Review: Ridge Street Audio Midnight Silver Edition GEN. II Interconnect

So you reviewed the original in May and here it is August and they're just now introducing Gen 2? What took them so long! I must say, I am a believer in high quality cables, but the marketing is getting a little ridiculous. Every few months there's some amazing breakthrough advancing the state of the art. C'mon folks how much can be done with wire?! And I'm not trying to single out Ridge Street, this review just struck a cord. I'm happy for you that you liked them, please take my comments as they were intended, not as an attack on you or the manufacturer, just general exasperation with the whole cable sweepstakes.

Jond,
I’d like to start out by saying I can appreciate your frustrations with some of the manufactures of interconnects and speaker cables, and I’m in no way offended by your comments or opinions.

With that said, I would like to clear up a point that perhaps I did not make clear. I don’t know the exact time line, however I think the Ridge Street Midnight Silver Edition were out and available for quite sometime before I ever become aware of them. When I placed my order, I remember Robert telling me he was currently working on a generation II, but was not aware as to when it would be perfected to his satisfaction.
I’m not a cable maker, however when I hear an improvement on my system I can recognize and attempt to describe it. I hope some of our Audiogon members find the above review helpful.

Lak,

Great review! thanks for the info. I will try it soon and post my findings here also.

Lak,

I may have a new IC for you to try out in the near future. I have been selling the Empowered AC cord and the designer now is ready with his new ICs. They are designed around the same principal as the power cord, reducing noise for better details and dynamics at a price point that all can realatively afford.

If you are interested send me an email.

Happy Listening.

Hello All.
First, Thank You Lak for a thorough review of the Gen.II Midnight Silver Edition I/Cs. Our goal was pretty much as you experienced. A more “Open and Transparent Window” to the music that conveys the speed, life and vibrancy of a live performance. As pleased as we are with the results, it really means nothing unless other ears experience the same musical excitement we believe this cabling can portray if, as you said, the rest of the system is up to the task of resolving what’s on the software. Now…..perhaps you should audition the MSE Gen.II speaker cables….!? ;o)

Jond, I too understand and can empathize with your frustration. I don’t know how other companies determine new model designations and so forth so I’m only speaking for Ridge Street Audio Designs.

I’ve come to learn over the years that audio design, audio products and audio systems are an ongoing process for both the manufacturer and the enthusiast who drives the manufacturer and is, many times, the enthusiast also. Can I say circle!? I stopped long ago looking for the “Audio” destination, as it seemed I could never quite arrive. Instead, now I enjoy the “Audio” journey with its resting places along the way. Actually, my wife taught me that. I’m always trying to discover something new that will enhance my music listening enjoyment first. Then, if I feel it’s worthy of the market, I’ll make it available to others to hopefully enjoy. The esteemable Mr. Crump taught me that perspective. Maybe I should but really, I have no marketing strategy as to when I introduce a new product or upgrade to an existing product. It’s primarily determined by how much time I have to “play” and experiment with ideas I have. The cabling products we offer today are the result of about eight years of toying and local support and patronage. We’ve only introduced ourselves to the broader market place since February of 2002. Again, my wife’s persistent insistence that we had something of value to offer audio community. Ha! I’m learning to listen to my wife more these days! She says the only reason I don’t listen to her is because she doesn’t have a…..well, it’s a “male only” part. Hmm…..I didn’t know those things could talk or, at the very most, have nothing constructive to say. I'll have to tell her it's a good thing she doesn't have one since she thinks it's liability! Anyway…..

We originally introduced the RSA Reference, which inspired the Symphonia Master that followed shortly after. I had had the Idea for the Midnight Silver Edition for some time and had experimented with copper versions of the I/Cs and S/Cs as early as ’98. Just never got around to refining the design using silver until early in 2002. Should have done it sooner but I was keeping fairly busy enjoying music, tinkering with other things and producing existing wires for purchase. The original Midnight Silver Edition cabling was introduced in May of 2002. I really didn’t know how we could do better than the Midnight Silver Edition, given our development budget, until I started thinking in terms of system synergy and partnering in greater depth. Out of that, I began toying with a modified version that was a hybrid of sorts of the MSE cabling.

At first, I was going to designate this modified version as the MSE Gen.II but after hearing our prototype I decided it deserved a new model designation. Being very pleased with the results, in June plans to introduce the Poiema series of cables were in progress. The Midnight Silver Edition Gen.II came out of the Poiema cabling really unintentionally. I figured here’s an opportunity to make the MSE’s better while still providing a new cable series that was still better enough to warrant a new model designation. The MSE Gen.II uses a higher purity silver with the conductors having a refined surface area, a slightly tweaked topology and, as of last week, utilizes a more thorough and substantial break in process before it leaves our premises. So Jond, while it may seem like “Zip, Zap Bang, here’s the latest break through miracle cable”, it’s not so. No magic here and it’s simply been a process of time for us and it’s based on what I’m able to come up with that I would personally use and also provides value and performance for the consumer. And, I wouldn’t say our Gen.II cables are miracle cables. They are simply better cables than the original MSEs, which were already miracle…er, I mean very good cables! As of about the beginning of August, the original MSEs are no longer available.

Jond, I hope this gives you a little better understanding of how we do things anyway. I can imagine other cable companies go through a similar process but probably not all, as there are certainly other considerations and/or agendas that can be exercised.

Kind Regards to all,
Robert C. Schult