Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Proton cosmos Cable by calloway

Model:	cosmos
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$3750/1m pair
Description:	speaker cable
Manufacturer URL:	Proton
Model Picture:	View

Review by calloway ( A ) on November 11, 2004 at 12:54:47
IP Address: 206.229.248.251

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for the cosmos

....during the months of august,september and part of october,while waiting for 2 different coaxial ribbon drivers on my c-10 ltds to be repaired....don't ask....i had time to assess my systems' strengths and weaknesses and see which areas i could possibly address with upgrades. my most recent purchase,2 pair of indra interconnects,greatly increased my musical enjoyment to the point that i doubt i will ever need to change them...they're that good.i decided to see if speaker cable upgrade would result in my being closer to everyone's goal of being totally satisfied with their musical experience at home...if that goal is ever achievable.my current speaker cables..concierto 'violin'..are very-very good and the best that i had heard in my system to date. they have given me over a year of great music but 'i wonder if there's something better' took over.i decided to give alan kafton,of audio dharma and powerwing fame,a call and revisit a cables company that he and i had talked about about a year ago..that being pranawire.the timing just wasn't right at that time but...maybe now. after talking with alan i received a call from joe cohen,pranawire 'cosmos' creator.we talked at length about his cables and cable philosophy...most of which went over my head....i'm in medicine....and what he thought were the important aspects of cable design.he obviously is a very proud father of his cables and what was also obvious was his goal of creating,not just any cable,but the best cable money could buy at different price points.his 'cosmos' cable is,to this point, his top of the line series.
i had taken the time to research his cables and was impressed with the many awards and accolades that have been said about his line of cables. ( see pranawire.com ).
the 'cosmos' series cables,as all of his cables,are hand made.they start with a 7 gauge,4-nines pure silver ribbonwhich is subject to multiple treatments and is then covered with 13 ;ayers of insulating materials including 2 copper foil shields with 51 drain wires on each shield. the spades at each end are used as a support for the conductor to which it is bonded.the ribbon is then conformed to the outline of the spade.this gives a solderless connection.the finished product is a work of art and doubtless requires many hours of work for each cable made.they are neither light or heavy and should easily conform to all systems.
the pair,or rather 2 pair of cables,as each channel has 2 separate runs,were installed in my system and allowed to sit overnight and the next day to settle in.i have,like most of you,4-5 discs that i play whenever a new component,cable,or tweak is installed in my system. ( see list below. upon queing up janis ian's 'breaking silence', to begin my critique,i knew at once that my 'serious evaluation' of these cables would have to wait for another day.the sound the eminated from my speakers was the most emotionally involving music i had ever heard.i had never heard the fullness of sound that i was hearing come from any system i had ever heard...anywhere! for the next 4 hours i closed my eyes and just enjoyed music i didn't think possible in my system.each disc presented new revelations heretofore not experienced with any of the other speaker cables i had previously tried...valhallas..hms..venustas...violins....au24 and others. webster defines 'epiphany' as...an illuminating discovery or revealing moment. this cable,in my system,was exactly that.
i spent the following weekend and the majority of the next week critically evaluation the cable against my 'violin' cable and a pair of 'venustas' cables i had on hand.prana's website has a quote that states...'when subtle noise disappears completely,energy emerges from speakers in an unanticipated yet deeply satisfying manner.'this is very true of these cables as the hash or grunge,that sometimes obscures the subtle details of musical passages,is gone...leaving behind hidden music that was inaudible previously.these cables reveal none of the overly bright characteristics of some silver cables.there sound is lush and full with the presence of palpability abounding.the tonality is superb with each note rich and full.attack and decay are lifelike.soundstage is the best i have heard reaching beyond both speakers and rearward past the wall.this is not to say it is unnatural sounding. images are palpable and precise.detail resolution is amazing as background musical notes are revealed and made a lifelike part of the whole.vocals emerge from at the speakers to slightly behind and not in your face.
i used a phrase in the beginning of this treatise to try and accurately describe these cables.....'emotionally involving'. this is,imo,what you want a cable to do to you.....involve you in the music to the point where you stop analyzing it and just get lost in it.these cables do that in spades....yes , i am buying a pair!

discs used
1)breaking silence-janis ian - analogue productions
2)scheherazade-reiner chicago symphony-xrcd2
3)tchaikovsky: violin concerto in d major-issac stern-sony classic sacd
4)companion-patricia barber-mobility fidelity-scad
5)free fall-jesse cook-narada world

Product Weakness: sonically none...price may keep some from enjoying this great cable now..but ..maybe next year!
Product Strengths: presents the musical experience in a full bodied,emotionally charged way

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	goldmund 29m
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	audio tekne 'simona'
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	scd-1...kern and vse mods
Speakers:	piega c-10 ltds
Cables/Interconnects:	stealth indras' x 2 pair
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	jazz,classical
Room Size (LxWxH):	25 x 18 x 23
Room Comments/Treatments:	echo busters and echo bass busters
Time Period/Length of Audition:	2 weeks
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	powerwing
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition
Your System (if other than home audition):	my system

Product Weakness:	sonically none...price may keep some from enjoying this great cable now..but ..maybe next year!
Product Strengths:	presents the musical experience in a full bodied,emotionally charged way