Cantata S Digital Interconnect

'I discovered early on in my audiophile journey the importance of digital cables,and despite early ridicule from the ‘1’s are 1’s tribe’ I was convinced of the differences a good digital cable could make to a system. Even so, I still considered digital cables, in very general terms, to be less impactful on the sound than their analogue equivalents. Having auditioned (then purchased)the Cantata digital co-axial cable, I may be forced to rethink that philosophy.

As you might expect from a cable at this price point, it ticks all the usual audiophile boxes, wide and deep sound stage, incredible detail, ‘air’ and separation between instruments, but what sets this cable apart from the others I auditioned, and whatultimately made its purchase inevitable for me, was a quality that is a little harder to articulate. This cable makes you forget you are listening to a digital source, on times it even makes you forget you are listening to a music system at all! There is an uncanny sense of palpability, a level of musical believability that never fails to grab you, and engage you emotionally. Everything sounds natural and, well, just right. Symbol splashes decay exactly as they should, but crucially they continue to occupy the correct space in the soundstage. Other high end cables I tried, to their credit, managed to capture the decay, but frequently got the spatial accuracy wrong, and the decay would drift off to another part of the sound stage. This may sound like a minor, almost trivial detail, but I believe it is exactly this level of detail and accuracy that allows this cable to sound so convincing, so ‘real’.

As you can no doubt tell, I am quite enthusiastic about this cable, so I think it is worth mentioning that I have owned it for over a year, and that enthusiasm has not waned in the least! If the rest of your system is up to the task, I would highly recommend an audition with this cable, I think it is rather special!'

Marcus, Swansea

Charleston Loudspeaker Cables

'Got my Charleston speaker cables a few weeks ago and I am very happy with them. I already had a very good set of speaker cables but was tempted by the glowing reviews and I have to say that they were not wrong. Black Rhodium were good to deal with and the cables arrived within a couple of weeks of placing an order. They were nicely packaged, felt hefty, looked suitably ‘serious’ and were very well finished. They take a few few weeks to ‘come on song’ but sounded very good straightaway. The sound is very transparent and clear with a great soundstage. Nothing is held back and you seem to get more of everything. They also give your music increased body and depth, with a solid bass, very clear mids and a clean treble. There is nothing harsh or edgy and after a few weeks, sound really excellent. 

To put it into context, my system is: Mola Mola Kula amplifier (Tambaqui DAC and Mola Mola Phono stage), Roon Nucleus with Tidal, Wilson Audio SabrinaX speakers, REL S/812 sub, Clearaudio Innovation/SME V/Lyra Skala.

Regards'

Don

'Out with the old, in with the new Charleston's.
Upgraded this past November 2022. 
Having purchased some new Acoustic Energy A/E 520 speakers in early November I thought I would up grade my old Tellerium Q Black Diamond speaker cables with the "Charleston" speaker cables.
First impressions are important.

On unwrapping the cables from the box they oozed quality from their weight to the professional finish. Top quality connections, banana plugs speaker end & spades amplifier end.

After plugging in & playing a vinyl jazz album I was struck by spaciousness, immediacy,  clarity,  lucidity. So far all very good. Next up & really into the music some Albert Ayler Free Jazz. The "Charleston's" were not just excellent but superb. They delivered range, colour, texture, detail, nuance & a visceral impact.

Not in one's face but just letting the music through to the sweet spot in the listening room.
A pair of "Charleston's" will thrill you to the core & make you dance around your listening room.
You have my permission to even dance the "Charleston" !'

JLW, Surrey

'The Charleston cables arrived almost two months ago & I was eager to put them into my system. They replaced my XLO cables which I have had for many years. The bulk of my system is made up of Electrocompaniet components (CD player now used as transport, DAC, Pre-amp & Power amp), LP12 and  semi active ADAM Tensor Gamma speakers. In addition I have an Isotek Aquarius power cleaner & their Syncro power lead. Both the CD player & DAC have been upgraded with improved PSUs & uprated jitter clock chips.  In respect of interconnects I have Studio Connections Black Star.

I knew in advance there there would be a step in the sound quality but what I did not anticipate is how great would be the change.

Most of what I listen to do is rock & prog with some jazz (Miles Davis & John Coltrane). The first CD that I put on was Led Zeppelin 4 and although I had listened to it, probably hundreds of times, it was a revelation listening to it now.  All of the characteristics used to describe sound such as pace, rhythm, precision, detail had moved to new levels. However, the change which I was most impressed with was the soundstage. I had always thought that the soundstage prior to the Charlestons was very good but with the Charlestons the breadth was wider and the depth become much more evident. With Stairway To Heaven the guitars & vocals were much more to the front but John Bonham (drums) appeared to be much further back to produce a genuine three dimensional soundscape. When the drums come in at about 4m 20s you realize how hard Bonham is hitting the drums and the song takes on a life of its own.

I then moved on to vinyl with the Kraftwerk live album ( 3-D 1234578). The initial impression was the immediacy of the sound with a brighter fuller nature, which given that it is all electronic instruments was an extraordinary achievement.

Over the past couple of months I have listened to other types of music, on CD and vinyl, and the changes were there on everything that I played. There was one more change which I had not expected and that is the sound from CDs appear to have become more warm & closer to vinyl.

If I had to apply one word to the describe the improvement it would be texture with deeper & richer sounds. The listening experience has become a joy & I now look forward to listening to music which I have not played in many years. The speaker cables are that good!'

Best wishes,'

A Macintosh