Silent Audio Apollo C interconnects vs Apollo A


Category: Cables

My views are based only on my own system. I have Magnepan 1.6 speakers (with mye stands) biwired with Apex signature speaker cables and driven by a luxman R-117 receiver using the CD bypass switch to bypass the pre-amp controls and deliver the CD signal directly to the amp section. I use and old 5 disc sony es cd player as a transport with a glass toslink out to an ultrajitterbug with a Cogan Hall EM digital cable out to a McCormack DAC-1 deluxe and Apollo rca interconnects to the luxman reciever. I use a Van den Hull hybrid PC for the receiver, Virtual dynamic nite 1 for the CD transport and K-works empowered cord for my DAC. A powervar 12 line conditioner is also utilized. The cables were burned in for a minimum of 50 hrs.
I have no financial interest or other relationships with Silent Audio other than being a very satisfied customer. You will not find a more honorable person to work with than Paul at Silent Audio.
I first tried a short length of Apollo A and they hissed through my tweeter and Paul took them back and sent me a set of the Apollo C and another set of longer Apollo A interconnects even though I had not paid for them. Both the new Apollo A and C interconnects were dead silent. Although they are unshielded they were both quieter than my shielded twisted pair RCAs which are very fine cables for their price. This makes the Silent Audio cables an absolute steal at their auction prices. The Apollo A cable is extremely fast with shimmering extended highs but on my solid state electronics they were slightly thin in the midrange. The bass was however fast and full. The soundstage was deep and the separation between instruments was easy to discern because there was dead silence between them. On the other hand, the Apollo C interconnects had near perfect synergy with my system. While the top end might not have been as extended the midrange was warmer and richer and to my ears everything sounded balanced and natural. This shows that system matching is very important as my magnepan speakers are known for a strong upper end and even come with treble attenuation adaptors from the factory. Again, as with the Apollo A, the C interconnects had a deep soundstage and superb placement of instruments due to the absolute silence between performers. I heard new details on CDs I've played for years. The best analogy I have for the difference between the copper Apollo C vs the silver Apollo A interconnects would be the difference between a Cogan Hall EM vs Reference digital cable. The EM has a slightly fuller richer presentation especially in the midrange which matches well with solid state electronics and the Reference is faster and perhaps more extended on top but slightly thinner in the midrange. I expect that the Apollo A interconnects would be the perfect match for tube amplification or with solid state electronics which don't drive speakers with a bright treble. The Apollo C interconnects are just incredibly good with my solid state system and I suspect would be wonderfully synergistic with Krell solid state electronics as well. The only other cables I've heard that are in this class were custom made unshielded cables that cost 15 times more than the Apollo C interconnects. Silent Audio is a relatively undiscovered gem in hi end audio. Their simple design outperforms most of the other complex high end designs at a fraction of their cost. Try them as they are truly fantastic and an absolute bargain!
55dok