Tuberoller
Divorced an Orpheus to keep his wife.
- Joined
- Oct 23, 2001
- Posts
- 4,941
- Likes
- 15
I've been the victim of some real Voodoo style upgrades over the many years I've been an audio enthusiast. Everything from "Hallograph Soundfield Optimizers" to diffusers have passed through my system and a great deal of it has been useless. Some things work and others are a waste of time and money. I learned a while back that cable burn-in does have some noticeable effects on sound quality and is a worthwhile consideration. This seems to be most evident with interconnects, a bit less obvious when perfromed on Power cords and completely useless on speaker cables since they are voodoo anyway.
I had been hearing about the Audiodharma Cable Cooker Pro and decided I wanted to audition some cables that had been cooked versus some that had no burn-in and others that were burned-in the conventional way. I was going to take some cables over to Music Direct and have them cooked but I figured the Cable Cooker Pro was cheap enough at $800.00 to give it a whirl using some cables that I already like and trust.
Cables I chose for this comparisom were all 1 meter interconnects and are as follows
Acoustic Zen WOW!
Harmonic Technology Pro-Silway MKIII
Synergistic Research Looking Glass (with "Active Shielding")
DiMarzio M-Path
Audioquest Diamondback
I had three of examples of each interconnect one of which was brand new wih no burn-in,one with several hundred hours of system use burn-in(all my personal property) and yet another example of each interconnect that has been cooked for 48 hours on the Cable Cooker.
Associated Equipment:
Amplification:
Antique Sound Labs Tulip Stereo Amplifier
Ray Samuels Audio Stealth Preamp/headamp
Ray Samuels Audio XR2 Phono Amp
Headroom Max w/stepped attenuator
Sources:
VPI Scout Turntable/Lyra Argo Cartridge
Meridian G08 CDP
Musichall Maverick SACD Player
Akai GX635D Reel-to-Reel player/recorder
Loudspeakers/headphones:
PSB Image 7PT Loudspeakers
Senn HD650 headphones/Zu Cable Mobius
I used a wide variety of recordings and had the assistance of my good friend Dr. Reginald Bey who has been actively participating in my just completed comparison of the Omega II headphone systems. His help was instrumental and much needed. Some of the recordings we used were Dr. Bey's own studio recordings of solo piano and solo with female vocals.
The very first thing I typically notice about most modern interconnects is how stiff they are. Typically this stiffness never really goes away but my experiences with the Acoustic Zen and Synergistic Research cables proves that some do,in fact,relax a bit and become less stiff. Along with that physical stiffness comes a stiff sonic presentation. My last pair of AZ WOW! cables took several hundred hours of burn-in to come around but the AQ Diamondbacks sounded pretty good right out the box. The one constant among every interconnect that I have ever used is a difference in sound after burn-in. Notice I said a "difference" and not and "Improvement". Some sounded better, others sounded worse.
In my experiences I have found very few cables that did everything well and my system reflects my observations over the years. You'll see that I use different interconnects between my amp and preamp,another interconnect for my digital sources and yet another for my analog sources. The elusive " universal" interconnect continues to elude me.
Listening Impressions:
With Digital Sources:
I placed each interconnect between my Digital sources and preamp for the first part of my audition and the contrasts between the cables was largest in this application. Each of the new(non-burned) cables sounded a bit congested and very tight,with the Diamondback and Looking Glass sounding most relaxed and loose. Each of the new cables had deep bass, but control was only what I would consider good with the Diamondback. The Dimarzio also had great bass out the box but was not as tight as the Diamondback.
After conventional burn-in each of the interconnects sounded at least somewhat distinct from the new example. Each cable offered improvements in bass definition,soundstage and imaging. The Diamondback sounded nearly the same in both incarnations and only improved slightly in imaging.The AZ cable had a really killer soundstage after burn-in and it was certainly my favorite when it came to opening things up. I liked the midrange and vocal performances of the AZ and SR cables best and the HT cable was not bad either. The M-Path seemed not change too much with burn-in either but had the deepest bass before and after.
The cooked cables sounded as dissimilar as the new and burned cables did. The SR cable opened up a bunch and the soundstage seemed to expand to an almost unreal width and depth. There was no back wall with the SR cable after it was cooked. Detail also seemed to improve making cymbals sound much more natural. The Dimarzio and Diamondback again seemed to sound less "improved" than the other interconnects. The Diamondback's bass improved yet again but only a very small amount. The M-Path seemed to wake up a bit,offering improved treble detail and a bit of lushness to the upper mids. The HT cable also improved greatly,opening up the soundstage and improving dynamics across the entire frequncy. The AZ cable changed a bit as well but I think I liked the burned cable over the cooked cable. The cooked AZ sounded a bit too loose in the bass and voices seemed to "smear" if that makes sense. I called the manufacturer of the cable cooker and asked about this and he said I may have "overcooked" the cable and I should let it "relax" a bit. This sounded like BS to me but I did what he said and it seems to have helped or maybe I'm suffering from the "placebo effect",I don't know. I still like the burned AZ cable better. It's important to note that some cable manufacturers do not recommend "cooking" their cables,you should check before doing so. There was no such recommendation on the AZ site or in the literature.
With Analog Sources:
I initailly figured I would hear the largest changes in sound with my analog sources but that was not the case. I can't explain this one but I was able to make some good observations and draw some solid conclusions from this part of my audition. I was forced to swap the interconnects from both the input and output sides of my Phono stage since I forgot to consider that I would need two interconnects for this application. I decided to use a very well cooked Nordost Red Dawn I had lying around. I used the Nordost on opposing sides of the Phono amp when testing each cable which I think made things fair.
On the vinyl rig the new cables all sounded very tight and none had really great bass,the M-path once again had the deepest bass but it too was very tight,the bad kinda tight. To keep the new cables from burning in too much while they were being auditioned I only used them for about twenty minutes on each side of the phono stage. I observed during this audition that the cable used on the input side of the phono-stage should be chsoen very carefully. Some of these cables allow and introduce a great deal of noise into the audio chain. The SR with the "Active Shielding" using a small transfromer attached to the cable and a blue LED was very noisey and caused a terrible hum. I checked all my connections and grounds but it persisted. When I placed it on the output side the noise was gone. The Diamondback also introduced some noise,possibly from RFI and caused a slight hum. All the other cables were silent. The Tape deck was not kind to the new cables and made them all sound very congested and nasal on nearly all the vocal tracks I used auditioned.
The Burned-in cables all improved in this application. The Diamondback remained noisey on the input side of the phono stage and the SR was still unusable on the input side. On the output side the AZ was king. Imaging,bass definition and soundstaging were all improved and vocals were made a real treat. I really liked the way this cable sounded after it was burned in. The HT also sounded really good on both sides of the phono stage and had a great,wide open presentation and very deep bass. The reel to reel player loved the burned AZ cable and the bass was just earth shaking on some of the tracks we used. The tape player liked the HT cable too and it had great dynamics all around. The Burned SR also performed well with the tape player and offered what I think was the best balance.
The cooked cables all had some very audible sonic differences from the burned and new cables. The SR and Diamondback remained noisey on the input side of the phono stage but every cable seemed to have deeper,tighter bass and improved dynamics. The overall most improved cable was the HT,making huge strides in nearly every way. Bass was deeper,tighter and more defined. Soundstaging was greatly improved and detail was resolved with much better clarity. When I got the HT on the tape deck I was stunned. tweaks to improve the sound of reel to reel decks are few and any improvement in the sound is reason for excitement. The HT really woke up when used with the tape deck. You have'nt heard deep,natural, acoustic bass until you've heard it on open reel tape. I kept the cooked cable just for this application and I'm in love. The Dimarzio did'nt change too much but was very silent and performed well during the entire audition period. I won't say it was outclassed or anything but it did have the deepest bass across all the tests among all the cables.
Amp-preamp chain:
I have always had great trouble finding interconnects for the crucial amp to preamp connection. I curently use the AZ WOW! and it performs very well.
All the new cables were entirely unimpressive when placed between the amp/preamp. Only the Dimarzio sounded like it was gonna pan out in this application,likely because it had great deep bass. I only played around with the new,unburned cables for about two hours here becuase they all sounded so terrible.
The Burned in cables once again all improved greatly. The AZ still sounds best to me in burned form, in this application. The HT was very close and the SR had some good traits as well. I really liked the "openness" and detail of the AZ cable here and was impressed by how well it held everything together. Yes,I've grown accustomed to the sound of the AZ in my system so perhaps this comparison is unfair. The Dimarzio and Diamondback sounded nearly the same and I really can't see anyone using either cable for a pre/power amp connection. They just don't perform well here.
There were no huge revelations with the cooked cables and the performance of each cable pretty much reaffirmed existing strengths and weaknessess. The AZ seemed to not be as rich sounding as before and perhaps this is again due to my "overcooking" but it still sounded best to me. The HT was still very good and I could live with either it or the SR in this application. Obviously the cable cooker did'nt have as great an effect as I thought it would when used on interconnects placed in the preamp chain. I figured since I had such a hard time finding a good cable for this application,any changes would be "amplified"(no pun intended).
I contend that the Audioharma cable Cooker works and works very well. After I was done with my audition I decided to cook all my cables and I'm very happy for it. I followed the advice from Audiodharma and cooked each cable for a few hours(6-8 hours) and listened to them at these intervals to prevent "Overcooking". If cable cooking is an option for you I strongly suggest that you take advantage. My dad and a few of my audio friends are using the cooker now and this is an ideal situation to share in the expenses of purchasing a cooker. I'll likely send my cooker off the Todd Green so that he can see and hear for himself the effects of the cooker. The Cable Cooker Pro gets a strong recommendation from me.
I had been hearing about the Audiodharma Cable Cooker Pro and decided I wanted to audition some cables that had been cooked versus some that had no burn-in and others that were burned-in the conventional way. I was going to take some cables over to Music Direct and have them cooked but I figured the Cable Cooker Pro was cheap enough at $800.00 to give it a whirl using some cables that I already like and trust.
Cables I chose for this comparisom were all 1 meter interconnects and are as follows
Acoustic Zen WOW!
Harmonic Technology Pro-Silway MKIII
Synergistic Research Looking Glass (with "Active Shielding")
DiMarzio M-Path
Audioquest Diamondback
I had three of examples of each interconnect one of which was brand new wih no burn-in,one with several hundred hours of system use burn-in(all my personal property) and yet another example of each interconnect that has been cooked for 48 hours on the Cable Cooker.
Associated Equipment:
Amplification:
Antique Sound Labs Tulip Stereo Amplifier
Ray Samuels Audio Stealth Preamp/headamp
Ray Samuels Audio XR2 Phono Amp
Headroom Max w/stepped attenuator
Sources:
VPI Scout Turntable/Lyra Argo Cartridge
Meridian G08 CDP
Musichall Maverick SACD Player
Akai GX635D Reel-to-Reel player/recorder
Loudspeakers/headphones:
PSB Image 7PT Loudspeakers
Senn HD650 headphones/Zu Cable Mobius
I used a wide variety of recordings and had the assistance of my good friend Dr. Reginald Bey who has been actively participating in my just completed comparison of the Omega II headphone systems. His help was instrumental and much needed. Some of the recordings we used were Dr. Bey's own studio recordings of solo piano and solo with female vocals.
The very first thing I typically notice about most modern interconnects is how stiff they are. Typically this stiffness never really goes away but my experiences with the Acoustic Zen and Synergistic Research cables proves that some do,in fact,relax a bit and become less stiff. Along with that physical stiffness comes a stiff sonic presentation. My last pair of AZ WOW! cables took several hundred hours of burn-in to come around but the AQ Diamondbacks sounded pretty good right out the box. The one constant among every interconnect that I have ever used is a difference in sound after burn-in. Notice I said a "difference" and not and "Improvement". Some sounded better, others sounded worse.
In my experiences I have found very few cables that did everything well and my system reflects my observations over the years. You'll see that I use different interconnects between my amp and preamp,another interconnect for my digital sources and yet another for my analog sources. The elusive " universal" interconnect continues to elude me.
Listening Impressions:
With Digital Sources:
I placed each interconnect between my Digital sources and preamp for the first part of my audition and the contrasts between the cables was largest in this application. Each of the new(non-burned) cables sounded a bit congested and very tight,with the Diamondback and Looking Glass sounding most relaxed and loose. Each of the new cables had deep bass, but control was only what I would consider good with the Diamondback. The Dimarzio also had great bass out the box but was not as tight as the Diamondback.
After conventional burn-in each of the interconnects sounded at least somewhat distinct from the new example. Each cable offered improvements in bass definition,soundstage and imaging. The Diamondback sounded nearly the same in both incarnations and only improved slightly in imaging.The AZ cable had a really killer soundstage after burn-in and it was certainly my favorite when it came to opening things up. I liked the midrange and vocal performances of the AZ and SR cables best and the HT cable was not bad either. The M-Path seemed not change too much with burn-in either but had the deepest bass before and after.
The cooked cables sounded as dissimilar as the new and burned cables did. The SR cable opened up a bunch and the soundstage seemed to expand to an almost unreal width and depth. There was no back wall with the SR cable after it was cooked. Detail also seemed to improve making cymbals sound much more natural. The Dimarzio and Diamondback again seemed to sound less "improved" than the other interconnects. The Diamondback's bass improved yet again but only a very small amount. The M-Path seemed to wake up a bit,offering improved treble detail and a bit of lushness to the upper mids. The HT cable also improved greatly,opening up the soundstage and improving dynamics across the entire frequncy. The AZ cable changed a bit as well but I think I liked the burned cable over the cooked cable. The cooked AZ sounded a bit too loose in the bass and voices seemed to "smear" if that makes sense. I called the manufacturer of the cable cooker and asked about this and he said I may have "overcooked" the cable and I should let it "relax" a bit. This sounded like BS to me but I did what he said and it seems to have helped or maybe I'm suffering from the "placebo effect",I don't know. I still like the burned AZ cable better. It's important to note that some cable manufacturers do not recommend "cooking" their cables,you should check before doing so. There was no such recommendation on the AZ site or in the literature.
With Analog Sources:
I initailly figured I would hear the largest changes in sound with my analog sources but that was not the case. I can't explain this one but I was able to make some good observations and draw some solid conclusions from this part of my audition. I was forced to swap the interconnects from both the input and output sides of my Phono stage since I forgot to consider that I would need two interconnects for this application. I decided to use a very well cooked Nordost Red Dawn I had lying around. I used the Nordost on opposing sides of the Phono amp when testing each cable which I think made things fair.
On the vinyl rig the new cables all sounded very tight and none had really great bass,the M-path once again had the deepest bass but it too was very tight,the bad kinda tight. To keep the new cables from burning in too much while they were being auditioned I only used them for about twenty minutes on each side of the phono stage. I observed during this audition that the cable used on the input side of the phono-stage should be chsoen very carefully. Some of these cables allow and introduce a great deal of noise into the audio chain. The SR with the "Active Shielding" using a small transfromer attached to the cable and a blue LED was very noisey and caused a terrible hum. I checked all my connections and grounds but it persisted. When I placed it on the output side the noise was gone. The Diamondback also introduced some noise,possibly from RFI and caused a slight hum. All the other cables were silent. The Tape deck was not kind to the new cables and made them all sound very congested and nasal on nearly all the vocal tracks I used auditioned.
The Burned-in cables all improved in this application. The Diamondback remained noisey on the input side of the phono stage and the SR was still unusable on the input side. On the output side the AZ was king. Imaging,bass definition and soundstaging were all improved and vocals were made a real treat. I really liked the way this cable sounded after it was burned in. The HT also sounded really good on both sides of the phono stage and had a great,wide open presentation and very deep bass. The reel to reel player loved the burned AZ cable and the bass was just earth shaking on some of the tracks we used. The tape player liked the HT cable too and it had great dynamics all around. The Burned SR also performed well with the tape player and offered what I think was the best balance.
The cooked cables all had some very audible sonic differences from the burned and new cables. The SR and Diamondback remained noisey on the input side of the phono stage but every cable seemed to have deeper,tighter bass and improved dynamics. The overall most improved cable was the HT,making huge strides in nearly every way. Bass was deeper,tighter and more defined. Soundstaging was greatly improved and detail was resolved with much better clarity. When I got the HT on the tape deck I was stunned. tweaks to improve the sound of reel to reel decks are few and any improvement in the sound is reason for excitement. The HT really woke up when used with the tape deck. You have'nt heard deep,natural, acoustic bass until you've heard it on open reel tape. I kept the cooked cable just for this application and I'm in love. The Dimarzio did'nt change too much but was very silent and performed well during the entire audition period. I won't say it was outclassed or anything but it did have the deepest bass across all the tests among all the cables.
Amp-preamp chain:
I have always had great trouble finding interconnects for the crucial amp to preamp connection. I curently use the AZ WOW! and it performs very well.
All the new cables were entirely unimpressive when placed between the amp/preamp. Only the Dimarzio sounded like it was gonna pan out in this application,likely because it had great deep bass. I only played around with the new,unburned cables for about two hours here becuase they all sounded so terrible.
The Burned in cables once again all improved greatly. The AZ still sounds best to me in burned form, in this application. The HT was very close and the SR had some good traits as well. I really liked the "openness" and detail of the AZ cable here and was impressed by how well it held everything together. Yes,I've grown accustomed to the sound of the AZ in my system so perhaps this comparison is unfair. The Dimarzio and Diamondback sounded nearly the same and I really can't see anyone using either cable for a pre/power amp connection. They just don't perform well here.
There were no huge revelations with the cooked cables and the performance of each cable pretty much reaffirmed existing strengths and weaknessess. The AZ seemed to not be as rich sounding as before and perhaps this is again due to my "overcooking" but it still sounded best to me. The HT was still very good and I could live with either it or the SR in this application. Obviously the cable cooker did'nt have as great an effect as I thought it would when used on interconnects placed in the preamp chain. I figured since I had such a hard time finding a good cable for this application,any changes would be "amplified"(no pun intended).
I contend that the Audioharma cable Cooker works and works very well. After I was done with my audition I decided to cook all my cables and I'm very happy for it. I followed the advice from Audiodharma and cooked each cable for a few hours(6-8 hours) and listened to them at these intervals to prevent "Overcooking". If cable cooking is an option for you I strongly suggest that you take advantage. My dad and a few of my audio friends are using the cooker now and this is an ideal situation to share in the expenses of purchasing a cooker. I'll likely send my cooker off the Todd Green so that he can see and hear for himself the effects of the cooker. The Cable Cooker Pro gets a strong recommendation from me.
