Kaban

I was reading some article about speaker cable and interconnects and the article mentioned that the speaker cable they were using took 150 hour to break in, a cable? I didn't really get what he was talking about. Maybe Percy and Mean Gean can explain it in simplier terms? Thanks in advance. Btw it was Nirvana SL cable they were reviewing.


Peter

Percy

In theory, the insulation and dielectrics that they use in a cable will require a "break in" period since the electrons have to "burn in" the conductors. Think of it like a new set of tires in that it needs about 500 miles to get rid of the mold release agent and other substances.

Some speakers require more "burn in" time than others. Depending on the material and quality of material used...suspensions have to wear in, coils still have to have their full conductive properties formed, etc. IME, after 150 hours, (and only in SOME cases) does the sound get better. Tom Nousiane did a review in CSR about Dynaudio speaker "break in" time and the only thing he noted was better bass. (It was an article on the MW190 sub)

It's a touchy subject. Some people think that ANY cable will do while others use expensive Kimber cable interconnects. IMO, it will make a difference to a certain extent...after a point it becomes an affair of diminishing returns. Best bet on cables and interconnects...listen to the ones you want and a/b them. Chances are that you won't hear too much of a difference.

Percy

Mean Gene

Percy - Is that similar to "burning in" a speaker with pink noise before testing it? I agree with SQ speakers sounding better ( warmer ) as they get some playing time. However, most SPL subs get sloppier as they loosen up & drop some pressure as well. Once knew a guy who changed out his woofer before every contest but he was sponsored so U know how that goes!:eek: When I first installed my JL 12W-3's, I hit 138.6 but after about a week of playing, I was down to 138.0 becuase they loosened up & even farted a few times!! Is RF the only manufacturer who WANTS U to hammer their subs when they're first installed - says so in their manual!!?

RealMarty

Percy,

I've always accepted the burn in philosophy for speakers. After all, they are mechanical with moving parts and like any other mechanical item will require some time to settle in. Most quality manufacturers assume this when they set the tolerances for the parts that go into it.

But wires. I've always had an issue with high end wires. I can't get past the fact that conductivity is a function of wire cross section and material. I just use good quality, thick, twisted strand copper wire. I don't believe the electrons know the difference. Even in my home system with a 200 watt/channel Rotel feeding B&W 804s, I use 220v zip cord. I just can't get into $3, $5, $10/ft "oxygen-free, inverted twisted, edge-wound, whatever" wire. I've listened to a number of them in stereo shops and never heard a difference. Maybe it's a limitation of my hearing, but nobody has made a case that convinced me so far.

Kaban

Thanks Percy, that made a lot more sense. I have doubts about how good those $800 cables are. I agree some cables make a difference to a certain extent. When I first bought my home theater system I used the throw away wires that came with the components and watched Twister on DVD, it sound ok.

Then I swaped in monster speaker cables and MK 400 II interlinks for connecting between DVD and receiver. The music soundtrack sound more dynamic with a lot more bass, but speech became blurry and hard to hear. So I went out the next day and bought a cheaper cable 250 interlinks, and to my surprise it actually sound better. Although music became less dynamic but speech in the movie was very clean and audible.

Percy

I've actually a/b compared two different brands. MIT and Monster M series. The MKII400's are ok but the M series is a bit cleaner and noise floor is noticably lower. Anyways, we did this experiment over at United Audio with a Conrad Johnson tube, Adcom cd player and a pair of Martin Logans. Interconnects were kept at the M1500 Monster M Series and only the speaker wires were swapped out. Using a copy of Hotel california...Hell Freezes Over as reference material. First up were the MIT cables. To me, they sounded dull, overly hyped on the 1khz region and practically no depth. You have to remember that I'm playing these for MIT die hard fans. Then I swap out for Monster M series M2.4's. Much more open, better dynamics, spectral balance is much better.

Bottom line...the store now uses M series extensively. If I were to base the MIT as a 1, then the M series Monster would be a 7 or 8. I invite anyone to try this test as it is highly repeatable.

Now for other cables out on the market, they're not as clear in comparison. But, i still like the M series and I'm sticking with them.

Oh yeah...I've a/b compared the monster car audio products (Interlink 400 for car) versus the M series m950i. This was for a young kid (he's 26 now) that was a boom/spl fan. Guess what...he tore out the Interlink 400's for a set of M850i's. Even HE could hear the difference between the two. Both are monster products. But the M HOME series is better built. I do believe the interlink 400's were 30 to 40 bucks for a 15 foot pair run. The M850's were about 100+ and the M950's that I'm using are about 200+ dollars for a 13 foot run.

If you can hear the difference and it sounds better to you, use the better interconnect. If you can't, then don't bother. But, some cables are quite close in terms of sonic quality.

Percy

Percy

Kaban,

Just for giggles, try a M1000SV S cable for your DVD to TV connection. I use these EXTENSIVELY. Look at the picture from zip cord to M1000SV and tell me if you see any difference. A 1 meter cable will go for about 40 bucks. Give it a shot. If people started using these for their PS2 installations/Nav then their picture would be much better defined with better saturation and contrast. Hopefully someone will catch on.

Percy