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Then we received an interesting mail from Takeshi Hayashi. He too was experimenting between Special and SR cables. In one experiment he used the Special as the return and the SR as the hot leg. He reported that this setup was very interesting. Why not try this asymmetrical configuration ourselves?
For this we reverted to the Vaessen Aquarius and fed these speakers not only be means of the Devialet D-Premier but also the Hypex Ncore prototypes and Audio Note Meishu. In all combinations the doubled-up asymmetrical signal path outplayed any of the single options. The whole was more than the sum of the parts. Running both cables brought more ease to the sound and transients gained that shockwave effect which sets a very good system apart. The black/red combination even bettered the Nanotec #79 nano3 Limited.
A still
bigger surprise was the comparison to the ASI Liveline. The dual Nanotec had the same finesse, richness and speed we like so much in the French cables. A very strong feature of the Aquarius is its outstanding imaging. The speaker’s wide baffle sliced into a large egg shape is largely responsible for that. Many of Todd Garfinkel’s m.a. recordings contain vast natural acoustics as part of the musical landscape and there is information present that extends well behind the artists. With such airy soundscapes the ASI Liveline revealed just a bit more information but the more important tonality was equal. Don’t forget that the Japanese cables are marketed at a fraction of the other cable. A dual Nanotec loom sets you back around €20 (¥1.947) per meter via Amazon Japan. What Hayashi-san thought ‘interesting’ we call a revelation.
Nanotec Systems made a winning decision to not pursue the big-sticker path but first return to basics. With reduced materials—no rice paper, no cotton but the tried and proven colloidal nano solution intact (not for nothing is the firm called Nanotec)—they have joined the realsization movement. Here we now have a multi-purpose cable that's very easy to assemble at the precise lengths and configurations you need; includes replaceable screw-type terminations; and performs for literally pennies on the dollars of the big-ticket stuff. From Siltech to Crystal Cable and Mundorf/Zendo, the inclusion of molecular gold into the surface of silver conductor surfaces has long since become an established if not inexpensive metallurgical solution. Nanotec's colloidal process applies the same concept to copper but smartly circumvents the costly custom-extrusion process. The thinking customer with expenses beyond hifi wins. Bravo!
Condition of component received: Excellent. It was amazing just how fast a shipment from Japan arrived almost overnight. Website comments: Merely a PDF of a brochure for English readers. More information should be made available.. Pricing: ¥847 and ¥1.100 per meter is real bang for the buck Human interactions: Extremely courteous, friendly and quick to respond. Remark: Using both types of cable together rivals many other far more expensive cables.
