Cable dressing matters

Glad to hear your story has a happy ending.

It is quite fascinating, the small tweaks that can make or break a listening experience.... Cable dressing,  box stacking, decent isolation with a rack ect ect

This forum definitely has its uses.....

I'm off to check my burndies....

I was advised by a highly respected forum member to massage my burndies, all I can say is it worked,  the only proviso would be wait until SWMBO goes out, however you try and explain what your doing you can just tell by the facial response, they just don't understand 

And dust.. that fraim shelf will have no correct "ding" in situ if covered with a blanket of it.

wenger2015 posted:

I was advised by a highly respected forum member to massage my burndies, all I can say is it worked,  the only proviso would be wait until SWMBO goes out, however you try and explain what your doing you can just tell by the facial response, they just don't understand 

You can always massage your burndy together...

Well, if these cables feel better after some relaxation, why not How often do these cables want receive a massage?

I think it's advisable to re-dress the system cables at least 1 x year. This also helps to clean the plugs and sockets.

As to massaging burndies and relaxing... I leave that one to your imagination....

I've given my cdx2 a back massage a couple of times.....

Leaving aside all temptation for smut with massaging burndy cables.   With my electric hat on,  I sort of - maybe - understand a logic in de-stressing a cable bundle (they are a loose bundle of separate cables inside the outer cover) , especially so the burndys with a mix of signal & power.   The need to do it on a regular basis however is something else,  The idea that the dear little things need to relax, or detox or go to a health spar,  maybe a step too far into audiophoolery.     for me anyway  

And ..........  Burndy is the company trade name for the multi-pin plugs & sockets on the cable ends,   so the plural is spelt Burndys ,  not Burndies 

I am afraid that I have to own up to being a complete sceptic when it comes to matters such as 'cable dressing', and in particular the need to 're-dress' cables regularly. I do sort of (although I am certainly not a neatness freak) understand a desire to tidy up cabling from an aesthetic perspective, but really can't imagine that cable dressing makes an appreciable difference to the sound of a system. I'll throw all my cards in by stating that I am also extremely sceptical about the use of expensive boutique Ethernet cables to which many on this forum subscribe.

I think it's illuminating to wander to other hi-fi forums to get a perspective of how others view their (sometimes very expensive) audio systems.

It's a little strange to be in a position where I will almost certainly be viewed by many who contribute to this forum as a 'flat-Earther' for my scepticism in these areas, and yet I am viewed in some other forums as little short of a 'witch doctor' by some who appear to be very highly technically qualified, for daring to suggest that the substitution of an audiophile streaming renderer (the microRendu in my case) in place of a conventional 'streamer' can possibly have any impact whatsoever on sound quality, or that relatively expensive analogue cables can have a significant impact on sound quality.

I have to admit that when I auditioned my current amplification, the audio dealership had put the system together immaculately (very well dressed indeed!) and used some very expensive wooden blocks (or at least they looked like simple wooden blocks to me) to ensure that, in addition to not coming into contact with other cables, the speaker cables did not at any point come into contact with the floor. When I asked whether or not this really made a difference, I received a fairly non-committal response of "sometimes, it seems to", but I cannot help suspect that often this is done for show rather than for any appreciable impact on sound. I certainly did not feel the need to purchase any of these (very) expensive little wooden blocks for use in my own system. My own TQ Ultra Black speaker cables run quite happily along the floor between my power amp and the speakers.   

I think my system sounds pretty good as it stands. Just how much better could it be if I spent a good few hours 'dressing' the cables? I don't think I'll go there.

Now, what kind of health spa is best for Burndys?  I could take them to the modern spa at Bath Thermae, or perhaps they'd prefer the older setting of the Roman baths?  Which do people think would be the better option for them?

You rude boys you.

Naim systems seem particularly sensitive to this sort of thing, cable dressing, box order on the rack, rack adjustment (at least in the case of Fraim), plug order. It gets worse the higher up the range too, though I think it was key in my not liking the Nait 5 when I tried one in a system with boxes piled on boxes. Is it a case of "if you don't have it you can't lose it"? I thnk this may be part of the answer but if you've ever run a CDX2 with the power lead touching the shelf and put some solo piano music on it does seem to add something unplasant to the treble rather than subtract anything.

Hmack posted:

I think my system sounds pretty good as it stands. Just how much better could it be if I spent a good few hours 'dressing' the cables? I don't think I'll go there.

Why not? What's to lose, other than a couple of hours of your time? If nothing changes, then it's confirmed your view, but if it does...

Huge posted:

Now, what kind of health spa is best for Burndys?  I could take them to the modern spa at Bath Thermae, or perhaps they'd prefer the older setting of the Roman baths?  Which do people think would be the better option for them?

I think they need a modern day Spa, with de-stressing crystals and healing stones....

Huge posted:

Now, what kind of health spa is best for Burndys?  I could take them to the modern spa at Bath Thermae, or perhaps they'd prefer the older setting of the Roman baths?  Which do people think would be the better option for them?

.....seein' as you asked  ...... 

Joking aside,  I do fiddle with my cables twice a year,  but the main purpose is to remove all the units & to dust & clean them & the  rack.   

Need to go ....... chauffeur required for long & boring shopping trip ........ send search party if no contact for 24 hours

Mike-B posted:

Need to go ....... chauffeur required for long & boring shopping trip ........ send search party if no contact for 24 hours

Roger dat...

Mike, I also remove and replace cables, but in my case only once a year, and mainly to ensure clean contacts.

I have made some edits and also removed some posts.  Members are reminded that the rules regarding discussion of unauthorised modifications to Naim equipment (which includes non-Naim power supplies, Burndies, fake SNAICs etc..) have not changed, and we request that you kindly respect them.  Thank you.

Hmack posted:

I am afraid that I have to own up to being a complete sceptic when it comes to matters such as 'cable dressing', and in particular the need to 're-dress' cables regularly. I do sort of (although I am certainly not a neatness freak) understand a desire to tidy up cabling from an aesthetic perspective, but really can't imagine that cable dressing makes an appreciable difference to the sound of a system. I'll throw all my cards in by stating that I am also extremely sceptical about the use of expensive boutique Ethernet cables to which many on this forum subscribe.

 

.....

It is reasonable to be skeptical, but always a good idea to remain skeptically uncommitted until informed by actual experience.  Perhaps you assume that you have better things to do than attending to cable dressing, but some like myself, the OP and others have reported surprising improvements to the sound quality for modest effort and no cost. I do agree the underlying physics are not intuitive.  If you do try it, please report your results, positive, negative or no effect.  Of course, the cables in your system may already be just fine...  Or if its just not what you want to be doing, just enjoy the music.

Cheers,

Charlie   (coming into the conversation a bit late from UT -8 time zone)