Product Review - Silver Audio
Hyacinth Audio Interconnects - August, 2000
Michael James
Silver Audio Hyacinth Audio Interconnects Four Conductors of Solid Silver Teflon® Extruded Dielectric Dual Damping Layers Available with RCA Single-Ended or XLR Balanced Connectors Price: $275 1 Meter Pair Standard RCA, $365 with Topline Solderless RCA, $335 with Premium XLR Balanced Connectors. |
Silver Audio; Web http://www.silveraudio.com |
Introduction
I have always wondered to
myself, if I had Bill Gates' money (of course, this would be before the
split court decision), what would I pay for audio cables? Having the newest
top of the line audio equipment is one thing, but how more sound quality is
evident through a pair of $5,000 audio interconnect cables as compared
to a $500 dollar pair, or a $5 pair for that matter. In other areas, I have always held the
belief that it does not make good sense to purchase, for example, low quality
retread tires for a high performance automobile. Why would you pay for all the
features and performance of a Ferrari and then choke it off with cheap tires? I think this same theory can be applied over to High End Audio Equipment. But
then, there was always that lingering question, where does one draw the line
from top performance quality to an inaudible overkill? If
you are like me, an audio and home theater enthusiast, but far from
being an electrical engineer, that line becomes harder to draw. We all have to
rely on the best testing instrument that we have at our disposal...our own
ears! Because that is the true bottom line! I think I found a company that has
helped me draw that line a bit clearer.
Today I am focusing on
Silver Audio's Hyacinth Audio Interconnects. Silver Audio, in its info
documentation, claims “Hyacinth now stands as high-end audio's most
advanced and affordable true solid silver line-level cable, with performance
second only to their reference Appassionata cable”. There are times when a
company's promo blurbs and how the audio performance that translates
literally into your system are two very different animals. But, I feel in
getting a better understanding of Silver Audio's design theory and audio
cable theory in general, we can gain a valuable point of reference in
understanding what a company is attempting to accomplish with its end user
products. Please be compassionate with me and understand, because as
previously noted, I am a complete layman when it comes to electrical and cable
theory. So even my rudimentary understanding is important in our purchase
decision. Otherwise, I feel, we are just plunking down our hard earned cash
for what we can only understand as smoke and mirrors.
Theory
It is widely known in the
industry, that pure silver has always been one of the best performing
conductor materials for audio reproduction. But at the same time, it also
carries two age old obstacles. The first is that pure silver audio
cables are expensive to manufacture. Secondly, and even more importantly,
silver cables if not manufactured correctly can end up sounding worse than
very inexpensive copper cables. With cables, a significant
audio problem to overcome is called the “Skin Effect”. This problem is one
of the more basic conductivity dilemmas facing audio cables in general, and, as
I understand, a problem that can be even more prevalent when using pure silver
in audio cables. (My basic knowledge comes
from a book I highly recommend to all entitled, “The Complete Guide to High
End Audio”, Second Edition by Robert Harley.
Basically, there are three
areas of build quality concerning audio cables. The conductors, or the metal
strands that carry the audio signal, the dielectric, or the insulating
material, and finally the terminations. The skin effect concerns the
conductors. An audio signal is transferred as two equal parts of energy. One
is the electric current from within the conductor, and the other
is the magnetic field outside the conductor. One cannot exist without the
other. The optimum area where both are functioning at one hundred percent
capacity is the area near the surface of the conductor. The magnetic field
will diminish as you move further away from the conductor, and the electrical
current inside the conductor will also decrease when you move from the surface
area to a more deeper position inside the conductor. With DC, the current
flows evenly in the conductor, and as we go higher in AC frequency, the more
the signal is likely to be conducted at the surface (the "skin").
The skin effect results in a degradation of the
audio signal in the form of a loss of detail and soundstage depth, because the
higher frequencies are being conducted differently than the lower frequencies.
Detail and soundstage depth are
the exact attributes that are the benefits of using pure silver as a
conductor, so by not correcting this problem, you are in effect, completely
defeating the purpose of utilizing pure silver as a conductor metal.
The solution to the skin
effect is to use a strand of metal conductor thin enough to push this
distortion out of the human audible range (only very high inaudible
frequencies would be carried at the surface). However, using one thin single strand of
metal as a conductor is not feasible as an end product, because it would
introduce too much resistance for the audio signal. Sort of like sipping a
milkshake through a very thin straw . . . a lot of effort for very little payback.
Speaker sensitivity specifications vary from one manufacturer to another, but
in general, audio quality will suffer if the signal faces too much resistance
in the path between the amplifier and the speakers.
So, the solution to the
skin effect is two-fold. Resistance will be lowered if you
use a bundle of thin strands rather than one single strand, thus providing a larger
electrical pathway. As usual though, solving the one problem may lead
manufacturers directly to a second problem. Now with that revelation, you have
just understood the manufacturing conundrum facing Silver Audio and other
cable companies: Not to cause more problems than they solve. By using
bundles of thin un-insulated strands that touch each other, you will introduce a new
skin effect, due to the bundle
acting as a unit electronically, rather than individual strands. Silver Audio
attempts to rectify this new problem by using a concept called “Litz” construction. This means that each strand
in a bundle is coated with an insulating material to prevent it from
electronically interacting and contacting the strands around it. This stops
the bundle of conductor strands from acting as a single unit.
Other manufacturers utilizing this solution feel it is easier to reduce the size of the individual strands if they use flat shaped conductors. This limits design flexibility, but enables the manufacturer to produce very thin strands. Silver Audio feels that giving up design flexibility means you might not be able to deal with other issues. They wanted to decrease the size of the conductor strands and eliminate the skin effect, without limiting design flexibility. They feel the benefits of using a symmetrical criss-cross design geometry does not have to be compromised in solving the skin effect problem. Of course, other companies will argue that they also have the best design, and that they have not limited themselves with their own approach. No really knows every effect that laws of physics have on the conduction of electrons. So, we deal with the bottom line. The proof is always in the listening.
Now, to the best of my knowledge Silver Audio is not the first company to address single problems alone. But they are one of the very few companies that, according to them, combine all the solutions in one cable. And, it's one cable not only utilizing these manufacturing techniques, but also using pure silver as conductors. Finally and most importantly, it's one cable utilizing all these components and manufacturing techniques in an affordable end product.
The product
In just removing these
cables from their protective bag, you become immediately aware of their
superior craftsmanship. The cables themselves have a seductive fishnet
stocking covering that allows you to see inside the casing. In fact, the casing
is even transparent enough to see the bundled strands in their criss-cross
geometry, which looks like a DNA double helix model. So one of Silver
Audio's design goals of achieving a transparency in sound is also achieved
in its physical product. It's one of the few audio cables where you are aware of
what you're getting inside, and you can match that to their design theory,
instead of just having to take the company's word in their white paper
documentation for lack of seeing or x-raying through their black or covered
cable.
The review cable included the Topline solder-less WBT RCA connectors. These connectors
add an extra $90 dollars to the cable cost and are the most solid connectors
I have come across in a very long time. I can highly recommend
spending the extra dollars for these connectors, as they are worth every
penny, even if just for the convenience of installing or removing cables. If you are
like me, and don't have fingers the thickness of toothpicks, it is a
joy installing these cables. With today's devices and all the
increasing possible connections on back panels, and with these back panels
staying relatively constant in area, the space between jacks seems to
be shrinking all the time. Try removing one pair of cables in a field of ten
bunched together. The WBT connectors almost make this task enjoyable. They also
have the perfect amount of grip. Not too little where a summer breeze can
dislodge a connection. And not too much like some cables,
where at the worst, you can end up breaking the connection on the audio
component, or at the least crack your knuckles into the back wall.
Performance
So how do these cables
measure up to the most important audio testing device . . your own ears? To give
you a point of reference on this reviewer, I am coming from a perspective that
leans toward home theater, but I tested these cables in as many different
combinations as I could muster. This included the front left/right channels for both music and movies. I
tested them as a center channel audio interconnect and even tried them as rear
channel connections. I also tested
them on the analog audio output from my DSS receiver. My music and movie tastes cover a wide range, so I gave these cables
an intensive evaluation.
In general, every
configuration I tried with the Hyacinth resulted in an audio improvement. This
was reflected by an increase in soundstage depth, fine detail, and
sonic transparency . . . all nice buzz words for the industry that became defined
to my ears in the use of this cable. The listener is immediately more aware of all the different instruments in a
recording and their harmonic balance. When listening to an orchestral
performance you can focus in on one instrument and almost isolate its
contribution to the total musical piece and then focus back on the piece as a
whole. This ability, achieved only in my experience at live performances, can
now be achieved when listening through Silver Audio Hyacinth cable.
Specifically, listening to Gaetano Donizetti's opera “L'Elisir D'Amore” - and having the experience to be in attendance at this particular live Metropolitan Opera performance when this recording was being taped - has given me a special insight between being there live and listening to the recording. It had been apparent that there was a sonic difference between the laserdisc, DVD, and CD recordings and my actual live experience (trying not to sound like an old Memorex® commercial, “Is it live or is it Memorex?”) After connecting the Hyacinth Audio Interconnects, Luciano Pavorotti and Kathleen Battle's voices came alive again, as if I were at the concert hall. When you have heard Pavorotti's voice at a live performance, you are not likely to ever forget the experience. When closing my eyes, my ears were fooled. I thought the differences, previously heard, were due to older recording technologies, being that this performance was taped during the eighties. Boy, was I wrong! I cannot begin to tell you the joy this brought back from an unforgettable live performance. The Silver Audio Hyacinth audio interconnect cable let me hear the detail and dimension of being there in person.
In watching the new THX
DVD release of the movie "Independence Day" and using the Hyacinth as a center
audio interconnect, the dialogue amidst all the explosions became more
detailed, without having to raise the volume on the center channel. It brought
a new clarity to Judd Hirsch's voice, who has a number of very funny
one-liners in the movie (my favorite being when the President of the U.S.
asks how one gets funding for such a secretive project like Area 51, and Judd
Hirsch replies, "You don't think they really paid $20,000 dollars for a
hammer.”) These lines can be lost a bit because they are said as an aside to
the main action. With a second viewing, I found myself enjoying all the dialog
without straining or artificially throwing off the balance of the 5.1 system
by raising the center channel volume. A good deal of information is channeled
through the center speaker, and by raising the volume you do not always make
the dialog clearer, because you are also raising the volume on some of the
other effects channeled through the center speaker. By using an audio connect
like the Silver Audio Hyacinth, you are increasing the performance level of
your center channel, and are getting the performance you paid for when you bought your
center channel speaker. I noticed these improvements across the board in recent DVD
titles as “The Green Mile”, “The Bone Collector”, and especially
dialog-heavy movies like “JFK”. The difference between Dolby Digital 5.1
and DTS became more apparent with these cables. In my opinion, all movies
should be DTS. “Saving Private Ryan” DTS was breathtaking and felt
viscerally.
Conclusion
The Silver Audio's logo
is the Chinese character for the word "listen".
I could not recommend
these cables any higher. You paid for a specific performance level out of your
audio equipment, and you most definitely want to hear that level in your home.
When you compare them to other manufacturers' silver
cables that run from $575-$950 per pair, which also do not have all the
attributes of the Hyacinth Audio Interconnects, they can be very cost
efficient. These are probably the cables I would buy even if I had Bill
Gates money!
Test System
Sunfire
Theater Grand Preamp/Processor
Sherborn 5/1500 Five Channel Amp
B&W Nautilus 805 Speakers
- Michael James
© Copyright 2000 Secrets of Home
Theater & High Fidelity
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