New Zu Mission cable

Just ordered the Mission ICs, speaker cable and power cord.
A no brainer at the prices and with the 60 day return policy.
Will report back.

Just put in the PC on the amp and there was an immediate improvement. Any haze (which I hadn't noticed) was gone, daddy gone. Clear as a sky of azure blue, clear as an unmuddied lake. Next, one for the CDP. Improvement not as substantial as the first, but what would one expect?

Put in the ICs and likewise, no waiting, big improvement. Big grin on my face. No downside, to speak of.
CD after CD showed an improvement.

Next, the SCs. ??? More detail. All of a sudden I have vertical balance in the soundstage. Big improvement in lower midrange and bass (nothing earth shattering but it now has presence), deeper insight (more detail and nuance), but....what happened to the air? There's smoke where there used to be air and sparkle. Its almost homogenized but not. Certain CDs sound better but most have that smog about them. For the time being.

Not really a complaint since they have to break in but right out of the box, I must say I'm impressed. From what I've read, here, 200 for break in is expected but I think it will take less.
We'll see.

Game over. At least for me. Just got my new Burson integrated and boy oh boy, it just blew all the smoke, dust and debris out of the Mission cables. All of them. Maybe the high winds we've been experiencing out here in L.A. helped.
I dunno.
Hate to highjack this thread but all you need is something really special to get immediate benefits from the Mission cables. You've got nothing to lose and a lot to gain from experimenting with them. If there is an improvement (and I know there will be) at the 200-300 hour mark, I'll just wear this shit eating grin for all next year.
The amount of improvement has not been subtle.
Far from it.

Gopher,

You really can't go wrong with the trial period on the PCs. I believe they didn't have much selection in B-stock Mission cables when I got mine. Slim pickens. I waited too long. That PC was the first thing I inserted and had I not gotten anything else, I would have been happy not knowing what I was missing. Removed haze and grunge I didn't know I had.

Erik0zpm,

You are so right about system synergy being a huge variable. As I said before, my new Burson just powered through the cables with its superior power supply and advanced circuitry compared to my older one. With the older one I would have had to wait a lot longer to find out and even then, I truly believe it wouldn't sound as great as what I'm hearing with the new one. And yes, the build quality set me back some: they are some nice looking cables.

It is disheartening to learn of this but what I got at the sale price is just a little more than the starting bid prices. But to think that someone could buy at full retail and there, on ebay, one can bid for a hell of a lot less would really piss me off. The cables are just fine, in my system, and they best what I had but....

Nasaman,

They're still breaking in but if you need to know how I feel about them now, I'd say go and put a bid in over at ebay and hope you can get them at a low price.
The PC gave me the biggest improvement: it cleared up a haze or fog that I didn't know I had. More dynamics as well. All in all, a cleaner presentation.
The ICs were another step or two, maybe three, in the right direction but not as big of an improvement as the PC. Still worth getting.
The Speaker wires were a bit cloudy at first but cleared up after 2-3 days. They gave an extension to the bass that I thought my speakers weren't capable of. Same goes for the upper frequencies: extension and clarity improved as well.
All in all, I'm very happy with my purchase, having gotten them at the year end sale. A bargain if there ever was one.
I'm considering bidding over at ebay for another pair or two of ICs.
Hope that helps.

On an aside, I read about their 'problems' with their now, departed, marketing guru who started all this on their website. I guess anyone can be caught off guard but it takes awhile for the ripples to settle.
Having said that, yes, the Zu Mission cables are great and not just for the money.