Review: KCI Silkworm Interconnect


Category: Cables

My sytem has been very stable for quite a while now. The components have great synergy but I wondered if I was really getting all that they had to offer out of them.

I decided to start trying different interconnects. Over the last 18 months I have tried many different cables. I don't have a lot of disposable income so most of the cables were $100-800 a meter rca pair.

I tried copper,silver,palladium,and cables with some combination of those metals. Most excelled in atleast one area of the audiophile spectrum but not all. I thought that maybe I was asking for too much or perhaps I had reached the capabilities of my system and that was it.

I happened upon an auction for KCI Silkworms pure gold interconnects. The auction was ending too soon for me to just blindly bid. So, I started doing some research and found lots of good comments about the cables.

I emailed KCI and got a reply from John Prator 30 minutes later. He offered a lot of information and practical advice. He explained how he hand builds the cables one at a time and how he came to settle on the 24k pure gold.I decided to go ahead and order some custom length cables. John kept me updated on the progress of the construction and offered a 24 hour conditioning.

The communication with John was excellent. It took just 5 days to receive the cables, even with the 24 hour conditioning. I have to say that I got some of the best and most personalized customer service from KCI than any other manufacturer I have ever dealt with.

I listen to a wide range of music including Diana Krall,Dead Can Dance,Massive Attack,Strunz and Farah,K.D. Lang,Pink Floyd,Bob Marley,Santana,Peter Gabriel,the various Buddha Bar volumes,etc. etc.. I think you get the idea, varied music. I used all of this music in evaluating cables.

The sound that I expected from gold cables was not what I heard at all. I expected some kind of warm lush sound with a laid back nature. What I got was a very fast clear sound. I immediately heard highs that were much more extended than with previous cables and nice solid mids with strong bass.

My system was immediately more live sounding with a 3D soundstage in front of, beside of, and even behind me. I also realized immediately how slow and veiled other cables sounded. The bass wasn't as tight as I would have liked but the cables had great promise.

I allowed the cables to burn-in for 150 hours before doing any other critical listening. Of course I had listened a little along the way and noticed the bass firming up and the cables becoming clearer and more exteneded still.

Afetr 150 hours I was blown away. Vocals are so real they can catch you off guard. The highs were extended and airy, the mid-range is liquid and smooth yet very revealing, and the bass is, wow! The bass has more energy than with any other cable yet it also reveals definition and nuance in the lowest notes that I have never heard before. I now realize I was missing a lot of the foundation and drive of the music that I love so much.

The KCI Silkworms have truely completed the synergy of my system.

This review is based solely on my system and my opinion. I have no affiliation with KCI or John Prator. I paid full market price for the cables. I am just a very satisfied customer. Thanks for checking out my first product review. Happy listening, Duane

Associated gear
Click to view my Virtual System
128x128geared4me
Dazone,
Thank you very much for your comments on the Pegasus digital cable as well as your kind comments about me-you're to kind! I hope you are doing well and please keep us posted on your thoughts and should you have any questions/requests please don't hesitate to contact me anytime. Thank you!

Sincerely,
John
KCI
I’d like to share my impressions using a Kool Cables’ Pegasus digital cable to go along here with their Silkworm IC's. First up, John is a nice cat and his service is first class. What I am buying is an older prototype of the Pegasus and John insisted that I return it (from auditioning) so he can update it for me at no additional cost. He wanted me to have his best. Thank you, sir. That is awesome.

Of the six dig cables I have or have had in my system, his is the most open and gregarious. It plays easy and large. Images are separated out nicely and have a 3D quality. That is to say that they are notably holographic and I can “see” in between and around them comfortably. Details are as exemplary in the far field as in the near field which is most appreciated on classical music. It is that ease and expansiveness to music rendered by my system using this cable that is the most endearing to me. Like all dig cables I have owned or played with in MY system, there is some sharpness and silvery like thing going on with “T’s” and sibilants. But, it is somehow less objectionable to me, it sounds like it almost belongs (!).

It is replacing a Stereovox dig cable in my system. From the comments I have read in a few forums this might be the most misunderstood cable out there. It also has that 3D quality and separation to images where they are not tiered but appear wherever on a virtual stage. But, its other strengths to me are further down the frequency spectrum. It has fuller and weightier lower midrange and bass, for example, although the “human playing” is not as apparent.

My system and I are happy to be a Kool Cables customer. Thanks, John. You keep making those cables now, ya hear?

KCI-koolcables, inc
Hi Tboooe,
Actually they are, I have a set of RCA-XLR up for auction right now!If you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me directly at: John@koolcables.com Thank you.

Best regards,
John
Seems I'm slow on finding responses on here, sorry about that. Thanks for the compliments! I hope you all are enjoying your cables, let me know if you need more! lol.

Best regards,
John
No need for me to write a review as I read the Stereo Mojo review and the review by Geared4me above. I concur completely with both reviews and couldn't say it any better. I have a .5M pair between my CDP and Preamp. The Silkworms are really something special and John is a great guy to do business with.
Great review, spot on with my experience with John and his Silkworms....really incredible stuff....hope John remembers us when he's famous...
Hi Duane,
Thanks for putting that information up, I appreciate that. I do have the website up but still need to do some work on it, ie; get some more photos up, a shopping cart etc. I really suck at building websites(my first one) and I didn't realize how much of a pain it is!

I hope you're enjoying your cables/system. Have a great week!

Sincerely,
John
I am glad to see that the guys at Stereomojo felt the same way as I did. They were able articulate my experience with the silkworms even better than I could. Congratulations on receiving the "Maximum Mojo Award",you deserve it!
Hi Duane,
Wow, thank you for the nice review! I'm glad that you are enjoying your cables and they fit into your system well, you have a very nice and well thougt out system there. Very well done. If you ever have any questions or any requests please don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely,
John

PS-Stereomojo just released their review of my cables if you care to go read it, here it is:

http://www.stereomojo.com/KCI%20Silkworm%20review/KCISilkwormCablesReview.htm
Rx8man, All good points. I knew I would miss certain aspects with this being my first review. The quality of construction is first rate. John was great to work with,very fast,and didn't hype the cables at all. Truely a superb product from a superb individual.
Nice review Duane.

Agree, I have the same results in my system along with a few other members I mentioned these to.

Mine were special order, being one gauge larger (more $$ and a much longer break-in time of course) but when they finally came into focus, the resulting sound is completely off the map, they deliver as promised, in a word REAL.

I love these cables and how they sound in my system.

PLUS, they are lightweight, flexible and route very easily, no pulling your gear off the shelves.

The components used and build quality is excellent, they look very nice too !

John nailed it with these interconnects, not to mention his lightning fast delivery and friendly follow-ups.

More folks should give the Silkworms a try in their system to hear what we mean.