Do speaker cables need a burn in period?

never tried fishing line

Your cable guy must not have gotten the memo. Also, nothing wrong with maple blocks but I don’t think they are doing much vibration wise since the maple blocks provide a clear path for vibration. 

Clearly. Yet they sound great. Better than his previous cables which were directional 

Depends on what you mean by “directional.” All wire is directional.

yes, I should have been more clear.  I was told it didn't matter which end was attached to the amp and which to the speakers...that's as far as my technical expertise goes