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Can an unused cable break in?

I bought a new $300 Audioquest cable about a month ago, hoping to improve the sound of my Cyrus CD transport.  It didn't improve the SQ even after a little  break-in period.   I compared it to another transport system I had and it was quite inferior. So I stopped using the Cyrus but left it plugged in the wall for the month.
Lo and behold, I compared the two transports today and there was virtually no difference in sound between the two of them.
I’m listening to the Cyrus right now and am thrilled with it.
Either it’s my imagination, or the cable broke in while unused!  The difference isn’t subtle.
Is such a thing possible?


128x128rvpiano

Showing 2 responses by nighthawk

nighthawk
259 posts
 
One of the things that is different about power cords vs ICs and speaker cables is there is always voltage present as long as power is supplied whether or not the device is turned on. If the dielectric is the primary thing that burns in, it seems to me it is the capacitive property of the cable that is affected and current shouldn't matter. What say ye?
nighthawk
259 posts
 
MC, the parasitics complete the circuit. There are effectively small distributed capacitors along the length of the cable from line to neutral, line to ground, and neutral to ground. For a 2m power cable I would guess these would be in the neighborhood of hundreds of pfs.

My serious question still is as long as the cable is plugged in to AC, and these parasitic capacitors (caused by the insulating material as well as the cable geometry) are being charged and discharged why would the component need to be turned on in order to break in the cable? This is assuming the dielectric is the primary reason for the break in.

If a large current is required is required to break in a power cable it suggests a more complex reason for break in, perhaps one involving the metallurgy of the wire.

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