The capacitance for a 3-metre pair is given as ~150picofarad. That's a rather low 25pf/m compared to high-end rivals with >300 pico farad. Capacitance is of concern not so much in possible high-frequency rolloff but in how it can affect amplifier feedback to cause the leading edge of transients to overshoot, making the sound brighter than it should be. Low capacitance interacts with a speaker's impedance behaviour and amplifier stability. The Lumina speaker cables contributed plenty of energy and resolution especially in the complex lower midrange to have me assume that they also benefit from very low internal resistance. They needed a lot of time to completely stabilize in my system, hence I noticed substantial improvements after two weeks. From a sonic perspective, they seemed to share the same DNA as the power cords. They added a lot of density, silence and energy. Unlike the JPS Aluminata, this impressive density in the lower midrange didn't disturb the treble or bass. It didn’t create any outright emphasis on the low mids as does the JPS flagship. This particular band was uncommonly detailed without skewing the overall balance. The Lumina tended to produce an ultra-resolved sound without any tonal imbalance. It's in fact common and a lot easier to produce the impression of great detail by focusing on a specific bandwidth. Here that was definitely not the case. Compared to my High Fidelity CT1-E speaker cables, the French delivered significantly more energy, less resistance and more extension in the bass and a richer midrange leading to increased naturalness. Excluding the bottom-end issue, the High Fidelity speaker wires produce a very liquid and holographic soundstage with very elegant tones. Nonetheless, the Esprit were richer, more real and showed increased depth and width. I might describe this confrontation like a comparison between a tube amplifier (High Fidelity CT1-E) and big class A solid-state amp (Esprit Lumina). In my opinion, the latter will often sound more realistic and will always be more versatile with regard to musical genre and loudspeaker options; which is exactly what the Esprit Lumina speaker wires provided as well.

Just so, one must avoid physical contact with other cabling outside the Lumina electrical network to not discharge their electrical shielding which could have a significant impact on the overall result. Contrary to other rivals in this price range, the Esprit remain flexible and don't require particular effort to plug in or route as can be the case for certain tree trunks like JPS or Elrod cables. They tend to increase the soundstage size, perhaps due to their ability to handle and control the lower octaves. With the Red Dragon bridged amps, they brought further density and weight to the bass. Meanwhile they seemed to increase the overall control of the speakers when associated with my two Luxman M800a, delivering an outstandingly wide stereo image. Listening to Bruckner's Fifth Symphony played by the Hamburg Philharmonic under Simone Young, the energy during the "Scherzo" was simply impressive. The Lumina had this sense of authority that becomes a perfect compromise between weight and speed. Let's call that control. It's not always easy to find such a mature and complete compromise between this natural agility or delicacy on the one hand; and the rough power on the other which can be required during the most demanding passages of a large symphonic orchestra. Ottorino Respighi's Belkis Queen of Sheba played by the Radio Filharmonisch Orkest Holland conducted by Vladimir Ashkenazy [Octavia Records/Exton] became another example  of the Lumina loom’s density in the lower mids and bass. The Vivid Giya G1 could play loud with incredible bass detail and clarity. Listening to the very demanding third movement "War Dance", orgasmic goose bumps across my back had outstanding energy which I frankly couldn’t generate with whatever speaker wires I previously tried. This energy was at the same time visceral and ultra defined. That in my opinion was the most striking feature of the French speaker cables.

Interconnects. Because I run my system in fully balanced mode, I only focused on XLR cables. These are heavy but flexible enough to avoid any connection issue in most setups. They do however require a minimum distance between the rear panels of your electronics and the back of your audio furniture, about 14-15cm. That’s because the XLR connector's length is extended by a carbon-fibre cylinder that helps reduce the mechanical pressure at the end of the connector itself. These interconnects are made of silver-plated pure copper. The conductors for the balanced versions are bigger than those for the RCA. Battery shielding and glass-fibre insulation appear on both kinds. Connector pins again are pure copper and silver plated.

By now I was not really surprised to hear more or less the same benefits as from the speaker wires. Did this addition of the same sonic DNA lead to a sonic overdose?  Not exactly. Unlike the JPS Superconductor III which tends to overplay its sonic fingerprint when you team up the interconnects with the related speaker wires, the French teamwork didn't create a Lumina imbalance  In all circumstances, the Lumina loom remained elegant and with stunning clarity across the bandwidth. They in fact reinforced the positive aspects of the speaker cable like midrange richness, dynamics and silent dark backgrounds. Compared to my own interconnects, they revealed more density, tonal saturation and detail in the lower midrange as well as an amazing tightness in the low end. My Grimm TPM reference were obviously less expensive and the sole but real advantage over the big Esprit interconnects was a sensation of higher treble resolution and air (or perhaps a different tonal balance). That said, the Grimm TPM are marketed as the least microphonic cables made. In all other aspects, the Lumina outperformed the Grimm TPM interconnects, my Naturelle Audio Live 8 MKII pair and my Japanese DIY XLR cables. This is what I noticed when using both pairs of Esprit Lumina balanced interconnects, between my Lumin S1 network player and my Coincident Technology line preamplifier; and/or between the preamplifier and my two Luxman M800a power amps. Switching from the Lumin S1 to my Esoteric K-03 SACD player, the Esprit Lumina benefits were even more obvious. The slight tendency to emphasize the treble of my Japanese digital front end was completely balanced out by my cable loaners’ generosity in the midrange and bass. I am thus convinced that the Esprit Lumina are perfect contenders when associated with ultra-sophisticated digital sources such as dCS, Esoteric or even MSB, all of which tend to be very sensitive to interconnect quality. In such exotic cases, the Lumina (and maybe even Gaya flagship) are very commendable options.