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USB cable burn-in?

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    Posted: 28 Nov 2012 at 12:05am
I bought a new USB cable for my DAC today since my last one broke a few days ago. While I was very satisfied with the last one, a Wireworld Ultraviolet, curiousity and cheapness made me switch to a Supra USB cable which was half the price (both cables 2 metres in length). My reasoning being that I like Supra's speaker and signal cables and also, this USB cable recently received 5 stars in "whathifi". Simply put I was expecting a very good cable for the money, but instead what I found myself with was crap sound. Incredibly dull and unengaging with often distant out of phase-ish vocals and a tedious softness laid over it all. I've used the cable for about 5 hours now with no discernable improvement, is there a chance there will be any eventually? Could a USB cable really require burning in to sound even decent?


Edit:
Just less than an hour after posting about it it's finally getting better. Quite a lot so too. Could have just been that the DAC has been without power for days but it seems funny it should take six hours for it to become good again still. Anyway this thread is quite useless now so should probably be removed. Embarrassed


Edited by suede - 28 Nov 2012 at 12:53am
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tg [RIP] View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote tg [RIP] Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2012 at 3:36am

I would go with the idea of the DAC being powered off for a time.

Even if continually powered on my CD player does not sound its best until it has played a disc or two and had some signal passing to warm its little electron manipulators and the Reflex and Solo take a day or two to recover full quality after being powered off for a time.

The first LP side usually sounds a little underdone, some of this is cartridge warm up, but I often wonder if the Reflex does not also benefit from having signal passing.

I would not have thought it easy to break a USB cable, you obviously have hidden talents Wink

Good that it has settled in now. Thumbs Up



Edited by tg - 28 Nov 2012 at 3:37am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Humboldt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2012 at 11:28am
I also bought the supra USB-cable a while ago, and it was an obvious improvement compared to the Audioquest cable I used prior to the Supra. My DAC had been turned on for several days however. I can´t understand in what way a cable could be burnt-in - what is it in a cable that could possibly be burnt-in?
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2012 at 1:30pm
Try sticking insulation on an overhead electricity transmission wire - you'll see it burn. Wink
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Humboldt Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2012 at 2:07pm
Originally posted by Graham Slee Graham Slee wrote:

Try sticking insulation on an overhead electricity transmission wire - you'll see it burn. Wink


Well, I guess so, but I am not going to put a transmission wire into my DAC.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Graham Slee Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2012 at 3:27pm
Joking apart, insulation does have a scientific effect and is why certain types are used for specific applications, and why none is used in some applications. The example above was to make people think about that, because they should think about it and it does make a difference, and we're not talking Hi-Fi hype here.

So if the insulation was to be spaced away from a conductor would you think it may change the performance? I'll answer, it does on paper, and IMO it does audibly too.

So what happens when you start using a cable? Electrons move.

I'll leave it at that whilst the above is absorbed.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote suede Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 28 Nov 2012 at 3:44pm
Originally posted by tg tg wrote:

I would not have thought it easy to break a USB cable, you obviously have hidden talents Wink


Well I was just home from the pub and wanted to listen to some nice music. Then somehow both myself and my laptop ended up on the floor, the laptop so that it bended the usb connector completely awry. Elementary really Smile
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