[Toolman]

  Burning in a new cable...WyWires Platinum cable!...I am told it needs at least 100 hours of burn-in.

 
Would love to hear your takeaway from this cable...mine was supposed to be shipped out by now but was delayed due to Alex being away at RMAF, so it should be shipped out by next week

 

[TonyNewman]

darinf

...I am told it needs at least 100 hours of burn-in.

 
For the love of Christ, why? What can possibly change in the properties of the cable from 100 hours of use, or 100,000 hours of use?
 
Has anyone, anywhere, ever, been able to blind A/B test and separate a burned in cable from a fresh cable?
 
Sorry to get mildly belligerent, but the cable silliness needs to be challenged at some point.

 

[Mortalcoil]

  For the love of Christ, why? What can possibly change in the properties of the cable from 100 hours of use, or 100,000 hours of use?
 
Has anyone, anywhere, ever, been able to blind A/B test and separate a burned in cable from a fresh cable?
 
Sorry to get mildly belligerent, but the cable silliness needs to be challenged at some point.

 
 
It has been challenged Tony since Napoleon was a Private.  As always though there are believers in cable burn in and disbelievers, nothing new.
 
Personally, I believe in cable burn in.

 

[inthere]

Tony, as far as I know, no one has EVER successfully blind tested cable burn in or even the difference between a $5 cable and a $3000 cable. The James Randi Foundation has even offered a $1 million reward to ANYONE that can successfully identify the difference between cables:
 
http://gizmodo.com/305549/james-randi-offers-1-million-if-audiophiles-can-prove-7250-speaker-cables-are-better
 
That said, Skylar Gray from Audioquest(who sells very expensive  cables) offered this explanation:
 

 

   
What do you propose is happening over those 150 to 200 hours then?

Though we use the term "burn-in" when speaking of cable, it's not technically correct. Nevertheless, we use this term for lack of a more concise, relatable description.
 
What we are really dealing with is temporary dielectric forming or conditioning if you like.
 
In a perfect world, the insulators used in our cables would all have a relative permittivity (used to be called "dielectric constant") of 1. Materials with higher relative permittivities (signified by the symbol "

ε_r​

") generally perform worse as insulators. Example 

ε_r ​

values for common materials: PE = 2.25, rubber = 7, water ~80 (very temperature dependent). Air is very nearly 1.0 and is theoretically considered the best insulator/dielectric for cables; however, it is practically impossible to implement a 100% air insulator in a cable, but we can get close.
 
What this all means is that even great insulators in cables such as PE or Teflon have dielectric properties, absorbing energy from adjacent conductors and releasing the energy back into the conductor over time. This has been described as having a "smearing" effect on the signal as the amount of energy varies with frequency, and the time delay of absorption and release varies with frequency. Typically, dielectrics with higher 

ε_r ​

values will introduce more signal distortion. 
 
As a cable is used constantly over time, the dielectric insulators are polarized on a molecular level by current passing through the conductors. Eventually, the insulator's molecules become organized so that the so-called "smearing" effects are diminished. The absorption and release of energy by the dielectric is now more uniform. This dielectric conditioning can take days or weeks depending upon many factors such as conductor size/material, dielectric size/material, overall geometry, current, temperature, etc. Here is an excerpt from AQ's Dielectric Bias System technical paper:

 
 
Unlike mechanical burn-in of a car engine or a loudspeaker or NightHawk's drivers, the dielectric in a cable can return back to it's original, unorganized state after a few days or weeks of non-use. This is why "burn-in" or "break-in" does not tell the whole story in regards to cable. We recommend an initial two weeks of constant use to ensure the cable's dielectric insulation is at optimal conditioning. Further, a cable should be kept in frequent (not necessarily constant) use to ensure it remains in its optimal performance condition.
 
As a cable company, it is AQ's job to literally obsess over these small details. In our world it is the culmination of myriad small details which makes the whole more than the sum of its parts. We find dielectric performance critical to what we do.
 
That said, the importance of these phenomena are up to the individual listener to decide.

 
I personally refuse to believe that the Utopia's supplied cable is a bottleneck to my audio bliss 

 

[Mortalcoil]

Not sure if this has been posted here lately, if not heres something for all those super big spenders out there. 

 
 
http://www.focal.com/canada/en/content/11974-utopia-by-tournaire-the-most-prestigious-headphones-in-the-world

 

[inthere]

  Not sure if this has been posted here lately, if not heres something for all those super big spenders out there. 

 
 
http://www.focal.com/canada/en/content/11974-utopia-by-tournaire-the-most-prestigious-headphones-in-the-world

The most beautiful set of cans I've ever seen but if the goal is to impress people audiophiles won't be and i think the general public may be more impressed with a pair of gold plated Beats:
 
http://www.crystalrocked.com/index.php/headphones/dr-dre-pro-gold.html
 
http://luxatic.com/24-carat-gold-plated-beats-by-dr-dre-pro-headphones/

 

[Trogdor]

Not sure if this has been posted here lately, if not heres something for all those super big spenders out there. 


http://www.focal.com/canada/en/content/11974-utopia-by-tournaire-the-most-prestigious-headphones-in-the-world

If I was a hip hop star living the high life, maybe...

Otherwise, that is ridiculous.

 

[SurFi]

  I was considering purchasing the Ether Flow headphones and a Violectric V281 headphone amp to use with my Invicta Mirus Pro DAC.
 
I have been tempted to consider purchasing the Focal Utopia although this would really stretch my budget.
 
To get the best from the Focal Utopia could someone provide advice as to approximate cost of a suitable balanced cable and is the unbalanced cable supplied with the headphones of a high quality?
 
My general listening covers everything apart from heavy rock music.
 
I will not have an opportunity to listen to the headphones and amp with my DAC till the end of October or early November.
 

 
Based on your post, I assume you are still looking at headphone amps to pair with the Invicta Mirus. (?)
 
I recommend figuring out the best pairing, for you, of the Mirus and a headphone amp before moving forward with a cable upgrade.
 
The stock cable for the Utopia is very good. If you do go forward with the Utopia, I personally would hold off on a cable upgrade until you have a good feel for the Utopia within your system.
 
And by that time, there should be quite a few impressions from Head-Fi members on cable upgrades for the Utopia and their strengths and weaknesses.

 

[Allanmarcus]

I just heard Jude pronounce the Elear: ee-lee-ar
I was says ee-leer
 
now I know. Now you know 
 

 

[musicman59]

  I just heard Jude pronounce the Elear: ee-lee-ar
I was says ee-leer
 
now I know. Now you know 
 

Jason told me that the name comes from two words Elite Ear (Elear) so the pronunciation should be like speaking Spanglish El Ear.. 

 

[TSAVJason]

Jason told me that the name comes from two words Elite Ear (Elear) so the pronunciation should be like speaking Spanglish El Ear.. :tongue_smile:

Hahahaha good one! Yup! Only Nicolas and Jude say Eee Lee R. It's a little like the cluggy of Au Deeze v Au di zeee

 

[Allanmarcus]

 

Jason told me that the name comes from two words Elite Ear (Elear) so the pronunciation should be like speaking Spanglish El Ear.. 

Hahahaha good one! Yup! Only Nicolas and Jude say Eee Lee R. It's a little like the cluggy of Au Deeze v Au di zeee

So ee-leer is about right?

 

[TimeLord]

So ee-leer is about right?

Since it's a French company, I just try to use the French pronunciation. Eh-le-ar

Now practice on Schiit's products: Jotunheim anyone? Haha

Edited: oops there was an extra "e" in there.

 

[KarlMoody]

These Utopias are surely out of my league, but since I've heard some Grande Utopias in the past I thought I'd ask...
How do these Utopia headphones stack up to those big guns?

 

[FLTWS]

Since it's a French company, I just try to use the French pronunciation. Eh-le-ar

Now practice on Schiit's products: Jotunheim anyone? Haha

Edited: oops there was an extra "e" in there.

 
Yo-toon-hime or sjo-toon-heim?