Review #15 - Balanced Cable Invictus XLR - Ricable Review
Antonio T.
Sources: Yamaha CD-S3000 CD player; Cocktail Audio X45 Pro music server.
Amplifier: A.M. Audio Reference preamplifier; mono power amplifier pair A-80 Reference S4 (headphone imp.: Luxman L-590AXII)
Acoustic speakers: B&W 802 Nautilus; HiFiman Susvara headphones
Other: No
The following review of the Invictus XLR cable is the result of the "Ricable Review" initiative. Ricable Review is the program designed by Ricable, 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 to all intents and purposes part of the " Ricable" family.
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 Antonio for his time.
I was already familiar with the products, having purchased some entry-level cables on Amazon years ago, RCA and digital coaxial that were very good. I figured that the top of the line ones had to be at least very good. Also, after a promotion on the Gazebo Audiophile forum site, I got to know both the products and the staff better. So as soon as a balanced cable became necessary, I tried it.
and aesthetics of the product?
Construction above suspicion, very sturdy and with killer connectors. The color also is very nice, personally maybe I would have adopted something darker or brighter, like red or yellow. But these are trifles, color does not bother me too much in the Hi-Fi field, I am more inclined to "listen".
I have not adopted a real method. The speaker system is a job I have completed in about nineteen years and I know it like the back of my hand, I only need to change a screw upstream to notice something. Ditto the headphone system on which I adopted a second cable that arrived just yesterday. So I simply plugged it in and listened.
listening impressions?
I have already reviewed this cable on the product tab page. After about a month I can add that it is up to full operation and the sound has only gotten better. There is a frightening body to it, the sounds are robust but never redundant with delocalization bordering on the improbable. And making a pair of 802 Nautilus invisible, room permitting, is not for everyone. The range is absolutely wide and beyond my hearing capabilities, there is no frequency range that overpowers adjacent ones, everything is where it should be and I would never want to turn off the system I am listening to from time to time.
Your conclusions.
The conclusion is that, just the day before yesterday, I purchased a second one for my more representative headphone setup illustrated above. I connected the Susvara directly to the Luxman's speaker terminals, and a few days ago I placed a second CA X45 Pro in this setup. My previous cable, while excellent, was silver, and this pair of electronics probably does not like this metal very much. It felt very good, but although it still has a few hours of use, as soon as I placed this Invictusyesterday ... everything seemed to fall into place. Gone is that sense of "dirtiness" I used to hear in the high and very high frequencies, and everything has gained body and linearity. I can't imagine what it will be when it is running at full capacity. I hope I've been helpful and, perhaps in the future, I'm very tempted by a power cord in this series--let's see what I can get myself into!
What did you enjoy?
- Performance
- Construction
- Lightning-fast and efficient staff
-
What would you improve?
- Nothing to report
-
-
-
