Review #57 - Balanced Cable Invictus XLR - Ricable Review

When you’re lucky and got tickets for a live concert you have a reference what music sounds like. Especially listening to classical music in a concert hall is a good experience how an orchestra sounds performing a symphony with all the finesses and timbre of the individual instruments and when the full orchestra is playing. All so balanced, refined, crisp and clear.
Then you start thinking would it be possible to achieve the same in my living room? Simple answer: No. Would it be possible to come some closer to the original sound: Yes.
It all starts with the source: The recording of music. When a recording is good the music sounds good on your loudspeakers whether the recording is put on a vinyl record, a CD or a (Blu-ray) DVD. When the recording is bad the output of your loudspeakers sounds also bad. I’m still wondering how it’s possible that there are highly respected record label firms who exist more than 70 years one makes excellent recordings from the beginning and the other one, even with the nowadays technical possibilities, is still able to make recordings which sound like the microphones were placed behind 2 layers of velvet curtains. Strange.
Then your hi-fi equipment e.g. amplifiers, loudspeakers, CD and Blu-ray players, DACs. There is so many to talk about and to choose. And yes one and the other could make a great difference, even more affordable equipment could still sound better than highly priced components. One aspect I didn’t mention yet, the acoustic in the room you are listening to your music and the placing of your loudspeakers could make a hell of a difference. Apart from some loudspeakers the majority of the loudspeakers require space at the rear for reflection. You create more depth. So don’t place your speakers directly to the wall. The distance between the placing of your loudspeakers as well as the angle may bring a lot of more balance to the sound. Also your furniture. curtains and a carpet on the floor or a wooden floor have influence on the acoustic.You need to try out and listen carefully what suits you best.
Now I come to my review on the Ricable cables. Although I’m absolutely satisfied and enjoy my hi-fi components very very much, I still miss the balance and the finesses of the real sometimes. It always looks like that the left channel is a bit louder than the right channel, not in balance. Honestly I was never interested in hi-fi cables because I had some bad experiences with quite expensive HDMI cables which were highly recommended by lots of enthusiastic music lovers. Well I bought 4 cables. First of all I couldn’t hear or see any difference compared to the cables of EUR 20,00, moreover all these 4 HDMI cables broke down completely between a period of 14 to 20 months. Useless and a waste of good money.
Surfing on the internet web my attention was caught by a man who spoke highly of Ricable HDMI cables which made a great difference to his hi-fi system. I’d never heard or read about this Italian firm. Being curious though I consulted the website of Ricable. I was interested immediately. What a great choice of cables, very well accomplished with information and for me important a lifetime warranty and very good buying conditions. However I was a bit shocked by the prices and scratched behind my ears, should I buy these cables? Quality may have its price. I had a nice chat with Dario and Sergio and got excellent advice.
Well the top best industrial and technical products are made in the northern part of Italy. Being a bit reluctant still I decided to buy the Supreme HDMI. After all, the Italian people have a great taste in designing, wining and dining and the proof of the pudding is in eating. I received the cable within the expected time frame of 2-3 days. It was very well packed. After unpacking I connected the HDMI cable directly to the Apple 4K TV and the Marantz SR5015 amplifier to start and experience with.
Within a second I was overwhelmed by the sound and video. Wow what an improvement this HDMI cable makes. This decided me to buy the top of the range and more expensive HDMI cable, the Visus HDMI.
After receiving, unpacking and connecting the Visus cables to my Panasonic Blu-ray player, the Reavon Blu-ray player as well as the LG television to the Marantz amplifier I was even more amazed. Is this really possible with hi-fi cables? Yes and even better in sound and video than the Supreme cable. Would there be more possible? After reading about speaker cables, reviews of other customers and chatting with Dario I decided to buy the Invictus Speaker Reference to connect my QUAD ESL63.2 QA electrostatics and the QUAD subwoofers as well as the Invictus Signal to connect the QUAD Artera stereo amplifiers to the Marantz pre-amplifier. Yes another improvement to the sound, which I’ll explain in chapter 3 and 4 of the questionnaire. Then I bought the Invictus Coaxial to connect the Denafrips Avatar CD player to the Marantz amplifier. Again a great improvement in sound. What could be possible more? The cable I hadn’t changed yet was the power cable and really these cables cost a fortune. Ricable also sells used and guaranteed cables. There was a Invictus Power VP35 available of half the price, just the one I wanted to buy. The results were amazing, which you can also read about in chapters 3 and 4.
Since my setup of the QUAD Artera Play+, the QUAD II Tube amplifiers and the QUAD ESL57 QA electrostatics is a stand alone I started with the Dedalus Signal to connect these amplifiers to the Artera Play+ pre-amplifier/CD player. I decided for the Dedalus instead of the Invictus because of the length of the cables I needed which were not available in the Invictus series*. I can only say: The results in sound improvement were also amazing, again, it sounds a bit dull, to be explained in chapter 3 and 4 of the questionnaire.

*Note: On special request and additional costs longer cables can be made.

On the website of Ricable the photos of the cables look great, yet it is still a photo. In reality the aesthetics are beyond my expectations. I like the different kind of colors Ricable is using for the different quality ranges of the cables in the series of products. When you're not so fond of different colors Ricable also offers to provide all your cables in the same color.
The cables are so well constructed, I've never seen this up till now. The pure golden connections are so well built, solid and very nicely put into the outer layer of the cable. The materials are great.

• Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Daniele Gatti
  • testing: part I > Allegro maestoso and part IV and V > Urlicht. Sehr feierlich. Aber schlicht / "Auferstehn"
• Hector Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Daniele Gatti
  • testing: part IV > Marche au supplice and part V > Songe d'une nuit du Sabbat
• Claude Debussy: Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune and La Mer
• Igor Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps; both by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Daniele Gatti
  • testing: parts of the Préludes of Debussy and parts of Le Sacre of Stravinsky
• Ludwig van Beethoven: Symphonies 1-9 by the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, conductor Mariss Jansons
  • testing: Symphony no. 7 and 9
• Fryderyk Chopin: The Piano Concertos, performed by the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, soloists: Nikolai Demidenko (No. 1)
• Evgeny Kissin: Piano Concerto No. 2, conductor Antoni Wit
  • testing: Concerto no. 2
• Johann Sebastian Bach: Brandenburg Concertos Nos. 1-6 performed by the Freiburger Barockorchester
  • testing: concerto no. 1, 4 and 6
• Georg Friedrich Händel: Concerti Grossi, Op. 3 performed by the Händel & Haydn Society, conducted by Christopher Hogwood
  • testing: concerto no. 1 and 6
• Gustav Mahler: Symphony No. 2 performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Sir Georg Solti
  • testing: part I, IV and V
• Jean Sibelius: 7 Symphonies by the Oslo Philharmonic, conducted by Klaus Mäkelä (a very recent recording)
  • testing: Symphony no. 1

Compared to my old HDMI cables the quality improvement of the Supreme HDMI cable in sound is the balance, and the music is more crisp, clear and detailed; the improvement of quality in video is the brightness, sharpness and colors.
The Visus HDMI cables go beyond this all. Better in all the aspects I mentioned. The Invictus Reference loudspeaker cable, the Invictus Signal RCA cable and the Invictus power cable give the extra boost to the closest approach to the natural sound.
The Invictus coaxial cable and the Dedalus Signal RCA cables also give you the balance and transparency of the music. Such a great improvement. So nice to listen to.

Some parts I already explained in general in chapter 3. Now the details of the improvement of quality in sound and video.
For testing I always start with the Blu-ray of the Brandenburg Concertos of J.S. Bach. The video part is literally quite dark you can hardly see how the concert hall and audience look like. The authentic horns could sound too sharp sometimes, likewise the piccolo and recorder.
The 2nd test is the Blu-ray of Mahler's Symphony No. 2 for the huge dynamic in this music and the beginning of the first part when all the double basses start to play. Then followed by the other parts of this symphony with the choirs and percussion.
The 3rd test is part IV and V of the Symphonie Fantastique of Berlioz also for its dynamic and the majestical music as a whole.

I test the latter ones especially, because I was in the audience during these live recordings in the Amsterdam concert hall. This concert hall is famous for its very special acoustic. That is a real good reference how classical music sounds. To get this in your living room, well.............?
These 3 tests are followed by the other music mentioned in chapter 3, old and recent recordings to compare using the Ricable cables.
The video part.
In one word: WOW! So much brightness and clarity, it looks like a whole bunch of spotlights were put on stage and in the concert hall. Now the concert hall and audience are visible during the performance of the Brandenburg concertos, amazing how the hall is decorated with golden colors. This brightness and clarity apply for all the recordings. During close ups of the musicians e.g. you can see the difference of the fabrics of the clothing. Most of the time they wear black. And one black of a dress or a tailcoat is not the same as the other black, more like 50 shades of black.
It's all so bright and refined, it almost looks like 3D, yet in a real complete natural way. Regular TV broadcastings, movies, nature films, whatever you mention it doesn't matter. People can step out from the screen directly into your living room, so clear, refined and natural.
The sound part.
In one word again: WOW! The balance is so good, the deepness, the acoustic of the concert hall, the finesses and timbre of the instruments are amazing, whether it's a solo instrument or an orchestra.
Now the horns, piccolo and recorder of the authentic instruments on the Brandenburg Concertos sound absolutely wonderful. So great to listen to the 2 horns and clarinet together in the 1st concerto.
Listening to the Mahler symphony, I was flabbergasted how these doubles basses sound, the alto and soprano, the choirs so clear that you can hear what they are singing. The huge dynamic to the music is thrilling and breathtaking. Wow.
Then part IV and V of the Symphonie Fantastique of Berlioz. Listen to all the pizzicatos of the violins, all the other strings, the full set of all wind instruments in combination with the bombastic percussion, the bells and than the little piccolo that rises above it all. The music itself might be a little bit bold and grotesque to someone perhaps, however marvelous when you hear it all together and hear every detail. Goosebumps.
At the other tests of the cables the same results. Transparency, depth, acoustic, balance, finesses and timbre, all is there even on the old recordings of the selected CD's.
But not just the selection above. The CD's of Ella Fitzgerald's Song Books and The Reprise Years of Frank Sinatra e.g., incredible how these sound. The timbre of the voices so wonderful and warm. Love it.