Reviewing the fabulous Silversmith Fidelium Speaker Cables


If I like a product, I tend to hold onto it for a long time.
Take my stereo gear for instance.
I’ve had my Hales Signature System Two Speakers for almost 30 yrs.
I love the sound, imaging and soundstage they produce and I have no intention of ever letting them go.
The same situation is with my speaker cables; the venerable Straightwire Maestros. But in this case I knew that I would eventually upgrade them.
Both components have always been a tad bright, even with all-tube Amp, Pre Amp and CD Player on the front end.
After many years of constantly tweaking, I hit upon a combination which helped alleviate almost all of the glare.
Namely, a complete front end of ModWright products.

The only “problem” remaining was a time smearing element to the sound.
Fast piano and bass notes were not quite up to snuff in their separation.
Also, if I turned up the volume too much the sound would exhibit a bit of glare and the soundstage would tend to collapse.

I had long been a fan of Magnan products and currently use their interconnects and AC power cables in my system.
I’ve been looking for their speaker cable on the cheap for a while now.
I thought their approach to reducing skin effect signal doubling and phase issues would help in the articulation of fast consecutive notes (or sounds).
Plus I still had that tiny bit of brightness that needed a final taming.

I recently stumbled upon a glowing Sound Advocate review of the Silversmith Fidelium Speaker Cable.
www.thesoundadvocate.com/2020/06/silver ... st-review/
It actually was one of the finest cable reviews I had ever read.
There was great detail coupled with a ton of enthusiasm.
Like the Magnan, it utilized a thin ribbon to reduce skin effect anomalies. Plus, it used no termination products. (a BIG deal as far as I was concerned)
There were separate + and – leads for each speaker.
A “U” notch was cut into each cable end to interface with the Amp and Crossover.
I thought this was novel and highly desirable.
I called the owner, Jeff Smith and we discussed his cable at length.

One important item was that the Hales Speaker uses an external crossover with the capability to bi-wire.
This option was highly desirable to me so I broached this subject with Jeff.
He strongly recommended that I do so. Although not a deal breaker, the fact I would have to buy double the amount of cables was a bit of a concern.
Jeff replied two cable runs were not necessary and had a unique alternative configuration.
Namely, short Fidelium Crossover Jumpers with a simple but effective interconnect device right at the jumper’s midpoint where the long single speaker cable would connect.
His opinion was that this setup was as good as the traditional bi-wire method.
So just a 6’ set of speaker cables and a 1’ set of jumpers would be required.
I ordered the cables and patiently waited for their arrival.

Upon arrival, I was amazed at the light weight of them, which is understandable since the foil is less than 1/1000” thick and 2.25” wide.
The actual securing of the cables to an Amp or crossover binding post was a bit of a challenge, but not too bad.
The cable ends can be bent to fit into tight places, although there possibly are a few binding post configurations where connection would be very difficult.
Jeff told me that in a couple of months there would be finished adaptors available for those with fully plastic encased binding posts. He has been producing these adaptors by hand for those customers who needed them.

I turned on the system. No warm up.
Put my ear close to each driver. Absolute silence.
With no warmup, I slipped a CD into the player and listened.
The resultant sound was certainly very different than I was accustomed to.
Great detail but in a non fatiguing manner.
A beautifully balanced frequency spectrum.
Great Highs which were hash free.
Great tight Bass with accurate pitch and timbre.
Crisp, clear and sweet Mids.
Fast transient response, but not etched.
Very low noise floor. In fact, no noise at all.
I was excited that the Fideliums sounded so good with no system warmup.
With about an hour of warmup, I was ready for some serious listening.
All the attributes I previously heard were present but heightened.
The soundstage was deeper and wider than I had ever experienced.
The imaging was pretty incredible.
Each instrument could be easily localized and followed, without interference from another in the same proximity.
Really spooky!

But there was something else that REALLY set this cable apart from anything I had previously experienced.
The leading edge of each note (or sound) was wonderful, but it turns out the trailing edge and decay reproduction is incredibly super accurate. I mean SOTA!
IMO, this is the most important quality this cable possesses and sets it apart from all other speaker cables designs.
Distortions due to skin effect are vastly minimized.
Because of this, time smear/phase artifacts are virtually eliminated.
Fast piano and bass notes are truly distinct from each other.
Low level signals were readily discernable.
Echoes and decays of instruments was positively other worldly.

Because of these characteristics, I was able to turn the volume up to higher levels.
With my previous cables, the soundstage would collapse and the sound would harden up if I pushed them too hard.
Fideliums showed no such problems.

In the editors comments from the Sound Advocate review, it was mentioned how accurately this speaker reproduced the sound of a piano. I can vouch for that. In spades.
The depth and power of the bass notes are just plain ridiculous.
And the highest treble notes have a real body to them, not thin and tinkly.
I would like to add brass, drums and percussion to the list of “scary real”.
And again, that decay...

In closing, the sound you’ll experience from the Fidelium will be totally different than you’re accustomed to. It’s kind of unnerving until you live with it a while. Nothing stands out. Everything is in perfect balance. It’s KILLER!

If you click on the Silversmith website there are numerous testimonials from other satisfied customers.
As you can deduce, I’m 100% sold on this product.
I cannot recommend Silversmith Fidelium Speaker Cables highly enough.  

128x128eichlerera
Today at THE SHOW i had the pleasure of meeting Jeffrey Smith. After July 5th i should be receiving a pair of the Fidelium speaker cables to try in my system. 
The room was one of the best sounding  and also one of the most crowded. 
Funny, I must be in the minority on this one. I tried the Fidelium’s speaker cables and was not impressed. It had compressed dynamics, limited frequency extremes and a overall dullness to the sound. In addition, I had to raise the volume level.
I am using tube mono blocks so that may have been the difference. I dunno know.

ozzy
Ozzy,

I wonder if the sound would have improved if you had run the cables for longer.  My Fideliums sounded similar to what you described just described when they were new, but the sound did improve after many hours of break in.  
I noted some apparent attenuation in lower frequencies at first too, Ozzy, but for me this in fact proved to be simply cleaner sound and better balance. I turned up the volume slightly and got back the heft I wanted with all the micro details. Best of both worlds. I love these cables. Ran them straight to my FR drivers ( had to solder them): transformative. 
All cables sound different in different systems.....its amazing to me how many "best" cables there are
I dunno guys perhaps they may have improved with more hours on them.
But, the trial period was 7 days, so I had to make a decision.

I do think different systems with different impedance, inductance, resistance requirements accounts for most of the differences we hear.

stringreen, I guess that is why there are so many brands/types of cables.

ozzy
I too look forward to the IC's. Maybe, ready to sell and ship by RMAF?

Anyway, almost 8 months for me with the Silversmith Fidelium Speaker Cables. Now, my reference.

I'm enjoying two paths with them:

NO. 1 ~ Illuminati D-60 > Kimber KS1030 > Fidelium
NO. 2 ~ Snake River Audio Boomslang > Snake River Audio Cottonmouth Gold > Fidelium.

I run direct through my Decware Zen Mystery Amplifier and rotate these Looms every 6 to 8 weeks. Heaven & Heaven.

I'm in no hurry and the Fidelium IC's will have stiff competition.

The Illum. D-60 has been shelved with respect.

The SRA Boomslang, Kimber KS1030 to Fidelium are now my reference.
The live visceral, timbre, soundstage and imaging/delineation; are next level.

The SRA Cottonm. Gold is special too with its cryo'd copper/gold musicality. However, number one is as stated. The Cottonm. Golds are not going anywhere soon, though. So pleased in both Looms.



NO. 1 ~ Snake River Audio Boomslang> Kimber KS1030 > Fidelium
(The recipe/path of these three above together are covering it all).

NO. 2 ~ Snake River Audio Boomslang > Snake River Audio Cottonmouth Gold > Fidelium.
2:46pmFunny, I must be in the minority on this one. I tried the Fidelium’s speaker cables and was not impressed. It had compressed dynamics, limited frequency extremes and a overall dullness to the sound. In addition, I had to raise the volume level.
I am using tube mono blocks so that may have been the difference. I dunno know.

ozzy 


I installed my friends SS F with jumpers vs my Enklien David SC. It’s a $800.00 SC 🎪🤹🎶🎼🎵 and sounds like it. Couldn’t remove it fast enough. It’s a great starter Cable for the $$$.
Just received my 10ft Fidelium speaker cables. So here's my 20 cents (inflation).

To start with, I was wondering how much break-in was needed on these cables. So I did a search which led me to this forum. I don't post much due to thin skin. As I read through the posts I noted Ozzie's experience, a members ears that I trust over the years and wondered if it related to what I was hearing in this my initial listening experience.

I have a new room (new house) and few room treatments. The room is dramatically different sounding than my former room. Bass is very well controlled despite no bass traps. My speakers sound amazing (they had in homes before) while I have on order another set of speakers. Maybe I'll cancel that order.

What led me to the ribbon cables was having the opportunity to listen to the Verastarr's ribbon speaker cables, their top of the line for a few months. I have listened to many a cable over the decades and had settled on Synergistic Research Tesla's which bettered so many other cables I've lost count. It was only  the Zero Audio Disclosures that barely unseated the Tesla's (which I still own and will swap in). 

The 20 cents amateurish review is because I'm still getting settled in and my wife hasn't had a chance to listen in. She had big discerning ears. My 11 year old who has suffered through my obsession's likes the sound on the one song her listened to FWIW. 

Swapping in the Fidelium's the first thing that struck me was how similar they sounded to my Zero's. I had to sit and listen to discern any differences other than perhaps it seemed I needed more volume to match the Zero's. I was not initially impressed. With the Verastarr's, I was very much impressed, but they were run in so give it time De Salvo.

After a few songs I left the room to see what break-in time was needed and...  here I am.

Upon listening to my audiophile play list music was happening, dynamic, detailed, very well controlled bass if a little light and highs that were a touch strident. Usher diamond tweeter don't create stridency, they simply don't perform bad notes but not having room treatment perhaps created a bit of "bounce". Noted. Vocals were very well displayed and well focused although a bit 2D (room treatments lacking). Ozzy noted lack of dynamic range so I focused on the difference in cables concerning that and thought bass maybe a little light but did not note a roll-off or lack of extended highs but more listening would be needed. 

At about the 3 hour mark there appeared to be more cohesion. It was playing well when I decided to swap back in my Zero's. 

Interesting, the Zero's seemed to be tighter focused but lacked the wide soundstage. Bass seemed to dig lower but something wasn't right overall. Mind you I'm playing through my musical tastes, Radiohead, Jennifer Warnes, B-Tribe, Pearl Jam, Chris Jones, I'm all over the place trying to get a sense of what's going on between these 2 very fine speaker cables.

I wanted to add the Tesla's but I'm getting older and sadly (or not) just want to listen to music and not constantly analyze the crap out of everything. Oh, and I still will!

Back went the Fidelium. Immediately, I noted the soundstage had increased. Bass was there as well. Both cables have the ability to catch the bass guitar as a separate instrument. I want to follow the notes of the musician playing bass. If I can't, I'm not happy. Playing B-Tribes "La Grappa" forced an increase in volume. B-Tribe will test your systems bass and strangely, in my new room, bass was far more controlled than any room I've had in at least 20 years. Weird, no bass traps.

Looks like for my tastes, the Fidelium cables are an amazing value. I'm pretty sure the Verastarr's were better but at 5 times the price. That's the price of our hobby.





I'm very interested in Fidelium speaker cables. However, they look pretty fragile to me. Could any owners here share your thoughts on this? Is there any tips to protect the cables? 

Thank you. 
quanghuy147,

These cables are not fragile at all.
Since they are metal they will bend if pushed too hard, but under normal use will pose no problems.

And they sound GREAT!
I was using a hand duster (lightly sprayed with anti-static liquid)
to do a little "cleaning" around my electronics.

I lightly swept it along the length of the Fidelium speaker cables.
BIG improvement in the sound: greater detail and more relaxed presentation.

You know, these seem really interesting and I'd be intrigued if the OP wasn't so over the top with his "unbiased review".  After a google search, he's posted this same review on nearly every high end forum you can think of.  So what's the deal here, OP?  Paid shill?

Yeah, I'm making a fortune on this gig.

 I'm totally biased, compromised, a lying charlatan, a mountebank, a fraud.

Hopefully you won't try the cables so I can relish in the fact that you'll never enjoy them.

 

Some, when they find something really worthwhile, actually want to share the good news with other enthusiasts, rather than spewing accusations whenever someone says anything positive about anything.

I’m obliged to the OP for being so effervescent he spurred me to do some research, read reviews, etc.  I’ve been very happy with my fidelium silversmith cables.  Cheers. 

..I’ve owned the Fldeliums for a couple of months now having replaced another pr of Verbatim ribbons.  There has been a definite improvement in resolution and the bass may be a bit tighter.  Someone in an above post asked if the extremely thin ribbons are more resistive to which someone said the point was moot.  I’ve found that they do indeed alter the level slightly but in my case running 600w into 8 ohms it’s not an issue.  I tend to be quite skeptical (I’m a retired EE) about some of the rave reviews for audio products but in this case they are 100% deserved.  They have garnered a permanent spot in this listening room…happy listening everyone!

I bought the Fideliums some months ago and think they are great plus they look pretty cool. I initially used them with a lower powered SET amp and was pleased. My question is whether anyone has used cable risers with them and if there is any benefit there?

I use a combination of dental floss loops from amp and rack and Audioquest risers (near speaker terminals.  I have only a short distance to cover, so this works well for me at "taking up the slack."

Mine arrived yesterday. It's early but currently clapping my hands in glee, just like a schoolgirl in her new uniform! 

Old thread but I'd like to add a brief comment that in the last few months I've gone from good quality star quads which I'd been running for years to Nordost Superflatlines which were a big step in the right direction to the Fideliums. The Fideliums for me add a whole other level of clarity and natural instrument tone that is clearly missing in the other 2 cable implementations. Smearing seems to have been eliminated. It's one of those things that you really don't notice it's there until it isn't any longer. They certainly aren't inexpensive but I do consider them very good value and think everyone with a decent audio system should give them an in home trial if they're looking to seriously upgrade the SQ of their system. Perfect? No, but what they excel at is vastly more superior to what I had been using and strongly recommend a home trial. You can always send them back if it doesn't work out.  

I would like to retract my post a few years ago about my thinking on the Fidelium cables. I just bought a 10 footer and installed on my Audiovector speaker. No David  SC’s to compare but they are outstanding at what they do. A+ 

 

 

Glory,

We've had our run ins on the subject of Fidelium's quality.

But I appreciate when someone has the guts to admit he made an error in judgement. I know I still love my set. I hope you enjoy yours. 

If you have the ability to bi-wire, I HIGHLY recommend you do so!!!

I really loved those cables but unfortunately my kitten chewed them up. A bummer as they seemed very transparent.

Your kitten might need a session with a feline shrink to treat mild neuroses.

My cats have never shown any interest in the Fideliums.