Break in for interconnects and speaker cable?

[luchocastro]

Caelin, what kind of break in (if any) is recommended or required for Shunyata Ztron speaker cables and interconnects? Just installed these on my system over the weekend. They sound fabulous out of the box but just wondering weather I should expect improvements with time. Thanks for building these fantastic products!

[CGabriel]

Originally Posted by luchocastro

Caelin, what kind of break in (if any) is recommended or required for Shunyata Ztron speaker cables and interconnects? Just installed these on my system over the weekend. They sound fabulous out of the box but just wondering weather I should expect improvements with time. Thanks for building these fantastic products!

Burn-in is real and significant.

There are at least 3 phases of burn-in that cables go through.

In the 1st Phase the sound goes on a wild roller coaster ride: up, down and all around. Never judge the ultimate potential of a cable if it is in the first phase of burn-in. This phase lasts about five days ( continuous burn-in ) or about 150-200 hours. First day the cable will sound warm and pleasant but lacking in resolution, extention at both frequency extremes and closed-in. The second day will make you question why you even considered the cable - Jeckle and Hyde. It will sound harsh, bright and pitchy - nasty! On the third day it will sound more like the first day except more open. Much of the discontinuity of the second day will have past. The fourth day gives you a glimpse of what the cable may be capable of. A more coherent sound with some high frequency extention with spatial width and depth starting to grow. On the fifth day the cable will have calmed down and will have its basic sound qualities established.

In the second phase which lasts about two weeks, the cable will progressively relax. It will continue to grow in spatial height, width and depth. The high frequencies will become more delicate and refined. The bass frquencies will have more extension and coherent pitch definition. During this phase the cable may have periods of depression where it looses a sense of continuity. This usually is brief and doesn't last very long.

In the last phase which can last a couple of months, the cable does not change character or make significant changes in sound quality. It will simply continue to open up spatially and shed the last subtle colorations.

---- Not all cables will sound better after burn-in. Surprised? Cables that are constructed with ETF copper (low grade) and or made with large solid core conductors will often sound best when new. As they burn-in you will start to hear the poor quality of the copper. It will sound grainy, rough and unrefined. It may be irritating. In an effort to find the "problem" with your system you may start to change components or swap cables. When you pull the offending cable and then put it back it - the sound quality will again sound OK making you believe that the cable is fine. After a few days in the system, the nasty sound will return. If you suspect you have such a cable in your system - take it out and bend it several times and then put it back in. If it sounds good right away wait a couple days and see if the harsh sound returns. Very fine stranded wire cables and litz wires never display this characteristic. It is always a cable that is stiff and wiry.

cg

[luchocastro]

Thanks for the great and detailed response. Now starting to work on burn-in!