The connection between my DMP and DSD Mk1:
I currently own and rate my I2S cables.
PS Audio HDMI 12: Excellent and unbeatable for the money
RAL: Ok but not worth the $ over the PSA.
Audioquest Dragon: Disappointing in every respect. Gifted it.
Harmonic Technology: Excellent SQ but fell apart; substandard connectors. Tossed it.
Wireworld Platinum 48: The undisputed champion in my system. This cable continues to surprise and delight me in it’s making digital sound analogish, textural, dimensional. I enjoy CDs much more because of it.
Just thought I’d mention it. $800 delivered from The Cable Co. well spent.
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What? Are you sure you had the authentic AQ Dragon? Was it a 48 HDMI?
I like Dragon48 HDMI better than AQ Firebird, Thunderbird, Coffee, and Vodka. It beats quite a few others (do not remember names but all around $500, but PS audio was one of them I am sure).
It is used between PST and DS MK2.
My system, my ears.
And yes, I bought it new from TMR.
And yes, I don’t doubt that the Dragon surpasses all the lesser AQ models you mentioned.
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AQ Dragon may not of been burned in. That cable an all AQ cables took several hundred hours before they sound good. If you are looking for instant gratification the Dragon 48 is not for you. In my experience going back to MK1 to SACD player via I2S the Dragon was far superior to Wire World HDMI, RAL HDMi, and lesser AQ HDMI cables it wasn’t close with Dragon it was like I upgraded my source connected to the DAC the other cables were nice but not Dragon nice. The Dragon 48 is easily AQ’s best cable.
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That has been my experience too.
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I’m waiting for the follow up comments. Lol
In my limited experience with the AQ cable line, I couldn’t disagree with your statement.
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I know you don’t tolerate long burn in times. Lol
What, if any, established manufacturers offer pre purchase burn in on their cables? I have a hunch that it would not serve them well. What I mean by that is there has got to be a bias effect for spending big money on a cable and out of the box it doesn’t sound equal the price. But wait, it’s not burned in so just give it a couple hundred hours. Now it sounds great!
There’s certainly a substantial bias effect in the listener. Now, what if you got a cable that was fully burned in? If it doesn’t meet expectations will you give it a couple hundred hours or does it go back immediately to the manufacturer?
Thoughts?
Morrow Audio offers burn in on a cable cooker machine. I believe they charge $25us.
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Great reasons to purchase used cables. Broken in and lower price than new.
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Snake River Audio uses their “Snake Charmer” for burn-in…
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Both Snake River Audio and Zenwave cables do house burn-in services as a part of purchases. Interestingly, SRA strongly advises not to use cable cooker to burn in their cables. Even with house burn-in, their cables still need significant time to burn in. I believe different systems may trigger a new cycle of burn-in time. AQ cables do a short one (a day or two?), and all of their cables need a few hundred hours, or more.
Power cords with more conductors and more complicated geometries need the most time, and even with two hundred hours most of PCs that I owned need more in my experience. Zenwave told me I would hear additional improvement after 1300 hours, and I did. Stealth Dream 20-20 takes over 500 hours in my system it seems.
Even old cables need time to settle in. I always heard a better sound the next day or two from used cables. One extreme case was from ZenWave again, when they sent the demo to me from overseas, I was told they needed one week to settle. I thought they were crazy, but they weren’t.
Then, there is something about the “human” factor too. One example is from fuses. I always heard different SQ from audiophile fuses, but after 6 months to a year later the PSA fuses (good stuff) sounded just as good (with a few exceptions). To some extent, cables or even the entire system would sound more “ordinary” because yourself is burnt in.
That is why some keep looking for upgrades.
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In my case the Dragon easily bettered the WireWorld platinum starlight which is better than the PSA (upper level model, don’t remember the name). And yes the Dragon takes a lot of time to settle in, I half recall about 200 hrs.
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If I remember right, I gave the Dragon 451 hours. Yup, 451. Because that matched the book title.
The cable company I like most burns their cables in before they’re shipped.
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It seems to me that a company like Audioquest and their chief cable designer, Garth P. would know how much burn in would be needed for their cables to sound their best and they would at the very least state the minimum ideal hours in their manuals. They surely wouldn’t want fools like me rejecting their product for no good reason.
My WAG is that after 50 to 100 hours, we’re more burning in our brains than the cables.
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Audience does an initial burning-in of their cables before being sent out. Not a full burning in, but at least a partial burn-in and treatment process.
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They are the Goldilocks of wire, just right.
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My experience with HDMI cables in my system is Cardas Clear is the warmest and lowest clarity of the bunch. PS Audio I2S-12 sounds a bit more detailed, but also a bit on the bland side. WireWorld Platinum S7 is more open sounding with nice richness and resolution. RAL brings more transparency and detail to the table over WW. AQ Dragon has the most clarity, definition, and with the best high frequency and air of all the cables. Not so good if your system is on the bright side and on bad recordings, so it’s a matter how you want to balance your system.
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AQ is the McDonald’s of cables.
I am never hungry enough to eat there.
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