The end is nigh. I've read the news and it sure looks bad. Hurricanes, forest fires, eclipses! Oh my! Oppression, discrimination, bigotry! Oh no! Chaos and bedlam are consuming the entire world. UV light waves are only the beginning. We have an inch of topsoil left. And what about the irreversibly progressive depletion of the gene pool. It's time for you to climb into that bomb shelter you converted into a music room, lock the door and turn up the volume.
But before you lock the door, make sure you have some interesting new toys to keep you busy until the surface air is breathable again. PF was recently contacted by our good friend Steve Klein from his bunker at Sounds of Silence distributing. He suggested that our readers might be interested in a line of cables making a favorable impression on his customers.
The subject of this report from the front is Audiomica Laboratory, a high end cable manufacturer from Poland. From their website: "Idea, design, research, listening. Every single process of creation begins with an idea. In this aspect we are receptive to suggestions of our workers, indirect clients and target consumers. This results in numerous innovative projects which very often evolve into totally new products or upgrades for existing ones."
Description
Audiomica has six distinct cable series which are named Consequence, Ultra Reference, Excellence, Red, Gray, and Black. All my samples came from the two top series, including two Consequence Allbit power cords, two Ultra Reference Callisto power cords, two Consequence Pearl balanced interconnects, two Ultra Reference Europa balanced interconnects, one set of Consequence Miamen speaker cables, and one Consequence Flint digital interconnect terminated with RCA connectors. Steve Klein told me he likes to keep the prices in Euros so that his customers can take advantage of the latest exchange rate.
The Allbit power cords consist of twelve twelve gauge OCC copper conductors in a braided shield and also include an electrostatic coupler by Acoustic Points. The plugs have rhodium plated contacts with nonmagnetic carbon fiber bodies. Plugs are filled with what Audiomica refers to as Mica Security Liquid, a substance which exhibits excellent anti-vibration properties. It also removes heat and is waterproof.
The Pearl balanced interconnect also has OCC copper and Rhodium plated connectors. Each conductor is double screened with additional screening of the whole cable. The Pearl interconnect is also equipped with antistatic couplers by Acoustic Points and Mica Security Liquid.
The Miamen speaker cables are similar in construction to the other cables in the Consequence series and include twelve helical twisted multi-conductor wires, double shielding and WBT connectors.
Last in the Consequence series, the Flint 75 ohm digital interconnect follows the family trend with OCC copper construction and multiple shields.
The Calisto power cord from the Ultra Reference series has eight twelve gauge OCC copper conductors, multiple shields and silver plated connectors.
Lastly, the Europa interconnect consisting of eight silver plated OCC copper conductors and two shields.
These cables have a high quality look and feel that may not come through from a mere description or picture but make an impression when in hand. Technology, materials quality and attention to detail appear to be the hallmarks of the Audiomica philosophy. Much greater detail is available at the Audiomica website.
Setup
I used the two Allbit power cords to connect my Bybee/Curl signature power conditioner to my Oyaide duplex outleted dedicated circuit and the two Calisto power cords to connect my universal disc player and my DAC to the Bybee/Curl conditioner. The Pearl interconnects went from the disc player and DAC to my preamplifier, and the Flint digital interconnect went between the disc player and the DAC. The Europa interconnects connected other source components. I use a multi-amp configuration and experimented with different locations for the speaker cables. In general, I auditioned the Audiomica cables as a system and didn't move them much once they were installed.
These cables are very sturdy and beautifully made, but I did find both the power cords and the interconnects extremely stiff rotationally. By that I mean that connecting, for instance, a power cord connected on one end meant fighting the other end into position so that socket and conductors aligned. Tolerances were very tight, which didn't help in this process. Once connected, they stayed connected and I had no other issues during the review period.
Listening
I was told that the cables typically required about two hundred hours of break-in, but would sound relatively good right out of the box. This matched my experience. In fact, from the outset, the operative word to describe the sound of the Audiomica cables et. al. was "clarity" and this impression remained consistent throughout the three month review period and many recordings of various genres.
For example, I tested a recent thrift store find—Sheryl Crow Artist's Choice Deluxe Edition. The Artists Choice series combines songs by the artist with a favorites list of songs by other artists, the premise being that fans want to know what their favorite artists listen to. It's a Dual Disc so it has DVD-A/CD combined. In this instance there are four songs by the artist followed by 13 selections of various artists.
Selection nine, Squeeze's "Tempted", arguably their most successful song, is superbly portrayed in DVD-A. The Audiomica cables enhanced my system's ability to map the song's sound stage. The clear, clean, articulate presentation laid each instrument and vocalist out across my room. Instruments seemed to inhabit their own space on the stage, enhancing the sense of being there.
Another example is Analogue Production's reissue of Duke Ellington's and Ray Brown's This One's For Blanton, remastered by Doug Sax. Piano and bass were naturally presented with a very good sense of the acoustic space and intimate ambiance. The Audiomica cables were even handed in their presentation across the audio bandwidth. Bass had grip and resonance without muddiness. Piano was percussive and full bodied Microdynamics were subtle and organic.
Michael Jackson's Bad was presented with full funk, the sound immersive and powerful. The cut "Liberian Girl" filled the room, moody and mysterious. In every example, the Audiomica cables met or exceeded the performance of my own cables.
Abbey Road from the remastered 2009 boxed set reissue of the Beatles catalog despite the update could still sound a little hard on the top. With the Audiomica cables the high end was very articulate, presenting detail without hardness and without spotlighting any frequency ranges.
One of the bigger surprises for me was the Flint digital interconnect. I recently purchased a DAC to use with my homemade music server but was unsatisfied with the sound. I am using the digital out from the Juli@ sound card. The sound was thin and a little edgy. I also connected the digital output of my universal disc player to the new DAC, and after a long break-in period the DAC still didn't match the sound of the player alone, although this combination easily bettered the sound from the music server. In went the Flint digital interconnect and out went the problems. The DAC was now indistinguishable from the player alone. The previous congestion was gone. The music server was also much improved.
Conclusion
It has been suggested that as a rule of thumb you allow about ten percent of your audio budget for cabling. In the case of my humble little $800 DAC, the Audiomica Ultra Reference Calisto power cord, the Consequence Pearl interconnects and the Consequence Flint digital interconnect all exceeded the price of the DAC. Considering the price range of the Audiomica cables it is unlikely that they will be used in a modest system. Of course, if you can afford the big toys the cost of these cables will pose no hardship.
Superbly designed and meticulously constructed, and of high quality, the Audiomica cables are a no brainer if you have the scratch. In my system they improved imaging, soundstaging and overall clarity. They are clean and extended at both ends of the sound spectrum. There is little here to criticize. In the wrong system they might be too bright for some listeners. With poorly recorded music they tend to be ruthlessly revealing of flaws, but I wouldn't want cables that made bad recordings sound good. I want the musical truth even when it is hard to hear.
I greatly enjoyed my time with the Audiomica cables and can easily recommend them. Once the nuclear fog has cleared please do have a listen for yourself.
Pearl Consequence Interconnect
Retail: $3025 per meter
Europa Interconnect
Retail: $1307 per meter
Miamen Loudspeaker Cable
Retail: $4090 per meter
Ultra Reference Calisto Power Cord
Retail: $1857 per meter
Consequence Flint Digital Interconnect
Retail: $1876 per meter
Audiomica
