Knut P. Skogrand should be no stranger to the high-enders and audiophiles by now. He's a regular exhibitor at the high-end audio shows across the globe and there are more than dozen uplifting reviews (guilty as charged) out there as well as quite many happy customers around the globe.
His venture almost resolves a romantic idea of an audio wizard, who whenever he needs a break can perform an easy escapade and morph into a hunter and a wondering hiker :).
If I remember it right, years ago, I was among the very first to audition and explore the Skogrand cables. Many years have passed and it's interesting and inspiring to see Knut's venture growing at the steady-evolutional pace.
Skogrand Stravinsky cable line represents the new reference level class of products, that were designed from the ground up to push the limits of the sound reproduction. When Knut asked if I want to explore his top tiers, it was a no-brainer for me. It was hard for him to keep his enthusiasm bottled and some of the insights he had revealed to me were more than enough to interest and intrigue me to jump on board with the evaluation, test, and review.
BEETHOVEN VS STRAVINSKY
As Beethoven was a flagship model until the introduction of the Stravinsky line, here are some of the enhancements:
- 50% less polyolefin inner core heat shrink- New inner core framework structure re-invented from the ground up to further improve ease of use, maximize durability and with even more effective energy transfer. - 50% less Ultra Low K material touching the OCC solid core wires- Inner core structure further stabilized changing exchange links from fabric to Ultra Low K hard density material. This locks the placement of the OCC wire within the air dielectric space centralizing it perfectly throughout the cable run. It also secures that the dual lead wires maintain 100% constant distance under all conditions- Air dielectric percentage of a total cable run increased from 98.9% to 99.45%"
MEET THE STRAVINSKY
Here are the Stravinsky cables official short elaboration from Knut P. Skogrand about his latest proud creations...
"Skogrand Stravinsky cables offer new levels of musical nuance, detail and definition with improved dynamics, speed, resolution and an image literally completely devoid of grunge and superfluous noise. You will experience increased realism and naturalness of voices and musical instruments. The dead silent background allows you to hear even the subtlest inner details of the music and to detect the unraveling of even the most complex passages with ease. The Stravinsky balances analytical detail and smoothness brilliantly and breathes life into any audio reproduction experience in ways that are more engaging and lifelike than we thought possible."
MUSIC
The key to success for any high-end component is the purest delivery of the music. Skogrand Stravinsky cables have proven to elevate performance across all genres by quite a margin compared to the previous lines I've had the luxury of testing, trying and living with over the years.
There is an endless universe of music to be explored, to be used as a reference. It's never easy for the reviewer to hand pick a few of the best reference tracks. There is only so much of the text amount being digestible before the hitting the threshold of hardly digestible reading.
When it comes to the purity, directness, and straightforwardness nothing comes close to the Hans-Martin Linde & Konrad Ragossnig: Musik für Flöte und Gitarre.
After the very first intake from the mighty world of a classic music, many if not most music lovers return to the primary essence in the form of renaissance and even more vibrant baroque music. Not to be misunderstood. There is always a place for the both; the complexity of contemporary classical music and "bare-bones" vibrancy of so-called early European classical music.
Audiophiles will clearly love the Rimsky-Korsakov: The Complete Symphonies; Russian Easter; Capriccio es - Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra and Neeme Järvisoulful for its transparency and openness. And there is more to it, than just a captivating sonic value. These particular Rimsky-Korsakov compositions are not so often explored and Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra/Neeme Järvisoulful delivers highly captivating rendition more than worthy of exploring...
The Stravinsky cables have managed to hold on to the so-called translucency while still being able to form a refreshing richness in overall spectrum without losing the core values of timbre, tone, and color.
This recording offers a captivating interaction even with the ordinary audio veins in play. Yet, with the addition of Stravinsky cables (between my The Bespoke Audio Ultimate Silver preamplifier and Lamm M1.2 Reference hybrid monoblock power amplifiers) the additional-natural-smoothness was introduced. This was by no means an ordinary " sonic-love-affair", but a bulk information projection embraced with the fullest sonic scope and texture.
Add a the Stravinsky's ability to deliver stand out lighting fast dynamic shifts and a formidable sense of dense energy formation, most evident with the Gothenburg Orchestra "leitmotif" brass impact and you'll feel no urge to find an additional extraordinaires of Skogrand Stravinsky cables. Their aura radiate with unique potency and strength!
CONCLUSION
When it comes to the production of his beloved cable creations and crafting Knut P. Skogrand is still as secretive as he's been from the start.
This is understandable. There are many copycats out there prying and lurking to benefit in deriving some pieces of information. For a cable manufacturer, their proprietary approaches are their solid gold.
Knut P. Skogrand continues his story of a success and with the introduction of Stravinsky cables. You could explore some of the technical insights above, but most importantly the sonic performance is elevated up in the ladder of a very upper echelon of high-end audio.
I've discussed the subject of Skogrand's cables with many audiophiles and music lovers over the year. Either in person or via emails. People were and still are mesmerized, enchanted, even doubtful about these Norwegian ultra-high-end audio cables.
Skogrand cable portfolio now offers quite an array of cable galore, Knut had even introduced much more affordable entry-level lines, that are opening up the Skogrand universe to more people.
While there is a recognizable DNA across all of the lines, Stravinsky encapsulate a unique potency and non-expecting blend of organic flow and transparency. There's no focus on the specific frequency range and there are no specific sonic priorities. The sonic liquidity evenly extends in the most linear way, without acting ever acting as an equalizer. This familiar "hubris" is sadly associated even with some of the competitive, sky-high priced, upper-echelon cables.
There's no doubt, that Skogrand Stravinsky cables belong to new, luxury high-end audio niche industry segment. Like with everything luxurious, bespoke products are designed from the ground up to offer something extra, going beyond their sheer functionality and utilization.
Many of high-enders are familiar with the watch industry and their dealings. For example... Seiko 5 watch shares the same primary utility as Patek Philippe or Rolex watch. Still... People desire and strive for something extraordinary and special. Within an ultra-high-end audio domain, not everything is as simple as within the timekeeping universe. While some analogy with haute horology and measuring of the time can be drawn, the reasoning is surely not the same, but slightly familiar. In our beloved industry, we're dealing with music, where the essence and potency cannot be easily bottled or simplified.
Music in its core transcends time and space. It offers one of the most potent interactions with our human inner core. Without going too deep into esoteric realms, the Skogrand cables
hat both bridge the past and future: the Maison constantly seeks to break new ground, yet keeps a keen eye on its heritage, both to protect it and to draw inspiration from it
For many, or most of the high-enders and music lovers Skogrand Stravinsky cables will be out of the reach. For those few lucky ones, that can explore the exotic and esoteric realms, Stravinsky opens up the out of the box empowerment in the properly matched high-end audio system.
There are no white and black solutions when it comes to the ultimate synergy in the high-end audio system, yet Stravinsky cables encompass all the great attributes with a quite unique and universal appeal.
There is something very different about the Skogrand Stravinsky. Their ability to convey the music effortlessly and vibrantly makes them exuberantly refreshing.
Knut P. Skogrand continuities his exploration of in absence de rigueur, by setting its own standards...
For, what it represents and how well it blends with my reference system I have no reservation to shell out rare, but highly elevated Mono and Stereo Editor Choice award.
It won't be easy to surpass the Stravinsky impact, but I'm quite sure, that Skogrand journey won't stop here and I'm looking forward to the Knut P. Skogrand's future bespoke cable creations. If and until that moment arrives, Skogrand Stravinsky cables are worthy of all of those high praising audiophile and music lovers garlands...
Matej Isak
PRICE
1m USD 24,000.00
1.5m USD 26,000.00
2M USD 28,000.00
2.5m USD 30,000.00
3m USD 32,000.00
3.5m USD 34,000
CONTACT
Skogrand Cables AS
Kongsvegen 320
2636 Oeyer
Oppland
NORWAY
Web: www.skograndcables.com
Email: info@skograndcables.com