Silver cable break in

Geir

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Nov 13, 2021
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I have this silver cable that I bought new, and it is really stubborn in terms on burn in time. I also had some other silver cables before, end they also took "forever" to break.
I mean up to 500 hours and more. Anyone else experiencing long burn in time for silver cable?
Thanks:)
 
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whistleraudio

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Jan 6, 2015
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Are you sure this is pure silver as opposed to silver plated? May I ask what brand it is?
 

ACHiPo

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Feb 22, 2015
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My pure silver Darwin Truth balanced interconnects took about 300 hours to break in, and it was a rollercoaster ride--starting decent, but with a bit of glare, then dull, then duller, then fingernails-on-a-chalkboard bright (ok, so maybe not that bad, but definitely a move toward grit/glare before smoothing out), then finally live-sounding with no glare or grit.

As an aside the break in experience with my Holo Audio KTE (lots of silver wiring) was similar to the Darwin Truth ICs.
 

Geir

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Nov 13, 2021
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My pure silver Darwin Truth balanced interconnects took about 300 hours to break in, and it was a rollercoaster ride--starting decent, but with a bit of glare, then dull, then duller, then fingernails-on-a-chalkboard bright (ok, so maybe not that bad, but definitely a move toward grit/glare before smoothing out), then finally live-sounding with no glare or grit.

As an aside the break in experience with my Holo Audio KTE (lots of silver wiring) was similar to the Darwin Truth ICs.
I also found these silver cables to sound forward and fatiguing at first. Almost thought is was something wrong with the cables, and contacted the producer to hear if this is normal. Typical answer is 100-200 hours, but it really takes a lot more time in my opinion. There was a lack of bass, for a long, long time, and even longer time to hear the dynamic ebb and flow of the music. I seriously consider one of those cable cookers, to see how it works.
 
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ACHiPo

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Feb 22, 2015
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Pleasanton, CA
I also found these silver cables to sound forward and fatiguing at first. Almost thought is was something wrong with the cables, and contacted the producer to hear if this is normal. Typical answer is 100-200 hours, but it really takes a lot more time in my opinion. There was a lack of bass, for a long, long time, and even longer time to hear the dynamic ebb and flow of the music. I seriously consider one of those cable cookers, to see how it works.
If my experience is worth anything, just keep running music 24/7, turning it off for a few hours once a week, and things will asymptote to goodness (or something, depending on the synergies with your system) within a month. Good luck.
 

Geir

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If my experience is worth anything, just keep running music 24/7, turning it off for a few hours once a week, and things will asymptote to goodness (or something, depending on the synergies with your system) within a month. Good luck.
Thanks, I will try to turn off the power, to see if it changes further after that.
 

Alrainbow

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Dec 11, 2013
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I have this silver cable that I bought new, and it is really stubborn in terms on burn in time. I also had some other silver cables before, end they also took "forever" to break.
I mean up to 500 hours and more. Anyone else experiencing long burn in time for silver cable?
Thanks:)
Burn in is real for a few reasons. One thing not to do is move them , step on them. to do so removes any break in done. think some are many tiny fibers. There is no insulation so tiny connections are made
to move cables us to start over
this is one reason
 

whistleraudio

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Jan 6, 2015
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Yes, it is pure silver conductors. The brand is Tubulus. The other silver cables I own are Argento.
Their cheapest cable is silver plated. I suppose that it is not the Libentus model you own?
 

Geir

Member
Nov 13, 2021
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Burn in is real for a few reasons. One thing not to do is move them , step on them. to do so removes any break in done. think some are many tiny fibers. There is no insulation so tiny connections are made
to move cables us to start over
this is one reason
I have noticed changes when swapping cables, that it needs time to settle in but not that the whole break in process starts over again.
In my experience a cable that is fully broken in, needs about 24 hour to settle in a new system.
It is another thing if it is moved before the initial burn in process is through, but even still, I think it picks up faster, and do not need to start completely over.
 
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Audiocrack

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Aug 10, 2012
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Burning in silver cables is really ‘a pain in the ass’. Burning in Tripoint Audio top of the line grounding cables (partly silver) turned out to be a long and nasty process. I am in the middle of it right now again and most of the time the grounding cables sound ‘hot’, that is they are highlighting the high frequencies. Not very pleasant.

Also considered a cable cooker but according to some audio insiders
a. using those devices will have a lasting and sort of unnatural effect on the cables and
b. - albeit it might take a long time - burning in cables by just playing music is the (purist) way to go.

I do not know for sure if these audio insiders are right about this but their info keeps me away from cable cookers.
 

Geir

Member
Nov 13, 2021
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Burning in silver cables is really ‘a pain in the ass’. Burning in Tripoint Audio top of the line grounding cables (partly silver) turned out to be a long and nasty process. I am in the middle of it right now again and most of the time the grounding cables sound ‘hot’, that is they are highlighting the high frequencies. Not very pleasant.

Also considered a cable cooker but according to some audio insiders
a. using those devices will have a lasting and sort of unnatural effect on the cables and
b. - albeit it might take a long time - burning in cables by just playing music is the (purist) way to go.

I do not know for sure if these audio insiders are right about this but their info keeps me away from cable cookers.
Thank you for this information.
I think the reputation silver cables has of sounding harsh is partly due to lack of break in time.
If I wore to make a general recommendation for breaking in new cables, I would say be patient and give the cables a couple of months in the system. Specially if is cryo treated cables or silver cables.
 

microstrip

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(...) Also considered a cable cooker but according to some audio insiders
a. using those devices will have a lasting and sort of unnatural effect on the cables and
b. - albeit it might take a long time - burning in cables by just playing music is the (purist) way to go.

I do not know for sure if these audio insiders are right about this but their info keeps me away from cable cookers.

What is the advice of the cable manufacturer? He probably has experience with it.
 

Geir

Member
Nov 13, 2021
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@Geir . I got Argento Flow speakers cable and looking for an Aes cable. How you compare Argento vs Tubulus Aes? Thanks
Kevin
I have no tried Aes cables from Tubulus or Argento, so a bit difficult to say. My guess is that Argento Flow is superior, based on I tried the flow digital bnc, and since I am not completely sold on the Tubulus i2s.
 
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