Brown Sugar

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Sonnet Pasithea, Laiv Audio Harmony; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Vinshine Audio x Kinki Studio Dazzle & Gold Note PA-10 Evo in mono on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Exact Express Flame, Furutech; Power delivery: 2 x Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps and source stack, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, AudioQuest FogLifters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos; Loudspeakers: Virtual Hifi Cobra [on loan]; Subwoofer: Zu Method; Cable loom: Exact Express Earth; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli Corundum & Castello Solo; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Furutech cable lifts, Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
2nd headfi system: DAC: Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, HifiMan Susvara
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win11/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC/preamp: Audalytic DR701; Headphone amp: Audalytic HP70; Speaker amps: Topping B200 monos; Loudspeakers: Virtual Hifi Viper; Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000, FiiO FT7
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2nd upstairs speaker system: Source: FiiO R7; Integrated amplifier: Simon Audio Lab i5; Loudspeakers: ModalAkustik Musikboxx with Dynaudio S18 subwoofer
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: €1'569/3m/pr as reviewed

Brown sugar. "Both brown and white sugar derive from the same sugarcane or sugar beets. White sugar has all molasses removed to become fully refined, dry and neutral. Brown sugar re-constitutes from 3.5-6% of molasses to white sugar for light versions; and up to 10% for dark to create denser moister baked goods." Food processing strips out nutrients for more consistent appearance only to subsequently add some back for richer taste. White rice and wheat flour denature similarly. Now health-food stores can sell us back isolated wheatgerm; or charge a premium for brown rice. Whatever happened to leaving things alone? With cables, we could ask the same. Once they become so-called zip cord to hit the bottom of the perception barrel, performance 'philes wonder. Just how many musical nutrients does this strip? After syndicating Marek Dyba's review of Melodika's Sky Blue, the firm asked me to follow up with their range-topping Brown Sugar speaker cable. It's a twisted-pair build to cancel mutual interference. Each leg contains 0.21mm², 0.33mm² and 0.13mm² gauge 6n oxygen-free copper Litz runs in foamed polyethylene dielectric. Cold-welded¹ solderless terminations apply 2 tons/cm² of pressure to form airtight connections of low impedance that won't change over time. Melodika's copper sources from Poland². All production remains proudly domestic. These aren't rebadged overseas goods. A 1.5-metre pair of Brown Sugar sells for €1'195. Melodika outgrew a distributor's observation that their market lacked reliable low-cost cable solutions to help their customers get the best from their electronics and speakers. It's a sector which stateside was once owned by Noel Lee's Monster Cable when litigious dinosaurs still roamed. What today is true for Polish listeners obviously applies worldwide even if they do own Frederic Chopin and Anna Marie Jopek. Melodika view their role as a bridge between local Electronics Empora flogging washing machines, toasters, coffeemakers, hoovers and no-name links; and hifi brands whose wiry wages of sin might start where Melodika's end. In short, "spend just a bit more than generic and bag something quite superior" is the implied promise. Today we look at Melodika's poshest polski pipes so pricewise, it all plummets from here. Marek's Blue Sky review covered the next tier down which equates to €249/3m/pr. Below that are four more tiers. A 3m/pr of terminated Gunmetal is €152 whilst unterminated Black & White can be had for literally lunch money.

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¹ The only other cables I reviewed which proudly specified properly cold-welded not merely hand-crimped terminations were those of South Korea's Allnic Audio.

² From Google AI, "Polish copper, primarily produced by KGHM Polska Miedź S.A., is recognized globally for its high quality. KGHM are one of the world's largest producers of copper and silver, with most their ore extracted from mines in Lubin, Polkowice-Sieroszowice and Rudna. This operation claims to control over 40'000'000 metric tons of copper-ore resources globally. In 2024 they produced 729'700 metric tons."

The spade-terminated cables fat as my flat thumb and unusually thick-skinned arrived coiled up with a single Velcro retainer inside a branded black drawstring bag. That coiling had imprinted a stubborn memory onto the sizeable translucent sheath which curled up again even without the Velcro. I'd have to really work on relaxing my recalcitrant Brown Sugar so corkscrew pasta would transform into spaghetti. The included certificate of authenticity was no help with that. What in the more faraway photos had looked like ordinary shrink wrap to conceal the splits and wrap the ends was on close sight a faux-leather far thicker material with cross-stitched seam. How did I relax this robust construction? By letting it hang off my upper landing's banister under its own weight. After a few hours, I flipped ends. That undid the twist to lay as straight as you please.

On bling-priced fare, cross-stitched leather appliqué might be expected. Borrowing from this look at Melodika's positioning was unexpected.

My hands-on inspection found the Brown Sugar to be heavy, super robust and very cleanly assembled. If one were into self flagellation and held this short enough, it would double as a very effective whip. I'm not trying to derail a cable review into kink, merely to suggest how substantial in the hand this felt. On raw conductive mass aka quantity of signal-carrying copper, Melodika lay it on thick. In his own review of the Blue Sky model, Marek was quick to stress that whilst sounding very respectable, his more exotic costlier reference cables were better. His audiophile cred remained unsullied. On pure lbs-per-£ poundage, I could tell right off that my own inventory had no better. Of course that didn't yet factor sonics. But it certainly was a sterling start. Time to lay rope in my main system. Here the heavyweight Pole displaced lightweight Exact Express Flame from China. That's a subsidiary/collaborative brand by Kinki Studio that looks like classic Crystal Cable but doesn't price like custom gold-infused silver.