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Our listening tests started with the red GS #79 nano3 Limited. The first hour the cables drove the Musical Affairs Grand Crescendo speaker. During this initial period the sound was not the most pleasant. The Dutch speakers with French PHY-HP widebanders suffered boomy bass and hardly any treble at all. This remarkably improved after just one hour. What started as an uncontrolled emission of low frequencies now became controlled fairly tight bass. The top register was present too and despite minor bright breakups clearly ‘arriving’. After another hour of continuous play the sound was even from bottom to top. Bass remained controlled but previous breakups had vanished. Because the Limited is an upgrade to the cable we already had, we connected that older version now to establish a baseline.
While reviewing the older cable we noticed a slight affection for sounds from the wood section and more precisely the upper midrange. With this the highest frequencies were rounded off slightly for a warmish effect. The Grand Crescendo cabinet is built like an acoustic instrument from very thin spruce. As a result not only the cone of the PHY-HP excites the room air, the whole cabinet does. In addition the Grand Crescendo sports an open back and bottom. With this enclosure choice, the Crescendo does not immediately scream Rock ‘n’ Roll. The combination with the warmish Nanotec cable seems ideal. Renaud Garcia Fons’ bass arrived right in the room though his ultra-high con arco flageolets were a little restrained.
Most piano recordings did very well however. Bass was finely dosed and the middle register was proportionate with Liszt's Annees de Pelerinage played by Yoram Ish-Hurwitz. With this baseline we now swapped in the Limited. With only two hours on the clock for it, the difference was not subtle. Playing the same pieces again they now all had more body. This new cable has improved upper frequency extension which— no matter how controversial this may read—also benefits the bass. This is as deep as with the older cable but tauter. With less treble roll-off, imaging is deeper. M.A. Recordings’ high-res Puente Celeste recording Nama with its 24-bit/176.4kHz data density once again proved that more bits equal higher speed. Rise times are shorter and transients faster to cater to a more ‘live’ illusion.
Connecting the Nanotec cables between Devialet D-Premier and Arcadian Audio Pnoe horns led to equal findings. For the Pnoe the older GS#79 nano3 cable was not ideal. Due to its softer character the Pnoe lost too much distinction and became unduly flat. Commissioning the Limited version returned gusto to the big horns. With the Pnoe we now played some more powerful stuff like our old-time party motor of J. Geils Band with Full House which came through loud and clear via vinyl. High-resolution recording like Opening by the Mathias Landæus trio on M.A. again sounded full, fast and organic.
This Nanotec GS#79 nano3 Limited cable costs around €70/m off the reel. Compared to other cables in our inventory which aren’t very expensive the Limited is a very good option. It is unshielded which must be remembered while routing the wires. Spending four or more times on an ASI Liveline does produce more finesse, richness and speed but you need the remainder of the system to be up to snuff to warrant that. In the moderate budget arena, the Nanotec Limited is a true contender with more performance than the price would suggest. Its gold/silver nano colloid is a very clever way to enhance copper’s base performance and the new addresses to control the assembly’s mechanical behaviour has strongly enhanced the cable's performance.
For an assessment of the SP #79 MK-4 biwire we go downstairs in part two of this review...
