WyWires Interconnect, Digital & Speaker Cable Review

At this point I was looking for a set of cables that would retain the benefits of a clear, detailed, and article sound without compromising in other aspects. The WyWires arrived and I first installed them into the Brodmann/Mystere system. Alex pre-burns the cables for 50-hours so they are good to go right out of the box. Quickly I realized, that the WyWires in the Brodmann/Mystere system allowed instruments and vocals to be more independent of each other and all had better articulation. 3 dimensional imaging was better now that sounds could be more easily pinpointed. To tell you the truth, the WyWires helped the Brodmann FS speakers go from overpriced Euro speakers to something I no longer wanted to part with. I finally knew why Constantine had high praise for Brodmann speakers. Compared to the Supra Sword cables, in the same system, the WyWires provided much better bass and the sound held together as the volume was turned up.

In the Melody/Zu system the WyWires interconnects helped tamp down a bit of the aggressiveness coming from the super tweeter, but just slightly. They also increased the individual instruments and vocal articulation. The overall affect of the WyWires was to bring a more natural and effortless sound, rather than help rectify issues.

Speaker cables

A two-meter pair of WyWires speaker cables arrived with the interconnects and after the positive performance from those, my hand was hardly forced to try the speaker cables. The speaker cables are as meticulously and well built as the interconnects and their shinning black cover looked great going from amplifier to speakers. The speaker cables also use the same technology as the interconnects, copper wire in cotton in a Litz geometry. They have what appears to be magnets at each end, but those bulges are purely for aesthetics.

When the WyWires speaker cables arrived I also had in the Supra Sword speaker cables and the Zu Mission speaker cables. The Supra Sword cables are about the same price as the WyWires, and the Zu Mission cables came in just under half the price.

Between the three cables, the WyWires and Supra offer a very exacting soundstage, both allowed more detail to make it from the amplifier to the speaker, and both cables offered very good articulation and dynamics. While the Zu Mission cables are fair step above speaker cables from Monoprice, when compared to the WyWires and Supra cables, they just didn’t seem to keep up.

Between the WyWires and Supra Sword cables there was less a difference in sonic attributes and more a difference in sonic character. The WyWires cables offered a more natural sound and three-dimensional imaging. The Supra Sword speaker cables had a more astringent, cleaner, and aggressive flavoring. Similar to the difference in a Belgian ale versus a California hopped IPA. While both are very good, and no matter how many Belgium ales I drink, a standard IPA will always be more of a comfort, more natural, beer. And that is how the WyWires sound to my ears. They just offer a whole hearted more natural sound that allows for all the frequencies to come through without over emphasizing or distorting.

Digital cable

Usually I see 16-bit digital audio as a necessary evil. For better or worse I tend to prefer vinyl. Even at the sub-$5,000 price point, I’d rather have a $5,000 analog turnable (AN-T2 anybody?), cartridge, phono amp combo, than a $20,000 CD Player. No I’m not insane, nor do I need my ears examined. It is just what I prefer to listen to. But I’ve not been spinning that much vinyl since Alex was nice enough to let me use his new digital cable. I’ll be honest. At first I was hesitant. But the WyWires digital cable, for me, has actually been the best thing I’ve heard (at a reasonable price point) in digital audio, in a long time. Sure the DaVinciAudio DAC, at standard 16-bit, is outstanding. But it is also thirty-two thousand dollars, or something outrageous like that. The PS Audio Transport and DAC, at 24-bit, sounds great, but at $10k, I’d rather spend that on a full blown analog only system. So with sever reservation and not much expectation, I put in the Audio Note DAC One Sig, connected in the Granite Audio interconnects, the last interconnects I used the DAC with, queued up a track, and was floored. Now I can’t let go. The harsh in-your-face sound, the flat Hollywood character sound, is gone. Replaced by formed three-dimensional, distinctly articulated, and granular level detail, music. Now please don’t get me wrong, the cable can’t possibly turn swine into pearls. But if you are looking to add liveliness and the ever ethereal “musicality” to your digital system, the WyWires digital cable comes highly recommended.

Conclusion

The WyWires cables I’ve had in for review have done everything I’d want cables to do. They helped maintain the focus and detail of the system, they helped pass the detail and articulation of the equipment they are connecting, and the digital cable above the rest, has really made helped me to see past the medium divide.