Audioquest
Contents
Normal Audioquest cables
| Cable | Rocket 11, Rocket 88 and SLP 14/4 |
| Balance bass, mids and treble | Rocket 11: emphasis is on the low end. Lacks some sparkle.
Rocket 88: emphasis is on the mids. But mid-bass is also nice and balanced. SLP 14/4: Rich in sound. However, balance is a bit weird. |
| Vocals and instruments | Rocket 11: Warmer glow. Lots of body.
Rocket 88: Lots of texture audible. Very good intelligibility. SLP 14/4: Slightly metallic. Lots of detail and clear vocals. |
| Stereo image | Rocket 11: Wide and tightly delineated.
Rocket 88: Lots of depth. Placement is clear. However, the recording space you don’t feel,. SLP 14/4: Wide, but less stable. Sometimes spots don’t seem to match either. |
| Rhythm | Rocket 11: In order, but not super pointed.
Rocket 88: Lightfooted, good flow and pleasant rhythm. SLP 14/4: Fine. Nothing to say. |
| Overall | Rocket 11: Romantic sound. Great cable to tame a fresh sounding system.
Rocket 88: Pleasant cable that adds power to vocals. Drama is palpable. SLP 14/4: Fine, open sounding cable. Balance is a bit goofy though. Must be your thing. |
| Material and construction | Rocket 11: LGC conductor, semi solid core.
Rocket 88: Solid core, PSC SLP 14/4: LGC conductor, semi solid core. |
| Price | Rocket 11: 419 Euro, Rocket 88: 1479 Euro, SLP 14/4: 84 Euro |
Audioquest ZERO-Tech cables
| Cable | Robin Hood, William Tell and Firebird |
| Balance low, mid and high | Robin Hood: Very nice midrange. Soft overall sound. Pleasant. Bass could be a bit rounder.
William Tell: Very nice overall sound. Soft, but pleasant. Bass may be a little rounder. Firebird: Light and open sound. Emphasis on the melody. |
| Tone of vocals and instruments | Robin Hood: Lifelike. Very good layering. Lots of insight.
William Tell: Lightheartedness. Light sound. Nice richness in the piano. Firebird: Friendly and harmonious. Brass is beautiful. Piano attack a bit muted at times. |
| Stereo image | Robin Hood: Lots of depth and space. Ambiance lacks a bit.
William Tell: Bubble. Big and insightful. Ambiance lacks a bit. Firebird: ‘first balcony’ experience. You are there. Ambiance lacks bit, but very layered and in proportion. |
| Rhythm | Robin Hood: Fine rhythm, good pacing. Dynamically well in order.
William Tell: Feels fast. Long reverb. Firebird: Fine all in good order. Excellent balance. |
| Overall | Robin Hood: good for vocal work. Soft touch. Lighthearted. Ambiance could be better.
William Tell: fast, airy cable. Lots of depth and layering. Firebird: Open and light. Little coloration. Transients a bit soft. But a very good all-rounder. |
| Material and construction | Robin Hood: PSC , solid core (copper)
William Tell: PSC , solid core (copper) Firebird: PSS and PSC , solid core (copper and silver) |
| Price | Robin Hood: 2299 Euro, William Tell: 3899 Euro, Firebird Zero: 22,099 Euro |
Measurements Audioquest
LCR Measurements Audioquest
Propagation variation
Firebird Zero
William Tell Zero
Robin Hood Zero
Rocket 88
Rocket 11
SLP 14/4
Bodeplot response measurements Audioquest
Response on the spectrum analyzer
Measurements on a speaker
Noise measurements
Hi team,
This is quite an amazing project that you have done.
I am trying to use this information to help my selection decision making on some new cables. My conclusion is that the Audiomica ones which you tested seem to be the best value in terms of price vs your feedback about their sound. And from the qualitative feedback it seems like those cables would play well with most systems. Is this a correct conclusion to draw from the testing?
I understand that I would probably want to try the cables out on my system to make sure that they fit with the sound that I like.
I am relatively new to hi-fi so I apologise if this is a question that is a philosophically wrong way to think about things.
Hi Leon,
It is corrent that the Audiomica hits a sweetspot. They deliver very decent quality for a decent price. They are not cheap, but they are very good sounding. And yes: we estimate that they will work in most system.
It is always wise to first try a couple of cables and – if you found your match – buy them. We never advice to buy anything ‘blind’. Always try before you buy!
Thank you for the response and thank you again for putting together this review!
Welcome!
I wonder, if the impedance of the cables would not provide a more significant perspective instead of individual values of R, C and L ?
Well. We measured impedance. So check it out.
Here (impedance vs phase):
https://www.alpha-audio.net/review/megatest-speaker-cables-32-cables-listened-to-and-measured/attachment/audioquest-impedance-2/
is one cable data incomplete!
I see. Slp 14/4 phase. It was accidentally measured in rad. That’s why i left it out.
Hey Jaap, that is a really nice test with lots of information, thanks for that! Would it be possible to have it all into one table for a good overview, instead having to scroll through the individual pages? May be too much to ask 🙂
Keep up the awesome work!
Standard cable of 2.5mm2… I am using 16mm2 “standard wire”, 3m long. Very low resistance. That ticks one box. I guess I can theoretically calculate the inductance and capacitance. Wonder if these are of significant consequence at 20kHz. Maybe I can twist the cable to reduce the inductance if it has some impact.
Let me know how it turns out… ;-).
This is beyond – need to study it – not just read, to understand.
Thanks for including the “peasant” installation cable AudioQuest 14/4 – I use the more expensive version XTRM 14/4. My question is – how did you terminate the cable and in what configuration? I have it terminated with nakamichi bananas and connected in a star-quad configuration.
Martin
It is terminated with spades.
And, just like that, Alpha-Audio shoots to the top of the audio reviewer heap! The GOAT of tests and shoot-outs. Well done kind sirs, that was an impressive and Herculean effort!
Thanks,
Eric
Thank you Eric.