[average_joe]

 
Quote:

Can you burn in cables by attaching them to the source and playing music thru them, but without having iems attached to them?

 
Nope, they must be connected to something to complete the circuit and have electrons flow.

 

[myared]

What's the best way to burn in new cables; is it to simply listen to regular music for about 150-200 hours or are there special audio clips to use (and where would one find them if they exist)?   Thanks.

 

[PLUSSOUND]

 
Quote:

What's the best way to burn in new cables; is it to simply listen to regular music for about 150-200 hours or are there special audio clips to use (and where would one find them if they exist)?   Thanks.

 
Most do it by simply playing music for hundreds of hours.

 

[ChrisSC]

 
Quote:

What's the best way to burn in new cables; is it to simply listen to regular music for about 150-200 hours or are there special audio clips to use (and where would one find them if they exist)?   Thanks.

 
This is a good burn-in loop:  http://jlabaudio.com/burn.php (bottom right corner)
 
I like it because it plays a minute of silence between sets so you can run it continuously without worrying about over-stressing your monitors
 

 

[Chris_Himself]

 
Quote:

Can you burn in cables by attaching them to the source and playing music thru them, but without having iems attached to them?

 
The negative leads won't get used in that scenario, only the positive ones

 

[Xymordos]

I got my Toxic Silver today! The first listen wasn't as good...bassless and a soundstage completely out of proportions. However, after a few hours of music, they already sound MUCH better.
I would say this cable is extremely energetic and full of power. I can tell that details increased by quite a bit. The treble is more pronounced and detailed. Vocals moved closer, and the background instruments seem to surround me better too. However, this is at a cost of a smaller soundstage, which looks like this:
   
         /  \  
        | x |
 
x is you, and the sound near your ears are squashed closer in. There is a lot of depth in the soundstage, but then it gets narrower as it gets further away from you, as if it is focusing on a point very far away. Its a weird soundstage, and I hope it'll improve as I burn in the cable.
 
The bass is very unique indeed. There is not a lot of quantity, and each note is very very solid. The punch is extremely powerful, but the bass extension is only average. What's unique is that even though the bass quantity is quite little, after the impact from the punch of the bass note, the echos of that note will rush back to you like a wave. Very nice.
 
This cable probably changed the sound of my customs the most compared to any other cable, including ALO.

 

[Staal]

So, where does one purchase a cable from Toxic Cables for IEMs?

 

[Toxic Cables]

^^ Send me an email, can be found on my profile.
 
Thanks for the impressions, i highly recommend burning them in a little more, then 

 

[cogsand gears]

 
Quote:

I got my Toxic Silver today! The first listen wasn't as good...bassless and a soundstage completely out of proportions. However, after a few hours of music, they already sound MUCH better.
I would say this cable is extremely energetic and full of power. I can tell that details increased by quite a bit. The treble is more pronounced and detailed. Vocals moved closer, and the background instruments seem to surround me better too. However, this is at a cost of a smaller soundstage, which looks like this:
   
         /  \  
        | x |
 
x is you, and the sound near your ears are squashed closer in. There is a lot of depth in the soundstage, but then it gets narrower as it gets further away from you, as if it is focusing on a point very far away. Its a weird soundstage, and I hope it'll improve as I burn in the cable.
 
The bass is very unique indeed. There is not a lot of quantity, and each note is very very solid. The punch is extremely powerful, but the bass extension is only average. What's unique is that even though the bass quantity is quite little, after the impact from the punch of the bass note, the echos of that note will rush back to you like a wave. Very nice.
 
This cable probably changed the sound of my customs the most compared to any other cable, including ALO.

 
I agree with your final statement totaly - most change I have ever heard from a cable, not tried ALO though ( too expensive for my taste / budget ) . I also agree that it is very energetic - it makes everthing sound effortless if that makes sense. Like there is limitless power behind it which is barely being taped.
 
I have not found the bass to be lacking at all, but that may be down to the fones. The notes are very solid indeed, a lot of power and punch. By far the best cable I have tried.
 
I have only used it for around 10 - 12 hours so far, but have noticed a change in that time.
 
Great product Frank! Nice work.

 

[Toxic Cables]

Thanks Luke, i try me best.

 

[Xymordos]

ALO cables sounds very different compared to this one. Their bass is thicker and richer, with a more relaxed sound. the Toxic silver is clearer and more spacious (blacker background?), though with a smaller soundstage (so far which is around 10-12 hours burn in).

 

[cogsand gears]

 
Quote:

ALO cables sounds very different compared to this one. Their bass is thicker and richer, with a more relaxed sound. the Toxic silver is clearer and more spacious (blacker background?), though with a smaller soundstage (so far which is around 10-12 hours burn in).

 
 I thought the background was blacker too. I thought it must be in my head though, didnt know a cable could do that.

 

[myared]

 
Quote:

 
 
The negative leads won't get used in that scenario, only the positive ones

 
Chris, are you familiar with the JLab audio loop ChrisSC provided the URL for ( http://jlabaudio.com/burn.php) and would it be good to burn in the cable you're making me?  Also, how long should the burn in period be in your opinion?  Thanks.

 

[Xymordos]

Instead of burning in like that...you should just listen to it normally...
 
And yes I do think the background is blacker! I can hear more details as a result!

 

[Chris_Himself]

Quote:

 
 
Chris, are you familiar with the JLab audio loop ChrisSC provided the URL for ( http://jlabaudio.com/burn.php) and would it be good to burn in the cable you're making me?  Also, how long should the burn in period be in your opinion?  Thanks.

 
Listen to it normally so you can monitor how much better it sounds every time you pick it up. If you just kinda fire and forget (burn-in) it'll be hard to fully appreciate burn-in.
 
Then after a few weeks just pop the stock cables back in (depends what IEM or headphone we're talking about) and boom, thats your quantifiable difference between stock, silver or upgraded OCC copper.
 
That being said, certain brands I've used (I've been a cable-fier long before Headphone Lounge) will show a difference right away. Others, are worse for a bit, then after whatever magic happens in 30 hours, then you get your improved sound.
 
Burn-in period has been stated to be as long as 200 hours for some people, probably on new headphones which need driver burn-in anyway, but I've observed in my personal experience that any differences with usage can be noticed as early as 20 hours to 50 hours. I can pick apart the most subtle of things since I've been into headphones since 2006 and I play musical chairs with equipment a lot so theres also that.
 
Some people don't even notice when I plug my LCD-2's into a DAC/amp or a headphone jack of my computer speakers... so then theres that demographic too haha.