Review: Argent Room Lens - Ric Cummins Cables Speaker cable

Correction: I am using the MAC Delta 1 power cord with my David Berning ZH-270 amp and the David Elrod EPS-2s with my EMC-1 CDP.

I was there for the audition(s) of these cables made by Ric Cummins and concur completely with the comments of the reviewer, Hawaiikid (my friend, obviously). Actually, I also tried a pair of the interconnects in my system between my CD player and preamp and was very captivated by the sound these interconnects enabled.

To emphasize one point, Ric's cables will dispel any notion you may have that silver cables are by nature "bright" or "hissy" (overly sibilant), or tonally "light weight". Silver cables done "right" - as these cables are, are, in my opinion, smoother and tonally better balanced than many highly priced and highly touted copper cables.

As for the price, you may have to contact Ric Cummins himself to be sure, but my understanding is that the speaker cables (pairs) will retail for something like $80/foot and the interconnects will retail for about $250 for the basic 2.5 foot cables plus $30/foot more for longer lengths. I'm also told that the design of these cables, both speaker and interconnect, is such that they cannot be cut and reterminated. I don't know whether or not that caveat is in fact true or is being given just as a deterrent to "cost cutters." I can say that given the superb performance of these cables, the prices I've quoted (if correct) would make these cables an excellent buy - almost a steal - so one shouldn't need to buy long and cut short.

I've tried more cables than Hawaiikid - some cheap, some expensive, a few (but only a very few) crazy expensive - and both the speaker cables and interconnects are among a select few of the best I have ever heard.

I too recently inserted Ric's speaker cables and IC into my system. These cables replaced the excellent Nordost Quattro Fil and Kimber 8TC. Granted, the 8TC is considered a middle of the road speaker cable, but I think most would agree that it provides good value for the money, and is used by many Agoners. The Quattro Fil is of course very highly regarded.

I was told to give the speaker cable at least 15 hrs break-in before making any judgements on it's performance. Fifteen seconds was all it took. Right out of the box it was apparent that they were clearly more articulate, tonally balanced and surprisingly sweeter than the 8TC. I say surprisingly because I've always heard that silver cables can have a tendency to be slightly bright. Not these. The sibilance I heard with the 8TC's, particularly on Patricia Barber's "Companion", where she must have had her lips right on the mic during this live recording, were noticeably less pronounced. Yet tiny little crowd noises that were picked up on the live recording were suddenly more apparent. Not so much as to make them distracting, but enough to let you know that these cables are letting all that's on the cd come through. Overall I would describe these speaker cables as neutral, transparent and tonally well balanced. No portion of the frequency spectrum is highlighted. This makes for very involving and non-fatiguing listening. I noticed that once I set the volume level, I didn't want or need to frequently adjust it. I believe that's because of the tonal balance.

The interconnect is even more amazing. Where the speaker cables pretty much get out of the way without adding any character of their own, the IC's seem to take everything to a higher level. Voices that were well rendered with the Quattro Fil take on a more immediate and engaging character with Ric Cummin's IC. They seem to provide a slightly more forward perspective than the QF, without overdone spotlighting. If you like sitting a few rows closer to the stage, depending on your present IC, this one can provide that. At least compared to the Quattro Fil. The soundstage took on more depth, with images now actually floating in front of the speakers as well as behind. I had never experienced this in my system before. I guess that's what they mean by holographic. I could hear instruments more clearly behind the vocal plane. Maybe that's what gives the impression of sitting a few rows closer to the stage. It's really providing added depth that just gives that illusion.

When the two cables are used together, it's pure synergy. All the benefits of articulation, resolution, harmonic richness and musicality, without any of the brightness, edginess or unnatural etching silver cables can sometimes bestow.

If you're in the market to replace your current cables, I strongly suggest you contact Ric Cummins. His website is www.roomlens.com. Ric is extremely personable and obviously a gifted designer/manufacturer. He'll be happy to discuss your needs and provide you with what I consider some of the best values in cables today. I don't work for Ric. I just own and enjoy his products. After you've tried them, I bet you will too.

I wanted to post an update to my review. I tried Ric's speaker cables and interconnects in my friend's system (Maggies 3.6's speakers, BAT 51SE pre-amp, and BAT VK75SE amp). The results were quite amazing. Ric's cables fleshed-out the dynamics from these speakers. The Maggies played big (as they are meant to play) with much more dynamics and sound pressure. And again, there was no hardshness and the system had tonal balance.

Previously, my friend had used two (2) BAT VK75SE amps without achieving the same results as with one (1) BAT amp and Ric's cables. Without Ric's cables, his system was more laid back and less involving.

With more playing time, I've come to the conclusion that Ric's cables are very good and an absolute great buy. Especially, his interconnect cables are very lively and musical. I've tried Ric's interconnect cables in other hi-end systems and have heard similar results.

I am a happy consumer of Ric's cables and I'm very proud to give these cables a thumbs-up!

I ordered new speaker cables from Ric several month ago together with a set of interconnects. I installed the new speaker cables in my system first and right out of the box I heard a significant improvement over my previous loudspeaker cables, which are FAST AUDIO Compact 6M terminated with WBT copper spades. The Compact 6M are rated "best buy" in a German audio magazines and compare favorable to much more expensive cables.
My first impression was an increase in soundstage. The soundstage increased in a sense that the listener moved much closer to the artists and also images appeared more real. The images of instruments and singers are rendered with their realistic sizes in space and you could easily tell if a singer was sitting or standing on stage. Furthermore there is clear separation of instruments and voices and with the right CD's such as Eric Clapton's "unplugged" I had Eric sitting in my room singing the blues.

My previous interconnects are FADEL ART Aerolink, highly regarded in German audio magazines as a best buy (about $330) and classified as neutral. Ric's interconnects clearly proved that the FADEL ART Aerolink are rather warm sounding cables emphasizing the bottom frequencies, in a sense that they even overshadowed the midrange which results in a lack of transparency. Ric's interconnects in comparison were neutral and transparent with no emphasis to any frequency range but not rolled off at the bottom or top end of the frequency spectrum either.
Comparing the interconnects it made a big difference which speaker cable was involved. With Ric's speaker cable the differences between the interconnects were much more pronounced than with my old speaker cable. The Aerolink sounded definitely worse with Ric's speaker cable but also Ric's interconnects improved significantly in combination with his speaker cable. There is a clear synergy using Ric's cable throughout my system.

If you are looking for cables that are supposed to act as tone control to correct frequency issues of your system look some place else but if you are looking for cables that are true to the signal that are not warm or analytic but are transparent and musical and will give you goose bumps because of the realistic images they are able to throw in your listening room then look no further. Now, take the very modest price into account and these cables are a steal.

My system consists of Arcurus ACD11 CD transport, Perpetual Technology P-1A digital correction engine and P-3A (incl ModWright update) DAC and P3 Perpetual Power Plant, Acurus DIA 100 Mk2 amplifier and Martin Logan SL3 speakers. My analog front end is Acoustic Signature Final Tool turntable with Rega RB-300 tonearm, AT OC9 cartridge and Lehmann Black Cube phone pre-amp.