1 review for Grand 20 core Silver XLR balanced interconnects v2

1. 

   Lavricables – March 28, 2019

   Master Pure Silver XLR interconnects

   Many audio enthusiasts find that nothing less than solid silver interconnects enables them to get the best from their audio system. Meeting this need is the range of pure silver interconnect leads from the Latvian company Lavricables. They offer a range of interconnects that range from Reference, Ultimate, Master and Grand Lines. The main difference between the different lines are the number of silver cores used in their construction.

   I was looking for a pair of XLR interconnects for connecting up my Studer A810 professional tape machine. I chose the Master cable that has no less than 14 individually insulated wires in each cable, woven together. Each wire is made from 28AWG (0.33mm) 6N solid silver wires, each insulated with an oversized PTFE dielectric. My review sample was terminated with Lavricable’s premium connectors, the pure copper AECO plugs.

   It is always good to run in a cable before testing, and this is particularly true for silver cables that do have a tendency to sound a bit brash when new. Lavricables actually recommend 150 hours of running-in, so I give the cables a good run-in by feeding the output of my media streamer player to the record input of my Studer playing a cable burn-in track on repeat. After running-in, I start my listening tests with a superb modern copy master tape recorded at 15IPS of Haydn’s ‘Concerto No.1 in C major’ played by I Solisti di Pavia from Open Reel Records. It almost leaves me speechless! The dynamics, realism and energy of this recording are incredible and the strings especially are triumphantly clear, without any trace of silvery edginess. It almost goes without saying that the imaging and depth is superb and the music never seems to emanate from a pair of loudspeakers, but from ‘virtual instruments’ within my room.

   Some jazz features on a fantastic Yarlung Records tape called ‘The Yuko Mabuchi Trio Volume 1’, and it sounds absolutely splendid. The track ‘Seriously’ kicks off with the double bass and then the piano takes over with the melody. The bass fingering is really clear and the piano simply sparkles with energy.

   A superb master tape recording of choral music, also by Yarlung Records, entitled ‘Nostos’ and performed by the Cal State Fullerton University Singers demonstrates how well the cables handle vocals. The result is really quite staggering. One of the tracks of the tape, Ēriks Ešenvalds’ arrangement of ‘Amazing Grace’ is both moving and captivating, right from the opening solo voice of the soprano Vanessa Yearsley. Furthermore, I have the impression of sitting in the auditorium with the singers in the Valley Performing Arts Centre at Cal State University, Northridge, California, where the recording was made.

   Another modern audiophile master tape recording from Chasing The Dragon of a live performance of Vivaldi concertos played by Interpreti Veneziani is equally captivating. The sound stage has enormous depth and I feel that I am sitting in the audience with the performers playing on the stage in front of me. The instrument placement is superb and I am able to individually locate all eight players across my listening room. In particular, with Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto in E minor RV484, I can hear the breathing behind each note, which positively adds to the overall realism of the presentation.

   There really is little to fault with these high-quality interconnects that certainly deserve a place in high-end audio setups. At their price, they really are an absolute bargain!

   5 out of 5 Stars

   Neville (UK Hi-Fi Choice magazine journalist)