Unboxing: Wireworld Platinum Eclipse Cable
In Issue 196 I reviewed the Wireworld Platinum Eclipse interconnect, the company’s latest flagship wire. I was impressed. In a nutshell, this is what I had to say about the Eclipse interconnect:
“There’s no shortage of puffery in the high-end, but Wireworld’s David Salz has designed and built an interconnect cable (an entire line actually) worthy of crowing about. In a turn-about from the industry standard–copper or silver/copper alloy–Platinum Eclipse opts for Ohno Continuous Cast silver conductors of greater than 99.99997% purity. Add the unique and proprietary carbon fiber connector shells with silver contacts and you have a cable which banishes the hypernatural sheen and brightness issues that have often plagued the use of silver wire. Sonics are fluid, naturalistic and exceptionally detailed yet organically rendered and so transparent you’ll simply forget they’re there.”
It was subsequently named to Editor’s Choice. Interested in how my system would react to a full (er, total?) Eclipse combination, Wireworld promptly obliged. Here is what arrived a week or so ago.
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Here’s how Wireworld’s literature describes its proprietary design known as Diagonal DNA™ cable (Delineated Neutralizing Array). It “utilizes a unique geometric structure that employs a set of flat, parallel stacked conductors to optimize the electromagnetic coupling between the two polarities. For the Platinum Eclipse speaker cables, this parallel array consists of a set of 18 flat conductors precisely stacked diagonally within a ‘monolithic’ cable structure, which has a flat overall outer profile and has no open internal space whatsoever and very high rigidity, drastically reducing the capacity for movement between the conductor sets. Each of the flat conductors is composed of a parallel group of six solid silver strands encased in high density polyethylene. This special configuration creates an ideal signal path, free of the inductive electromagnetic field effects that filter the signal in conventional cable designs."
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Platinum Eclipse is available in standard, biwired, and even triwired configurations with silver-clad spade lugs or tubular banana plug terminations. Silver-clad locking banana plugs are also available as an upgrade.
Its currently in a system with the new Magico V2 and Plinius Hiato integrated amplifier. I'll post some preliminary impressions soon. Look for these all these reviews in forthcoming issues.
Price: $16,400 (US retail) for a standard 2-1/2 meter pair; $3000 per meter pair for RCA interconnect. www.wireworldcable.com
Comments
at $16,400 - the speaker cables should sound good - no great - shouldn't they? or am i missing something
stu margolis
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Your'e not missing a thing Stu. I couldn't agree more! I've always marvelled how even as prices rise into the stratosphere there still remains a wide divergence in the performance of a given segment be it cables, speakers or electronics. It's part of what makes the hobby so appealing and on occasion, so appalling.
As for the Wireworld, sigh, they do sound great.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Neil, The box, the color, the shape, the connector plugs, the outer covering all look fantastic. ...The cable companies keep going nuts over the price war. I cannot imagine how good this wire must be to cost $16,400. It doesn't even make sense. Are there real customers out there who buy this stuff and if so I wonder how many? I guess sell it to one and all the profit expected is recovered. I think this cable would only apply to certain systems like the ones JV and RH review with the best components in the world. In one of your previous posts about a CD player you stated "Rigs like the Meridian 808.2 or Spectral that RH reviewed no doubt improve upon the X-05 not to mention Esoteric's own flagship transports and DACs. But unless the rest of the system is capable of equally high resolution then you may likely be dissappointed. That's why one upgrade inevitably leads to another."
Most of us do not have the means or do not want to upgrade to a flagship system, so investing $16K on a wire and then upgrading everything else around it would not apply to me for sure. I know that cables need to be tested and tried in a perticular system, but what I want to say is that, most of your cable reviews are vague, i.e not much excitement like the Esoteric X05 player which outshines and prompts one to go test it out i.e. making it easy to go test out because you don't list all of the Esoteric line as recommended, you don't simply say "Its a CD player worthy of attention". There are lots and lots of CD players worthy of attention but XO5, C5xe, supernova are 3 that outshine in this price segment. Therefore one goes and tests these 3 out rather than running around over the many many out there worthy of attention. With cables the standard comment is "this is a stealth cable", "this cable is worthy of attention", "this cable is up there" "this is the most neutral cable", and these coments are repeated for lots of models. Every cable is worthy of attention? With every cable getting somewhat similar reviews how does one go about testing them? They are simply too many, making it very difficult for a non audio reviewer to narrow down the choices. Neil you seem to do a lot of cable comparisons, yet in most TAS issues of recommended components or editors choice most all cables of a certain sector are listed: Example for Synergistic Tesla, all of them are listed so whats the difference in them? Like other Items in TAS with price range may be you can break down SPECIFIC model numbers for us to try as some of your top choices. How about listing on the blog here what your long term reference cables are and what your top choices are for example in $0 to $1000 range, from $1000 to $3000 range and $3000+ range i.e.......some kind of a breakdown of this type showing YOUR top few contenders. RH, JV, AT, PS all clearly state their favorites when new cables come around however from most of your reviews I get the impression that there isn't much difference in them....all the cables you test are worthy of attention. And I am not trying to start a fight with you. I know everything is system dependent and individual taste. But I would like to know more about your top choices in Interconnects (RCA and XLR), speaker cables, Digital Cable (XLR and RCA) in different price segments from bottom to top of the line. Thanks
You're raised a great many issues and I'll try to address them. Perceived value in the high end? That's a tough one and always has been-in every segment. Some see a high priced cable and go screamin' nuts-others think they're the greatest thing since sliced bread. Whatever floats your boat. I know I can't afford them but I love to hear them.
Fact is, I've reviewed and written about more middle range cables in TAS than most of the writers including the esteemed list of colleagues you cite. I've also stated in print that in terms of system priorities I consider cables the final icing on the high end cake, not the cornerstone. However with virtually hundreds if not thousands of cable models available it only scratches the surface. There isn't enough time on earth to review them all so I restrict myself to genuine contenders at various price points. I'm not interested in reviewing bad cables or lousy gear. It's a waste of precious space better taken up by gear worthy of talking about. I describe to the best of my ability what I hear so your characterization of my cable reviews by reducing them to single sentence soundbites is not accurate and is patently unfair. Worthy of attention? Well yes, the Transparent, Crystal, CRL,Tara, Synergistic,and Wireworld models I've reviewed were all good cables with distinct differences to be sure, but nothing extreme like say the difference between loudspeakers. These wires are all designed by competent teams who've learned from their mistakes years ago. They don't screw up today and that's a fact. But they continue to refine.
Wil there be breakthroughs? Perhaps but likely not on an order of magnitude of say, from Redbook PCM to SACD. Although I think I've made it quite clear in my cable reviews let me restate my preferences. Tara Labs Omega/Zero are the best I've ever heard and I haven't even heard the latest version. Synergistic Tesla Apex are the best medium priced cables/interconnects I've heard in my system. Transparent the Link/The Music are the best cheapos I've heard recently. I don't have a use for XLR's so I don't usually review them. And finally the new Wireworld Platinum Eclipse holds some real promise but I haven't spent any critical time listening as of yet. The interconnects however are darn good and probably the equal of the Apex. I'll also be listening to Audioquest's Wild Blue Yonder (WBY) interconnect soon as well–another pure silver conductor cable. Anyhow, thanks for note. I didn't consider them fightin' words at all-jsut a reader who was kind enough to take the time to write. Happy listening
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
I want to hear about the Plinius Hiato!
I should be blogging about the Hiato soon. I will tell you this-it has thus far proved very impressive in every setting. loads of bass control and resolution. It may join the Pass Labs INT-150 near the top rung of this segment. More later
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
Neil, Has the price of the Synergistic Apex speaker cable almost doubled since your review or is that a typo in the new edition of the magazine? I think its about $7000 right now....right?Also any chance of TAS reviewing the midpriced Transparent cable?
I would dearly love to see a double-blind A/B test between this fine $16,400 speaker cable, and #12 zip cord at $0.30/foot. I have nothing against high end speaker wire, mind you. It made the difference between going without and having food on the table back when I was trying to support a family on a Navy enlisted salary and working in a 'HiFi' shop in my off hours. I simply don't know any human or instrument who can tell the difference in what comes out of the speakers in a controlled test.
The tests you want were done in the early 1980s by McIntosh Lab. For the results, go to this excellent site by former McIntosh engineer, researcher, and speaker designer Roger Russell http://www.roger-russell.com/wire/wire.htm. It cuts through all the BS claims rather elegantly and shows that some people have more money than common sense. Bottom line: It can be solid, stranded, copper, oxygen free copper, silver, etc.--or even "magic" wire--as long as the resistance is kept to be less than 5% of the speaker impedance. There is no listening difference as long as the wire is of adequate size.
Are you saying that the $24,000 MIT oracle MA speaker cables are not built like a Ferrari and sound the same as less expensive and more affordable $16K wireworld Platinum eclipse cable? Darn I was just about to write MIT a check. You should see how many hardcore audiophiles support these products.....well they support it, I don't know how many of them actually invest their hard earned money in it.
Robert Russell is a brilliant guy and a great speaker designer but just remember one thing-Roger is selling speakers, not wire. Cable designers, like speaker designers are forced to make choices and compromises all of which influence the final sound of their respective products. For me its about priorities. Would I choose speaker cable before selecting a loudspeaker? Nope. But I wouldn't give short shrift to the wire either.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
To the last poster, too bad you weren't over at my house the around this past July 4th weekend. I played around with various combinations of Nordost Baldur and Audioquest Jaguar and Colorado to replace some older interconnects. Both my wife and 15 year old son heard differences from other rooms. They only knew that I was playing around with cables, no clue (and they couldn't have cared less) which ones were in the system at any given time. They just heard the same song played for a second time, and offered unsolicited opinions.
Neil,
I went back to your reviews regarding the CRL silver speaker cable Vs. Synergistic Tesla Precision reference or accelerator Speaker cable. In TAS189 you say about CRL that "in comparison synergistic Tesla Precision is a bit more tightly controlled, less forward, but aslo faster on transients and offers a shade more treble air and dimension". In TAS 171 regarding the synergistic you say "the speaker cable hasnt fully opened up and lacks easy bloom and harmonic sweetness that should top a Norah Jones vocal and upper octaves of her piano....the interconnect seems more open, expressive and dynamically colorful. Can you discuss a little more on the CRL Vs. Synergistic "SPEAKER CABLE"? Is there much difference between the Accelerator vs precision reference? It seems like the Apex is in a league of its own. Some more info would be nice. Thanks
Sam,
As you know Synergistic will match your cables to your system based upon your own listening bias'. It's a free service, value added since you are already purchasing their cables. If memory serves, Accelerator was a brighter, faster cable, not as warm as Precision Ref or Apex but very detailed. But it may seem thinner on systems that are already light in the lower freq. The latter two are more balanced overall, the Apex being the more transparent, a little richer through the mids, more expressive with less effort in the treble. But you're paying for it too! I think for those of us who value tonal neutrality and musical naturalism the Precision Ref is the best buy of the three but the Apex is the better speaker wire. But as you are well aware, it can be a real mix/match kind of thing. Manufacturers would rather we keep all the wire within their specific family of products. That's their right. However, there is an infinite number of systems that can be assembled. In fact when was the last time you walked into someones home and saw your system replicated exactly? Never. Also, audiophiles like us are inveterate tweakers and there's nothing wrong in my view with swapping out an interconnect if it serves the music.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
But Between the two: Precision Ref. Vs. CRL silver speaker cables what is the difference? Both seem pretty Neutral/Natural and Transparent. Does it boil down to minute difference in taste? Or a system match issue? or are there some charachteristics that are different between these two speaker cables? .........
Sam,
I don't recommend buying any cable without an audition and since they are so easy to transport or ship there really is no excuse for a dealer to refuse the request. In my system the CRL was a bit more midrange heavy with more slam and richer in the bass while the PreRef was a bit lighter yet faster overall but probably the better balanced with a hint more air and dimensionality. However keep in mind that in other systems it mght be a near photo finish, and in yet some others differences by a wide margin.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
A coat hanger would sound no different to these cables costing 16K!! God, I guess if you can afford it and you are completely stark raving mad with millions of dollars at you disposal, well then enjoy!!! but if you think you can hear a difference, then I am sorry but it is all in your head. I agree that amplifiers, cd players, and other bits of audio gear make a difference to sound quality, but good old 12 awg zip cord or even a coat hanger! will do the same job at a fraction of the cost!!! Snake Oil ...... Golden snake oil!!!!!!!! There are plenty of quality built cables on the market that cost a fraction of the price, if you are considering purchasing these cables maybe consider giving 16k to charity instead, spend $5.00 on zip cord. You will feel good about yourself and still enjoy your music!
Stu,
A coat hanger would probably work but it wouldn't sound the same. Heck in a pinch I've even used a set of keys to bridge speaker binding posts in the absence of cables suitable for biwiring. It all works, it's only a question of how well and how much. I don't recommend anyone spending themselves into the poorhouse and you're correct in that there are plenty of snake-oil salesman in every profession, even cables. But there are also a great many brilliant minds who are doing the R&D, and encourage buyers to A/B their products against others. Then, if you don't hear any difference, that's cool-you can stick with the low-priced spread and more power to you.
But you're unequivocally wrong in thinking that cables make no difference-they do, but they must be selected in balance with the system that's been assembled. Just like its pointless to put racing tires on a Camry, so it goes with wire.
Neil Gader Associate Editor The Absolute Sound
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