Slinkylinks Interconnect & Speaker Cables
There are few things in the hi-fi world that can spark discussion about cables. A few reject the entire conversation as a fraud and a sham, but luckily there are more and more recognising that the cables actually make a difference. It can sometimes be subtle and it's not always easy to detect what the difference actually is. When you read some of the explanations that manufacturers can find to give as to why their cables are just so much better than anything else and it seems, on the other hand, a certain amount of skepticism is enough to be worthwhile. It seems that the construction of cables is often as much based on experimentation itself rather than as an exact science, and I do as ordinary consumers and often sit with a feeling that it is a jungle to move into - with many loose vines!
The logic behind
There are certain facts that most would think are fairly rock solid: That silver in any case should be a better electrical conductor than even the purest copper. Both materials oxidise of course, but silver has then the advantage of the oxidizing layer serves as an excellent conductor as opposed to the layer of copper. There is probably fairly broad consensus that air is the best insulator available.
It is these facts that a small company, Slinkylinks from New Zealand, (and it is not a name nomono have invented to tease, we would like to emphasize!) uses as arguments for the construction of their cables.
Their cables consist of very, very thin conductors (0.25 mm) of 99.9999% pure silver, which is located in thin tube of plastic, so the leaders can be "floating" in air. Slinkylinks claim that 96% of managers' surface rests on the air - a claim we obviously just do nothing about. The unusually thin conductors are chosen to minimize the electrical resistance - and then provide it for us consumers, a big advantage being that there is not as much silver for each cable meter, which is so clean, and obviously quite expensive, but we end up with a cable that still does not cost a whole farm.
The logic of the practice
If we accept that the air is the best insulation for electrical conductors and that silver is the best material etc - yes, so should the theories and thus the logic hang very well together. Whether they can live up to the superlatives, the company's website promises that is a completely different matter. The ideal is - according to the website - to not have any cables at all. It's such an alluring idea, but we are not quite there yet and as long as we are not, the goal must be to produce a cable that colors the sound as little as possible. This is where Slinkylinks promises alot.
We had a set signal cables and a set of speaker cables at our disposal, and have tried them in part on both different speakers and electronics, and everything has gone smoothly and easily. The connectors are solid and in good order and by the respected and well known brand Bullet Plugs. The exterior is nice to handle (they are just right, soft and "rubbery"). The signal cables seemingly black surface turns out to be partially transparent, so you can see that they are actually constructed as it is claimed. Signal cables come in a round metal tin - quite delicious without the signal value. The others are packed in a more traditional cardboard box. But it's nice to feel that you are not paying a fortune for exotic boxes in endangered species!
The logic of the test
The kit has been sitting in Sven's plant for a few weeks - and then moved into mine also for a few weeks. And moreover, our Swedish editor Lars Erik Steinicke has written about them in the Swedish version of High Fidelity. And we agree in our conclusions - these are extremely neutral wires which do not color the sound in any significant way. They may not have quite the night-black background as the absolute reference - but within the economic framework that has been set, it is hard to trump. How do they sound? Well, not really - a good cable should not make any fuss, and it makes Slinkylinks cables not ... "I saw them as completely neutral" Steinicke wrote in his time. It is an experience I fully share. If you experience listening fatigue it is not the cable's fault - Steinicke found with the volume up reordings can quickly become annoying, but Slinkylinks was able to convey the content in an engaging way. Although I've heard kd lang's latest "Sing it Loud" throughout the day ( for a review), and it has all the drama and empathy I can possibly imagine. It is a plate with a very intimate tone, and the cables communicate exemplary intimacy; here one hears both subtle and major outbursts - the music's underlying ebb and flow - so you constantly get involved.
The logic of sound
It may be all that Slinkylinks had on their website a colorful promotion as they should describe their product. Here at nomono we really wanted to focus on how they sound, our listening impressions have been neutral, yet involving, and when we look at the principles of construction and found them to be plausible, simple and logical. Our unambiguous conclusion is: Try this cable at home and find out how much your beautiful sound system packs!
10 Audio.com
Slinkylinks. Sounds like a child’s toy, doesn’t it? These cables do not sound like toys, but they do have a “slinky” look and feel: smooth and shiny, and packaged in small metal cans. In fact, what I received from the New Zealand-based Slinkylinks' owner, David Irvine, was a “Slinkyzone Pack” containing two cans with a pair of $500 RS1100 interconnects in each, and a box with the $525 S1300 3-meter single-wire speaker cables. The cables are somewhat stiff which kept them pressed against the insides of the cans as if they were being spun in a centrifuge. Both the packaging and the fit and finish of the cables are very well done and suggest that the sound may also be of high quality.
Slinkylinks RS1100 interconnect - airy soundThe interconnects use Eichmann Silver Bullet plugs and are constructed from four strands of 6-nines pure silver wire. The gold-plated banana connectors on the speaker cables are tubular metal that initially gave the impression of being too lightweight to make a good connection. However, looks can be deceiving. They always fit firmly into the 5-way binding posts on my amps and speakers and always made tight and secure connections, even after repeated insertions and removals. The banana plugs’ large contact area also assures very low resistance connections.
From the Slinkylinks Web site:
- All Slinkylinks conductors are 96% insulated in air
- All Slinkylinks cable uses 99.9999% pure silver conductors
- Metal content is minimized to reduce harmful capacitance distortion
After about 300 hours of break-in, before which the sound can be forward and a bit hard – normal for silver cables – it was time to listen. The interconnects and speaker cables share a very similar sonic signature, so I will simply discuss the sound of Slinkylinks without referring to either the speaker cables or the interconnects individually. After seeing the packaging, handling the cables, and reading the accompanying media release, I was expecting good sound.
Slinkylinks cable constructionI wasn’t disappointed. After the break-in period (it is great to have a tuner for this task) I was treated to many hours of enjoyable music. My cables of direct comparison during this review were copper Placette and PS Audio Resolution Transcendent interconnect cables, and PS Audio and Audience Au24 speaker cables. The Transcendent interconnect uses two 18 gauge silver conductors, where the Slinkylinks use four 0.25mm (approximately 30 gauge) conductors. It is fun and interesting to read different manufacturers’ descriptions of their cables, how they are constructed, and why their cables sound better than everyone else’s cables. On the PS Audio site, they assert that "thin wire gauges of silver…lose a lot of information in the bottom end. This makes some solid silver cables sound bright and edgy; but in reality, they are simply missing the lower end of the musical spectrum." Comparing the Transcendent to Slinkylinks, I found that there was some validity to PS Audio’s assertions, although the degree to which the RS1100 interconnects may have been suffering from the thinner wires was usually quite minor. Even though the RS1100 is more immediate and forward than Transcendent, I would not call Slinkylinks cables "bright" or "edgy" in the least. Those terms are too extreme.
The "Slinkylink sound" can be summarized as nimble, dynamic, and detailed. There was a high level of musical involvement overall. The cables’ low level resolution, especially in the midrange and treble, often presented new levels of meaning in familiar music. The subtle nuances of female voices were often revelatory. These cables dig very deeply into each and every note and unfailingly offer harmonic information that many other cables either suppress or ignore completely.
Slinkylinks S1300 speaker cablesThe performance in the mid to upper bass was excellent, with very high resolution and dynamic ability. The very low bass was a bit less powerful in direct comparison to the Transcendent's full and rich bass, but much more similar to the Placette interconnect. The midrange and upper frequencies have a light, airy feel with great snap and clarity. As we expect from silver-based cables, there is no grain. The ability to differentiate the various cymbals in a drum set was amazing because the individual resonant character of each cymbal was readily apparent. This is a very difficult test of the cable's characteristic distortion which the Slinkylinks cables passed with the highest honors. I remember that the very expensive Nordost Valhalla interconnects were found to be lacking on this important test.
The Slinkylinks' presentation of sound staging was also excellent, with terrific image placement and stage depth. Fine detail in the farthest corners of the stage was always present to a remarkable degree. Likewise, the ability to "see" individual performers near the front of the stage was exceptional. This is also indicative of superior lateral imaging which precisely defines the boundaries of individual performers.
The Slinkylinks cables, both interconnect and speaker cable, are fine performers. In my system, I preferred the relatively warmer sounding PS Audio cable, but the Slinkylink cables performed at a similar level of quality overall. If you are looking for a high performance cable that combines complete freedom from grain and high resolution with notable clarity and minimal distortion, the Slinkylinks cables are definitely recommended.
Overall Rating: 9 LPs
Slinkylinks interconnects and speaker cables
By Craig Fenemor
AudioEnz
Slinkylinks cables, as reviewed: RS175 interconnect, $700. SSP1300 3 metre single wire speaker cable, $790. IBW1200 2 metre bi-wire speaker cable, $1095
Testing cables can be a right pain in butt so why did I put my hand up to try the new Slinkylinks range? Well, I’ve been a Slinkylinks user for a few years now and I rate the cable highly, so when I heard there were improvements to be had I was interested.
Take the time to know me
The original Slinkylinks sounded great (see our earlier review for a backgrounder) so what’s changed? In short it’s the connections. The standard range of interconnects has the original Eichmann Bullet Plug which has gold-plated tellurium copper pins. On the new RS range the bullet plugs, also by Eichmann, have 99.99% silver pins, which are pre-treated with Caig Preservit. With the speaker cables it’s a similar story with SL’s having gone from gold plated copper banana pins to a proprietary silver pin which due to its size and shape will end up being attached via the bare-wire connection on your binding posts.
Just a note here about silver. There’s a rumour going around that silver cables sound bright. Just like most rumours this one is untrue. I’m sure that some systems that have silver cables do sound bright, just as there are systems with copper cabling that sound bright but you can’t lay it all at the feet of the cable. As in most things in hi-fi it’s not the technology that can be the problem but the implementation. Slinklylinks do not have an implementation problem.
Don’t mess up my happy home
The courier delivered a box to my house which meant that it was all on, cables everywhere. I’m not a fan of repeated transitory A/B testing with hi-fi so I installed the new interconnect and bi-wire speaker cables and then spent time getting used to the sound. The main thing that I noticed initially was an increase in purpose to the music, as if the notes were happening more for a reason. Anyhow, I left it like that for a good six weeks or so and then came the time to put the original cables back in the system.
To be honest I was dreading changing back and then trying to hear (imagine?) some differences but this wasn’t a close run thing in the context of my system (Meridian G08, Krell KAV400xi, Magneplaner 1.6QR). The new cables brought more clarity, an airier top end, greater textural detail at the bottom end, increased separation, slightly expanded soundstage, while maintaining musicality. The real surprise for me was that when I removed the bi-wire speaker cables and replaced them with the single wire options the sound improved again. Slight changes it must be said, but I heard an increase in pace, dynamics and soundstage. (Hint - try both bi and single wiring to see what suits your system best.)
I never asked for a heavenly promise
I don’t ascribe magical powers to cables and I don’t think that a good cable adds bass, or treble or whatever – they just let more through. A lot of people spend too much time trying to “fix” component or room problems by repeatedly changing the dangly stuff. Alas I don’t think that Slinkylinks will help anybody with those problems, as they don’t really have much of a sonic signature that I can detect. SlinkylinksThe more Slinkylinks cabling I use (interconnects, speaker cable and now internal wiring of my crossover) the more transparent my system sounds so the more I hear of my gear. This means that good recordings sound great, great recordings sound stunning, but you’ll know when a bad one comes your way. The music will still flow but don’t expect Slinkylinks to cover up hardware or software problems.
This fools advice
What does all this mean in the long run? When I initially went from some considerably more expensive copper cabling to the original Slinkylinks I was happiness filled and I haven’t worried about cables since. The small refinements in the Slinkylinks range has indeed brought more performance for a price that is considerably less than you can pay for cutting edge cabling. If I were starting out with Slinkylinks I’d have no hesitation in going for the new range. As for upgrading, the new cables just bring more of what you already like with your current Slinklylinks so try them and see, you too may well be impressed. To my ears these are high performing cables at a good price. Buy local and enjoy.
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