HiDiamond Diamond 3 XLR IC's - Burn-In Time?

i have about 200 hours on my HD D8 speaker cables. They sound different everyday. Never bad, just different. Sometimes certain frequencies are more forward or more recessed.

Zd542,

Here is some tech info from the website.

Technical Discussion

Although it is not yet fully understood scientifically, the phenomenon of “cable break-in” has been experienced by many audiophiles. Interconnects, speaker cables and even power cords seem to go through a conditioning period when used in an audio/video system, and will sound better after many hours of in-system use. The sonic differences between wiring that is broken-in and wiring that is not are very audible in high quality audio systems. The break-in process is believed to be due primarily to current flowing through the conductors of wiring components. Dielectric stress caused by a voltage difference between the conductors is also believed to be of some benefit. The fact that it takes many hours of in-system use for wiring components to break in is primarily due to the low-level nature of audio/video signals from normal program material. As an example, let us take an interconnect used to connect the output of a preamplifier to the input of a power amplifier. The typical maximum signal level for full power output of the average power amplifier is 2 volts peak. The average signal is much less. The typical input impedance of a power amplifier will be 10k ohms at the (very) low end for consumer gear—47 to 100k ohms is typical for a solid state amplifier, while several hundred kohms is not unusual for a tube power amplifier. Taking the (unrealistic) best-case values from the above examples, the maximum current seen is 2 volts/10k ohms = 200 micro-amperes … and this would not be continuous current, as the voltage value is a peak value, not an rms value. For the sake of demonstration and comparison we will describe a “use value” consisting of the current flowing through the wiring component according to the above equation, multiplied by the total time this current flows. We will refer to this use value as CTV, or “Current-Time-Value”. Playing an interconnect cable in an audio system for one week (168 hours) of continuous use would expose it to the following use value: 168 hours x 0.0002 amperes = CTV of 0.0336 The CABLE COOKER™ was designed to produce signal levels far in excess of those seen in normal audio/video system use. Internally, the device contains a sweeping square wave oscillator that drives a very high-efficiency “H” bridge MOSFET switching circuit. The output signal includes a swept square wave calibrated from 0 DC to over 40KHz (plus harmonics). Output voltage is 12 volts rms. The current through the wiring component is determined by the load at the input connector of the CABLE COOKER™. In the case of interconnect cables, the measured current is 120 milli-amperes. Installing an interconnect on the CABLE COOKER™ for one week results in a CTV of: 168 hours x 0.12 Amperes = CTV of 20.16 This is a value 600 times greater than that obtained under the most ideal of audio system conditions. The “stress” on the dielectric of the interconnect is also much higher than in normal use due to the higher output voltage. It should be readily apparent why results with the CABLE COOKER™ are often quite audible after as little as 24 hours of use. The same powerful signal described above is also produced at the speaker cable output binding posts. The load at the speaker cable inputs, however, is designed to draw a continuous 1.88 amperes of current through the wire. With a potential of 12 volts, this is equivalent to a continuous signal level in excess of 22 watts!! It must again be emphasized that this is a continuous condition (i.e., rms). This extreme continuous-signal level, produced in an audio system in a regular listening environment for any length of time, would force us from the room due to the highly uncomfortable and intensively-loud volume. One can now correlate the impressive signal level produced by the CABLE COOKER™ and the benefits derived by its use with the cabling in our audio/video systems.

http://www.audioexcellenceaz.com

This is the website where Ozzy's information came from. I included it because there is a lot more information and pictures at that website.

Thanks Lak

Although it is not yet fully understood scientifically, the phenomenon of “cable break-in” has been experienced by many audiophiles

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One can now correlate the impressive signal level produced by the CABLE COOKER™ and the benefits derived by its use with the cabling in our audio/video systems.

Wow that was impressive! The stuff in the middle is simple V=IR math. If is works at low current, why not cook quicker? Why not crank the current up to 10 amp or so? You should really be able cook quickly. And since signals flow only one direction, why not use DC? What is the point of the AC signal?

Yep, dielectrics are not understood at all... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dielectric

IEEE paper where dielectrics are studied to only effect signals at RF and above.