Myrdin
Head-Fier
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2008
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I recently bought a pair of Simple Physics RCA interconnects from the manufacturer off of eBay. I have a ton of experience with the scientific and DIY aspects of audio, particularly interconnects. Audiophile stuff, I'll leave to the audiophiles. I don't purchase pricey components unless I can justify it with repeatable facts. That said, these were merely the scandalous price of 25 USD. Here's my review.
Auditioned setup: FLAC and 360kbps MP3 -> EMU404USB DAC -> reviewed RCA interconnect -> Phenix G3 w/ Phillips/Mullard PCC88's -> ATH-A700
Music: Vivaldi - Winter (complete) Salzburg Baroque, RenardV - Eggs & Other Songs, Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero, Rachmaninov - No2 Piano Concerto (multiple renditions)
Bit 'o Variety, eh?
Construction: 2 core + Shield. Dedicated return soldered to shield. 360º silver solder, thick silver coated copper conductor, teflon insulation.
The good:
This appeals to every aspect of my metallurgical physics background. I participated in development of the skin-effect flatwire crap at General Atomics that have influenced so many thousand dollar+ interconnects. I spent a month sourcing parts for a DIY interconnect, then I found these. If I could build my own, they would be nearly identical. Not ideal but best for the price. SOUND: These bring through a tremendous range of signal. I won't claim to be a miraculous golden ear. Those are a true rarity. These RCA cables brought through everything I can hear, which I believe to be the normal range of human hearing. I pride myself on that range. Few of my friends can compare, so if I can hear it there's a good chance you can, too, and you'll hear it with these cables.
The bad:
No snake oil. These are made from silver coated copper milsurp wires (seen 'em in the roof of my helicopter) with the best plugs on hand. You'll get no superfluous features. That puts some people off. My plugs were from straightwire. Look up their prices and you'll not balk at this price. Real downsides include an extended bass range. You might question this being a downside, but many amps seem [to me] to be between Phonograph specs and neutral specs. Plainly, you'll hear more lower frequencies than you expected. It does take getting used to. Hearing the orchestra's background noises (pages turning, feet moving, stops thumping) was odd, though largely an effect of my amp's freq curve. The cable is also stiffer than usual. Fine for static setups, needs a little care for more frequently adjusted setups. They're hand soldered, so obviously not too pretty when dismantled.
Conclusion:
Absolutely worth many times what I paid. Simply Physics certainly lives up to the name. I couldn't find any statistically backed points against this bit of wire. The limiting factors in my setup were probably the headphones, maybe the tubes, unlikely to be the interconnects. If you find them for anywhere near the price I paid I see no reason not to test them against your expensive interconnects.
Basically: Worth it.
Auditioned setup: FLAC and 360kbps MP3 -> EMU404USB DAC -> reviewed RCA interconnect -> Phenix G3 w/ Phillips/Mullard PCC88's -> ATH-A700
Music: Vivaldi - Winter (complete) Salzburg Baroque, RenardV - Eggs & Other Songs, Nine Inch Nails - Year Zero, Rachmaninov - No2 Piano Concerto (multiple renditions)
Bit 'o Variety, eh?
Construction: 2 core + Shield. Dedicated return soldered to shield. 360º silver solder, thick silver coated copper conductor, teflon insulation.
The good:
This appeals to every aspect of my metallurgical physics background. I participated in development of the skin-effect flatwire crap at General Atomics that have influenced so many thousand dollar+ interconnects. I spent a month sourcing parts for a DIY interconnect, then I found these. If I could build my own, they would be nearly identical. Not ideal but best for the price. SOUND: These bring through a tremendous range of signal. I won't claim to be a miraculous golden ear. Those are a true rarity. These RCA cables brought through everything I can hear, which I believe to be the normal range of human hearing. I pride myself on that range. Few of my friends can compare, so if I can hear it there's a good chance you can, too, and you'll hear it with these cables.
The bad:
No snake oil. These are made from silver coated copper milsurp wires (seen 'em in the roof of my helicopter) with the best plugs on hand. You'll get no superfluous features. That puts some people off. My plugs were from straightwire. Look up their prices and you'll not balk at this price. Real downsides include an extended bass range. You might question this being a downside, but many amps seem [to me] to be between Phonograph specs and neutral specs. Plainly, you'll hear more lower frequencies than you expected. It does take getting used to. Hearing the orchestra's background noises (pages turning, feet moving, stops thumping) was odd, though largely an effect of my amp's freq curve. The cable is also stiffer than usual. Fine for static setups, needs a little care for more frequently adjusted setups. They're hand soldered, so obviously not too pretty when dismantled.
Conclusion:
Absolutely worth many times what I paid. Simply Physics certainly lives up to the name. I couldn't find any statistically backed points against this bit of wire. The limiting factors in my setup were probably the headphones, maybe the tubes, unlikely to be the interconnects. If you find them for anywhere near the price I paid I see no reason not to test them against your expensive interconnects.
Basically: Worth it.
