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2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Transparent Audio The Link interconnect, The Wave speaker cable, PowerWave 8 AC conditioner
$100/1m pr., interconnect; $220/8′ pr., speaker; $125, Performance Power Link; $1195 PowerWave 8
The $100 The Link interconnect brings more than a taste of high-end interconnects to an entry-level price. Similarly, the $220 The Wave speaker cable is a bargain, offering superior tonality, wider dynamics, and a more open soundstage. The PowerWave 8 conditioner is also an extremely cost-effective upgrade, rendering wider dynamic expression, smoother timbres, and greater musical involvement.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Wireworld Nano Eclipse
$175/1.5m
Nano Eclipse is about midway up Wireworld’s comprehensive line of headphone cables, but it doesn’t skimp in materials or sonics. Eclipse is composed of OCC high-purity copper conductors in a DNA helix configuration surrounded by Wireworld’s Composilex 2 insulation. The result is so effective that switching from a stock headphone cable to the Nano makes a difference commensurate with significantly upgrading the headphones themselves. AT claims it’s impossible to overstate how much the Wireworld opens up, cleans up, and tightens up the sound. A no-brainer for any reasonably high-quality personal audio setup.
2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Audience Ohno
$199/1m (+$82/m) interconnect; $209/1m (+$20/m) speaker
Audience’s new value line of Ohno cables runs counter to the idea that great wire always requires heavy jacketing and complex conductor geometries. Sonically these featherweights were quick and extended with well-focused imaging and dimensionality. Most significantly they were not additive, nor did they crimp dynamics. They were also easy to position for desktop use, offering an unerring sense of musicality without busting the budget.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Moon Audio Silver Dragon V1 IEM Cable
$195/48″
The Silver Dragon V1 IEM headphone cable is a drop-in replacement for use with in-ear monitors where light weight and flexibility are important. The Silver Dragon IEM is a coaxial design using a 99.99998% UP-OCC stranded silver 26AWG center-conductor for the positive leg. The center-conductor uses the same Kevlar reinforcing as other Dragon cables. Available with various source connection options as well as terminations to fit many brands.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Wireworld Equinox 7
$200/1m pr. unbalanced interconnect; $225/1m pr. balanced; $870/3m pr. speaker
Falling right smack in the middle of Wireworld’s extensive new Series 7 line, the Equinox appears to be good value. The interconnect offered a pleasingly rounded and warm presentation not unlike that of Cardas Clear Light, while the Equinox 7 speaker cable was very similar to the Cardas Clear Sky in sonics. Excellent hum and noise rejection.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Kimber Kable Hero
$219/1m pr.
Yielding only a tiny bit in sheer control, ultimate top-end transparency, and inner detailing to PS’ reference Kimber Select KS-1021, Hero’s bass lives up to its name, prodigious in amplitude and definition (rather better even than its pricier brother). This interconnect is either dead neutral or tilts a notch to the yang, with dynamics at once powerful yet finely resolved in an essentially grain-free presentation.

2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Nordost Purple Flare
$259/1m pr. interconnect ($26 per addl. half-meter pr.) ; $439/1m pr. speaker ($52 per addl. half-meter pr.)
Featuring Nordost’s classic flatline configuration the Purple Flare is a rung below the current incarnation of Blue Heaven, yet it’s a little trip to heaven on its own. It really shines in the midband with a driving, slightly forward energy that imparts dynamic liveliness to all genres of music.

 


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Shunyata Research Venom
Interconnects, $295/1m pr.; speaker cables, $595/2m pr.
The new Venom Series represents fifteen years of Shunyata Research’s ongoing technical innovation and custom-parts engineering. The over-arching goal for this new line was to create products that offer high-end quality and performance at real-world prices. To that end, the company uses the finest available metals in expensive Ohno Continuous Cast Copper. And these speaker cable terminations use the same interchangeable terminals that can be found on Shunyata’s most expensive designs. With Venom cables, you might discover that high-quality cables need not cost a fortune.


WyWires Blue Series
$299/4′ pr. interconnect (RCA or XLR); $449/8′ pr. speaker
The first WyWires cable reviewed in TAS, the Blue is also one of the most pliable, easy-to-handle cables around. Its sonic signature is energetic, with a potent midrange, plenty of drive, and a slightly cooler, forward tilt.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Morrow Audio SP7 Grand Reference speaker and MA4 Reference and MA7 Grand Reference interconnects
$329/1m pr. MA4 interconnect.; $1399/1m pr. MA7 interconnect; $1499/2m pr. Speaker
Relative newcomers to the cable ranks, Morrow Audio’s wires performed like old pros. Nicely weighted with a solid midrange sweetspot, these wires had terrific low-level resolving power, solid bass, and good soundstaging and dimensionality. The MA4 interconnects were mildly dry on top; the more expensive MA7s spiced things up, adding just a bit more juicy harmonic texture and complexity. Overall this was a cable that defied expectations in its range and comfortably joined some of the well-established notables.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Wireworld Eclipse 7
$450/1m pr. interconnect; $1800/3m pr. Speaker
Celebrating its 20th Anniversary, Wireworld has produced a bargain in its Series 7 Eclipse speaker cable and interconnect. Among Eclipse’s many strengths are a sense of layered depth that brings inner detail alive, a broad dynamic envelope, and an ability to reproduce fine instrumental textures.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Kimber 8TC and12TC
$453/8′ pr. interconnect; $688/8′ pr. speaker with SBAN banana plugs
Tilting a tad toward the yin, the 8TC has that elusive ability to remain musical no matter what is happening fore or aft, ideally mediating detail, liveliness, tonal neutrality, and dynamic contrasts within a very realistic, holographic soundstage.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

MIT StyleLine SL 8 Interconnect and SL 9 Speaker Cables
$499/1m pr. interconnect; $799/8′ pr. speaker:
RD always equated MIT (Music Interface Technologies) audio cables with crazy-unreachable prices, but now there’s the new entry-level StyleLine Series. The SL 8/SL 9 pairing offered a very neutral top-to-bottom balance, allowing RD to indulge in the detail-fest that makes the sport of the high end so much fun. Mouth sounds, the sonic signatures of the microphones, the “sound” of the recording studio—all came through clear as day.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Clarus Cables Aqua
$500/1m pr. RCA interconnect; $1520/8′ pr. speaker:
Clarus Aqua not only satisfies audio expectations but does so at a reasonable price. It combines innovative conductor technology, ease of handling, and little in the way of sonic sacrifices. With its dead-quiet backgrounds Aqua establishes a sweet, even, honey-soaked midrange, delivered from an ever so slightly forward perspective. Further, its deep low-end brilliantly communicates the rich wood resonances of cello and acoustic bass. A cable that opens new frontiers at accessible price levels.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Siltech Explorer 90 I Interconnect and L Speaker Cable
$500/1m pr. interconnect; $1000/2m pr. speaker
Bringing Siltech quality and cache to an easily affordable price point makes Explorer an excellent upgrade cable for a mid-priced system. Its healthy midrange, fine articulation, and low-level reproduction make it a good deal. Dynamics and bass extension are also convincing. It could be a trifle sweeter in the treble, but few wires challenge it in this tier.

 


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Moon Audio Silver Dragon V2
$625/1m pr.
The V2 version of Silver Dragon, Moon Audio’s top audiophile interconnect, uses an eight-wire braided geometry of solid-core 99.999% pure silver with a Teflon insulation. Connectors are top-notch—WBT Nextgen or Furutechs. Sonically, Silver Dragon is a model of smooth, rich midrange response—faithful to the real thing in its neutrality, color saturation, and fluidity. There’s a satisfying mellowness to its character—one that doesn’t exactly soften transients (there’s plenty of snap and speed to go around) but does add a measure of overall warmth to the presentation.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Synergistic Research Tesla LE REL-spec Reference Subwoofer Cable
$660–$1320/3m
Pricey but potent, these inspired subwoofers cables are specifically optimized for REL subwoofers and include the REL-specified Neutrik connectors. They improved the inherent musicality and pitch precision of the Britannia B3 in every instance. The lower noise floor yields more detail, an enhanced sense of space, and expanded ambience retrieval. Three models are available: Element Copper, Element Tungsten, and Element CTS.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Cardas Clear Light Interconnect and Clear Sky Speaker Cables
$692/1m pr. interconnect; $900/3m pr. speaker
Designed and superbly made in the U.S.A., these fat Blue Man Group-blue cables are the first rungs of Cardas’ top-of-their-line Clear Series. RD found them suitably impressive both sonically and physically. Aural impressions included good detail along with a touch of added warmth, which could be welcome in many setups.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Crystal Cable Next (Headphone)
$750
For those with state-of-the-art personal listening gear, the ultra-thin and light Crystal Cable Next makes a perfect complement. The shimmering strand oozes quality and, as the name implies, crystal-clear sound. The Next allows volumes of timbral, rhythmic, and spatial information to flow through it. Decays seem to go on forever and bass notes are as taut as a stretched rubber band. Crystal Cable’s Next will show you just how much you’ve been missing from your favorite set of headphones.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Crystal Cable Micro Interconnect/CrystalSpeak Micro Speaker Cable
$850/1m pr. interconnect ($700/add’l meter); $2500/2m pr. speaker ($900/add’l meter-pair)
Clean, composed, and transparent, the jewel-like Crystal Micro cables offer an open soundstage where images snap into focus and music is conveyed with a turbine-like smoothness. Even some softness in the bass and a bit of forwardness in the treble don’t diminish one of the most transparent cables NG has heard. Unique splitter rings allows easy change-out of terminations or bi-wire upgrades.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Harmonic Technology Magic Link Three
$900/1m pr. (RCA); $950/1m pr. (XLR)
With improved clarity and articulation over Harmonic Tech’s more affordable Pro Silway line, the Magic Link Two interconnect consistently yields smooth, extended highs, a delightfully full and natural midrange, and solid bass. You may find other pricier interconnects that excel in one specific area or another, but when it comes to overall system synergy, this is one cable you’ll be “wearing” like a favorite pair of shoes.


2017 Editors’ Choice Awards: Cables and Interconnects under $1000

Analysis Plus Silver Oval-In
$962/1m pr.
Silver Oval’s balance is as neutral as they come, with a breathtaking level of micro-dynamic nuance. The other factor going in this interconnect’s favor is its very low noise-floor—a quality that boosts and broadens dynamic range in every octave. Analysis Plus keeps providing further evidence that the sonic gap between reference cable and its more affordable rivals is closing fast.

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