The Robb Collections: 2022-10-09

Updated October 20, 2022

#454

Gentle reader,

I have been into getting the best sound from my audio equipment for more than forty years now. I have bought and tried many things that are alleged to make your music sound better. Sometimes I thought that I heard some differences, but was it wishful thinking? If you have already read this article, thank you. Then slide on down to the RED words for my conclusions about these RCA interconnect cables.

There is the other room, my main 1990's Dynaco stereo system in what I call the "Listening Room/Museum". Also, a modest "Home Theater" in the living room and a stack of Yamaha 500U components right next to the PC I am writing this on. In both stereo systems, I have an OPPO DV-980H universal player. It plays all alternative digital music format discs: HDCD, SACD and DVD-Audio in addition to standard CDs and DVD-Video discs. I tried many brands of universal player and found the OPPO to be the best built, most compact and best sounding.

I have been using vintage NOS Radio Shack Gold RCA cables for some years now, first in the listening room, then in the stack here. But, they are a bit long and have to be coiled. I was looking for shorter ones on eBay and not finding what I'm looking for. So, off to Amazon I went.

NOTE: I have NO affiliation with Amazon SW-Tech or any other company. I am retired from working on electric subway cars for many decades, and writing this because it's what I do.

That being said, I saw some nice looking cables on Amazon from a heretofore unheard of company: SKW. Below are photos from their page of 1/2 meter RCA cables.

"Technical Specifications:

Stable transmission, 6N single crystal copper cable combined with a gold plated ending ensure audio video quality, reduce sound distortion.

Nylon braided make cable more durable, flexible, easy to plug into your audio device etc.

24k gold plated head anti-oxidation and damp, durable cable with OD 7mm.

Advantage:

Innovation and cutting-edge technology in this special Audio cable with silver micro conductors for over 14 years.

Great signal for great sound, while maneuvering the ends, sound is terrific without distortion/short.

Installation was easy and have a very elegance touch when it plug into the media.

Worth every penny, This one is very solid, aesthetically pleasing, and has great sound quality - definitely worth the extra few dollars if you value longevity.

Compatible:

Works great with HDTV, Home Theater Systems, Hi-Fi Amplifier, Soundbar, Turntable, Phono Preamp, Gaming Consoles, A/V Receiver audio equipment or any equipment with 2RCA(Left/Right) Port."

They look good, right? The 1/2 meter ones I purchased are just over $30 US which is very reasonable for cables so well constructed. Below are photos of the actual cables:

The bodies, for lack of a better word, one grasps when plugging or unplugging them are metal, coated as stated, but still all metal.

As you can see from the photos, they are "directional" as are many cables including the vintage Radio Shack cables (below) I have been using on and off for many years.

These also have built-on ferrite cores which are not often seen on RCA cables in my experience. Note, their bodies are also metal.

I have tried MANY different types and brands of interconnect, digital and speaker cables over lo these many years. IF any differences that I heard, they were minimal except when comparing cheap RCA cables and "good" ones.

This all started when my buddy, Bob Berne, a longtime reader of this blog, sent my other buddy, Bruce Woodrow and I, out of the blue, KITS to build Chinese "Tube Buffer" preamplifiers. More on this below these photos.

I bought a "completed" board via eBay from a US seller for fifteen dollars US. It did not come with the clear plastic case nor the 12 Volt AC/AC transformer required to power it. The KIT does not include the transformer either.

I have a small number of SACDs, HDCDs and DVD-Audio discs, all different versions with the same goal: To sound better than "Red Book" CDs. Thus, after trying many brands of "Universal Players" I chose OPPO DV-980H for both systems.

You can see here the size of the cables are not excessive, like the Radio Shack (and other audiophile cables) and seem to be within the Goldilocks Zone. Look that up, if you don't know what that means.

The Yamaha AX-500U has terminals marked: Accessory Send Receive. They had "U" shaped metal jumpers in them. I believe they are the same as some companies use to separate (or join) the preamplifier section from the power amplifier section of integrated amplifiers and receivers. I chose them to electrically insert the tube buffer.

The bottom of the stack shown. It also shows the speaker wires I am using. Both are Monster Cable brand. The "Navajo White" ones are flat, paintable cables and go to the BOSE 301 speakers suspended on HDTV adjustable mounts. The black ones are going to the Klipsch KG4 speakers. I use Nakamichi banana plugs exclusively in all three systems. Years of trial and error testing revealed that they are the best ones made.

Either of these will serve you very well. Like the RCA cables, what are normally plastic insulators on banana plugs, their silver bodies are metal! BEWARE! There is a reason I am showing you these.

Below, again from Amazon's pages are official SKW photos, are their speaker cables. First, do you know the difference between WIRES and CABLES?

Wires are singly insulated. Such as lamp cord. Each wire is insulated from the other and you. Cables have individually insulated wires WITHIN an additional outer insulator(s).

Look closely are these banana plugs. Then scroll up and look at the Nakamichi banana plugs. This design is inherently flawed. The expanded metal which grips the terminals is very thin. Some that I have used are loose enough to spin on the central shaft. I have not seen, nor tired these SKW cables. But, seeing a seam right behind the tip, makes me suspect that they too can spin.

Speaker cables (and other cables) are sometimes capable of receiving radio frequency interference (RF) which can be heard within the music. Also, 50 or 60 Hertz AC power can also be picked up by cables. NOTE the shielding in these cables, and the multiple insulation layers. Also note the two thicknesses of the actual wires within.

There is a theory that no one can prove, that some frequencies of sound, slower/lower ones like bass and higher ones like treble, prefer to travel different thicknesses of wiring.

Thanks to TMRAUDIO.COM for this image I found on the Internet just now. It is of a biamplified Monster Cable Z-Series speaker cable. It clearly shows the different thickness of the wires. The thinnest ones are almost hair fine. I tried countless speaker wires and cables before concluding that Monster Cable Z-Series speaker cables are the ones for me. NOTE: Monster Cable uses the SAME type of banana plugs are SKW does, I replaced all mine with Nakamichi banana plugs.

You can see them looping up and to the left in this image of the listening room components. Mine are long enough that I can wheel the rack out to get to things if I need to.

SO, you may be wondering, HOW do the SKW cables sound? They sound fine to me. I do not have "golden ears" so I do not have the ability to sound like a wine drinker explaining the various things they detect in certain wines.

SKW-Tech's RCA cables are well made, very reasonably prices, grip tightly and come in a variety of lengths for many needs and uses.

BOTTOM LINE: After listening to a variety of classical music through these for the last five days, I grabbed two Jazz SACD discs. Joe Jackson's Body and Soul Four Play's self titled debut album

As you can see by the sticker, this album is thirty years old. I bought it on cassette when it first came out, then on CD when I bought a player.

I have listened to these very SACDs right where I am sitting several times. Well, it may sound like audiophilishness, but, I clearly hear things I have not before. Instruments that were in the background are now louder and more "into the room" than I have ever heard them. Bass is tight, cymbals are crisp, it all sounds more LIVE. As is the band is in the room right in front of me. I can't believe the difference! I am literally shaking my head. Am I going to go out and buy every snake oil device being hawked to unwitting buyers? No, I've been doing this since 1976. BUT, I stand by what I just wrote: These SKW RCA cables DO sound better, and I can HEAR the difference!

Thank you for taking the time to read my humble blog. The fact that you and so many other do so, truly warms my heart.

Scott Robb

UPDATED October 20, 2022

#454

Below are some more images I found on Amazon's pages of SKW products: