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Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Silver Audio Appassionata Cable by David Spear

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REVIEW: Silver Audio Appassionata Cable Review by David Spear at Audio Asylum

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I feel that the Silver Audio Appassionata interconnects are really something special, both sonically and aesthetically. To start with a brief physical description, they are constructed from 8 strands of 5-nines annealed silver in an open cross-weave pattern, with air and high-grade transparent Teflon serving as the dielectric, and are covered with a clear mesh sleeve. They are simply gorgeous, with a shimmery, glittery silver look. I ordered mine terminated with XLO Signature XLR connectors (a reasonable $75 option), which have a pure Teflon body and direct gold plated 6-nines copper pins. Both the cables and the connectors have that unmistakable look of meticulously constructed precision instruments. In fact, the Appassionatas are so "trick-looking" that a normal person (i.e., a non-audiophile), seeing them for the first time, actually might not laugh out loud after hearing how much they cost — unlike, say, the typical reaction of a normal person to something like a Mpingo Disk or a Shakti Stone. (No offense intended.)

Well, "audio jewelry" is all well and good, but the important thing is that the Appassionatas sound as gorgeous as they look. When I placed my order for two sets (to go between my CDP and preamp and between my preamp and amp, replacing two sets of balanced Harmonic Technology Pro-Silway interconnects [Mk I & Mk II used in combination]), I was still a bit wary of the "silver is bright" myth and worried that they might make my system sound a bit bright, disembodied, or etched, especially when used in combination with silver speaker cables. However, right out of the box (or actually, right out of the pretty purple bag), the Appassionatas won me over with their smooth and neutral spectral balance. In fact, to me, their most outstanding characteristic is their open, clean, and detailed midrange. Sure, the air and sparkle of silver are there, just as I had hoped, but the Appassionatas do not sound at all bright or thin. Rather, they just sound "fast", clean, and transparent from top to bottom. The bass response is also quite impressive — extended and dynamic, and also (paradoxically, I suppose) fast, with no bloat, muddiness, or overhang. Getting away from frequency-related considerations, imaging is first-rate, with individual voices and instruments clearly and firmly localized in space. The soundstage is both wide and deep, comparable to that of the Pro-Silways, which I though were quite exceptional in that regard. To summarize, I would describe the Appassionatas as being neutral, clean, open, thee-dimensional, and transparent, with that special vibrant, uncongested sound that silver seems to bring to a system. In musical terms, cymbals have a more realistic "tingly" texture, with a razor-sharp initial transient, followed by a shimmery "floating in the air" sound, and then a smooth, prolonged, and natural-sounding fade-out. Vocal and instrumental lines are very clearly delineated, making it easy to follow individual voices and instruments in complex musical passages. Bass lines are quick, tuneful, and dynamic, and drums have good impact and weight. The "spaces between the notes" are also very nicely portrayed, with no hash, grunge, hiss, or other nasties intruding themselves into the music.

In closing this review, I would also like to mention that the people at Silver Audio, particularly Max Kreifeldt, have been extremely helpful and friendly. My feeling is that they are genuinely enthusiastic about their products, but refuse to employ any kind of "hard-sell" tactics. In fact, when I first placed an order for two sets of Silver Audio Silver Symphony 32 speaker cables for biwiring a while ago, Max immediately questioned whether biwiring would provide any sonic benefits. Finally, Silver Audio has very nice homepage at www.silveraudio.com. If you are interested in trying out silver wires in your system, I would strongly recommend that you drop by.

Good listening — Dave


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Topic - REVIEW: Silver Audio Appassionata Cable Review by David Spear at Audio Asylum - David Spear 07:16:29 10/8/99 ( 0)