Spotfire Speaker Cable Review

[Bigman80]

Why don't you just draw up an itemized list of cable types, lengths and terminations so that everyone has an idea of what this will cost them?

Like this one?

https://theartofsound.net/forum/show...ts-to-buy-them!

[Cyrus]

I can't see that list - not downloading Tapatalk ever again.

[Bigman80]

I can't see that list - not downloading Tapatalk ever again.

Oh, apologies, I have now replaced the link.

[Cyrus]

Seen thanks.

[STD305M]

Any pictures Steve?

Hi Mark
A couple of pics
Spotfire Speaker Cable

Steve...

[IMG][/IMG]

[IMG][/IMG]

[STD305M]

Hi Grant

If you go for 1 meter lengths you will struggle unless you have plenty of room behind the speaker and hifi rack, I originally wanted the 1.2 meters but I'm glad I bought 1.5 meters

Its a really heavy and stiff cable but really sounds amazing, trust me you wont be disappointed.

Regards Steve...

[Jimbo]

SPOTFIRE Speaker Cable Mini Review

Oliver kindly lent me his own pair of SPOTFIRE speaker cables for review over the weekend which just happened to be 2 x 4 metre pair, the minimum length I needed in my system. As he handed over the bag I knew they were substantial cables and although stiff had enough flexibility for use to get around my system. Whilst I have borrowed these cables Oliver has had to go back to some sort of Bellwire!

I have not really changed my speaker cables much over the past 4 years since I found the excellent Chord Epic Twin which has been a constant in my system and worked really well. I don't think speaker cable is something a lot of us tend to change that much as it is almost a fit and forget item once you have found something you think is reasonable so I was actually quite excited to get the opportunity to hear Oliver cable in my system as I had previously had excellent results from his SPOTFIRE RCA Interconnect.

The SPOTFIRE speaker cable had banana plugs on the speaker end and big spades on the amp end and fitted my equipment perfectly but I have had extra beefed up speaker terminals on my Croft amp so this helped. You do need a good mechanical fit and they need to be torqued down firmly as he cable is meaty.

Straight away I heard an obvious difference in my system and for the better. As Steve had alluded too in his review these cables have the same character as the SPOTFIRE IC which is actually what Oli intended. So if you have heard the SPOTFIRE IC you may get a good idea of what these speaker cables are going to do in your system. However as we all know different equipment may produce different results.

In my system the soundstage just became bigger and more open. It seemed that the recording and everything in it became more transparent and open. It is a bit like going from a cheap cartridge which has a fairly narrow soundstage and everything is bunched together to a top flight MC cartridge that frees everything in every plane and allows Instruments and vocalists to breath and be heard in their own acoustic space.

I listened for much of the day to digital material and was astounded by the level of resolution and naturalness I heard. It maybe a strange way of describing a cable but this SPOTFIRE speaker cable sounded analogue. By that I mean there was a smoothness and non fatiguing presentation of the recorded information. There were no hyped artifacts and nothing sounded forced or harsh just beautiful natural tone and spaciousness. I quickly reverted back to my Chord Epic Twin and this confirmed the difference. The Chord sounded slightly hyped up in the top end and over egged the pudding making the digital sound too detailed and wearing. I preferred the SPOTFIRE speaker cables presentation which although detailed sounded far more natural and easier too listen too.

I know its an old cliche but the SPOTFIRE took you a few rows back in the audience whereas the Chord put you in the front seats. I always prefer to be a few rows back as you can enjoy the performance more without being on top of it. I played a vast amount of digital material throughout the day and whatever I threw at this cable it delivered in a very balanced manner. Treble was detailed and well extended, Bass was big, firm and articulate and the midrange was full and very natural, vocals in particular sounded spot on in both presence and naturalness.

This cable does make your system sound bigger and moves the sound down a few notches or should I say it seems to convey material in the mid to bottom end I was not aware off with a presence that gives the impression your are hearing a bigger pair of speakers.

Just before I turned to vinyl I did some A-B comparisons with recordings I had on vinyl and digital. My partner, Helen, listened to the whole session with me throughout and found it difficult to call out wether she was listening to the vinyl or digital version of the recording which maybe a lot to do with the device I was using for digital replay but thats another story. However by the end of the day it became apparent we preferred in many cases the digital recording. Oliver has a few theories why the SPOTFIRE cable may have influencing this difference but I thought it may have been the lower noise floor and the sheer resolution the digital playback had especially as it was all upscaled.

Listening to the SPOTFIRE speaker cable with vinyl was equally impressive and here I must admit the difference between my Chord EPIC twin and the SPOTFIRE was not as large. It was still expansive in the soundstage and conveyed superb information in the recording with complete naturalness. Nothing sounded hyped or excessive just balanced and very easy to listen too.

It was a long session but very enjoyable and I would say this cable is easily as significant in its abilities to unravel the complexity and detail in recordings whilst still maintaining balance and calm to the proceedings. As I said at the beginning of the review it had a definite character I found with the SPOTFIRE IC which I found worked extremely well in my system. The SPOTFIRE speaker cable lifted my system and allowed me to hear my recordings in an effortless kind of way so you were just left entranced by the music which after all is what it is all about.

Oliver has definitely produced a cable here of the highest quality and it delivers a fabulous performance which means I am going to have start saving the pennies again!

[Bigman80]

Hi Jim,

Ha! Yes, bell wire indeed. I have missed these cables hugely but it's a necessary evil in order to get a bit of feedback on them.

I am very grateful that Helen (and yourself) took the day to evaluate the cables and took the time to do a write-up. Yes, I have a theory as to why it improves the digital so much, BUT I can't prove it yet or actually find any information on it, so I'll have to keep digging, more on that as and when. That's not to say the analogue side doesn't benefit hugely because it does. I just think that there is far more of the recording available in the digital file Vs the vinyl and that's why the difference is so apparant. With the SPOTFIRE speaker cables in, the digital easily matched the analogue and unfortunately at times, far surpassed it.

I have to agree on the effect it has on the soundstage. Whilst some may wonder if that's artificially reproduced, it's actually only allowing what's on the recording to be portrayed accurately.

The job of cables I make, is to have as little influence on the sound as possible. The soundstage is a beneficiary of this because the SPOTFIRE cables allow the minute reflections and transients of the recording to be heard IF the system is capable of retrieving it from the recording. Its these little increments of the recording that give the soundstage its size.

Its been a very interesting few months of playing with various cables and comparing them to each other. Its been worthwhile IMO.

Glad you like them







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[YNWaN]

Could you guys comment on the difference with, and without, the shield connected?

[Bigman80]

Could you guys comment on the difference with, and without, the shield connected?

Ok,

When I set up my laptop as the NAS to feed the Pi, I was told to use the ethernet cable rather than WiFi. I did. A few days later, I was listening to some music and felt that something wasn't right. I looked around and realised I hadn't plugged the ethernet cable back in after I'd moved the laptop. Once reinserted, things were *right* again.

Why, I don't know but everything felt a little more solid and it added a bit of depth. Not night and day, but I noticed it.

Same with the the shield. Its very very subtle. I notice when it's not on and I'm not entirely sure why. Just tightens proceedings a little.

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