2. cables
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Cable burn in

Hi all. I’m guessing that what I’m experiencing is pretty normal. But it can’t hurt to get some feedback. I purchased a DMS-650 from Cary Audio which is a DAC/Streamer. Since hifi folks have highly opinionated views on cables, nothing is included with the unit. So when I set it up, I had to scramble and I found the three conductor cable that came with a cheap Sony DVD player. Then I replaced that RCA interconnect with a much better quality Blue Jeans cable. Initially the increase in quality was apparent and obviously worth it. However the sound could be hasrsh on certain recordings. Various tracks had a harshness that wasn’t there before. I’ve been playing internet radio during the day for burn in. Now that harshness has vanished. Sitting down to listen last night, things were actually too warm. Some tracks sounded almost muddy. The sparkle was diminished in an obvious way. I am guessing that once burn is complete the sound will settle happily in the middle somewhere. Is that a reasonable assumption?  I’m also likely going to order power cables and an interconnect from Audio Envy or maybe some other companies to compare. The guy who sold me the Cary Audio gear is not a salesy guy, but he did pretty emphatically recommend some higher quality cables. 

chiadrum

Showing 2 responses by ghdprentice

ghdprentice
6,464 posts
 

@soix 

+1

There is no definitive answer to what would be best in your system… it is dependent on your whole system, venue, and your values. I can attest to the fact that cables, interconnects and power cords can make a very substantial difference. 
 

I also cannot be sure what different brands will sound like in your system, but I will say Blue Jeans are at the very budget end, I tried a couple pair just for fun and they compared well with what comes free with low fi electronics and I have used DHLabs as my default interconnect to start with. DHLabs has always performed well for the price and is appropriate in price for your system. 
 

A very general rule of thumb is about 10% or so on interconnects. Widely different % work for different people. But just for your interest. 
 

A well constructed power cord designed for both shielding and high current is likely to improve the sound of your DSM… I would look carefully at AudioQuest. 

ghdprentice
6,464 posts
 

Qobuz (and I imagine most others) uses lossless compression and high quality streamers use buffering… so the file received will be the same. Obviously, from then on… it is all streamer dependent.

I think variable compression would imply active software on both sides, broadcast and receive. More importantly I think it would imply the compression was not lossless and to make a dent in bandwidth you would need to be lossy. So I doubt it.

 

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