@lalitk looking forward to your impressions
Sternklang Cables
No, not another cable promo! This is probably one of the first thoughts that bubbles up in you when you see the above intro. Part of our fabulous hobby is discovering new products and sharing your experiences with the audiophile community. Fortunately, my dealer Colin @gestalt shares my passion and enthusiasm for new products. So when he mentioned, he is exploring another cable brand from Japan; I said bring it on!
Sternklang cable theory originates from following idea,
“It seems to me that a wire of audio cable is not a solid body but a living organism in which numerous cells breathe. Each cell has it’s own vibration damping function and they all cooperate with each other”
Currently, the Sternklang has two tiers or series offerings, Ephemera and Sarume. I chose to audition the Ephemera XLR due its unique construction, which uses a rolled copper in a coated nylon ‘Organdy’ jacket. Due to delicate nature of the jacket, certain handling precautions must be observed. I would keep them away from Vacuum Cleaners and your Cat :-)
Unlike most cables, the Ephemera series is a extremely low mass design. Koji Teramura, founder of Sternklang cables is a minimalist and the design of cables clearly reflects his philosophy.
So how do they sound? In one word, Fabulous! The Ephemera XLR imparts a lively, textured, organic presentation. To my ears, they are aptly designed to convey all the nuances in a recording. I am very comfortable in saying that Ephemera XLR’s don’t have any sound per se or coloration.
The Ephemera (flat ribbon) cables are available in Speaker, RCA, SPDIF and XLR configurations.
I auditioned the Ephemera XLR between my Marantz SA-11S2 SACD player and Accuphase E-650 Integrated. The rest of the system is wired with HIJIRI cable loom.
And No, Sternklang cables are not replacing my HIJIRI loom. IMHO, Ephemera is a very fine cable under $1.5K price range that deserves an audition in your system. For retail prices, please call Colin @ Gestalt Audio Design.
http://www.konus-audio.com/ephemera-interconnect-cable.html
http://www.konus-audio.com/ephemera-speaker-cable.html
78 responses Add your response
I agree lalitk. I asked Colin awhile back on what is the gauge size of the Nagomi power cables and he said the same thing about them not releasing certain information. I guess it’s the sum of all parts that make these cables great and work like they do. Colin said the demo pair does have bananas on the amp end, which as I type this just wondered if they are all directional? The rca interconnects I got did not come with any direction arrows pointing anywhere. Maybe it’s in regards to which ever way you start with try to keep the signal going that direction? Anyways, I’m looking forward to trying the Sternklang speaker cables and will report back next week. |
“if Sternklang uses occ copper or not?” Thanks for the update. For reasons unknown to me, the Japanese artisans are not very revealing of metallurgy and construction of their cables. Honestly, I don’t care cause how they sound to my ears and gel within the system is what matters the most. |
Speaker cables are all that I have left to possibly upgrade. The Hijiri Power Cords and RCA cables are excellent. When I mated them to a Sternklang SPDIF I got that little bit of extra punch I was looking for. I too will demo the Sternklang speaker cables down the road. Right now I am in amp-switching mode and tube rolling on my Lampi Horizon DAC. I have to get those figured out before I try the Sternklnag Speaker Cables. I also have to decide on a fuse for my DAC or the QSA plug. This hobby never ends. |
“if I get a good fusion like you with the Hijiri’s” I am hoping as well, there is a definite synergy between the two brands. I can only encourage you to try Strenklang speaker cables and see if you hear any appreciable difference over your existing cables. |
Nice lalitk. I’m hoping to audition these speaker cables soon. I bought a pair of the rca interconnects and really like them and like you have several Hijiri power cables in the system with one on each of my amp, preamp, and dac to great effect. My current speaker cables are a cheap pair of Chinese occ copper cables that are better than a $600 pair they replaced so I’m intrigued by the Sternklang to see if I get a good fusion like you with the Hijiri’s. |
Update: I am continued to be impressed by the extremely low mass of the Sternklang cables. I may be more smitten by these cables due to their simple yet very effective approach to rendering music effortlessly and naturally. And the best part, they are so complimentary to my reference 聖HIJIRI cables and rest of the system. How often that happens…LOL! |
“I will audition the "Million" tier.” Go for it! |
I can see why you loved Sternklang SPDIF over 聖Hijiri with Horizon DAC. My system is all SS so I found the right ‘balance’ with 聖Hijiri cables. Having said that, Sternklang proving to be quite complimentary…whenever you’re ready, I recommend that you give the speaker cable a shot in your exquisite system. |
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I wouldn’t quite call it a comparison just yet, what I posted above are just my listening impressions. As I mentioned in my OP, Sternklang cables has a very different presentation. They will not be replacing my reference, 聖Hijiri “Million” cable loom. I am still accessing if I can listen to Sternklang livelier, slightly forward presentation long term. I am now spoiled by 聖HIJIRI‘s sophisticated and gorgeous sound..LOL! How’s your SPDIF audition coming along between Sternklang and 聖HIJIRI? |
I have been listening to Ephemera SpeakerCable….lively, ultra detailed without any trace of harshness. Very natural, airy and relaxed sound. This cable holds nothing back..WOW! Thank you Colin @gestalt for bringing another fine brand of cables to 🇺🇸 |
The specs for the loudspeaker cable says: Wire material: rolled copper Section size : 7×0.035 mm Cross-section area : 0.245 sq. mm (same as 0.56 mm round wire) If this is correct, you get a very "interesting" interface between a poweramp and normal efficiency speakers. High power loss, high inductance, and low damping factor are not ideal parameters in my opinion. If I remember correctly maximum current for power transmission in a 24AWG wire is 0.6A I am quite sure that this cable will sound rather different than anything else... provided that the data in the specs. are correct. ;) |
OMG, I just got the Sternklang. As much as I liked all of the other SPDIF cables, the Sternklang SPDIF took it to another level. I asked my wife to sit in on the listening session. She could tell the difference in a minute. I switched back and forth from the Hijiri to the Sternklang. I said that I could listen to Hijiri for hours on end and never get tired. However, It was like I had the perfect seating position in the most acoustically perfect concert setting. The music was alive. The thumping of the bass drum, ping of the piano, and vocals were so clear like they were right in front of you. For the first time, I heard a 3-D / holographic sound that I never really heard before. These cables are live and dynamic. Dammit, now I wonder what the RCA cables sound like!!!!!! |
@gestalt Thanks Colin |
@facten the Neodio cable is a variant of the I3 interconnect, specialized for S/PDIF use. Stéphane's perspective is the changes in I50 aren't meaningful for S/PDIF purposes. |
Thank you for sharing your impressions. I am not at all surprised by HIJIRI’s cables uncanny abilities to render the best possible version of your system. They are not cheap but once you hear them, there is no going back. As I said previously, they ended my quest for best possible cables money can buy in the context of my system. Heck, they not only elevate the performance of connected components but also enhances the performance of ‘budget’ cables like Sternklang cables. |
@willgolf I also don't want to derail this thread, but have a quick question , which Neodio cable are your comments referring to, the I13 or I50? I purchased their Origine S2 CD player from Colin back in August, best front end digital I've had. |
I don't want to derail the Sternklang thread but I promised an update on my Power Cord and Cable demo tour. I do have a Sternklang SPDIF cable coming on Monday. Let me start with a quick review of my equipment as a baseline: Canary Audio Grand Reference 300B mono amps ( 16 WE 300B tubes) Lampizator Pacific DAC Lucas Audio Music Server Viking Acoustic Grande Voix Dual Horn Speakers Inakustic 3500P Ower Conditioner. I have two MIT Matrix 2 Power cables for my 300B amps and the rest were Helix Dueland DIY PC's The music that I chose to listen for all of my comparisons was: Al DiMeola / Jean Luc Ponyu / Stanley Clark - Live At Montreaux Foy Vance - Live in London Birdy - Live in London Freya Ridings - Lie at St Pancras Old Church Calres Benavent - Quartet I was comparing distinct female and male voicing along with some great individual musical instrumentation. My first venture was comparing 3 very good RCA cables: Tchernov, Hijiri, and Inakustic 2404 Air. The Inakustic was my go-to for the last 3 years. Tchernov was good but it was from Russia and sadly I said screw, Putin. The Hijiri won out. The level of musicality increased bass presence and smoother detail won out. I immediately sold the Inakustic and had 8 offers in 10 hours. Obviously, it is a really good cable. I really like my Helix Dueland power cords. (thx aniwolfe) but I decided after reading about Infigo, Hijiri, and others I would give Hijiri a try. I first used the Nagomi on my Music Server. I really did not hear a significant difference so I was a little disappointed. However, it was a testament also to the Helix Dueland Cords. I talked to Colin at Gestalt and he suggested I try the Takumi for my Power condition and DAC. I was reluctant because I did not want to pay $5k for each cord. Both cords were brand new so they needed a break-in period. At first, I was not impressed with the Takumi's. I put about 50-70 hours listening to them and I was still not happy. I guess my expectations were really high. Then I decided to put back the Helix Dueland Cords. After about 5 songs I immediately heard the difference. The Takumi provided me with another level of detail that I was missing with the H-D cords. Accordingly, I purchased the Takumi's. These are endgame for me and I am not going to invest in any other Power Cords or RCA cables. Finally, I am comparing these SPDIF cables: Albedo, Hijiri, Neodio Origine, and Sternklang. I forgot to mention that I did have an FTA Callisto USB cable which is very good, but when I put it up against the Albedo spdif it just could not compete for the overall sound. I am looking for crystal clear vocals, maximum detail, speed, lush sound not bright, and separation of musical instruments. The Albedo - Great vocals and detail, the vocals are right in front of you and maybe a little bold. The Origine - fast live sound, more attack with each instrument, bass response was deep,, and vocals were clean and crisp. Hijiri - everything above but more musical, lush, and a little more relaxed with great speed. I could listen to this cable for hours without getting tired of it. I still have the Sternklang to demo but right now the Hijiri has a very slight lead. To be honest, I think I could be happy with any of the 3 SPDIF cables I tested. It was just that close. There may be something to be said for having cable and cord synergy. I will provide my comments on Sternklang asap. I do not always use all of the audio buzzwords because I don't know what they mean. I just try to listen to music to see what music sounds the best to me. Many thanks to Colin King, who is a fair, knowledgeable, and great dealer to work with. Also to Tom W who has guided me through this process. BTW, if anyone wants to hear my system prior to these changes go to Youtube videos under Viking Acoustic Grande Voix speakers. There are two videos. Thanks for allowing me to share my experience and thoughts. One final comment - I am functionally blind so if there are grammatical mistakes, I am a lousy typist and can't see what I type.
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@lak. I have been a recipient of many cables and cords over the last two months. I owe this thread a deep dive into my journey of cables and cords. However, I am waiting for the Sternklang which I should receive in the next few days. At the same time, I have heard all about the Infogo and WyWire cables and they sound great so it will be interesting if anyone will be able to compare the Infogo to others. I have made my RCA and Power cord decision in the last day. I am waiting on a SPDIF decision. Soon!!!! |
I would very much like for the audiophiles that have demoed Colins' various high end RCA/XLR interconnects to demo the Infigo Signature interconnects being provided by calvinj (Calvin Johnson) and tell us how they compare. I'm going to pass on future demos but I would love to hear what your thoughts are. |
