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

I recently switched to a VTL 7.5 iii preamp (a mighty unit!). It has RCA and XLR I/O's, but the mfr. recommends XLR cables over the RCA. As a result, I recently bought a pair of the HD D3 XLR IC's to run from pre out to amp in. (My Krell 300 cx amp has ONLY XLR inputs; I had been using adaptors with my JPS Aluminata RCA's. Sounded fab.)

The HD's are beautifully constructed, highly detailed, lively cables -- a bit TOO lively so far - more than I am accustomed to or like. I want to give them a chance because the sound is so good in so many other ways. They have about 40 hrs on them so far.

Any experience on the expected burn-in time before they approach their mature sound? Switching pre's and cables is very traumatic!

Thx. Neal
nglazer
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,466 posts
 
My D8 Speakers cables are sounding fantastic! And I would say they are now broken in.
With these speaker cables I have now have a complete loom of HiDiamond cables. I must say once I added the speaker cables and completed the loom the sound stage has increased with a deeper and purer sound. Very happy.
kclone's avatar
kclone
679 posts
 
The D8s are amazing. Break in was so strange though. I didn't know what I had from day to day. The seemed to behave differently every time I listened. There have been post that say anywhere from 350 to 400 hours, even 500 hours before the really open up and come into their own. For me it was over 500 hours.
lak's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
lak
4,627 posts
 
Ozzy & Kclone,
I'm glad you like the D8 speaker cables, all of the HD products take a long time to break-in (500 hours to fully break in).
So Ozzy, do you perfere the D8 speaker cables to you home made speaker cables?
nglazer OP
846 posts
 
Hi Lak,

Nice to hear from you. Right now, while they have "ripened," the HD's still lean somewhat to the bright side. This may be their character, or simply how they interact with my system, or it may be part of burn-in. It is not a bothersome or irritating brightness, and it has abated over time. The detail and soundstaging are terrific.

I am going to do an A-B comparo with the Aluminata in a few weeks, even though the thought of crawling behind my amp and swapping out cable (and for the JPS, RCA to XLR adaptors, makes me nauseous. But this is what obsession is all about.

Neal
ozzy's avatar
ozzy
7,466 posts
 
Lak, Yeah I have to admit the D8 speaker cables are better than my DIY version. There seems to be more "life" in the music. Up to this point, nothing has beat my DIY version.

Nglazer,You probably need to try a few more HiDiamond products. There is a connection that completes the sound when its all HiDiamond. If you haven't tried the P$ power cord, that power cord is tough to beat.
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