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A.R.T. Analyst & Super SE XLR Interconnect and Speaker Cable Review

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Then, there is the $270 / 4 pieces XLR, RCA plugs made of green copper and rose gold for vibration reduction, the $340 / 4 pieces spade plugs, the $400 / 4 pieces banana plugs and the $400 connectors, all made of green copper and rose gold.  For a company that manufactures expensive cable systems to also indulge in expansive range of gadget accessories speaks volume about its level of expertise.

Among these accessories was one I have yet to mention, the A.R.T. banana jumper cables.  Sold for $1,200 for a set of four in spade termination, $1,350 for a set of four in bananas, and $1,250 for a set of four spade-to-bananas, these were made of pure silver.  Arguments can be made on using jumper cables versus a completely bi-wired speaker cable system, with the cost-saving of using jumpers being a winning factor.  With affordable cables, bi-wiring is an easy decision if your speakers support such configuration; on costlier cables, the benefits of bi-wiring can be very expensive.  With these A.R.T. jumper cables, the argument is easily settled.  I attest to the powerful sonics these jumper cables delivered between the high-frequency and lower-frequency terminals of my Tannoy Westminster Royal SE speakers.

I heard the Tannoys at Len Kinsey’s Blue Moon Audio dealership here in the Bay Area, then again at his 3rd (2012) California Audio Show Exhibit.  Having owned a pair of the Tannoy Churchill Wideband for seven years, I was nonetheless smitten by the Westminster Royal SE’s music playback finesse.  My reference prior to the A.R.T. jumper cables was the Audio Note UK Sogon silver speaker cables, used as jumpers!  The A.R.T. was the equivalent of the Audio Note in this regard in all aspects of the sound.

Two pairs of 1.8m A.R.T. balanced interconnects were used in my system, one between the Esoteric K-03 SACD player and the Pass Labs XP-30 3-piece solid-state preamplification system, the other between the preamplifier and the Allnic A5000 DHT monoblocks.  A 3-meter pair of the A.R.T. single-wired speaker cables rounded up the system.

The A.R.T. Analyst has such propensity toward reproducing powerful transients, it is as if it is made to portray the ingenuity and complexities of a symphony, the case in point being those of the Mahler Fourth, conducted by Sir Georg Solti with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Dame Kiri TeKanawa in the mid-80s under the London/Decca label.  With the exception of the three cable brands I mentioned, all other cables sent to me for auditioning exhibited varying degrees of a monotonous wall of transients.  Dozing off was common during those sessions.  The Analyst is now high on my list of superior cable.  Oxygenating my listening space with simultaneously spectacular and diligent display of dynamic contrasts, the A.R.T.-driven system awoke the part of me that craves subliminal rawness.  The exchange between the brass and strings, most especially, sent forth a gripping tension at their most natural for the first time next to my top three favorites.

The A.R.T. Analyst’s addictive spectrum of animalistic dynamics gave rise to the melancholy, nihilistic undertone of the Fourth, as it evaded any suspicion and began to emerge from within; this is supposedly Mahler’s sunniest.  Now, I have to avoid his symphonies at least for the time being.  Blame the gold.

There were plenty of moments of quasi-idiotic audiophile grin arising from using the cables as well.  The beauty of tone and richness of emotions of the Dvorak Symphony No. 8 & 9 SACD (Phillips SACD 470612-2), for example, demonstrated another of the Analyst’s dominating virtues, namely tonal complexity, as accorded by the high-resolution format.  In this instance, the Analyst cast a sonic canvas of intricately fine textural diversity and distinct tonal definition via the Tannoy.  Sections of the Budapest Festival Orchestra were presented in subtle but appreciable sonic beauty that lent increased realism and thus, impact, to the listening experience.  The Analyst exploited the dynamic prowess of the DSD recording thoroughly as a matter of course, sustaining the energy of the soaring brasses spearheading in the opening Adagio of No. 9 to fulsome proportions, a feat that attested to the cable’s dynamic integrity.  The multiplexing yet synchronous strings followed suite and the Analyst, with a seeming twist of hand, revealed a sweeping feminine insistence of sorts that was beautifully mitigated.

The A.R.T. flagship also conveyed the energy of the 1984 recording of the Vaughan Williams Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis (Nimbus NIM 5019) just right.  I have often found the somewhat lackluster dynamics of this early digital recording to be best played through a high-power solid-state setup.  Here, the gold played its hands again.  The Analyst negotiated outputs from the CD that I haven’t experienced in more affordable cable systems, thus according the closer-miked ambience of the recording with tonal immediacy representative of the best in such recordings, and the Analyst’s adeptness at dynamic control rendered the small ensemble in this 1984 CD remarkably fresh and relevant.  The ingenuity and prowess of the cable system here complimented the spirit of the work by the manner of the production.

If you are wondering why I haven’t talked about classical piano solo up to this point, that is because the Analyst made it sound too easy, especially with the Dual-Concentric nature of the Tannoy coupled by the Allnic amplification.  I put multiple-driver speakers through pianos to find fault with their degree of driver integration, and I blast 100+ piece orchestras through the Tannoy, and the Analyst was the central accomplice.  Opposing chamber music which almost always takes place in a smaller venue, the classical piano produces output levels with tonal variances comparable to that of a full symphony in filling the hall.  Yet, the Analyst displayed unique spatial cues emanating from the sole instrument, lending the recording a live quality that reverberates inside the mind of the listener long after it is played.

A.R.T. Super SE 1

A.R.T. Super SE 2

The Italian Audio Reference Technology Analyst cable system is my first glimpse into the sound of gold.  The fact that Luigi and his team infused the copper-based conductor with precisely calculated amount of gold points to a certain mix ratio recipe that ensures a cost/performance balance.   This golden balance was not trickled down into the Super SE, the next lower model in the range, although the Super SE was also exceptional in its own right.  At a little more than half the cost of the Analyst, the Super SE conceded in all aspects of performance.  That said, I recall my reluctance to return the Super SE system to Robin when he wanted to send the Analyst to me.  Even then I thought the Super SE was too good a thing to let go, and I have heard a lot of cables in my system.

The A.R.T. Analyst is permeated by an artfully formulated blend of sonic traits.  Mating it to a direct-heated triode amplifier driving a large-diameter dual-concentric single driver speaker system seemed to have lent just the right touch for the classical ear.  But then again, Robin Loggie coupled the Greek Ypsilon hybrid Aelius amplification to the American YG Acoustics Anat III with the A.R.T. to extraordinary heights.  I heard the highest-end of music reproduction in his beautiful, Redwood City residence.  At the time of this writing, I am informed that he just installed the $27k Esoteric G-01 rubidium clock between his Esoterics.  Freakish.

In all fairness to the true innovators, this Dagogoan sees cables as the final determinant of the performance of a system, because this is the link in most systems often neglected.  Invest an inordinate amount in cable systems to your own detriment.  I can’t stress it any stronger.

Lurking somewhere in the schematics of A.R.T.’s R&D department is the Sensor, described by the company as “the best of the best.”  Anticipation!

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