Review #118 - Dedalus Series Cables and Invictus Speaker Reference MKII - Ricable Review
Gianluigi C.
Sources: Lyngdorf CD-2 CD player; Mini PC with Daphile
Amplifier: Hegel H390
Acoustic Speakers: Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento
Other:Velodyne SPL-800i subwoofer
The following review of the Dedalus series and theInvictus Speaker Reference MKII is the result of theRicable Review initiative. Ricable Review is the program designed by Ricable, which was created to collect feedback from audiophiles, in order to lead to continuous improvement of the products in the catalog. Last but not least, those who join the program receive a certificate at home, with the purpose of certifying how the customer has become a full-fledged member of the " Ricablefamily."
The following Feedback was created on the basis of a predefined questionnaire to which the user returned his impressions, in a completely free. We thank Gianluigi for his time.
I had been wanting to try alternatives to my Van den Hul D-352 Speaker Cables for some time, and I was attracted by the many positive reviews and a few comparative tests I found online. Crucially, I was given the opportunity by my trusted dealer to test them in my system.
and aesthetics of the product?
The packaging is elegant without being too glitzy. Already from the first glance you can see the excellent build quality of the product, which is not a given, as you know if you have dealt with certain products even from emblazoned (and expensive) manufacturers. Aesthetically, the cables are very nice, personally I find them much more pleasing than the previous blue-colored series.
I had the opportunity to test two Ricable products, the Invictus Reference and the Dedalus.
I initially listened with my usual cables to the list of tracks that I usually use for any kind of test, tracks that I obviously know very well but above all I know perfectly well how they sound in my set-up, and then moved on to a day of listening to the Ricable Dedalus and then yet another day of listening to the Invictus Reference. I finished with a short listening session alternating between the three cables.
listening impressions?
I started with the Ricable Dedalus cables. Right away I noticed the greater correctness of the timbre of the instruments, in particular the piano was definitely more realistic than with my previous cables. Voices, particularly female voices, appeared more natural, losing that slight metallic component that characterized them with the Van Den Hul.
Switching to the Invictus these characteristics were still pronounced, combined with a sharper separation of instruments and a better reconstruction of the soundstage and a better treble rendition, very noticeable compared to the VDHs that I always found a bit dark. I therefore had no doubts and decided to go ahead and purchase the Invictus.
Important to say, although many are skeptical on the point, that after a hundred hours of use the performance of the cable improves further, especially in terms of balance between frequency ranges.
Your conclusions.
I am a music lover and not an audiophile, and when I test a new component (which happens rather rarely) I try to be as strict as possible: I do not settle for a barely perceptible improvement, perhaps the result of suggestion. I have to find a more than audible step forward in terms of listening experience to convince me that it is worth the investment. Which I have found with the Invictus Reference.
What did you enjoy?
- Synergy with my system
- Aesthetics
- Quality of construction
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What would you improve?
- The price is certainly not negligible
- The flexibility of the cable is consistent with its large size
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