Re-break-in after bending?

[richidoo]

If you bend your speaker wires does it require break in time to settle down and deliver optimum performance again?

I was enjoying awesome imaging from my new 2 way speakers. Then a month ago I took them over to Carl's house to hear them in his room with his amp. I brought along my speaker wires, which required bending them into 2 foot diameter coils, or 2 turns. They are solid core so they bend and hold their shape.

When I got home and hooked up my system again, I noticed that the excellent imaging I had the night before was gone. Back to the blur that I heard when the speakers were new with lots of parts breaking in.

Tonight I had a mono Brubeck vinyl on and noticed how strong the center image was and how the speakers appear to be silent.

I think bending solid wire cables upsets something which requires a new break in cycle to recover.

What are your experiences with this phenomena? Is it true for  stranded wire cables?

These wires were so much better than my previous wires that I didn't notice any break in when they were new, so I can't compare the degree of break in that was required after bending, compared to new.

I'd appreciate your comments.
Thanks
Rich

[DaveC]

Yes and the degree depends on the cable.

Duelund cables require more break in after they have been shipped, it's nowhere near as long as when new but they do go back to sounding pretty bad right after they have been shipped.

Other cables might just take an hour or two.

[Triode Pete]

Hey Rich,
Yes, and it applies also to power cables & especially solid core interconnects...

Solid core is more susceptible than stranded... if the cable is flexible, it is less prone for reconditioning or "re-settling"...

I wish I had an equation to explain this, but I don't... just my 1st hand experience with this phenomenon...

Also, if you get a "kink" in your cables (especially solid core IC's), they may never "recover" fully...

Don't get the "bends" or worse yet, the "kinks"...

My $0.02,
Pete

[richidoo]

Thanks guys.

Now that I think about it, bending does work-harden metal, and copper is pretty easy to harden to the breaking point. It must effect the molecular structure adversely. Maybe single crystal type copper would be even more sensitive to bending changing the sound.  Mine are a copper alloy, not pure copper so I know they are not single crystal type.

[DaveC]

Yeah, UPOCC metals are supposed to be handled gently, kinking and  such can damage the molecular structure and compromise the advantages.

I tell folks that cables will need some break in even if they are broken in previously, and that the Duelund cables may need quite a bit of time to settle down from shipping. The Duelund cables seem to revert back to sounding really poor from shipping, especially when used as speaker cables... both the Duelund and upocc copper speaker cables have an extremely dramatic break in, it makes systems sound like they are broken when new.

I recently had one customer tell me the speaker cables sounded like someone put a muzzle on their system, lol. After 20 hours they were happy though.

I don't get people who think break-in is a myth. In a lot of cases it is VERY dramatic... some cables and components are a night and day difference.

[rollo]

   Absolutely they do require break-in again. At the shows we do it is not until the third day that all sounds as it is supposed to.
    As Pete stated no formula as to why this happens. My hypothisis is that the dielectric is unsettled mostly and the conductor needs to find its shortest path again.
    my experience is it takes two to three days to settle again. Harvey "Gizmo" Rosenberg talked about this phenomenon  but not many would listen to him.
    Another Gizmo finding was cables off the floor hung by string. But not just string. The loop that holds the cable up was made of a single strand of wire made into a loop and connected to end of string. For years I did that. Looked like a  spider Web. Did it make a difference. Yes it did. Quieter and more dynamic. Still using such for speaker cables and IC where required. most ICs are free and do not touch a thing.
    Powercords especially benefit from raising off floor and being away from electrical lines in the wall.
     Wire management is a key part most do not consider. Just all over the place and each other.
    We need a wire management thread. Get your wires in order and be surprised as to the end result.



charles

[mdfoy]

Charles,

i concur on wire management I have found that getting the cables off of the floor, especially carpet is beneficial, and IC management is another greatly appreciated finding. Just getting space around the ICs behind the rack, while difficult at times, yields better sound quality.

But don't bring this subject up in the that other forum, the flat earthers will have a relevant topic like this relegated to argument and roil in no time.   

Mike

[rollo]

Charles,

i concur on wire management I have found that getting the cables off of the floor, especially carpet is beneficial, and IC management is another greatly appreciated finding. Just getting space around the ICs behind the rack, while difficult at times, yields better sound quality.

But don't bring this subject up in the that other forum, the flat earthers will have a relevant topic like this relegated to argument and roil in no time.   

Mike

   So simple to do and experience the affect it is mind boggling to me that this subject is just overlooked. Hey all we can do is bring the Horse to the water. drinking it another story.


charles

[mdfoy]

Maybe it is because they are not horses, but another related animal with a name that rhymes with gas.

[rollo]

Maybe it is because they are not horses, but another related animal with a name that rhymes with gas.

  Nothing worse than a blind Ass .


charles

[rollo]

  Recently turned off my CDP for a short while. Then forgot to turn it back on. Bummer.
   Turned off for 24 hours I was dismayed as to its sound when turned on again. Ugly.
     If you turn off your digital after listening it will take a day or so to come back.
     Just leave it powered.


charles

[Triode Pete]

  Recently turned off my CDP for a short while. Then forgot to turn it back on. Bummer.
   Turned off for 24 hours I was dismayed as to its sound when turned on again. Ugly.
     If you turn off your digital after listening it will take a day or so to come back.
     Just leave it powered.


charles

Charles,
My Goldenote Stibbert CD player goes into standby mode (stays warm with the tubes filaments glowing) when turning it off via remote. Sounds great immediately when powering it back up...

Perhaps you need to get a better CD player or fix your outdated Lector to obtain somewhat decent digital playback... 

Cheers,
Pete

[dflee]

A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse.

Don

[Triode Pete]

A nod is as good as a wink to a blind horse.

Don

A carrot is as close as a rabbit gets to a diamond...

Captain Beefheart

[_Scotty_]

Charles, it is easier to just quit spinning those silver discs and go to computer playback of files. I leave everything on all the time and avoid the warmup blues. If I turn things off over night it will take about the same amount of time to "warm"back up as the system was down.
Scotty