Chip Moore (left) with Roger Skoff at the LAOC Audio Society Gala Banquet, 2019 (photograph and image processing by David W. Robinson)
Everyone knows Roger Skoff. He developed XLO Cables thirty years ago, succeeded nicely, then sold off the company before the millennium. Fortunately for audiophiles who relished XLO's musical prowess and neutrality comes Roger's newest venture: presenting RSX Technologies Inc., based in California. Building upon his experience with XLO and applying all current technological developments, Roger may have broken the sound barrier with his latest RSX BEYOND Phono Cable.
Roger believes "that RSX cables sound so good because they sound so little." He emphasizes that the ideal cable would, other than just transporting signal from Point A to Point B, do nothing at all—would add nothing, subtract nothing, and change nothing about its transmitted signal in any way.
The Beyond phono model is RSX's top of the line phono cable at $3150 for the first meter and sports the fit and finish of a premium cable. Replacing a meter of one of my reference cables in the phono setup with the Arias Mammoth Gold Cartridge under review, improved the performance of the cartridge. Persistent edginess, rolled off bottom end, and lack of mid-band and high-band air disappeared. The cartridge took on the demeanor of a stellar performer in its price range. The RSX Beyond immediately took its place in my primary reference system. It now joins the Jorma Origo, Kubala-Sosna Elation! and Emotion, WyWires Diamond, and Cardas Clear Beyond XL as my go-to reference phono cables. The RSX offering is the least expensive path to achieve reference status.
Technical Details from RSX
"All RSX cables use special Lab-Grade™ zone-refined ultra-pure (99.9999% or better) copper conductors; Teflon®-variant dielectric materials (to minimize capacitive discharge effects); full-floating bi-metallic Faraday Cage shielding (to minimize induced noise); and specially designed connectors—minimum-mass (to minimize self-inductance) for phono, and high-mass (to minimize resistance) for AC power. RSX phono cables use a proprietary helical plus double contra-helical geometry to optimize signal flow by balancing, as nearly as possible, current-controlled electromagnetic, and voltage-controlled electrostatic field effects."
To Skoff's knowledge, only his own earlier company, XLO, has ever tried to do this. The sonic improvement resulting from this advanced technology likely yields the superb neutrality so obvious to me in my own high-resolution reference system. When I first connected the Beyond, I installed it without the integrated ground wires. A hum became audible. Connecting the RSX source ground connector eliminated the hum at the normal listening level. This is very typical quieting one may expect with top cables. The surprise came later when connecting the RSX target ground connector brought down the noise level to zero. I was then able to turn the output of the E.A.R. 88PB Tube Phonostage to 100% of output with zero noise. I cannot emphasize to you how remarkable an achievement this is.
RSX's motto is "Hear the music, not the cables." If it is true, it is not bragging. The Beyond does requires substantial break-in, though. I kept them on the cable cooker for three days, a day longer than normal, to bring them to peak performance. The use of various Teflon's in the construction of the RSX make for this requirement. If you do not have a cable cooker, put them in a high-level audio circuit with an analog signal for at least a week. A phono signal on its own will probably never achieve much of anything approaching the special nature of the RSX wires.
The RSX Beyond is extremely transparent, very dynamic with low output moving coil cartridges, and present deep, tight bass response. Soundstage width and depth are competitive with my best wires, and imaging is tight and rounded. In addition to being extraordinarily quiet, the RSX has zero grain and etch. Their ability to swing dynamics is awesome. I heard no compression from ppp to fff, regardless of the cartridge type.
The RSX cables are very flexible, which I like. They have beautiful push on/off RCA connectors requiring no tightening. Though large, they use minimal gold metal fully surrounding the center pin and grounding surface. Contact remains strong and complete while the low mass of the metal does not interfere with the signal.
The RSX cables come with a transferable Lifetime Warranty. RSX will have a full line of cables with multiple price categories for each type. Right now, they have both phono cables and power cords ready to go. Their website should be up by the time you read this.
Summary
The top-of-the-line RSX Beyond Phono Cable from Roger Skoff is a winner. While every bit as excellent as my extreme reference phono cables, they cost less. They may set a new standard for quiet and hum reduction, which is very exciting for vinyl junkies like me. I will have a lot more to say about RSX Technologies in the coming months, so stay tuned to Positive Feedback.
The RSX Beyond Phono Cables receive my top audiophile recommendation. Congratulations Roger Skoff!
Beyond Phono Cable
Retail: $3150 for the first meter
Roger Skoff, RSX Technologies, Inc.
8211 Rochester Avenue
Suite 102
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
909.870.9292
Photographs by Bob Levi, unless otherwise noted.
