ANTICABLE SUITE - REVIEW
A Clear Step Up in Cable Design!
A good many years ago a friend of mine introduced me to the AntiCables speaker wires. “Who were they,” I thought as I had never heard of them. So, as a new audio store owner, I was reluctant to give them a “real” try and only employed them for a short time in my system.
When my friend returned, he asked, “Well, how did you like them?” I told him that they were, “Okay.” He smiled and said, “Give them a bit more time.” So, I did.
After about a week of listening, they had already been burned in, and it was hard, no, impossible, not to like the AntiCables speaker wires and not to see the tremendous value they provided over the very expensive speaker cables that I had in store at the time.
At the time, it was difficult to sell the cables, as other people didn’t know who AntiCables were and the prices seemed, well, too cheap. Many were reluctant to buy them on that basis alone! They had by that time become my personal speaker cables for my various systems from budget system to reference system, and they performed beautifully.
A short time later AntiCables began introducing a suite of cable products ranging from analog or singled-ended interconnects to XLR or balanced interconnects to power cords and ultimately digital cables as well. And the latest iteration of these various cables is the topic of this review.
AntiCables is based in Lake Elmo, Minnesota, a small town of roughly ten thousand folks, about 20 minutes from Minneapolis/St Paul. Lake Elmo sits amid a beautiful community, festooned with a good share of the 10,000 lakes of which Minnesota and Minnesotans proudly boast. It has fought growth both tooth and nail to maintain its small town identity and feel, until recently, when Lake Elmo was, literally, forced to grow! The horror, but these things, unfortunately, happen.
The owner of AntiCables—Paul Speltz—is a kind man with a friendly smile, who presents as much younger than his apparent age and is more active than, literally, any person I know, regardless of age! Paul embodies what I have come to find as a truism of the Midwest: in general, people tend to be more active, fit, and madly in love with nature. And of course there is what’s referred to as “Minnesota Nice.”
Okay, back to the review. The questions at the forefront of my mind prior to putting the latest iterations of AntiCables to the test were, have they progressed? Are they still competitive with cables multiples of their price point? And, given that, do they still offer exceptional value?
REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various accoutrement, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.
The Sound
Burn-in. There are some out there who do not believe in this concept. After several decades of empirical observation, I’ve come to the conclusion that it is an observable and practical phenomenon.
Cars burn-in and reach an optimal point of performance. So say car manufacturers, which is why they urge relative caution in the “young” miles of a given car. Baseball gloves do something similar in that they break-in, much like shoes and new jeans, etc. And the excursion—a movement outward and back from a mean position—of speaker cones suggests that there is an optimum ‘elasticity’ needed for them to be at their best. Too stiff and perhaps dynamics, transients, resolution suffers. But enough about this.
Paul Speltz, the Wizard at AntiCables, suggests at least 100 hours of burn-in prior to listening. Seconded. I have heard, prior to break-in, on most cables, sibilance, murkiness or a lack of resolution and clarity, that in time, though not all the time, clear up rather nicely. Often there can be immediate positive results, which simply improve over time. Suffice to say, that this was true with the various AntiCables.
I received a suite of AntiCables that included USB digital cables, singled-ended interconnects, balanced interconnects, and power cords. I anticipate the need for speaker cables, at some time in the near future, as I settle on the appropriate speaker for reference/review purposes. This, of course, takes time, as it must be well thought out in full consideration of evaluating a chain of preceding or ‘upstream’ equipment.
Where to begin? At the beginning, of course. If there is no power to one’s system, then there is nothing. Power cords then.
ANTICABLE Level 3 Power Cords
The Level 3 Power Cords were the exception to the rule and they came out singing! That is to say, that the level of quiet increased and, interestingly, if there had been noise in the system it had now vanished completely! What remained was that black-quiet background which we music lovers so adore as this allows us to hear more of the actual music on our various media. Though another interesting thing that happened with the addition and subsequent, serial replacement of the power cords (4 of them) in Reference System 1 (see below) was that the simple addition of the AntiCables power cables increased the gain! How is this possible? I asked Paul. His answer:
"It's due to both the acoustical noise floor being lowered and the reduction of noise generating jitter on digital circuitry. Jitter is a time domain distortion that blurs pitch and reduces amplitude. In addition to our power cord being an excellent last 5 feet of current delivery, they also provide a highly conductive first 5 feet for the component's own power supply to dump its own noise, keeping it out of the music."
Okay. So while the Level 3 power cables were ‘ready’ out of the gates, I still gave them some time to burn-in. Well, kind of. There were some other immediate observations that were noted. The bass, from sub-bass on up, was tighter, better resolved, the transient response quicker off the blocks, and a weight extended up the frequency range, that did not obscure detail.
With the recommended 100 hours of burn-in there was more to report and all of it good! The Level 3 power cables provided greater transparency and resolution and detail. Timbre and texture were better fleshed out and tonality was superb and free of any harshness or glare or stridency. They had, indeed, lifted the system over the previous, quite expensive, power cords that they had replaced. The foundation, the power to the system, was thus improved and stable, and the AntiCables power cords would from there onwards report either positive things about their fellow AntiCables or not so positive things.
ANTICABLE Level 3.3 USB Digital Interconnect
With the power foundation established, the next task of a system that is primarily designed to stream is, of course, to evaluate the digital cable, as connected to the Roon Nucleus Plus Streamer, in our case.
The Level 3.3 USB cable bore the same uniform as its various siblings—a thin, white layer of low dielectric Teflon that wrapped an ACElectrum™ core—Silver/Gold alloy. And this configuration was, in turn, bounded by a red, spiral, ground/shield wire, with a very thin, red, 5-volt wire that ran its length. This last wire which stands in for a computer’s 5-V interface is said to reduce both jitter and noise, both of which run rampant within a computer’s architecture.
The Level 3.3 USB at approximately the same price as the cable that it had replaced brought forward a wealth of new information and transparency and resolution far above that particular cable, one well known among the cognoscenti of the audiophile and music lover communities. And it did so in a manner that was very musical. There was simply no contest between the two USB cables.
ANTICABLE Level 6.2 RCA Absolute Interconnect
The next cable evaluated in the AntiCables suite—the Level 6.3 RCA Interconnect—donning the selfsame uniform and materials joined the DENAFRIPS Pontus II DAC to the Enleum AMP-23R Integrated/Headphone Amplifier.
The Level 6.3 RCA Interconnect, again, at a fraction of the pricing of the cable that it had replaced, again, one well known to the cognoscenti, introduced similar improvements over the previous cable in the selfsame manner as its digital sibling. The music was immediately more transparent and better resolved, which made available a wealth of microdynamics and spatial cues, while fleshing out instrumental timbres. The improvements were not, at all, subtle. And the ACElectrum™’s blending of the precious metals provided, in addition to greater transparency and resolution, a beguiling, immersive tonality. No contest.
ANTICABLE Level 5.3 XLR Interconnect (New!)
And now to the final cable in the AntiCables suite—the Level 5.3 XLR—a brand new balanced cable, which debuts via this review (see pictures below). And while it also sports the uniform— a white layer of low dielectric Teflon wrapped the ACElectrum™ cable—Silver/Gold alloy— and bounded by a red, spiral, ground wire, its male/female terminations—KRYO—are, perhaps, the most robust that I have ever seen employed in an XLR design!
The new Level 5.3 XLR Interconnect was used between the Mola Mola Tambaqui and the STAX SRM-T8000. The Level 5.3 XLR Interconnect, possibly at a fraction of the pricing of the cable that it had replaced, given its TBD pricing and AntiCables’s standard pricing structure, raised the bar far above its expensive, well-known opponent. The Level 5.3 XLR made its opponent’s rendering of the music seem flat, dull, bereft of the level of detail or of the excitement or engagement this new cable provided. In truth, the music, buoyed by a black-quiet background, was more transparent, alive, and palpable, and the cable, via the timbre and the richness of tonality it enabled, served as an incredibly engaging and resolving balanced interconnect.
It would seem that the New Level 5.3 XLR Interconnect represents a home run for AntiCables and once its pricing is determined, this will provide a very definitive price to performance ratio relative to competing XLR Interconnects.
The Wrappings and Accessories
The wrappings of the various ANTICABLE cables and wires are quite simple. They are contained in a vacuum-formed plastic bag. There are no frills, no fancy packaging, no nested containers. No bling. Simple. This is, perhaps, one reason for the cost versus performance metrics as outlined above. The various monies, therefore, are spent on performance and functionality.
Simple. Clean. Uncomplicated.
Design—Look and Feel and Choice
The interconnect cables themselves embody a clean, uncomplicated, jacket-free design, that utilizes solid core copper wire, itself wrapped in a thin, white layer of low dielectric Teflon, which is, in turn, wrapped in a red-spiral cord that spans the length of the cable.
The Level 3 Power Cords are comprised of thick, triple-braided cables which terminate at the junction of a Standard 15A IEC plug and, at the opposite end, a Standard wall plug. They are rather stiff, though they can be bent to effectively retain a given ‘pose.’ In terms of their interaction/connectivity with a wall socket it is lock-jaw tight. And their interaction/connectivity with a component’s IEC socket also forms a tight and steady connection, that does not droop, sag, or come loose. The Level 3 Power Cord’s look and feel is substantive.
The Specifications
ANTICABLE Level 3 Power Cords
Oxygen Free Copper wires with impurities reduced down to 5 parts per million
24 square mm of Copper (cable's total cross sectional area) = three #8 AWG build
Integrated noise filtering technology
Proprietary Oxygen Free Solid Copper plugs
ANTICABLE Level 3.3 USB Digital Interconnect
ACElectrum™ Silver/Gold alloy signal conductors
Standard USB type-A to USB type-B plugs
5-Volt Shielded Wire Data Pair
ANTICABLE Level 6.2 RCA Absolute Interconnect
Keith Louis Eichmann ABSOLUTE-Harmony RCA Plugs
ACElectrum™ Silver/Gold alloy signal conductors
Delineated Weave™ configuration
DoubleBack™ shield topology (adequate for use with turntables)
ANTICABLE Level 5.3 XLR Interconnect
ETI Nexus XLR plugs
Fully Balanced design
ACElectrum™ Silver/Gold alloy signal conductors
Conclusion
AntiCables has long touted its cables as giant killers and so it appears that they are, as was demonstrated throughout this review from cable type to cable type against a very expensive competitor and a competitor of equal pricing, both well known to the audiophile cognoscenti.
It was quite the impressive showdown, I must say, after having listened to and lived with the various cables involved over a period of several months.
Though one imagines that there are giants afoot that would not so easily fall if they were to fall at all. But what then would the price/performance ratio be? Should that giant in giant priced garments and abilities come along and unseat this AntiCables giant killer, I shall give it its due. This, at least, is only fair.
Over my many decades as both a music lover and an audiophile, I have auditioned and lived with numerous cable types and brands, some that have long since retired their banner, others that have continued on, and I cannot but be grateful for both, as they have all truly informed my listening experience.
The above said, I highly recommend the AntiCables suite, as reviewed above, and award to it our HIGH NINES award for its overall transparency, resolving abilities, and its facility at providing, via its power cords, a black-quiet universe as backdrop to the music, from which detail can be easily resolved and rescued, in service of the music.
THE SYSTEM(S)
1.
Roon Nucleus+
PS Audio Perfect Wave SACD Transport
PS Audio Direct Stream DAC
Mola Mola Tambaqui
STAX SRM-T8000
Dan Clark VOCE
STAX SR-009S
STAX SR-007A
STAX SR-L700MkII
TORUS TOT MAX
2.
Roon Nucleus+
PS Audio Perfect Wave SACD Transport
PS Audio Direct Stream DAC
DENAFRIPS Pontus II
Enleum AMP-23R
ZMF Atticus
Meze Empyrean Elite
Meze Empyrean
Rosson Audio RAD-0
TORUS TOT MAX
The Company
ANTICABLE
ANTICABLE Level 3.3 USB Digital Interconnect ($310.66/1.44m)
ANTICABLE Level 6.2 RCA Absolute Interconnect ($771.30/1.5m)
ANTICABLE Level 4.ZY XLR Interconnect ($900/1m)
ANTICABLE Level 3 Power Cords ($439.21/7ft)
11200 Stillwater Blvd. N.
Suite 104B
Lake Elmo, MN 55042 USA
office@anticables.com
Phone: 651-735-0534