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"Cantata BWV 56: Aria" from Wachet Auf! J.S. Bach: The Bach Choir of Bethlehem & The Bach Festival Orchestra [Dorian Recordings DOR-90127] is a recording of church music which captures the intricate interplay between vocals and baroque instrument in the setting of the First Presbyterian Church of Bethlehem PA. Here we have a live acoustic with precise soundstage and placement that puts the performers squarely in their environment and gives instruments realistic proportion and tonal weight.


"Tu Es Foutu The Remixes (Miami Grazin' Dub)" from the bonus CD of In-Grid-Rendevous [ZYX Music ZYX 20646-2]  is a rather nice set of extra extended dance versions of this Euro pop music from rough synth overlay to Latin beat mix. Reasonable dynamic contrasts with a bit of artificial density added. Fun and bouncy material that lets you forget the serious for a moment and enjoy the guilty pleasure of tapping your toes to the beat.


Now it was music on, ears tweaked and pencil ready for the listening notes.


Basic character traits. IC-3 Interconnects. The tonal balance slightly emphasized the midrange through upper midrange creating a mildly leaner lower midrange and upper bass. Deep bass was very much in evidence, quick and powerful. The combined effect illuminated the vocal range and proffered a little extra articulation. High frequencies were quite extended adding a bit of life  Resolution was good, with the tonal balance creating the illusion of a somewhat higher level of detail than was actually there. The cable favored transparency over dimensionality to a small degree in the lower regions, with acoustical bass instruments trading some weight for a better sense of detail and attack. Dynamics followed the tonal character with very wide contrasts overall, strongest in the mid through upper mids as well as in the deep bass.


Image and soundstage were best defined in the mid and upper midrange. The image plane began slightly behind the speakers with good projection in those frequencies. The mild recess in the upper bass emphasized depth pushing the soundstage boundaries well back and bringing midrange material to the fore in a mildly exaggerated manner. The conceit was minor and honored the music. Overall the IC-3 showed a good balance between instrument dimensionality and venue information, illuminating hall acoustic and defining boundaries.


SC-5 speaker cable. Fully broken in, the tonal balance was predominantly neutral and had good extension in the upper frequencies plus unusually deep bass with good power. The lower mid and upper bass were very slightly warmer than their companion interconnects but still fell into the transparency camp. Detail was overall quite good, with best resolution from the midrange on up. The cable lost a bit of fine detail and power in the mid bass regions where it traded some absolute control for warmth but the extreme low region was quick and forceful, exhibiting weight and punch.


The SC-5 cables’ reproduction of the soundstage was broad and deep with good height where the material allowed. The cable allowed palpable images with clean and unambiguous positioning on the stage, reproducing sufficient relevant air to unravel a good deal of acoustic information and hall cues.

Power 1 Cable. The Classic power cable had a distinct personality. The obvious attributes were enhanced response in the bottom end through lower midrange. On a relativistic basis it nulled out the dip in the interconnect when paired as a system, creating a considerably warmer tonal balance with an involving and lush midrange. Detail was fair to good, losing some definition especially in its area of frequency prominence. It had good dynamics overall with massive weight but slightly blurred dynamic gradation. The pair of attributes combined to create a sonic portrait that was forgiving of source material. Enjoyable, big and brawny but not razor-sharp critical. The soundstage had a little bit of a forward push especially with instruments in the mid bass region which gained musical mass in the score and physical size on the stage. Soundstage dimensions were moderately large but object specificity and venue information were a little diffuse.


The Classic Trio. The overall balance of the combined threesome was midrange centric with a smooth liquid quality to the presentation which had solidity and dimension. There was ample upper bass warmth and lower bass power to balance the transparency although there was some compromise of ultimate definition and dynamic differentiation. And yet…

…whilst this description of the Classic cable loom is accurate, it does not adequately reflect the potential of the individual cables. The abilities of the interconnects and speaker cables were heavily influenced by the power cable. As Mr. Fritz pointed out in the interview, even though the SE and Classic use the same core, the connector variations can dramatically alter the fundamental characteristics of the system, resetting the performance bar for components and cables. While the Classic power provided highly enjoyable results, the hot-rodded SE power cable lifted the IC-3 and SC-5 Classics into an entirely different league. Detail, dynamic articulation, soundstage dimension, focus and transparency were all significantly enhanced. So with that in mind, on with the comparisons.

First up, Classic Power 1 vs. Special Edition. The Power 1 Classic hammers home improvements in sheer weight and power over a generic stock cord. Against the SE it is bigger and warmer in the range descending the lower mids through bass in old-school tube fashion and therefore is somewhat forgiving. The SE has flatter response and adds articulation and control with a vengeance. It's "faster on its feet", tracking changes in dynamic scale and opening up vistas of resolution and transparency on a superior level. At more than double the price, the performance ratio follows suit.