Initial disappointment with 1st set of “expensive’ IC’s...

@jl1ny,
25+ year Cardas cable owner of several generations. None of my brand new (coiled-up-in box or bag with mechanical tension) Interconnects sounded good at first, ever. Most sounded kinda strange new. Same situation with my better Cardas and my Analysis Plus OCC cables. Set ’em up, and let them rest and RELAX in place for 14-30 days, with no movement at all. None. Use and play them as much as you can while waiting.

Report back in 30 days to let us know if you hear any changes or not. When you get frustrated passing time, read this link below.

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

I’ve tried a two "expensive" ICs over the years and neither of them could beat my $10 Belkins.

There is no such thing as diminishing returns.

You have two paths, as an unlimited spender (all evidence I've seen from your posts point to this being your reality).  Either you accept the idea of diminishing returns, where the difference between a $1 cable and a $100 cable is far greater than the difference between a $1K cable and a $50K cable, or at some point you have to admit to yourself that this is all placebo effect. 

Burn-in on cables is nonsense.  Period.  The only thing copper does over time is corrode.  It doesn't get better, it gets worse.  What does happen, however, is your brain acclimates to the specific tonality of what it's hearing out of your system.  No matter how subtle the initial difference between one wire and another, the longer you listen to the replacement, the more accustomed to its response you get.  And when you make a major investment in something expecting results, "burn-in" makes you more comfortable with your purchase as whatever differences you detected the first time you heard it become imprinted in how you perceive your system.  You WANT it to sound better, therefore as you become more comfortable with how it DOES sound, you convince yourself that, indeed, it sounds better. 

The only thing that burns in is your ears.  The difference between cables should be obvious the moment you swap one for another.  I've said elsewhere on this forum that I've done blind listening tests, and I can certainly detect those differences.  Without burn-in.  

And I've also said elsewhere on this forum that the biggest bitch about cables is that every manufacturer trades off one problem for a different problem, so the "best" cable for any given situation is going to depend on a LOT of factors, biggest one being length, because length changes priorities in the R/C/I puzzle. 

@millercarbon
Diminishing returns is the point where I can not detect any improvement with a more expensive piece of gear. I’ve listened to systems that have absolutely jaw dropping resolution and other than pointing out an obvious sound signature, I couldn’t tell you the difference between two different sets of speaker cables. No way. How audiophiles are able to pick out micro nuances at such a high level of resolution and realism remains a mystery to me...I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’m just saying that I’m not capable of it at that level.

Well OP at least your honest with yourself and others. Some would have us believe their word is gospel. It’s not. If you can’t distinguish between different cables, join the crowd. A LOT of the old zips and off the spool cabling were OK.. BUT a sonic difference?.. More like ear plugs in your ears..

Things have changed..

Cables BREAK IN, they don’t burn in, for the 10,000th time.. Things BURN UP, they don’t burn in. The exception is a "24 hour burn in" on valves (tubes). Everything BREAKS IN.

Copper if it’s assembled correctly by LOOKING at the way it was put through the dyes, assembled, and conditioned (cooked), makes all the difference in the world. From plug in, to rout and play. It takes about 24 hours and up to 100 hours or so with copper. Silver and silver clads.. hundreds of hours..

The CRAP people say... 1940s crap from some long lost dead guy’s quote from Mcintosh... or something.. EVEN Mcintosh change their tune about cabling.. Took long enough.. Over 15 years NOW...

Blind testing cables is worthless, just worthless... No reason to do or advocate it. We are not trying to please the masses, just ourselves. What part of ME not YOU don’t folks understand.. Stereo ism, is not the same as McDonald ism. Quit lumping toaster repair standards in with listening to a stereo and it’s cabling.. Different comes to mind...

Must be tough not to be able to LEARN with a SEA of information to the contrary. Just amazing.. I know we are the only one’s in the the whole universe too.. Look up for God sakes...

Wake up CAVE MEN and WOMEN. It’s quite all right to admit your wrong.. But argue cable DON’T make a difference or they BURN IN.
At least act like you’re smart.. Quit showing you’re DUMB.
Mouth shut, ears open... what a concept..."It’s like teaching Klingons". (Grand Nagus Zek, Star Trek, SD9).

Semi Regards... A 5 out of 10 on the regards scale...