"World's Best Cables" vs Audioquest interconnects

I think I may order a pair of the 7awg cables above and compare them to my ZU Mission cables.

Cable is not rocket science and we have been sold by magazines and marketing of cables. This is not to say quality does not matter it does to a point where you get into the overkill bling that can cost more than gear and a car. I’ve owned audiophile cables and then replaced them with just well-made cables and my system sounded as good. I believe in cables making an impact but I no longer the need to spend crazy money, put more into your room acoustics and speaker placement. Best money you can spend. 

@crazybookman

I wouldn’t consider any interconnect or cable that doesn’t use OCC wire or copper RCA’s or bananas or spades. Using brass and plating it with gold is just junk jewelry.

They make a 7 gauge speaker cable the is killer $200.00 or so 6’ and up. Well made and just brings speakers to life. Unless you got deep pockets its worth giving this brand a try, not their cheaper stuff but this level. 

7awg.... I can't imagine how flexible this garden hose is. Hopefully it won't break the connectors.

At 7awg OFC and 8 feet long, you could do a lot worse than $189 for a pair of speaker cables.

If you want to be picky, "Ultra-Pure" and "Extra Premium" are probably a stretch, and I sort of doubt the Eminence spades are the "highest-grade connectors for these audiophile cable assemblies."

So if you buy them and then find out they are not actually the WBCs can you sue them for false description of goods?

It's a very lofty description for cables that just use OFC.

You'll never sell them but at $189 bucks, why did I bother to buy...................?

These WBC 7AWG cables look really nice...

I've been breaking in new pair Cardas interconnects for the last week. I don't really need to know why they change sound over that time period. But, Cardas is glad to provide one for those that need an explanation. 

http://www.cardas.com/insights_break_in.php

Jack Hi-Fi guy,

I didn't use the wrong there it's my computer that did LOL cuz I use voice recognition to type LOL

@jackhifiguy - I can't say that I've experienced any changes in a cable from burn-in, but I can also say that I've never paid any attention to it on the few cables that I've upgraded.

I have experienced clear differences with one power cord upgrade (1 of 3) and also an interconnect upgrade.  The interconnect improvement was significant enough that I opted to upgrade a second time almost immediately.

One of my friends is a bit of an audiophile and also an electrical engineer, so you can imagine having to try and convince him that I've heard a difference.  I know it perplexes him a bit because he doesn't want to believe it, but has also listened to my system since I first purchased it and knows that I don't claim an improvement/difference with every change, so when I equate the different to a similar order of magnitude as tube rolling he can't just discount my opinion.

Have you ever experienced a change in sound quality after changing any type of cord in your system?

Burn-in believer here. New cables to my ears can sound hard/harsh with a narrow soundstage. After some run time the highs smooth out, soundstage blooms, and the mud in bass becomes fast, and well defined. My latest upgrades were Cardas Clear USB a-b for Zen Stream to DAC, and Zavfino Arcadia XLR's from output of my DAC to Mac MA5300. I would buy both again.

Now, the "World’s Best Cables" come with the users manual that claims that the cables need to be burned in for 175 hours. Should I give them the benefit of the doubt and suffer 175 hours, or is that just an audio myth about cables burn-in?

Mogami cables are used in high end recording studios and by musicians. I’d give them a chance to break in with white noise or a burn in recording. If they don’t please you with time to return for a refund to Amazon, send them back.

I tested a bunch of Worlds Best Cables and this one was excellent for the very lo price. 

https://www.amazon.com/Foot-RCA-Cable-Pair-Interconnect/dp/B01I37YL92/ref=sr_1_21?crid=3M1QSDC33DH7C&keywords=gotham+cable&qid=1651974444&sprefix=gotham+cable%2Caps%2C167&sr=8-21

Every time I see a comment from someone 100% sure that nobody can hear a difference between burned in and brand new cables, I am reminded of those surveys where many couldn't tell the difference between 128 kbps MP3s and 24 / 96 kHz flac (or wavs) files. We all don't have the same quality of hearing nor focus on the same parts of the music being played, hence legitimate confusion / disagreement.

Thank you for link. That cable I believe is their low cost option using Mogami microphone cable. If cables are easily detectible by your ears, Mogami makes a design for its intended purpose (hi-fi). I posted link below. This WBC version also uses hi-fi boutique silver connectors.

Curious, what Audioquest RCAs do you use? I went from Tower to Big Sur and felt there was a noticeable, but minor improvement.

Some people mentioned that I haven't disclosed which Worlds Best Cables was I discussing in the post. That despite the fact that in the post I provided the DIRECT LINK to the cables I purchased.

Help me out here. What other evidence could I possibly provide here besides the DIRECT LINK ->

?

I believe in burn in.   Please burn in the cable and hear for yourself.  The bass always comes in during burn in. The sound will change many times  during burn in. Will drive you nuts.  But worth it.  

With welding you are introducing another metal into the signal chain. This is likely why the big budget cable you reference is using a set screw...a more purist approach.

BJC interestingly enough, now has a line of cables that sell for a few thousand dollars a pair....using Cardas solder. If you can’t beat them, join them I guess. ;-) https://www.iconoclastcable.com/

WBC uses many brands of cables and connectors so your experience would only be relevant to the wire and connector combo that you tried...which I don’t believe you have disclosed.

I have both Audioquest and Worlds best cables. They both sound great but WBC has better sound stage on my system Both sound great but a bit different. WBC delivers great performance for me.

This topic will never be "resolved." Endless opinions, "research", (YouTube posts), and user experiences... lend to a bottomless pit. I've owned Audioquest, World's Best (I have World's Best on my headphone amp / DAC balanced set up) but my current favorite are Blue Jeans Cables. One feature I like most -- besides a very reasonable price from Blue Jeans -- is that they terminate with "Ultrasonic Welding". Even the several thousand dollar Audioquest speaker cables are merely set-screwed into the wire. At the end of the day, your "A-B" testing will tell you what you like. 

Keep listening to them. If after a few months you're not happy with them, sell them. They were cheap, right?

BTW-- there is NO BEST cable and price does not equal sound quality beyond anything properly constructed using quality wire, connectors, etc. People want to believe all the phony pseudoscience claptrap-- it's BS, and it's still a free country right? Your system plays a role in how cables will behave-- and your room is at least as important. In fact, is the room sounds bad you won't fix that with any cable regardless of how much you spend-- but you might get a nice placebo effect which could make all that moot anyway as you'll be happy!

I’ve never bought audiophile cables on Amazon….

WBC makes excellent cables.  I have been using their XLR interconnects for about an hour so far, and everything sounds just as it should.

Cables make a HUGE difference.  For a while when my amp was about 8 feet from my preamp, the sound with a 6 foot cable was nearly inaudible but with a 9 foot cable it was fantastic.

Trust your ears! Your system, your money, your happiness. What all of us think should not make a difference.

Cable burn in and electronics burn in is very real if one has decent audio system and actually spends time listening for nuances.

it can take several days worth of playing music to achieve the first level of noticeable break in. Things will continue to improve over the next several weeks. 

I use both Audioquest and World's Best cables interconnects between my components. I use them interchangeably, capriciously, depending on what length I have to hand. Do my choices impact my listening? Not at all. Did I need to break in the newest of these cables. No. Are there far more important elements to consider in my audio chain. Yes.

Works Best Cables makes several different interconnects, I've never liked that cabe  you have. Try the Gotham GAC 4/1 interconnect with the locking RCAs for about $80. Might change your mind. Their digital Coax is also very good. Dont like their speaker cables. 

You do not have to "suffer listening" during the break-in period.  Since the cables are connected ahead of the power amp, the amplifier does not have to be turned on.  You will have to suffer changing or restarting the records.  If you have a tuner or cd player that can do repeat play that could do for the pre to power amp cables.  You will have set the volume level to your normal setting or maybe slightly above.

I understand that you replace both phono in and pre out at the same time.  After the break-in, I suggest replacing just one set with your Audioquest cables.  Possibly choose the best combination for your likings.

However, my experience with breaking-in cables.  They are very subtle.  I don't think Hideous to Glorious will be realized,  

Sadly, cable "break in" is real. You don't have to understand WHY to know that the phenomenon is real. I use 50 conductor flat computer cables (remember the old hard drive cables ? - only with 50 silver plated copper wires) for speaker cables. They "break in" in about two hours. In the first half hour, the sound changes radically; it is a wonder to hear. At first, it seems that the two speakers they feed are connected out of phase. I was sure I had done something wrong. I shut down the system and checked out my connections. They were fine. I turned everything back on and continued listening. An amazing swirl of audio shifts occurred for quite a while. The worst was over in 30 minutes or so and in the next 90 minutes the sound got smoother and smoother. A friend is using a set of these cables on his Martin-Logan electrostats (McIntosh power amps) and says they are the best he's  heard. I use TV coax for some interconnects and 300 ohm twinlead for some other low impedance interconnects and the "between components" cables don't change much in time. A certain company claims that their wires need 600 hours of "break in." Long enough that the "you can send them back for a full refund" period is over. USB cables have proven to be critical and I don't try to make them. The best I've found are Zavfino's from Canada (when used between a laptop and PreBox S2 Digital). DACs seem to be very fussy about their cables and what works well for one may not suit a different DAC. Happy Listening!

Do all cables sound the same?  Uh no

Do measurements tell the whole story?  Nah

Are most cables a variation on a theme or at worst, new age snake oil?  Most, some more than others

Are there manufacturers who have been around since the beginning of the High End audio cable markets inception?  Why yes there are…specifically MIT and Transparent.  They were music lovers who wanted to improve the way audio signals were propagated from one component to another.  They used science and experimentation to improve signal transfer and increase their enjoyment of reproduced sound.  These cables do sound different, but most of all, they deliver cables that can allow anyones system to sound more realistic, more dynamic and full of life with superior low level detail, a richer more textured midrange and deeper, more well controlled and defined bottom end.

So is wire just wire?  Kinda, unless your using cables that are purposely designed to enhance the transmission of the delicate audio signal you might as well use coat hangers.

Why would two cables that measure very similarly have to be level matched when comparing the two, if cables don't make any difference you shouldn't have to level match.

I have Audio Quest and Silver Streak cables and connectors, with which I am happy.  Once I am happy with the sound, I keep what is working.  Why run the risk of degrading what you are liking?  Especially when, at 70, I am dealing with high frequency hearing loss and tinnitus.  It would take a dramatic improvement for me to be able to tell a difference!

I went with Synergistic Research.  Jason Ressler at The Cable Company, is the most knowledgeable person I have ever talked to.  He needs to conduct Zoom Meeting to teach.  He knows speakers, amps, streamers, interconnects.  People at retail stores know a fraction of what he knows.

I use World's Best Cables (WBC) for most things. You never specified what cable was purchased? They use several different pro audio brands for the cable and different brands for connectors. 

Anyway, all cables don't sound the same and WBC has many different styles. The cost is low enough that you could try another model to see if it is to your liking. 

My guess is that you have listened to your AQ cables for so long that any change would disturb or shock you. Leave it in for a week or two and see if you acclimate and find the new attributes interesting or not.

Good luck.

@havocman 

Answer the question, please.

Havocman, how long you been using the wrong their. Ass. 

I can tell you that some cables [not all brands] definately need burn-in and can sound horrible while doing so.  Audioquest sounds great right out of the box.  My Analysis Plus balanced interconnects took about 200 hours before they behaved.

Burn in the new cables for a week or two and try them out. Sound will change, maybe not for the better, but will change.

@ditusa 

Best you can do?

Answer the question....

What changes in the cable to make it burn in?

jackhifiguy

49 posts

05-02-2022 at 07:23am 

To all, 

Actually read everything I wrote on this discussion without being skeptical.

Use your common sense. Use your brains.

And you will realize that I'm right.

That's funny!!

If cable burn in is real...

Then one of you tell me precisely what changes in the cable to make it burn in.

Don't be a coward and ignore this question. There is no getting around it.

This is only semi-related to this topic, but I've compared "World's Best Cables" guitar cables to stock offerings from Mogami and another similar priced brand (house brand for Guitar Center and Musician's Friend) and they don't sound as good. I don't know if it's attachment to connectors, solder, shielding, or something else, but built from the same spec Mogami cable, the Mogami retail cable sounded better than the "World's Best Cable" Mogami cable. I personally won't be purchasing any "World's Best Cables" in the future for any purpose.

I think most electrical engineers would tell you that there’s no such thing as cables “breaking in” but many would also say there’s no difference between any of them sound wise which we know isn’t true. I think any even decent cable should sound pretty good immediately & then mildly change over a period of time. At least this has been My experience  & if I had to quantify it, maybe I heard a 10% change. This was recently true again with a bi wired set of some Triode Wire Labs speaker wire I put in my system. Very nice product btw for not crazy $.