that with some speaker cables I bought from them. I told them I was reluctant to buy higher level cables from them again because of the extensive break-in required. I just didn't want to go through all that again. They offered to break-in the speaker cables I wanted before they would ship out to me.

Rpeluso -- I don't doubt that you are hearing what you are hearing. I'm just wondering whether there are other factors that are causing or contributing to the inconsistent sound. I don't have a good alternative hypothesis for you, perhaps Al will think of one.

And your attribution may very well be right. Audio is filled with strange things like this. I would second Jedinite's advice and talk with Morrow. I've always had good experiences with their customer service.

Good luck.

Bryon

The recommended load for both the high and low output versions of the Sonata is 47K. Assuming your loading is in that vicinity, the amount of current flowing through the phono cable under typical music conditions would be in the rough ballpark of one-tenth of one-millionth of an ampere for the high output version of the cartridge, and one-hundredth of one-millionth of an ampere for the low output version.

Given that, I can't see how loss of breakin, if any, would be affected by frequency of use.

The only hypotheses I can envision are the two described below. Although they may seem somewhat improbable, I would think that their likelihood is considerably greater than the likelihood of a tiny fraction of a millionth of an amp making a difference:

1)The month of non-use perhaps caused the cartridge suspension to tighten up slightly, and during the course of your initial listening session following the month of non-use, during which you concluded that the cable had lost its breakin, the suspension gradually loosened up and regained its normal compliance. That perhaps being the reason for the improved sonics when you re-tried the cable following the burn-in process you subjected it to. Or,

2)Perhaps in phono applications the cable tends to lose its breakin over time regardless of how frequently or infrequently records are played, and it was a coincidence that the loss of breakin happened to become apparent following the month of non-use.

Regards,
-- Al