KLEI Absolute®Harmony Phono/RCA Plugs

Another shameless ad!

I like my plugs with wires already connected, thank you.

Definitely no ad... I have tried their Copper, Silver and Pure rca plugs and I find them to be excellent. I guess I am just excited with the release of the Absolute Harmony rca plug and you aren't... that's ok :)

I will let you know what I think of them in the future when I try them :)

I have just received (today) a set and looking forward to installing them on
my DIY interconnects.

Shameless ad? - only if they don't perform!

Also received the gZero10 IC's. When a new product performs as good as
it's predisessor before it's even burned-in - I figure things can only get
better - they have done so far :-)

Thing is - KLEI products actually do what they advertise - i.e. enhance your
system's performance.

If only all other brand products could provided such tangeable
improvements.

will keep you posted :-)

Well, after a couple of days in my system I can confirm that both the Absolute Harmony and the gZero10 deliver what the KLE Innovations web site promises.

The Absolute Harmony sounded better than the Pure Harmony on my DIY IC's right off the bat, providing more details, improved clarity, better control across the board and even better image focus.
- There was a little harshness initially, but that abated after approximately 24 hours.

The gZero10 IC initially sounded just as good as my well broken-in gZero6 IC's, but with a slight diminished lower register. After just over 63 hours of use, the bass has recovered and this IC demonstrates even better control of not only the lower register, but across the entire frequency range. Again, details and clarity showed improvements and some tracks exhibit a wider and deeper image with more space. In addition, these IC's present more warmth and an additional smoothness, especially when playing classical music, since I find the upper register of violins can often sound quite shrill, but with these IC's it is significantly smoother, without sacrificing any detail.

Both of these products have performed better in a shorter timeframe than the other KLEI products I own, or have tried.
- the Absolute Harmony only took a few hours to shed their initial harshness.
- the gZero10 has already surpassed the performance of my existing gZero6 and sounds more natural in their presentation.

In short - their performance is crisper and more vibrant combined with a very natural presentation.

Do they offer as much of an improvement as previous KLEI products I've used or are they entering the world of diminishing returns?

The problem with this question is that it may only be valid if, like me, you already own their TOTL Pure Harmony or gZero6 IC. But once you try them it then becomes very difficult to stuff this genie back into the bottle :-)

If you don't own KLEI products, then you are missing out on some wonderful improvements in your system's performance.

How good are they? - I've had the opportunity to compare the gZero6 on a friends (higher resolving) system and we both agreed they sounded better than his more expensive named-brand silver balanced XLR cables. The gZero10's would undoubtedly provide even better performance improvements.

As with anything in audiophila - it all depends on your own personal beliefs pertaining to the impact of cables and connectors may have on a system, together with any budgetary constraints.

Bottom line - all their products work - extremely well!
- checkout their product line-up

But without a doubt - these are by far their best products to date:-)

A member has asked where did I purchase from and what is my location.

First - I am in the Toronto region.

For RCA's there are a few companies in the US that sells them - they can be found on the KLEI web site.

I know Parts Connexion sells the RCA's also. They might also be able to get the cables, but it might take a little longer.

I purchased all of my RCA's and cables directly from KLE Innovations.

Shipping is generally via the various postal services and can take up to 12-14 days. If you want to shorten that time to around 5 days KLE may be able to ship via DHL, but that will cost extra and you will have to request that by contacting KLE Innovations first

I hope that covers everything.

OK - so 8 days on from my last post - I've had the gZero10's on a 24 hour burn-in process - so in total they've had around 240 ish hours

At about 200 hours I started to notice a significant improvement across the board.
- extended bass (very deep and cntrolled - not bloated)
- significant increase in details and clarity
- faster dynamics
- much deeper image - more life like presentation
- a much warmer presentation
- high frequencies are also much smoother without loosing details.

The above observations are not a comparison to the gZero6 - they are my current findings compared to what the gZero10's first sounded like.

Today I switched them over to my analogue rig and found out just how good these cables are :-)

The Absolute Harmony are also showing signs of similar improvements, but on my DIY IC's I don't think they will attain the same level of performance of the gZero10's.

These are two stellar products that probably perform way beyond the resolution capability of my modest system.

Giant Killers? - YOU BET YOUR DONKEY!

Give them a try - they are excellent!!!

Williewonka, the Absolute Harmony RCAs and the gZero10s sound pretty amazing! Is that how you are finding them :)

Yping the gZero10s obviously provide the better performance, since my own DIY IC's are not quote as good. But yes, they are both excellent performers and bring the very best out of a system.

Yes they are a bit pricey, but if you are chasing the elusive nirvana, then these should get you within a couple of feet of the gates and on the right components (or cables in the case of the Absolute Harmony) they will probably blast you right through the gates to centre stage :-)

There aren't any albums I've listened to today that did not sound exceptional - even my original Beatles White Album sounds as though it has been completely re-mastered - amazing.

Very neutral sounding with superb details

I plan on posting a full review on the Cables forum next week

Regards

Williewonka, wow, sounds like they transport you right through the Pearly Gates to Heaven :)

Would you say the 10s are as good, or better than, more expensive ICs that you have had in your system or other systems?

Have you compared the Absolute Harmony RCAs to other RCAs or even the Pure Harmony RCAs? Are they better, much better, from your experience...

Williewonka, I look forward to reading the review...

Yping - I have normally used my DIY cables, since they provide significantly better bang for the buck. But I have also tried Stager Silver Solids with the Canare, Eichman Silver Bullet, Copper Harmony and Silver Harmony RCA's - the latter providing the best performance on those cables.

Until I got the gZero10/Absolute Hamony - I used the gZero6 IC's on my analogue rig and my DIY IC's with the Pure Harmony on my digital rig.

I did compare the gZero3 IC's on a friends system that had some name brand high-end XLR Balanced cables containing silver conductors and we both thought the gZero3's conveyed better dynamics, more details, larger image and deeper and more controlled bass. I would think that gZero10's would probably yield amazing improvements on that system.

I have tried the following RCA's on my DIY cables and found each one in the list to perform discernibly better than the one before it...
- Canare
- Furutech with copper centre pin
- Eichmann Silver Bullet
- Copper Harmony
- Silver Harmony
- Pure Harmony
- Absolute Harmony (currently burning in)

I also replaced the Nakamachi RCA's on my silver litz one-piece tone-arm wire with the Pure Harmony and the improvements were staggering. They convey so much more information with a very neutral presentation. Again, they allow for more clarity, better and deeper bass, larger image etc...

The Absolute Harmony are on my IC's and completing their burn-in as I write this, but improvements were apparent immediately WRT deeper bass, clarity and a more focussed image.

FYI - I also have the gZero6 Speaker cables, which improved both the depth and control of the bass and the clarity in the mid and upper frequencies.

You could say I am heavily invested in KLE Innovations products, but the reason for that is they work extremely well and compared to many other boutique brands they are more affordable.

I also have found that quality power cables play a huge role in achieving the level of performance I now enjoy. I also make my own power cables, but if I were to use a brand name cable, the ones I would checkout are from Anticables. The use a braided architecture - an architecture which I have also tried and found to work very well.

I have heard that KLE Innovations are planning on introducing power cables next year, which I think will be giant killers.

Hope that answers your questions

Regards...

Yping - here's the link to the gZero10 review

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?fcabl&1414710551&openmine&zzWilliewonka&4&5#Williewonka

Regards

Well, I've had a chance to review these RCA's on both my DIY Home Brew interconnects for a week or so and just today I switched a pair over to my Turntable.

The micro details and clarity these RCA's will bring to your system are absolutely superb. Along with that comes a significantly better defined image space, much crisper dynamics, an extended bottom end that has amazing depth and control, so they never sound bloated, just in control.

There is also a smoothness that comes into play especially in the upper register of violins, which can sometimes sound a little harsh. The sibilance on vocals is also superbly controlled and smooth also.

One place where these RCA's seem to shine is on my silver litz one piece tone-arm wire. The details they convey are nothing short of stunning.

If you have a turntable I would highly recommend getting these. You'll think you have replaced your cartridge with something much more expensive

If you already have the VDH Colibri or Koetsu Correlstone or something of a similar performance level then these RCA's will show you what these cartridges are really all about.

I have the Denon DL103 - and I have never heard details so vivid from this really affordable cartridge.

If you don't have vinyl, but have some serious single ended interconnects then give these a try - they perform equally as well and bring all of the same attributes to digital music.

They are so good they will bring your digital rig closer to an analogue sound - provided your rig is up to it :-)

Want more proof - take a look at the KLEI web site and see which cable/component manufactures are using the Harmony RCA plug line on their gear.

For example - just a few..
- Black Rhodium
- Origin Live
- ISOkinetic
- Anticables
- Gabriel Gold
- Signal Cable

http://www.kleinnovations.com/

There's also some pretty good reviews of their lineup on there also

Theyrrrrrrre GREAT!!!

Ooops - didnt' mean to sound like Tony the Tiger :-)

Williewonka, what other RCA plugs have you used so far on your DIY interconnects...

yping- see my post above 10_30_14

Regards

I have tried the following RCA's on my DIY cables and found each one in the list to perform discernibly better than the one before it...
- Canare
- Furutech with copper centre pin
- Eichmann Silver Bullet
- Copper Harmony
- Silver Harmony
- Pure Harmony
- Absolute Harmony (currently burning in)

I also replaced the Nakamachi RCA's on my silver litz one-piece tone-arm wire with the Pure Harmony and the improvements were staggering. They convey so much more information with a very neutral presentation. Again, they allow for more clarity, better and deeper bass, larger image etc...

ok, got it :)

Yping - I just wanted to mention that the RCA's are a small part of the cable puzzle.

Also the gZero cables are more than just a better performing cable...

Unfortunately, most people attribute all improvements to the last change they made without considering the bigger picture.

As an example...
Installing the gZero6 speaker cables in my system had a dramatic impact on the depth, speed and control of the bass
- but what if I had been using a more “conventional” power cable at the time I installed the gZero6’s
- a subsequent upgrade of that power cable might lead most people to attribute new improvements to the upgraded power cable alone.

It wasn’t until I started assessing what the overall impacts the gZero architecture was actually responsible for, that I realized...
- the architecture of both speaker cables and interconnects actually allows attached components to work as designed, by keeping the neutral side of attached components at zero volts - which dramatically improved imaging
- the power cables I use provides the “juice” at the “speed required” to improve the dynamic response of those components
- the quality materials & connectors in both the interconnects and the speaker cables conveys a more detailed and dynamic signal from the source to the speakers.

Basically It’s a “team effort”,

Other cables may actually degrade the performance of components - hence the frequent reference to "Synergy" between cables and components

Hope this makes sense

As an example...
Installing the gZero6 speaker cables in my system had a dramatic impact on the depth, speed and control of the bass
- but what if I had been using a more “conventional” power cable at the time I installed the gZero6’s
- a subsequent upgrade of that power cable might lead most people to attribute new improvements to the upgraded power cable alone.

yes, interesting...

It wasn’t until I started assessing what the overall impacts the gZero architecture was actually responsible for, that I realized...
- the architecture of both speaker cables and interconnects actually allows attached components to work as designed, by keeping the neutral side of attached components at zero volts - which dramatically improved imaging
- the power cables I use provides the “juice” at the “speed required” to improve the dynamic response of those components
- the quality materials & connectors in both the interconnects and the speaker cables conveys a more detailed and dynamic signal from the source to the speakers.
Basically It’s a “team effort”

even more interesting...

Yping - you may also find this interesting reading...

The Significance of Cable Architectures

Regards...:-)

Williewonka, well done, very nice read :)

Theoretically, the return/ground should be 0 volts but as your article indicates, it never really is and the resulting noise must colour the signal sound, as you have shown! ... very nice read :)

Yping, so glad you enjoyed it.

But that's just the tip of the iceberg !

Stay tuned :-) :-) :-)

Yes, this was a shameless ad.

Stay tuned for another yping and williewonka promotion!  It will be coming soon.

I saw this thread from Google. I decided to get an account and share my experience with KLEI product. My only experience is limited to the absolute harmony plug from KLEI. They sound great and beat my previous copper plugs easily. My cable is a DIY single core silver cable. It works perfectly with absolute harmony plugs.