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Morrow Audio 1m MA4 Balanced Interconnect

(12/7/22)

I received my new Morrow Audio 1m MA4 XLR interconnect today.  I hooked it up between my Denafrips Ares II DAC and Pathos Classic One MKiii integrated amplifier.  The previous interconnect was an Audioquest Sydney RCA.

So far, I'm very pleased with the way my system sounds with the Morrow Audio interconnects installed.  The sound is absolutely different and I think objectively better.

I primarily started this thread to have a place to document my impressions during the break-in period.  Morrow Audio provides a lot of information for what to expect during break-in.  The general description is that the cables perform around 70% initially and drop to 50% in the 50-100 hour timeframe and then achieve full performance sometime after that with the recommended full breaking being around 400 hours.

I plan to leave my DAC running for the next 17 days and should be able to listen at least a little each day.  Here's what Morrow Audio says to expect:

The first 50 hours:

When you first hook up your cables, you will hear about 70% of the sonic potential the cables have to offer. The highs might tend to be a little peaky and/or harsh, bass may lack and the midrange "sterile". This will soon go away and the frequencies will even out as the break-in process advances. Note from the testimonials below that the “high frequencies” is the area most noted.

Mid-way through the break-in process 50 to 100 hours:

Between 50 and 100 hours you will experience the "difficult stage" of the break-in process. The sonic potential of the cable drops to 50%. It may be difficult to listen during this time. This is when some of our customers make a pre-mature return, missing out on the full sonic glory of the product.

After full break-in:

As you reach the end of the break-in process, the frequency extremes fill and smooth out, the midrange bloom returns and the cable takes on a very natural sound presentation.

mceljo
mceljo OP
1,351 posts
 

@chayro - I could see speaker cables being annoying to break in since you have to actually have music playing constantly.  My cable is between my DAC and integrated, so I just have to leave the DAC on and playing which is easy and not disruptive in any way.

mceljo OP
1,351 posts
 

(12/12/2022)

My system was once again attention grabbing last night.  I was listening to the album Looking for You by Allan Taylor and decided to go ahead and continue listening to the last 4 or 5 songs.  I was surprised when the next song was from a different album because I had just been enjoying the music and not realized how many songs were flying by.  I guess this would be +125 hours.

Scott from Morrow Audio said that they should really start to open up in the 150 to 200 hour range.  I'll be happy if they never get better, but I certainly won't complain if they do.

mceljo OP
1,351 posts
 

(12/16/2022)

I'm probably closing in on +200 hours at this point.  I can say that last night when I was listening it was anything but satisfying.  I don't know if it's related to the cable, cable break-in, or just not being in a listening mood.  I've been home most of today and done a little sporadic listening.  Some things sound amazing and others are still sounding underwhelming to my ears.

If you don't have the Allan Taylor album Looking for You, then you should.  It always sounds good.

The addition of the Morrow Audio cable seems to have brought out some detail in the lowest bass so that it now has a little more visceral feel that is exactly what makes this album so great in the first place.

mceljo OP
1,351 posts
 

(12/22/2022)

I think I’m around the +350 hours at this point and thanks to a visit from COVID will have no need to turn the DAC off for close to another week. The current sound quality is stellar to my ears. I can’t definitely say that it’s unquestionably better than it was at initial hookup, but if pressed I would say that it is. I also cannot say that the break-in exactly followed the prescribed routing, but there was at least two times during break-in where I felt that it didn’t sound great and one of them was in the 50-100 hour window.

Borrowing from Myth Busters, I’d say the break-in is plausable.

I can also say that this change in interconnects has resulted in a clear and obvious improvement to my ears.

mceljo OP
1,351 posts
 

(1/3/2023)

I've stopped tracking hours on the Morrow Audio and also have gone back to my normal routine of turning off my system daily.

I'm home sick today, so have had some hours to spend listening when I wasn't dozing off.  

If I have a reference track it's The Traveller on Allan Taylor's album Looking For You.  I'd say three things from my listening today:

(1) I can hear some of the secondary guitars/instruments with more clarity.

(2) I can easily distinguish the delicate touch on the guitar strings in a new way.

(3) The deep bass notes have a new level of detail while not losing the overall presence. The lowest sound has become the lowest note with a true guitar sound.  I noticed this throughout the entire album and since I love deep bass this is a perfect improvement for my listening tastes.

I also listened to Chris Botti in Boston which I have not done in a long time and between the Denafrips DAC and Morrow Audio cable it's a new world.  The drums developed a distinct individual characteristic that made me listen specifically to the drums for the first time.  I'm not sure that I like the sound better because it's busy, but I'd say that it's objectively better and closer to the original recording.

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