New cables - To judge now or after burn in period?

Dcpillai, I got this info directly from the Siltech web site:

"Silver boasts the best conductivity of any metal, and this actually improves over time. The new G9 wire alloys silver and gold together to fill in the micro-cracks of the crystal structure, as well as offering improved cable run-in. Far less time is now needed for the conductors and insulators to achieve their optimum performance – under 100 hours is now required, depending on the connectors."

Good luck.

Maybe try another brand , like chord cables or Shunyata..

Insights - Cable Break-in (cardas.com)

I am not impressed when companies with deep pockets make what are, imo, unsupported claims claims such as a cable relaxing.

The Iconoclast Cables, OTOH,  were modeled and measured, and sold on rigorous testing.  They have been superb in all systems from the first moment. They have bested many other brands that claim break in is required.  

The longer I am in this hobby (40+ years now) the less system building nonsense I tolerate. 

See my Iconoclast review at Dagogo.com 

Cable burn in ?? Has to be the stupid of stupid. NO such thing period !! Get a life, go to school do something. Must admit my R8 10+ ran so much better when all the wires burned in not to mention the sound system improvement…. Apparently it’s in the fine print of any electronic device sold out there, Don’t make me laugh 😂 

1971, you should always site the sources you reference. Here, let me help you.


The deaf audiophile society. (2017). How to claim an observation is false if you lack the intellect to come up with a hypothesis : Scientifitic theory for those who are intellectually challenged and deaf. (3rd edition) Wiley.

That is an attack of the personal looser style added with The cover of intellectual tape. Should you not like someone’s opinion go read a book Get a real education

I no longer concern myself with burn in, break in, whatever you want to call it. I believe, I've experienced it. Remember, its not only metal, likely  dialectic more responsible for this. Anyway, I simply don't judge any new piece inserted into my system until at least 100-400 hours, depending on what equipment inserted. This way issue of burn in moot, I either like or don't like.

I never understand why the objectivists get so incensed by the subjectivists, seems to me they'd be better off being silently smug in their superior knowledge. Could it be they're threatened by us? Defensive.

In cable design, there should not be any break in unless your amp has a DC offset.  The dielectric will not polarize with an AC signal because the opposing swings of voltage neutralizes it. Surprisingly, most amps have a little DC offset, and that reveals a problem with an amp, not adapting the cable. 

Stupid of stupid or deafest of deaf? I've gone into a couple of high end end retailers with a friend and listened to a system set up by the owners. in both cases they asked " doesn't that sound great "? We turned and looked at each other and said " that sounds terrible! ".

What would be the motivation for a company to post false information about cable break in? I can't figure it out. It's not going to make you purchase their cables, so what can it be? Also, it's not all cables that need a long burn in as stated by Cardas.

I currently own Transparent Audio speaker cables and interconnects and my hi-fi dealer recommended that I audition the Siltech cables because, in his opinion, they marry so well with Sim Audio electronics, which I also use.  So I have done a little online research on Siltech cables and came across a bing video of Edwin Rynveld, the CEO, chief engineer and owner of Siltech and his wife Gabi Rynveld, owner of Crystal Cable. Edwin is also the chief engineer of Crystal.  According to Edwin Rynveld cables (at least their cables) require break in.  You can view this video series if you google  Siltech & Crystal Cable Bing Video.  He mentions break-in during the last half of video 2 (I think some point after the 6 minute mark).  It was interesting to hear him say that if you put the cables in boiling water and take them out and let them dry off for a day they will sound better.  He explains fully what the process of heat accomplishes.  He says that you can get the same result with high current but it is not advisable for safety reasons. 

Until I got my Darwin speaker cables, all other brands had a slow and subtle break in over time. Looking back, that told me that practically all cables are just a variation on a theme and behave accordingly.

The Darwins were the first speaker cables to break in differently. For the first four hours or so, they behaved like any other I've tried. Then, they blossomed like a time elapsed video of a flower, opening up like nothing I've heard before.

You'll find there are few makes out there that are different than the usual run of cables.

All the best,
Nonoise

That is an attack of the personal looser style added with The
cover of intellectual tape. Should you not like someone’s opinion go read a book Get a real education

Says the “intellectual” who refers to others who’s opinions he does not like as “the stupid of stupid”. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

Besides, before you tell others to get an education perhaps you should master spelling, [looser]

BTW, what is intellectual tape? Does it help you with hearing? Try using more of it next time you listen. 😂🤣




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It’s easy…if they sound good ‘out of the box’, then let ‘em brake-in.  If they don’t, move on.

Putting cables on blocks?..   why?  Leaving on floor seems ok.

Break-in is definitely a must if you're buying new. Do the experiment yourself and listen to whatever reference you use at different times. Some of the changes on some cables can dramatic and pretty unsavory like "what the f*** did I spend my money on?!" Many builders will tell you how long they think it will take for a cable to get most of the way to sounding its best - I imagine that's what they'd want you to hear.

100 hours seems to be plenty for most. I've heard less and more. More definitely gets to be a drag. I've had cables that took that long and longer and it's no fun to burn up my tubes 24/7 - and hooking them up to the fridge seems like a bad idea somehow - but it's always been worth hearing what the builder intended. The cables I've been most enamored of have been mostly from more boutique builders who can tell you....some do want you to listen and tell for yourself, though. Buying used eliminates all of that though and a day of letting them settle in is plenty....this is my experience anyway.

I'm admittedly a pretty nervous audiophile who'll set up a few sets of IC's on my integrated and switch back and forth to replay a few of my reference songs back to back with different cables...really doesn't let me have any real insight, though. Impulse control isn't always my long suit....

The Dynamic Design cabling I have took three days. Much more open after 2 days and haven't changed much after 100. The changes are what makes them the only cable I've ever considered using as a loom. They became more 3D, nuanced and extended. I'm using PC's and IC's now and am awestruck by the music coming out of my system....that wasn't the case right away, began to become clear after 80 hours or so with PC's alone and after adding IC's (and being a little patient), the experience of interiorly illuminated and nuanced detail on a huge, layered, dead quiet stage with round 3D images is phenomenal. Even handed, extended with a natural control and timbre there's no etch or fatigue from my system at all...

So, patience. Siltech is a great cable and does take some breaking in - I used them back int the G4 era with Plinius gear when Plinius used it as hook up wire. Do yourself a favor snd get yourself a set of DD to listen to - you can usually get a demo period directly from them. 

The ears have it, never mind the test equipment. Musicians choose certain gear exclusively (mostly) based on how it sounds. I say almost because you can’t fight or measure the effects of  payola. ;)

 The Siltech cables are highly recommended by my distributor   ?   "Classic "

Any of you who,

• are in the process of building/improving/evolving your audio system,
• believe there are significant sonic differences between cables, 
• plan to try multiple audio cables in the future,
• are likely to spend serious money on audio cables, and/or
• plan to build your own cables, 

should give serious consideration to purchasing the audiodharma Cable Cooker from audio excellence az, or another type of cable conditioner. 

By conditioning your cables on the Cable Cooker you will take (most of?) the guesswork out of this whole burn-in discussion.  Even if you hear little to no difference after conditioning, you should at least have a level of confidence that you are actually hearing what the cables sound like.  By conditioning your new cables, you get to hear what they sound like shortly after you install them, instead of waiting days or months and wondering whether the cables are changing their presentation or whether it is actually your ears that are adjusting.  You can also "touch-up" the conditioning of your existing cables to remove burn-in concerns when comparing cables in your system.

Considering all the money some here spend on cables and other stuff, the $1-2K cost of the Cable Cooker (depending on the model you select) seems like money well spent.  I have no interest in the product or company, other than being a Cable Cooker owner since 2004.

Its both bass takes 200 hours to fully come in however this being said these cables should sound great after 50 hours.

dcpillai, It seems pretty evident from this thread that break in matters in Siltech cable performance. I use Siltech's and have found that even used ones need a good 50 hours to settle in after they've been moved /shipped.

I'm curious what you have seen with these in the past two months. Did they break in to your satisfaction? Did you decide to keep the Legends?

@mitch2

You are absolutely correct… but no matter how hard I have tried over the decades I just cannot get myself to spend that much money on something that does not directly improve the performance of my system. I ended up getting a extra DAC, and amp for experimental purposes (just Schiit) that I attach stuff for breakin.

But you are absolutely right, one should buy one… when as young as possible so you can amortize the cost over as long a period as possible.

Thanks everyone for the feedback, especially @ebm  @louisl   @ dinov. That was useful advice.

@ddrave44  , I was frankly not happy with either of the Siltechs. I ultimately went with Silversmith Audio Fidelium speaker cable. Out of the box, I knew that they were the ones that I would keep. It just boggles the mind that the cheaper cables (i.e. the Silversmith) won out over the Siltechs. However, I only returned the Legend 380i to my dealer. I have kept the 680i. It is now happily installed on my study system ( https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9671).

I do intend to swap them at some point in the future and with the Silversmith Audio Fidelium speaker cables and see whether I prefer their sound on my main system ( https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/9619). This is the experimentation that keeps some of us audiophiles happy :-)

The question is why do so many cable designers believe in a cable break-in period, some call it setting-in?

Talk to Chris at VH Audio, he'll recommend the different break-in periods of the many cables he sells and assembles. He also uses a cable cooker on select cables.