Use another set of interconnects for a warm up and then switch to the cold interconnects and see if the system sounds "cold." It shouldn't matter what interconnect you use so I'm sure you have something that would work.
Do Interconnects need to "warm up"?
My system is left on most of the time and sometimes on standby. I noticed that when I first start to listen the sound is a bit bright. All of my IC's are balanced and single ended Silver Streaks, the components are Krell. It seems to take almost a half hour before the system seems to calm down where it then sounds smooth and sweet. So I was wondering, is it possible that IC's may need to warm up as some equipment does - your thoughts? Thanks!
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I always try to let my system warm up for an hour or so when people come over to listen. Rather I'm there or not for the warm up, the system always sounds better. I would expect that the speakers are the main component that benefit from a warm up, but I can see how the components could have internal parts that need to reach an equilibrium. |
It has been my experience that the components will change to a warmer sound after an hour or so of listening, not the cables, but I can't say with certainty that the cables don't warm up and change also. I leave my system powered on so I get the best performance as soon as I start to listen. However, I am not using a Krell which I would not leave on when not in use. Good Luck. |
I really don't think ICs need a warm up time but one thing I do when I know people are coming over to listen to music or watch a movie I'll have my system on an hour before playing music or I'll run an Isotek system refresher disk for that hour before anyone arrives. This way pretty much everything is going to have a signal passing through it. |
I'm with the amp and other electronic equipment is warming up group. There is more warm up during listening, than standby. If you have air conditioning, try setting it cooler when you start listening. That will cool the cables (if cooler air gets to them) during component warm up, and see what happens |
System refresher disc? Wow...I play music through my rig all day (if I'm home) so when guests arrive they have a warmed up system to ignore while I bore the crap out of them describing how cool it all is. Then I change the belt on my Linn to the 45 spool and force them to listen to a single I played on from 1981 that was released only in Japan. |
Oh Wolf you crack me up. I try to describe my system to some of my party guests and they look at me like I'm crazy. They are either bored or thinking why didn't I just buy something from Bose to keep it simple. I pretty much listen to the same kind music all the time and don't have different kinds/genres of music so I think I often am not working out my speakers enough in the other frequency ranges so I got the Isotek System Refresher Disk to make sure I'm covered. (I can picture you all laughing at me now) Here is a link about it if you want to know more info. http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/isotek/cd.html |
Audiofeil - I would take what Dave_b to mean that silver is not the most musical conductor material all other things being equal. While this may be a difficult claim to make since it's unlikely to find identical cables, your response about geometry, purity and deilectrics have nothing to do with a claim about a material choice being superior. What is your experience with, say, silver vs. copper conductors? |
Copper vs Silver is akin to listening to a performance at the BSO vs The New York Philharmonic (at the original Avery Fisher Hall). One is gloriously musical, while the latter was hard, bright and cold sounding. Metals have a sound. Pure silver cables add too much of that sound for my taste. I've heard some silver fuses and hybrid cable designs that are musical. |
I could have you audition 10 cables of various compositions and you wouldn't have a clue if they were copper, silver, gold, or a combination. No way, no how. But nobody else could either. The conductor material plays a very minute part in the sonic signature. With more experience you'll understand this. |
I suspect AF is correct. My technical gut instincts (which usually serve me pretty well) and personal experimentation with ICs tell me that what matters is the physical configuration of the IC, its impedance characteristics within teh system it exists in, its ability to transmit all frequencies in phase and ability to shield/protect against external EM fields when needed that mostly matters. USe of exotic materials just ups the cost and snob appeal perhaps but probably is not a major factor in sound. Just my technical gut assessment. VEry little relating to ICs is proven in the usual scientific sense. |
"AQ has an entire technology based on cables staying "warmed up" (DBS) from batteries (at least I think that's what they do)...I like it! I don't own any...but hey...I STILL like it! " Yes, I have a pair of these. I like them too. I have never been able to attribute any identifiable sound difference to the DBS devices, but I still like the way the wires sound and the DBS gadget in theory at least. Where's Rod Serling when you need him............... |
No to the battery DIY thing...you need an Anode and a Cathode wire for each one running inside the cable bundle. It expediates the dielectric warm up/breakin effect. In other words, the cable is always ready to go full throttle with no warm up or lengthy breakin process. They still need about 48hrs bur in however, despite what they say. The PC's are superb for digital gear, but for all other applications there is one better than MIT...experience and tons of cash went into my decision so don't even start!! |
That's the ticket! Yeah, batteries...I have some special audiohile edition batteries for sale designed by Professor Lipschitz from We Hosem Inc. Correction, I of course meant to say there are "none better" than the MIT PC's for non digital applicaions IMHO:O) FYI, I found only a 29% increae in efficacy in the AQ balanced cables after a couple weeks, but it did improve to 35% by week 3! Of course I used a special automated tube based measuring device with zircon encrusted contacts for minimal experimental error. It's always in the details...let me know about the batteries. |