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Wire wrangling: Not entirely as a compliment, Entreq's RCA and banana connectors had wood shack written all over them. The bananas were irregular in length from one to the next and fit very loosely, far from ideal with electrical connections. I inserted a flat-tip screw driver and pried open diameters to fit more snugly. Because a medical emergency had rushed him, Per-Olof warned that the wooden bodies probably hadn't properly set. They indeed had not and slipped off like eels. Particularly the RCAs were thus cumbersome to mount with one hand pulling back on the wood so it wouldn't come off, the other gripping the cable and pushing it into the sleeve to hopefully seat the metal bits. Regardless of the wooden covers, the center pins of the custom RCAs were secured in shorter dielectric centers than usual*. This had the pins freer for some wobble - not the last few words in mechanical integrity. All RCAs did make contact however.

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* "Regarding the RCA connections, you are right about the mechanical aspect and and we have a solution. The first 07 connector we built looked no good but sounded far better than others I heard. When I began work on the Supreme cables, I learned how bad even Teflon is as a dielectric. We had a lot of Teflon in the 07 connectors so I tried to reduce that without altering the construction very much. That was mandatory so we could offer the customers who owned a pair of 07 cables an easy upgrade to 09 for the difference. We already give a lifetime warranty. I really want to remove all Teflon from the contact and replace it with wood (the final section around the center pin, plus using less copper for the return and making a tighter fit) but that means a very significant financial outlay at one time since I'm forced to buy material for at least 2000 connectors. Remember that our products should be made by us or at the very least in Sweden. This instance requires a CNC router. The 09 connectors have been to market for nearly a year and the final step will come soon. We are doing more and more export where implementing upgrades becomes more complicated. The forthcoming 10 connector will be a more stable construction with far better sound. For the bananas I'm afraid we can't change anything in their construction without adversely impacting the sound but we could open up the diameter a little more so they sit harder." 
 

Wired up: The speaker cables are directional by way of construction. With separate cotton-encased legs, the hot is identified by silver bananas and just one external drain to be placed on the receive end. The cold leg sports copper bananas and a drain also on the send end from whence it is to connect via thin external copper lead to a good earth ground. I used the ground post of a Walker Audio Velocitor S passive power distribution box. At the speakers, the drain wires connect to form a loop.

The interconnects adopt the same external earth drain system. Pre-stripped drain wires likely too short are included. They are terminated on the send ends with miniature bananas which attach by set screws to migrate readily to longer strips if necessary. Perhaps more practical from a user perspective would be a simple roll of wire, mini connectors separate. Then each customer could cut the drain leads to suit and not end up with shorties that won't reach.

The more complex your system, the more drains you'll have to accommodate. Naturally, continuity is entirely unaffected if you don't drain. You still pass signal. It's simply an attempt to lower system noise by sidelining creep currents that arise from different ground potentials between components. Tara Labs and other cable makers use external ground stations for the same purpose.

Entreq's white cotton cables look fresh and attractive while newly clean. With especially speaker cables and power cords running along the floor and often behind furniture, they'll attract dust to want a bit of house-keeping to keep looking good. Unlike with pillow cases, the washing machine is out of course.


The bends and sticks: Unlike the LiveLines' springiness—their one aspect I could live without—the Entreqs are nubile and drape easily. In Bocchino fashion, the RCA barrels stick out farther than normal. They want more wall clearance behind the gear. The same goes for the wood-body bananas. Spades of course attach sideways or downwards to remain out of the way. The Furutech power plugs are dimensioned standard but particularly their IECs are masters of snug. They require force to seat but in trade won't come loose for lack of grip. The connector gods smiled approvingly and told the director it was time. Action!