I finally re-fitted my 0.8m TQ Black Phono interconnects, now sporting WBT0110Ag plugs, into my system. This cable links my SUT (step-up transformer) to the phono preamp. It is therefore a very critical interconnect running at high impedance and susceptible to noise and hum pickup. There is absolutely no hum and no noise pickup, and only a very small amount of phono preamp hiss coming though at my normal listening level. The shielding is very effective.

I always knew the TQ was a good cable, but Marco made a comment that he could hear the cheap plugs in action in my system and I agreed despite liking their overall sound. So this was an experiment to see how much more sound quality the Blacks would yield. What would replacing the standard plugs with WBT 0110Ags achieve? The answer is: a lot.

I have just been listening to Rickie Lee Jones' Danny's All-Star Joint, a particularly good test track as there is so much going on. I can hear a ride cymbal deep in the mix that I hadn't really noticed before, together with fabulous impact with the bass drum and great dynamics throughout the frequency range. Treble is detailed and extended. There is no harshness, a signature of TQ cables, and no emphasis of sibilance. The overall sound is very rhythmic and exciting, and makes me want to play more.

I can't recommend these in any meaningful way as they are a custom one-off. However, they are the best single-ended interconnects I know (the rest of my system uses balanced TQ Black XLRs), easily beating the old Kimber KS-1011 that I used to have (which, by the way, uses very similar plugs to TQ).

I had some time ago asked Tellurium Q (via my dealer) if they would sell me another 0.8m Black with my choice of plugs, either Eichmann Silver Bullets or WBT 0110Ags. They refused, with the reply below from Geoff:

We chose the plugs that we use for a number of reasons, not least of which is that they work well with our cable and the processes we use.
Fair enough, TQ, and I understand that you use a high temperature soldering process which is difficult to manage. However, if you haven't ever tried WBT 0110Ag plugs with your cables then I urge you to try them. You could always sell an elite line using these plugs, side by side with the standard versions.