Dennis M.
Sources: Innuos ZEN MK3; Cambridge Audio CXUHD 4K Blu-ray Player; VPI Scoutmaster with TNT Feet
Amplifier: Electrocompaniet ECI-6; Remton 383 MK2 tube phono stage
Acoustic speakers: A2 Audio custom Nasac
Other: IsoTek Aquarius mains conditioner; Heed Audio ORBIT turntable power supply; Metrum Acoustics Amethyst DAC; IsoAcoustics Gaia feet and Orea isolators
The following review of the USB cable Magnus is the result of the "Ricable Review " initiative. Ricable Review is the program created by Ricable, born to collect feedback from audiophilesin order to bring about continuous improvement of the products in the catalogue. Last but not least, those who participate in the programme receive a certificate at home, with the aim of certifying that the customer has become part of the " Ricablefamily".
The following Feedback was created on the basis of a predefined questionnaire to which the user returned their impressions, in a way that was not possible without the help of a surveyor. completely free. We would like to thank Dennis for his time.
As a regular visitor to a local audio store Omera Audio at Vlaardingen (The Netherlands) I became familiar with the Ricable brand. I myself had pretty much the entire cabling of AudioQuest. I read the Ricable folder in which an explanation was given about the construction of the copper and the connectors and my interest was triggered by this.
To put Ricable to the test, I took a demo Dedalus interlink with me. After a few hours of warming up, I replaced the AQ cable between my DAC and AMP for the Dedalus and sat down for it. Wondering if I could perceive a difference, I put on the same piece of music and instead of listening to the small differences in the details my mouth fell open.
The music came to life so much more and a much better stage than with the more expensive AQ cable. After switching back and forth a few times, I was surprised every time. The Dedalus, which is cheaper than my AQ cable, performed several levels higher.
I immediately bought the Invictus cable and compared it with the Dedalus and the Invictus interlink went even further in everything. Until today I have replaced all my AQ cabling for Ricable Invictus cabling and Dedalus power cables and with every replacement I had a significant improvement in my system compared to the AQ.
The only connection I did not have from Ricable yet was the USB connection between my Innuos streamer and my Metrum Ladder DAC. Here an AQ Coffee USB cable did the signal transfer. I subscribed to a message from Ricable regarding the new Magnus USB cable. Two weeks later it was delivered and I could test what the differences would be.
of the construction and
the aesthetics of the product?
The AudioQuest cable costs 449 € (1,5 m) and the Ricable Magnus USB costs 94 € on the same 1,5 m length. I first compared them visually and Ricable already has the first plus point. The AQ Coffee appears visually in comparison to the Magnus as a fragile thin cable. The Magnus looks and feels like a premium cable. Since appearance doesn't always say something, I compare them both with songs that I know well.
did you use to test the cable?
I let the Magnus play for a day before I actually start comparing. I always compare A/B with three numbers. If you haven't heard it by then, the difference is very small. I play the songs in its entirety and then repeat the first minute before switching the cable. I do this with every change of cables.
listening impressions?
First I play Our Love Is Easy by Melody Gardot and start with the AQ. The beginning of the song sounds oppressive when the strings start. When the Ricable takes care of the transfer, the song sounds a bit more dramatic and Melody's voice sounds a lot more intimate. When I switch back to the AQ, I notice that the Ricable performs better in terms of voices.
As the second song I play Grace of God from the beautiful album Weltschmerz by Fish (former member of Marillion). The beginning sounds very holographic on both cables, but again in terms of voice the Ricable Magnus sounds a lot nicer. When I play with the AQ, the low end seems a bit more turned on and sounds less tight, which has a negative influence on the midrange.
As the third song I play Giorgio Conte with Gnè Gnè, it is striking that the pace, rhythm and timing of the Magnus is very good. It sounds so nice that you no longer want to pay attention to details but want to enjoy the music.
When I return to the AQ it sounds fine in itself, but the Magnus just sounds a bit more pleasant, more music enjoyment!
Your conclusions.
If we consider the price of the cables, the surprise is complete and the Ricable Magnus is chosen over the factor 4.7 more expensive AQ Coffee.
Ricable has already surprised me a lot last year and now again with the Magnus USB cable. For the price, it really is a no-brainer. If the Magnus is already playing at this level, I am really looking forward to the Dedalus and the Invictus.
What did you like?
- Pace, Rhythm and Timing
- Unprecedented Value for money
- Great looks
-
What would you improve?
- For this price you already get so much
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-
-
As a regular visitor to the Omera Audio shop in Vlaardingen (The Netherlands) I became familiar with the brand Ricable. I had practically the entire cabling from AudioQuest. I read the brochure Ricable in which an explanation of the construction of the copper and connectors was given, and my interest was triggered by this.
To put Ricable to the test, I brought home a demo cable Dedalus. After a few hours of running in, I swapped the AQ cable between my DAC and AMP in favour of Dedalus and sat down. Wondering if I could hear a difference, I put on the same piece of music and instead of hearing the small differences in detail I was left speechless.
The music came to life, as did a much better soundstage than when the more expensive AQ cable was connected. After swapping them a couple of times, I was surprised. The Dedalus, which is cheaper than my AQ cable, performed much better.
I immediately bought the Invictus cable and compared it to the Dedalus cable, and the Invictus cable went even better, in every way. I replaced all my AQ cables with Ricable Invictus and power cables Dedalus and with each replacement I had a noticeable improvement in my system over the AQ.
The only connection I still didn't have from Ricable was the USB connection between my Innuos streamer and my Metrum Ladder DAC. Here an AQ Coffee USB cable was performing the signal transfer. I got a message from Ricable about the new USB cable Magnus. Two weeks later it was delivered and I could see the differences.
and aesthetics of the product?
The AudioQuest cable costs 449 € (1.5 m) and the Ricable Magnus USB costs 94 € in the same 1.5 m length. I compared them visually for the first time and Ricable already scored the first point. The AQ Coffee appears visually compared to Magnus as a thin and fragile cable. The Magnus looks and feels like a premium cable. Since looks don't always tell the whole story, I compare both with songs I know well.
I let Magnus run for a day before I actually started comparing. I always compare A/B with three numbers. If you don't hear anything, the difference is small. I play the songs in their entirety and then repeat the first minute before changing cables. I do this with every cable change.
your listening impressions?
First I play Melody Gardot's Our Love Is Easy and start with the AQ cable. The start of the song sounds overwhelming as the stringed instruments begin. When Ricable takes over INTERCONNECT, the song sounds a bit more dramatic and Melody's voice sounds much more intimate. When I go back to AQ, I notice that Ricable performs better in terms of vocals.
For the second song I play Grace of God from the beautiful album Weltschmerz by Fish (former member of Marillion). The beginning sounds holographic on both cables, but again in terms of vocals the Ricable Magnus sounds much better. When I play with the AQ, the bottom end sounds a bit brighter and less tight, which has a negative influence on the midrange.
For the third song I start Giorgio Conte with Gnè Gnè, it strikes me that the pace, rhythm and timing of Magnus are very good. It sounds so good that you don't want to pay attention to the details anymore, but want to enjoy the music.
When I go back to AQ it sounds good in itself, but the Magnus sounds just a bit more pleasant... more musical enjoyment!
Your conclusions.
If we consider the price of the cables, the surprise is complete and the Ricable Magnus is chosen over the fact that it is 4.7 times more expensive than the AQ Coffee.
Ricable already surprised me a lot last year and now again with the USB cable Magnus. Based on the price, the choice is a no-brainer. If the Magnus is already at this level, I look forward to the Dedalus andInvictus.
What did you like?
- Pace, rhythm and tempo
- Unprecedented value for money
- Good looks
-
What would you improve?
- For this price you already get a lot
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-
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