Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Slinkylinks Interconnects Accessory by CSF

Model:	Interconnects
Category:	Accessory
Suggested Retail Price:	$190 (US)
Description:	Silver Interconnects
Manufacturer URL:	Slinkylinks
Manufacturer URL:	Slinkylinks

Review by CSF ( A ) on October 05, 2002 at 05:10:27
IP Address: 144.139.5.245

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for the Interconnects

Another new cable - who needs it? Maybe you do and just don't know it yet. I was very happy with my AudioQuest Pythons, reterminated with Boccochino B7 RCA's which had them very, very close to the performance of the Anaconda. Then a friend of mine in New Zealand got hold of some Slinkylinks and was raving about them. When I visited home I took my Pythons over to throw down the challenge. Said challenge was accepted and summarily dismissed. Obviously being a typical audiophile this quietly ate away at me. I've now lived with one pair of the Slinkylinks for a few weeks which has prompted me to sell two pairs of Pythons and a length of Gibraltar to complete my slinky set.
Terminated with Eichmann bullet plugs, the unshielded Slinkylink is very light, and also transparent so that you can hold them to a light and see the strands of .25mm silver inside the four air filled plastic tubes which forms the dialectic. (According to the web site 96% of the cable is touching only air.) After an initial brightness the cable which is placed between my cd player and pre-amp settled in and has brought a huge amount of extra detail, dynamics, control, imaging capabilities, and music to my system.
The bass has tightened and deepened dramatically which seems to have added to the pace and timing as well. The soundstage has widened and deepened, and the detail present is just amazing. Mids are lifelike and the tops are extended and grainless. Dynamically this stuff is amazing. Where I used to be happy having the music playing quietly in the background through the day, now I'm constantly drawn to the sound. Apart from all these items from the hi-fi checklist, I'm simply finding the music making more sense. Keep in mind that all these changes have come about with only one pair of Slinkylinks in my system.
When you think of silver cables often the price gets in the way but for US$190 for a 1 metre pair that's no longer a consideration. If you're thinking of upgrading your cables, do give these a second thought. From my experience they're as good as the hype suggests.
Craig.
(I'll review the speaker cable in a month or so when I've had a chance to get a good handle on it.)

Product Weakness: Eichmann plugs fit very, very tightly and need to be warmed and softened with a hair dryer or similar before trying to put them on.
Product Strengths: Helps music make more sense. Transparent as all hang. Allows everything that your sources put out go through. Place ticks in all your hi-fi checklist boxes.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Musical Fidelity A3CR
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Musical Fidelity A3CR
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Meridian 508.24
Speakers:	Epos M15
Cables/Interconnects:	Slinkylink, AudioQuest Python and Gibraltar
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Jazz/Rock/Folk/Classical
Time Period/Length of Audition:	Three weeks
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Eichmann plugs fit very, very tightly and need to be warmed and softened with a hair dryer or similar before trying to put them on.
Product Strengths:	Helps music make more sense. Transparent as all hang. Allows everything that your sources put out go through. Place ticks in all your hi-fi checklist boxes.