Cable manufacturers have a problem, because many of them agree that no cables are the best cables. And as a result, they would be out of work if it was possible to eliminate all the cables in today’s HiFi systems.
6.2
American based ANTICABLES goal is to make their cables sound like no cables. The only solution known to me, to go without cables, is to mount your gear back-to-back, or use wireless (through the air) systems, like e.g. Dynaudio's digital speakers, where all the speaker cables have been removed. Nonetheless, there is still need for power cables (although wireless charging now is possible, but only for a very small current, and not enough for active speakers). The other side, where the Dynaudio's Transmitter/Connect box gets its input signal, it still needs some kind of digital, optical or analog cable. So unemployment amongst the cable producers is not very likely to happen.
Also, I can’t imagine how a HiFi system consisting of more then a Pre/Power amp, say with an additional tuner and streamer or CD player, could be connected back to back ;)
Also, I can’t imagine how a HiFi system consisting of more then a Pre/Power amp, say with an additional tuner and streamer or CD player, could be connected back to back ;)
Back to this test's review item: the ANTICABLES Level 6.2 ABSOLUTE Signature RCA 75 Ohm Digital Interconnect, which I’ll call the 6.2 to save on typing. It’s designer Paul Speltz’s newest creation, he also makes power, USB, speaker and analog cables amongst others. This, his brand-new digital cable uses the newest Keith Louis Eichmann's Absolute-Harmony RCA Plugs and implements silver/gold alloy wires.
Compared to Speltz's other designs, these RCA Interconnects use two additional ACElectrum™ Silver/Gold Alloy wires as the return signal path. The three signal carrying wires are then woven in their Delineated Weave™ configuration.
Paul Speltz tells us that by combining silver and gold, he gets the best of both worlds, the silver's openness and transparency and the gold’s soft and sweet sound. We know that many - but not all! - silver cables can have a harsh sound to them, which according to ANTICABLES, can be avoided by using a gold and silver alloy combination.
Speltz continues: "The red colored elongated spiral copper wire serves only as the shield wire. Typical interconnect cables usually have a signal wire surrounded with a thick plastic dielectric material, which is then surrounded by the ground conductor to shield it from EMI/RFI noise, and then more plastic dielectric material. This typical approach has the usual drawbacks of accumulating a lot of dielectric effect distortion, and an accumulation of shunting capacitance. The ANTICABLES RCA Interconnects use a different approach. Since air is a near perfect dielectric, no extra insulation dielectric material is used, and the wires are suspended in free air. Eliminating dielectric effect distortion is part of what allows these interconnects to sound like music, (not a cable).”
Big Bender
One year ago I did a review for Scandinavian nomono.dk of ANTICABLES smaller brother, the 4.2, and already then I was impressed with the sound quality versus the price. My conclusion was that you'd get a hell of a lot of sound for your hard earned money. Now ANTICABLES’ mastermind, Paul Speltz, has sent me the newest version. It's slightly bigger, yet small, and attractive (see photos). The shield is still wound around the inner wires, which there are three, compared to one for its little 4.2 brother. And again, there’s not money spent on packaging in a fancy gold shining box. The Dollars are invested in the product development and manufacturing of the 6.2. Nonetheless, the digital cable is quite attractive - says my wife. It’s highly flexible and can easily be bend and routed together with even the most non-architectural designed HiFi systems in mind.
Sound Of Silence
While typing this review, and as always, playing nice music from my nearly full 3 TB disc, I realized how nice the sound instantly filled the room. Just take the voice of Swedish singer/songwriter Lisa Ekdahl´s “Heaven, Earth And Beyond” from 2002. Her childlike vocal reminds me of a combination of Bjørk and a very intimate Alanis Morissette when Ekdahl whispers and sings the well-known “It’s Oh So Quite”. With the 6.2 the artist’s small sh-sounds are soft, yet precise to listen to. Other digital cables had a problem exactly with this in this song. Some female voices get too sharp in many systems.
Another lovely tune is: “Segne” by the African artist Afia Mala. It might not be recorded in the perfect Hifi-ish way with only one pair of perfect positioned microphones and to a 24 bit 192 kHz recorder. What this recording does though, is make me smile when I listen to it via the ANTICABLES, and so I forget to analyze the songs, I just enjoy them all.
“Beat Hotel” from the always-fab sounding Stockfish recordings with the singer Allan Taylor (from his 2003 album: Hotels & Dreamers) is recorded with lots of small percussion details behind the singer. They will be highly audible with the 6.2 cable in your system. In my setup, they are easy to hear, but not dominant, just musical fragments that makes music to become more … music.
Danish band Kashmir made a hit song in 1999 with the song “Graceland”. It’s rock music, and highly compressed, though still intriguing to my ears. The guitarist and singer Kasper Eistrup now sounds like the real thing, I heard them live several times so I know this for sure.
"Sinking Stone" with Alison Krauss again shows that its quite possible to make a good quality digital cable that doesn't cost the same as a racing car. The weight of the acoustic instruments are evident as well as he deep bass lines on “La Villette” from Marcus Millers album Silver Rain.
ANTICABLES have a 30 days money back guarantee - so what are you waiting for?
More info: http://anticables.com Price: $360 for 1.5m
Text and photos: Kurt Lassen 2016