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Reviewer:
Paul Candy
Financial Interests: click here
Digital Source: CEC TL51X transport, Audiomat Tempo 2.6 DAC
Analog Source: Well Tempered Amadeus [in for review], Pro-Ject RPM 5 turntable, Pro-Ject Speed Box, Pro-Ject Tube Box SE phono stage, Ortofon Rondo Blue cartridge.
Amps: Audiomat Opéra Référence integrated.
Speakers: Green Mountain Audio Callisto (on sand filled Skylan stands), (2) REL Q108 Mk II subwoofers.
Cables: MIT Shotgun S1 interconnects and speaker cables Amadeus [in for review], MIT Shotgun Digital cable Amadeus [in for review], Teo Audio Liquid Cables Amadeus [in for review], Wireworld Equinox 6 interconnects and speaker cables        
AC Cables: Wireworld Aurora 5² & Silver Electra 5²
Stands: Grand Prix Audio Monaco four-tier rack
Powerline conditioning: BPT Pure Power Center with Wattgate, Bybee Quantum Purifier and ERS cloth options, GutWire MaxCon (analog only), Blue Circle BC86MkV Power Line Pillow
Sundry accessories: Acoustic Revive RR-77, Auric Illuminator, Audio Magic/Quantum Physics Noise Disruptors, Caig Pro Gold, Echo Busters acoustic room treatments, Grand Prix Audio APEX footers with silicon nitride bearings, Isoclean fuses, dedicated AC line with Wattgate 381 outlet
Room size: 11 x 18 x 8’, long wall setup, suspended hardwood floors with large area rug, walls are standard drywall over Fiberglas insulation
Review Component Retail:
SC $6.499; IC $2.999; Digital $1.199; AC1 $1.199


I’ll skip right to the chase to state that MIT’s Magnum M1.3 cables are the most musically truthful and expressive cabling system I have ever tried. They do all the wonderful things as the previously reviewed Shotgun S1 cables but take it up another level. And then some. What really flipped my wig is that both sets of cables are essentially identical. The wire, materials used, connectors, geometry… it’s all the same. The only outward differences are the detachable tails on the Magnum speaker cables. The real difference lies within those mysterious network boxes. Frankly, I was shocked to note such a dramatic improvement in performance. I’m not talking subtle improvements where you must lean forward with furrowed brow in deep concentration. It’s plainly obvious to anyone.


Let’s back up a minute and take a closer look at the Magnum M1.3 cables. MIT’s cables are immediately distinguishable by the sizeable boxes—or interfaces as MIT calls them—which are incorporated in most their wires. According to MIT, "an audio cable is a piece of wire used to make a random connection between audio components. An interface is an engineered component purposefully designed to efficiently transport energy with a predetermined bandwidth from one component to another."


These boxes house networks designed to address transportable power. MIT contends that all cables regardless of materials and geometry are inherently inefficient at transporting power. This inability to transport power or articulate equally across the spectrum is why some cables sound bright, dull, warm etc. The audible difference between various cables is a result of how inefficient or efficient a cable is at a particular frequency. MIT calls these designs single pole cables. MIT cables with their patented multipole technology networks optimize this transportable power at predetermined points—what MIT calls articulation poles—throughout the audio spectrum. The greater the number of articulation poles, the more extensive the network and the more efficient is the cable at transporting power over an increasingly wider bandwidth for better performance. And of course the higher the retail price gets. The number of poles indicates the performance level of each MIT cable. The M1.3 interconnect has 18 poles while the M1.3 speaker cable has 50. The previously reviewed Shotgun S1 cables have 10 and 17 respectively. All this circuitry runs parallel to the signal. There are no series components in the signal path.


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