Speaker cables - cables make a difference

@mceljo  I think your experience with Micca 14 vs BJC Ten White is consistent with mine.  I believe the BJC Ten White they carry now is essentially the Belden 5T00UP 10 AWG (twisted geometry) I was using in my DIY speaker cables back then. (see the labels in the image).  Although I like Belden better, I spend fair amount of effort upgrading xlr IC and preamp to finally tone it down to the smooth, liquid sound I like.  Not warm but smooth sound I have been craving.

My dear brother, 

Yes, new cables, either Interconnects / speaker cables, need break in period.  Even brand new audio equipment needs a break in time because of the soldering / wies .  Forget about the technical/ mathematical measurement.  New cables sounds edgy until everything settles, opens and smoothing up when cable finally broken in.  Actually,  you can be the judge yourself.  Get 2 same cables , one new and the other already broken in. Listen and you definitely will hear the difference.  . I make cables so I know . Thanks.

@lanx0003 - It's common experiences with cables that give me confidence that there's more to it than expectation bias and placebo even though I know that they are also always an unavoidable factor.

My original perspective with speaker cables after doing a lot of reading was that the primary factor that resulted in audible differences was the AWG which led me to go with the 10 AWG BJC cables that are overkill for my length of cables.  I believe 10AWG is what Imax uses for their sound systems that have really long runs.  I have an intermediate switch in my speaker cables (receiver and integrated share my speakers) which is an automatic sub optimization and doubles the cost of any cable purchases.  As a result I I stayed with the BJC cables for a long time until I came across the favorable reviews for the Mecca 14 that were easily obtained and reasonably priced for two sets.  I didn't like them, but hearing the difference fed my curiosity.  Early in my audiophile journey I made some DIY speaker cables from multiple runs of CAT5 cable with the goal of a large aggregate AWG from multiple small solid conductors.  At the time it didn't seem to make any difference and they were a bulky mess so the 10 AWG BJC became a better solution for me.  In retrospect, I think the inability to hear a difference was likely more related to the capability of my AVR than anything else.  The more research I did the more I felt like there is something to smaller conductors, so I eventually purchased Morrow Audio SP4 speaker cables on a Black Friday sale and have really enjoyed the result.  They added detail to the sound but in a natural way.  My damping factor did drop significantly and I would say that the bass became a little less clean as a result, but not anything that would be objectionable.  

@mceljo  I’m not sure I like smaller-gauge conductors speaker cable at that price tag, mainly because their higher resistance reduces the amplifier’s damping factor, which could potentially result in less controlled or fuzzier bass.  While reduced skin effect may be an advantage of smaller conductors, the skin effect itself is essentially negligible in the audio band for typical 10–12 AWG speaker cables.

Frankly, when I saw how popular Morrow speaker cables are on this forum, along with their generous 60-day trial period, I was tempted. I was considering the SP4, but when I realized that a $440 pair uses only 13 AWG conductors, I hesitated. The Micca 14 uses an even smaller conductor, but it costs less than $30 per pair.

On my 2nd rig with Micca 14 the bass does not sound thin / soft after the Veritas Angentum xlr was put in. (I realized the previous thinner bass is from WBC)  So, I think I’m set for now. Toward the end of the year, I may pick up / try a pair of Veritas Aperta speaker cables when it is on sale.