After a week with my new speaker cables, I’m glad to share my very first thoughts and impressions.
To be clear, they are still burning in, everyday I’m noticing improvements and I’m sure they still need to settle down properly but the big picture is already clear to my ears (I think).
Let’s start with bass. Lower than usual, I mean low and low and low. I wasn’t used to this kind of depth across the lower frequency spectrum and I like it so much.
Even between mid bass and low bass there is richness, complexity and texture that now come on the surface with its beauty and involvement. I can hear details in this area in a clearer and cleaner variety of nuances.
Compared to what I hear now, my previous bass sounded muffled, strangled, compressed. Like the dull sound of a thud, like a stone falling into the sand.
Overall, the first impression was the room-filling ability, every molecule seems to be hit by the sound with power and delicacy at the same time. The sound expands better in the air, with more force and in a larger portion of the space in the room.
Another surprising quality is the sensation of air around the instruments, which is able to make you perceive the size of the room where the musical performance takes place, for example the reverberation left by a violin in a recording room.
My previous AQ William Tell Silver Bass Combo cables remind me a teenage, with some kind of exuberance and the quick desire to bite life, energy without patience or power without consciousness.
STEALTH are more a mature guy, a mix of experience and talent, showing the ability to wait and enjoy life by savoring its details, the small as well as the big things. Serenity and fullness for every single moment, like a gift. With realism and passion.
I could report about details, lower noise floor or wider (really wider) soundstage, immediacy or tighter and punchy bass. All the usual attributes we are searching for, yes. And there are all. But what impressed me more is the lack of coloration (Al often said this is a STEALTH’s peculiarity and he’s right), the smoothness is so pleasant, the sound is organic, lifelike and so pleasant. Maybe a little more relaxed, not laid back or warm, just cozy! Naturalness, simply put!
This is especially evident when talking about decay, how the last notes can continue to float for an infinite time, wonderful indeed!
I removed the Furutech Boosters used as raisers because I found the sound more engaging in this way, the NCF boosters can alter the tonality in a “digital clean presentation” while without them all is really organic and voices are more realistic and natural.
Playing with the tune rings, as usual with STEALTH cables, it’s pretty easy to find the right position, they act like a camera lens focusing more or less the image.
I’m very happy with these new speaker cables, there are many areas that are really elevating the sound quality of my system, anyhow don’t expect a Sakra level of improvement (in no ways this is a negative conclusion but I want to be as much objective as possible).
As usual here is my table of numbers:
| AQ | STEALTH | |
|---|---|---|
| White noise/Hum | 9 | 9 |
| Background | 8 | 8 |
| Naturalness | 8 | 10 |
| Image precision | 8 | 9 |
| Soundstage depth | 8 | 9 |
| Soundstage width | 8 | 9 |
| Separation | 8 | 9 |
| Voice | 8 | 9 |
| Hights | 8 | 8 |
| Bass | 7 | 9 |
| Presence | 9 | 9 |
| Transient | 8 | 8 |
| Clarity | 8 | 9 |
| Airy | 7 | 9 |
| Detail | 8 | 9 |
| Unveil | 9 | 8 |
| Realism | 8 | 9 |
| Calm | 8 | 8 |
| Control | 8 | 9 |
| Engagement | 8 | 9 |
| 8,1 | 8,8 |
