brulee fails PC challenge

Leafs- I think you might have missed the point. Brulee didn't say the Belden was as good as the FIM. Actually, he stated that the FIM, once allowed to perform in place for some period of time approaching 24 hours, sounded clearly superior to the Belden. What wasn't clear was whether he allowed the Belden a day to settle in for an evaluation as well. What is obvious is that simply swapping out cords for a song or two isn't a reliable test, as many have discovered.
Dekay- We were before I posted, but now ....? Just kidding Brulee!

I have had identical experience with my PCs taking time to "settle in": discernibly between 15"-60" (for my ears; I'm assuming I get used to the sound by then and miss subtle changes, if any, after that time). I'm *guessing* the settling-in time depends on how long a cable has been disconnected in that particular instance and, what part of its useful life has the cable been conducting electricity in general.

For that matter, I've also noticed that certain "tweaks" applied to my cdp or pre take some minutes to "settle in", if you will. I don't think this is due to my familiarising with the sound: after each tweak I usually leave the room for a few mins.

BTW, "Belden" is not necessarily "terrible". They include hi-quality industrial norm (SSTP & others) cables in their product line; these can have twisted conductors foiled per pair, and multiple shielding. They could very well be better performers than the non-exotic name suggests. (OK, such cables rarely sport expensive ptfe tubing, and teflon (or other) outer braiding & mesh we find in the more expensive hi-end offerings.)

Such products are also quite expensive!

I tried German, silver-plated copper multi-strand power cords, conductors foiled and shielded -- that performed quite well. The wholesale price was $~12/m -- that's if you buy in km; if not, it goes up to $~34/m, unterminated ofcourse.

Has anyone else tried top quality industrial norm cable as PC?

I understand the point.His being truthfull is the point I am making.

We absolutely need an ABX comparator. This is the only way to tell whats really going on.

Thanks for the help and kind words. I am a little embarrassed and I am still not sure what happened. I went back and set up my system so that I can put in the FIM without any sharp bends and can now swap out the PCs in minutes. Spent several hours swapping out the cords and no problems. I'm glad I did this trial run by myself. The Beldon is sounding like the Beldon and the FIM like the FIM. It has been some time since I changed out the PCs and I am convinced more than ever how important PCs are. I look forward to Jhunters visit. I know Jcbtubes can't wait for this PC challenge. He is very eager to take the challenge also. I have heard him say many times that you would have to be deaf not to hear a difference. We will see. Maybe Dekay can can come along and and do the swapping of the PCs as Jc and I take the challenge. Should be fun.