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Positive Feedback ISSUE
47january/february 2010
teresonic
Clarison Gold interconnects
as reviewed by Robert H. Levi
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You are reading the older HTML site Positive Feedback ISSUE 47january/february 2010
teresonic Clarison Gold interconnects as reviewed by Robert H. Levi
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Gold is hot! It's turning into a great investment and a worthy metal for high-end audio. My experience with the benefits of gold began with the now extinct Dual-Connect Interconnects. These were somewhat mellow sounding and lacking in overall detail, but very smooth and sweet. The new Grado Statement1 Phono Cartridge contains seven feet of pure gold wire and is extraordinary. Powerful and detailed, I hear some luscious sweetness, too. Gold appears to have great benefits if you refine it correctly and the science is right. Grado did it. Now Teresonic has done it, too. The new Clarison Teresonic Gold interconnects sing with a golden voice of pure musical beauty and near perfect definition retrieval. At $2985 per meter, gold never looked or sounded so radiant! The Clarison Teresonic Golds are solid core pure 24ct gold wires with both the hot and ground leads suspended in air dielectric. Twenty four carat gold plated WBT Nextgen RCA type connectors are provided. The Clarison Silver interconnect is available in both RCA and balanced, but not sure about the availability of balanced in gold. I only had one pair of one meter Gold interconnects to audition, but managed to hear them in two systems and in numerous applications. The Teresonic's are extremely well shielded. The website says: “outside: elastic ferromagnetic cover; carbon steel, PVC cover; inside: copper screen.” Even with all this shielding the cables were very flexible and easy to work with. They come in a handsome wood case. Overall Definition With plenty of other cables for comparison at and above their price range, the Teresonic Golds perform extremely well and are wonderful high-end wires. They maintained superb definition from mid bass to mid high band offering a mid band of pure musical joy. All other cables in house sound a bit vivid by comparison though one might say that the Golds were a bit soft focused as well. One thing is for sure, the Golds slightly sweeten the notes which mightily enhance the enjoyment of classical music. Multiple links of the Gold might go too much to the soft side of things, but one link was really nice to hear. The Gold is magical with all digital players. High Band Highs are fluffy and extended, delicate and elegant sounding. They were somewhat less dramatic than my references, but quite realistic if not neutral. Long term listening is enhanced. Edginess is decreased. An analog like presentation is a welcome addition to digital and a good compliment to analog sources. Extreme highs were rolled off a bit, but ambience seemed spot on. Imaging is close to excellent. You will not feel you are missing anything. The Mids I went back and forth between the Kubala-Sosna Emotions and the Jorma Number 1… both copper formulations… and it was a tough call. The Golds were a bit less defined than the Jorma and a bit sweeter and less dynamic than the K-S. The Golds were close overall to those highly rated brands. They were subjectively smoother than either cable, and did not call attention to themselves such that you felt a need to pull them from the system. They are so mellifluous and harmonious that you just want more. There is certainly something to be said for this as manufacturers strive for hyper definition when components or software may not be up to the challenge. I enjoyed playing classical music immensely. I was a bit less enthusiastic with most jazz recordings hearing a slightly reduced bite to the horns and drums with the Golds. Here's the bottom line on the Golds mids: ravishingly beautiful. I'd buy a set or two just for the mid band. If you like Cardas or PAD, you will go nuts over the Golds. With noticeably more definition and better imaging than either brand in my experience, you will hear a natural, resplendent soundstage with delicate and sweetly rendered notes. The Golds are addictive in the best sense and just get even better as you crank up the volume. If you are running tubes, you may like these a lot. If you are running solid state, you may need these a lot. The Bass The Golds offer very, very good bass definition that's thoroughly integrated with the mids. Not the last word in snap and slam, but good for the price. Very deep bass is present even though a bit soft. I spent time with many of my reference disks with deep bass, and was satisfied 80% of the time. I'd rather have nicely integrated ranges than a thumpy low band. Back to the midrange. WOW! Wait until you hear violins and cellos with these cables. You clearly hear the wood boxes and the sweet strings playing in concert. You will love vocals, too. The Golds don't smear at all. They just soften the edges a bit…like 35mm film does compared to video tape. Many recordings benefit from the Gold treatment. Neutral is not necessarily natural or fun to listen to. There's a 30 day return policy on the Golds. This is a great excuse to try them out! Conclusion All pure gold and shielded to the max, the Clarison Teresonic Gold Interconnects offer near state of the art definition with a delicious smoothness very rare in high-end interconnects. Usually, this sort of elegance of presentation harms detail retrieval and realism. Not the Gold's. These sound very natural though a tad romantic. The midrange alone is worth the price of the Golds! I only had one link to try so I cannot vouch for an entire system of the Golds, but played in conjunction with my references I truly enjoyed the listening experience. Whenever I inserted them in a system, the music became more delicate and luscious. What fun! Worth every penny of their high price, I recommend the Gold's without hesitation. Robert H. Levi Revised interconnect rankings to include the latest listening sessions with cables ranked by reviewer preference within price categories as follows: Over $4000 per meter
$2000 - 4000 per meter
$1000 - 2000 per meter
$450 - 1000 per meter
$250 - 450 per meter
Under $250 per meter
Clarison Gold
Teresonic™ LLC
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