Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Nordost Black Knight Cable by rp1@surfnetusa.com

Model:	Black Knight
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$75
Description:	Copper Flatline RCA interconnect
Manufacturer URL:	Nordost
Manufacturer URL:	Nordost

Review by rp1@surfnetusa.com on December 14, 2003 at 21:10:52
IP Address: 66.248.83.76

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for the Black Knight

A recent revamping of the system (and hearing the Halcro in action) required that I experiment with the all the interconnects at my disposal to find a new balance in the sound. By removing the power conditioning and just going to seperate power lines, the Spectron opened up immensely compared to what it was on the Exact Power regenerator (mea culpa, I don't know how I let that slip by me). Neither the Levinson nor the Spectral need any help at all presenting highs; the bottle-neck was at the amp and power conditioner. (Careful listening, with other ears also, have confirmed that the Levinson and Spectral don't give a darn either way; conditoner or no they sound the same. The trick power cords are all they need, and that only slightly.)
Also, now that the Spectron has a home run back to the power box the trick power cords actually work on it now!
Now the cables that I used before to bring up the highs were no longer necessary, and downright too much. Silver cables like the Empirical Audio and the Goertz were too tilted up the spectrum for the present setup. The Monster M1001 cables had the right balance but no real depth and bass solidity. The Synergistic Research Reference had a great midrange and depth but was soft on the bass. The JPS had great depth and good all-around performance but still seemed a little "off" in flavor for my taste.
Enter the Black Knight. These are the cheapest cables in the Nordost line. They are a simple copper ribbon; no silver plate, no mysterious alloy, no exotic windings, no exotic rare-earth connector. Just flat, extruded copper covered in teflon terminated in a fairly basic RCA.
Sound? Great detail equal to the silver cables from the deep-bass to the low-treble. Depth, and decay into the sound-field was right up there with the silver Empirical Audio but with out the "Zing". The upper treble sounds less prominent of course, but is much more coherent to the main instrument producing it. The overtone is a slightly burnished "copper" sound, that is, there is a sort of slight mid-range glow instead of the silvery sheen presented by the silver interconnects.
This cable has no overhang that I can pick up, bass transients arrive with power and depart quickly. The fingerings and pluckings are clearly presented as are the sounds of hands touching the guitar body. Detail is amazing and yet refined. The dynamic presentation and the timbre of each instrument is the best I have heard to date (barring the Halcro on analog). Downside of this speed and detail is that it is very easy to pick up on recording errors such as the use of a cheap condenser mic, or a groan in the backgroung. Subtle tonal differences come through clearly. And what is most amazing is that this level of detail is available after the mightyest bass transient!
This is not a great cable for those that like overly "rounded" notes. It is not that the cable is edgy, it is that it transfers both the rising and falling edge of the music very accurately. This is not a cable for the "romance" folk, it much more a cable for the "detail" and "slam" folk.
I would really like to see a version of this cable made of super-annealed copper.

Product Weakness: Lead dress can be annoying with flat cables. Very detailed, on systems with edge or grit can be detrimental. Doesn't have the upper-end extention of silver (both a strength and a weakness).
Product Strengths: Inexpensive. Fast,very fast. Pretty rugged. Good timbrel balance. Powerful, defined, bass. Hides nothing (both a strength and weakness).

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Spectron Musician II with sense cables
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Spectral DMC30
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Levinson 390S
Speakers:	Newform 645 KSU2
Cables/Interconnects:	Black Knight
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz, Rock, Southern Gothic, Country etc
Room Size (LxWxH):	22 x 13 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	Carpet,drapes, furniture
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	None, removed from system.
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Lead dress can be annoying with flat cables. Very detailed, on systems with edge or grit can be detrimental. Doesn't have the upper-end extention of silver (both a strength and a weakness).
Product Strengths:	Inexpensive. Fast,very fast. Pretty rugged. Good timbrel balance. Powerful, defined, bass. Hides nothing (both a strength and weakness).