[iCoy]

Hey everyone,

I'm happy to report that I'm starting to crest the burn-in phase for my ultimate cables. I still wonder if there is a bit more to go, but this morning things are starting to sound what I would describe as "Great" or "Really Nice" which, while it isn't "Incredible" or "Perfect" yet, it's clearly planted in the territory of enjoyable and I'm incredibly thankful for that. I've been enjoying my sound system this morning and it feels a bit like coming home.

I'm going to hold off making clear statements and final judgments, but I will give one tip that I learned along the way.

For me, because of the different locations of the cables on different components, things were burning in at different rates. AKA my computer was burning in it's cable faster than my DAC/AMP combo was. A couple of days ago, I switched around the Cable that was on my computer to my DAC/AMP and this boosted the performance instantly. Also, in the two days after that, the burning in came rapidly, whereas it was slow before.

So, essentially two things:

• If you have a "weak link" aka something that is pulling less power or burning in slower, this will greatly prolong the burn-in process and test your sanity.
• Moving cables around so that each gets some love from what draws the most power is a good way to combat this.

Hope you are all well,
iCoy

 

[iCoy]

Unrelated, I'm holding off on making changes still, but can anyone vouch for the Groundmaster City? I'm thinking about getting it and wondering if it's worth it? I don't want to muddy the testing waters, but I also feel like this is something I'm going to get eventually essentially no matter what if it's a "strict upgrade" as it appears to be.

 

[vsrrr]

Impossible for anyone to advise you on the GM City. Seems like it helps people who have power or grounding issues, and does nothing for others.

Regarding PSM156 and Ultimate cable burn-in, One useful way to speed up the process significantly is to use them to power your fridge!

PS. One thing that doesn't seem to have been discussed as much here (though I definitely haven't read every page of this thread) is the burn-in time for each outlet on the PSM156 itself. I suspect the outlet dedicated to my amp has burned in quite a bit more than the outlet dedicated to my phono stage, for example. Will swap them at some point to test for myself, but am curious if anyone else has knowledge on this?

 

[iCoy]

Regarding PSM156 and Ultimate cable burn-in, One useful way to speed up the process significantly is to use them to power your fridge!

PS. One thing that doesn't seem to have been discussed as much here (though I definitely haven't read every page of this thread) is the burn-in time for each outlet on the PSM156 itself. I suspect the outlet dedicated to my amp has burned in quite a bit more than the outlet dedicated to my phono stage, for example. Will swap them at some point to test for myself, but am curious if anyone else has knowledge on this?

I'm terrified to use any of these on my fridge. I'm not really sure why.

As for the outlets. I've thought about this. I think I'll do some testing at some point. At the moment though, I'm the same as you. It's probably a factor but I don't know how much. I wonder if that played also into my long burn in time too because when I switched to Ultimate cables I reassembled my PSM 156 to be more orderly and that could have also put things back a bit.

 

[Mr X]

Unrelated, I'm holding off on making changes still, but can anyone vouch for the Groundmaster City? I'm thinking about getting it and wondering if it's worth it? I don't want to muddy the testing waters, but I also feel like this is something I'm going to get eventually essentially no matter what if it's a "strict upgrade" as it appears to be.

GM City works really well in my set up. In fact I went further and added a routemaster too.

But as mentioned YMMV based on components and above all quality (or not!) of your power.

 

[Tubewin]

Unrelated, I'm holding off on making changes still, but can anyone vouch for the Groundmaster City? I'm thinking about getting it and wondering if it's worth it? I don't want to muddy the testing waters, but I also feel like this is something I'm going to get eventually essentially no matter what if it's a "strict upgrade" as it appears to be.

The GM city didn't do anything for me (I still have it lying around somewhere), but ymmv. I've heard good things about the original ground master and the routermaster.

Glad to hear the burn in is coming along.

 

[Jake2]

The GM city didn't do anything for me (I still have it lying around somewhere), but ymmv. I've heard good things about the original ground master and the routermaster.

Glad to hear the burn in is coming along.

For those for whom the original GM is impractical or didn't get much benefit from the GM City it may be worth trying a decent capacity ground box connected to the green ground terminal of the PSM - a GM City with its high-pass filtering not needed here as a ground box is not a potential route to earth for dangerous mains frequency/voltage AC. Alternately a Routemaster could be used to signal ground to such a box.

I suggest this as I've found the effect of my original GM (to dedicated ground rod) is similar in character to, if greater in magnitude than, a single (standard) 2kg Quartz Acoustic Premium ground box, of which I have three. QA and others make larger capacity boxes.

 

[zappazappazappa]

I'm currently using the SR Purple in my mains cable feeding the PSM 156 but toying with the idea of swapping for an SR Master Fuse. Anyone using an SR Master Fuse in the mains cable supplying the PSM 156?In this position in the system is it a big upgrade, subtle upgrade or is the SR Purple better for the job? Should have said this is really for UK readers as we have our main fuses in the mains cables feeding our equipment rather than in the hi-fi equipment itself though some items do have internal fuses which can be upgraded as well.

 

[tthelen]

Curious how one adds a fuse to the mains cable feeding the PSM 156?
I have a PSM 156 w Ultimate cable and interested in pursuing this tweak. That said after much consideration I purchased the NEW Audio Envy (AE) MEGA X PC with AE outlet today to replace my PS Audio outlet. I'm interested to see how well that plays with all my AE Ocean Expanded PCs on the sources. I also have the Ocean Expanded on the Deenefrips Pontus 2 r12. If it sounds good enough I may be selling my Ultimate PC.Tall order to fill...
Also ordered the new AE 34 speaker wire and Newton USB cable. Has anyone tried any Audio Envy's latest products? Curious how a full loom of AE cables sound including the New Ocean Expanded w upgraded ground?

 

[Jake2]

Curious how one adds a fuse to the mains cable feeding the PSM 156?
I have a PSM 156 w Ultimate cable and interested in pursuing this tweak. That said after much consideration I purchased the NEW Audio Envy (AE) MEGA X PC with AE outlet today to replace my PS Audio outlet. I'm interested to see how well that plays with all my AE Ocean Expanded PCs on the sources. I also have the Ocean Expanded on the Deenefrips Pontus 2 r12. If it sounds good enough I may be selling my Ultimate PC.Tall order to fill...
Also ordered the new AE 34 speaker wire and Newton USB cable. Has anyone tried any Audio Envy's latest products? Curious how a full loom of AE cables sound including the New Ocean Expanded w upgraded ground?

I believe the fuse is a UK specific thing, a local regulatory requirement for all PCs to have fuses if I understand correctly. My Ultimate cable for use here in NZ, even supplied from the UK, doesn't have a fuse - I opened it up assuming there'd be one. The thermomagnetic breaker in the PSM suffices as per below post.

I have heard some talk here about fuse ugrades, but Puritan has told me there is no fuse in the 156 (or the cable- I assume), so I am a bit confused.

Here is a quote from Mike: "There are no fuses in our product. Overcurrent protection is by a ThermoMagnetic contact breaker with solid silver contacts chosen for sonic transparency."

PS - I have the Audio Envy SP12 speaker cable which is very good though I was stepping up from generic cables, hadn't heard of and can't see a '34' speaker cable on their site nor find in Google...

 

[tthelen]

The AE 34 cables are not listed on the Audio Envy website yet. Captain mentioned the new speaker cables are no longer flat like previous model.

I believe the fuse is a UK specific thing, a local regulatory requirement for all PCs to have fuses if I understand correctly. My Ultimate cable for use here in NZ, even supplied from the UK, doesn't have a fuse - I opened it up assuming there'd be one. The thermomagnetic breaker in the PSM suffices as per below post.



PS - I have the Audio Envy SP12 speaker cable which is very good though I was stepping up from generic cables, hadn't heard of and can't see a '34' speaker cable on their site nor find in Google...

The AE 34 cables are not listed on the Audio Envy website yet. Captain mentioned the new speaker cables are no longer flat like previous model. These will be replacing the Blue Jeans 10 guage speaker wire. . Looking forward to a change with improved dynamics, sounds stage and transparency over the Blue Jeans cables. Many who have tried the SP 12 have had very nice things to say about the SQ improvements.

 

[zappazappazappa]

I believe the fuse is a UK specific thing, a local regulatory requirement for all PCs to have fuses if I understand correctly. My Ultimate cable for use here in NZ, even supplied from the UK, doesn't have a fuse - I opened it up assuming there'd be one. The thermomagnetic breaker in the PSM suffices as per below post.



PS - I have the Audio Envy SP12 speaker cable which is very good though I was stepping up from generic cables, hadn't heard of and can't see a '34' speaker cable on their site nor find in Google...

Should have said this is really for UK readers as we have our main fuses in the mains cables feeding our equipment rather than in the hi-fi equipment itself though some items do have internal fuses which can be upgraded as well.

 

[F208Frank]

Steve Huff put out another video on the PSM156. This one flew under the radar for a few months.

I used to be a fan of this guy but he praises literally everything that hits his listening room. Of course one can argue that he only reviews what he likes, but I am no longer subscribed personally. He mentioned he loved the Devilles and would keep them for life with a follow up video... only to sell them off later within a pretty short period of time. In my opinion that takes away some credibility in what he says... just my 2 cents.

But yes the PSM156 and Puritan stuff are truly wonderful amazing products and am glad they are getting the attention they deserve.

 

[iCoy]

Hey all,

Quick update and question.

@Tubewin
Do you think this is a good deal? I'm re-reading your thoughts on your JCAT DUO. Forgive my ignorance but I don't know if this used one is even the right type for me. I list in America and I'm looking to power the JCAT XE USB card and the Master Clock if possible. I think I need to get cables for it? Maybe the output voltage is wrong though. Again forgive ignorance.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650082135-jcat-optimo-3-duo-linear-power-supply-12v-12v/

Ultimate Cables and their burn in:
Because my audio system is my Gaming Computer / Work Computer I can't really avoid listening to the burn in process. And boy, has it been going. I've been slow and I've also noticed that each cable was burning in at a different rate depending on what component it was plugged into. Essentially, my Gaming PC was burning things in quickly with gaming sessions, but my headphone amp was much slower. So, I've started rotating cables so each one will get a solid 2-3 gaming sessions on it before I consider it burned in (even after ~ 2 weeks with my slow setup).

I've not finally made my judgements but I do want to speak on something that I've noticed a lot with each cable so far as it burns in:

They start off Flat, lacking in Low End, Clear (but in a sorta bright way) and Sharp. It almost sounds like there are two different types of sound profiles (the highs and the lows) and they don't meet together properly. It's rather unpleasant. The highs are very forward and they trounce the lows. While this shifts throughout the burn in, it takes a while and it moves slowly. At some point though they start to sound alright to good but you can't help but feel dissapointed. I would say that is not yet done. What I've experienced with some of the cables at this point is this "bottom drops out" feeling where the haze goes away, the flat is replaced by 3d and the highs and the lows meet for a very clear of all frequency presentation that is very easy to listen to (which is a quality that I admire greatly).

But not all my cables are quite there yet, I'm sorta in that stage described pages back where I'm thinking to myself things like "Well, I think I can have 3 Ultimates in my chain, but maybe I need to balance out with one Classic to pull the highs back." I believe this is because there is one cable left that hasn't loosened up properly. So this week I'll game on it and report back.

The ones that seem to work well are what I would describe as "Transparent". Not in an analytical way. But almost in a completely no downside way. Like they just lift the viel and allow you to hear your system more clearly. What that is, is up to what you have in there. Overall, I'm holding out still, but every day things are getting better and my sanity is coming back.

 

[iCoy]

Hey all,

Quick update and question.

@Tubewin
Do you think this is a good deal? I'm re-reading your thoughts on your JCAT DUO. Forgive my ignorance but I don't know if this used one is even the right type for me. I list in America and I'm looking to power the JCAT XE USB card and the Master Clock if possible. I think I need to get cables for it? Maybe the output voltage is wrong though. Again forgive ignorance.

https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/650082135-jcat-optimo-3-duo-linear-power-supply-12v-12v/

Ok, wait did more research and it would like this is not the power supply output voltage I would need (I believe I need 5v) not this 12v. Darn.