Time flies. It's been little over ten years since I discovered and reviewed the EnKlein David series cables. At the time, when I reviewed them they were perhaps one of the best cables I had ever heard in my system. The sound was transparent, airy, dynamic, with solidity and weight and emotion. They rendered music with a new sensation in my listening experience. Fast forward ten years, I was given an opportunity to review their new Signature Hand-Tailored (SHT) series of signal cables.
EnKlein was established in 2008 and launched their solid silver cables in 2009. David Kleinbeck is the founder and the designer of EnKlein cables. He's an electrical and computer engineer, a music lover and a musician. Kleinbeck is a visionary leader in technology innovation with over 35 patents in advanced fields including "AI, electronic warfare, remote sensing, drone detection with energy weapon defeat, non-intrusive targeting, stealth thin films, and near real-time massive analytics." EnKlein cables are based on solid science with many hours of listening evaluation, and they are meticulously hand made using the best possible materials.
Finally, I received a FedEx package from Enklein. The package consisted of SHT RCA Interconnects and speaker cables. The SHTs are positioned above the XerXes cables they are on the second tier down from the top cables, the Master Edition. Each SHT component is hand-built and engineered to extend cable and power performance beyond conventional reference levels. With the SHTs in a well-resolved reference system, the improvement is immediate and dramatic. In my reference system they were rewarding, lifelike and emotionally engaging from the very first note. The SHTs are where EnKlein's most advanced science transforms theory to reality. The SHT cable begins with aerospace-grade solid sliver conductors and utilizes Furutech CF-102 NCF top-of-the-line RCA connectors and CF-201 NCF spade connectors both pure copper rhodium-plated. The analog interconnects and speaker cables are superbly engineered and featured braided silver conductor cabling. The speaker cables utilize 8 to 22 gauge silver lattice and There are three distinct silver lattices operating in six combined modes. These SHT speaker cables use so much silver that according to Kleinback, (incredibly) on the ten-foot SHT speaker cables they would produce about a half mile of silver conductor if they were unbraided, unspooled, and stretched out. The cables are substantial but also flexible and easily manageable. However, the analog interconnects utilize 18 gauge silver lattice conductors. The true leap forward lies in how EnKlein shapes and controls the electromagnetic environment around them rather than relying on a single, generic dielectric. "The SHT deploys a purpose-built, multi-layer insulation architecture that actively manages energy flow in and around each conductor. The silver lattice, an electropositive metal is fully encapsulated in PTFE, stainless and silver foil a highly electronegative molecule, creating an ultra-stable, low-loss interface exactly where the signal lives. A near-inert outer dielectric further decouples the conductors from external electric and magnetic fields, dramatically reducing susceptibility to environmental noise. In combination, these dissimilar dielectrics established a preferred pathway for parasitic energy, steering destructive noise and coupling away from the audio signal, where it can be safely dissipated instead of modulating the music. The result is a transmission line with vanishing internal noise, minimal conductor-to-conductor interaction, and exceptional rejection of external interference-performance that conventional "reference" designs simply do not approach". The SHT cables are directional and incorporate "the directional RJ420X energy dissipation network per conductor applied to every individual construct, functions as an external filter system targeting both radiated and coupled noise in the near and far fields. Systematically reducing destructive energy before it can contaminate the signal path. The result is not a voiced cable, but a measurably cleaner, more stable operating environment in which your components can perform at their true potential."
For this review, I evaluated the SHTs in my main reference system which consists of my new reference Aurender N50 music server/streamer, and the Aries Cerat Ianus Ithaka DAC as my digital source. I used several reference amplifiers, my Audio Note Kondo Ongaku, the True Life Audio Supreme Series SSA-350 and SSP-1, the Engstrom Arne integrated amplifier to powered the Lorenzo Audio LM1 loudspeakers. The SHTs elevated overall system performance regardless of which amplifier they were paired with. The music flowed effortlessly with liquidity and it was open, revealing, and colorful. It was vivid with rich tonal shadings and harmonic truthfulness, purity and sweetness. It rendered music with upmost transparency and resolution and solidity and tonal density. Most importantly it brings emotional engagement as if I were listening to a live venue. The SHTs surprisingly bettered my reference Hemingway Audio Z- Core Beta series cables. From any perspective the Betas are superb sounding cables. Of course, the SHTs are far more expensive than the Betas.
I put on a beautiful recording of one of my favorites, Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note, "When I Fall in Love" was captivating. The SHTs revealed a blacker background and had an uncanny ability to render music with exceptional transparency, great resolution and superb detail, creating individual instruments with outstanding immediacy and producing a rich harmonic palette close to what I've heard in many performances. The harmonic structures were stunningly resolved and very natural, painting vivid tonal colors. Keith Jarrett's piano was simply brilliant; it was articulate with solidity, weight, and a beautiful sheen. Gary peacock's double bass sounded as striking as I've ever heard on this recording. Jack De Johnette's shimmering cymbal work came alive with incredible sheen and naturalness. It was like lighting up a Christmas tree creating halo around the piano, enhancing space and illumination without masking detail. The attack, sustain, and decay of all three instruments was rendered gracefully with as stunning a sound as I have ever heard.
I was curious to hear how the EnKlein SHT cables would reproduce classical music. I put on Concertos and Chamber music and both sounded magnificently. The SHT cables worked wonders with the Ongaku driving the LM1. Listening to a beautiful recording of Mozart's String Quintet in B-Flat Major, KV 174, performed by Talich Quartet, was captivating. It was mindbogglingly better than I'd ever heard it and I have listened to this recording countless times. The SHT cables performed magically; they were music to my ears. Incredibly they produced an even blacker background making it a pitch-black backdrop. Low noise uncovers subtle low-level detail and improves resolution without adding artificial sparkle. Now, there were additions of texture, harmonics, and warmth in the strings and at the same time, a more extension in air, detail, and transparency. The strings took on a more sophisticated feel that imbued far more realism. The midrange was rich and textured without sounding too warm. The treble was extended and reproduced cleanly with the right amount of sheen on the strings. Lately, I've been listening to three legendary musicians join forces for Beethoven's iconic Triple Concerto (DG Tidal) for his 250th anniversary year. In this live recording pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim conducting the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra is joined by violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and cellist Yo-Yo-Ma, who played together on stage for the first time in forty years. The SHT cables effect on my system's spatial performances was exceptional. It rendered enormous size and scale on a soundstage with realistic dynamic swings. From pianissimo to fortissimo, the system projected with remarkable scale and realism. The SHT cables captured the full sweetness, warmth, and complexity of the orchestras dynamic range. Listening to the second movement, "Largo," was moving. Ann-Sophie Mutter, Yo-Yo-Ma, and Daniel Barenboim's virtuosity was rendered exquisitely and was emotionally engaging.
SHT cables don't discriminate against any music genre. I put on Melody Gardot from her lovely recording of "The Rain" from My One And Only Thrill. The SHT cables put me in a hypnotic state. The midrange was exceptionally open, revealing, and colorful. The treble was very extended, reproduced cleanly and with an airy high-frequency extension, which was delicately sweet and natural. I was stunned by the intense level of purity, immediacy, and solidity of her voice. Her sensual voice possessed tangibility, texture and tonality. I felt as though she was in the room.
What can I say? EnKlein SHT cables are here to stay. Yes, they are expensive but compared to other big guns out there they are not crazy. Am I crazy? No! I'm not. SHT cables are that good. I can't say I have listened to all the cables out there but the SHT cables will rival most cables regardless of cost perhaps (except their own Master Edition cables). The SHT cables in my system render poetry in motion, they convey an airy, transparent, textured, dynamic with solidity and weight. More importantly, they produce music with an exceptional tonal beauty and profoundly emotional, lifelike presence. Hats off to David Kleinbeck for creating a new benchmark against which all others will be measured!
SHT Speaker Cables
Retail: $33,000/2.5 meter
SHT RCA Interconnects
Retail: $22,000/1.5 meter
EnKlein
