Jorma Audio Unity Interlink, Power Cable, and Speaker Cable
Listening – Unity XLR Interlink
With the Marten speakers still in the system, the Unity Interlink made a superb impression right away. Used in place of the Driade Flow Link Reference 808 and connected between the C1.2 DAC and L1 preamp, the Unity sounded simultaneously more robust and more articulate, while remaining propulsive, expressive, and dynamic. In fact, the Jorma was more articulate as well as more expressive! Clearly, I was wrong in assuming a certain sound for the entire Unity range.
To my further astonishment, the Unity XLR interlink managed to sound earthier and more grounded, and more realistic, while remaining as refined and free-flowing as the Driade cable. The latter is more light-footed and remains a little airier in the upper treble but both provide an essentially neutral, natural, and very linear rendition of anything you play. Perhaps the Driade appears slightly more transparent but I’m not sure if that is induced by its slightly leaner tonal balance. In any case, both cables refrain from imposing any particular character on the sound. Nevertheless, there was an additional quality to the Jorma’s delivery that was hard to pin down. Even if both cables were admirably well-balanced and equally transparent to the source, I felt that the Jorma was creating a more vivid and convincing rendition of the performers being in the room, playing real instruments.
Even within the first minutes of the first track that I played, it dawned on me that the Unity interlink was something extraordinary. Of course, I played more tracks and swapped back and forth more times than I can count, but my preference for the Jorma cable only got further cemented. Sure enough, there was a particularly strong system synergy with the Unity interlink, CH equipment, and the Marten speakers.
Listening – Unity Speaker Cable
Just as with the interlinks, mere seconds after connecting the Unity Speaker Cables, they instantly felt right at home. Everything simply “clicked” into place. Just like the interlink, the speaker cable combines sonic aspects that usually stand on their own and often make a cable lean either one way or another. But the Unity speaker cable manages a rare delicate balance that leans in no particular direction yet also manages to inject the music with a highly realistic tonal shading while avoiding sounding voluptuous or thick, let alone fat.
Its bass is really superb: fast, articulate, robust, and neither fat nor lean, and the cables allow the deepest bass to develop more convincingly. Meanwhile, the cable has resolution equal to the best cables I’ve heard while avoiding sounding lean, dry, or analytical. And it has all the delicacy and refinement that one may crave without sacrificing dynamic impact. Okay, so the Unity speaker cables are superbly balanced, but that does not necessarily mean that they are also enjoyable, emotionally captivating, or that they can party. Well, trust me, they are, they sure are, and they sure can.
When I first listened to the Trinity speaker cable it was a solid improvement over the No.3 that I used before that, and as a consequence, it became my favorite cable for the next years to come. But now listening to the Trinity again after the Unity, it is very clear that we’ve taken a few steps down in the product catalog. The Trinity sounds considerably less crisp and robust, less precise, a little veiled, and less acoustically convincing. In a word, it is less expressive and less realistic. In all fairness, the Unity is positioned two levels above the Trinity and costs more than double, but the difference is sonically abundantly clear. And that is precisely how it should be. A word of caution: don’t listen to the Unity if the budget only allows for the Trinity!
Driade Flow Reference 808 Speaker Cables worked wonderfully well with the Marten Parker Trio, lending them fast pacing and great transparency. But there was an extra special synergy and naturalness when using Jorma Unity speaker cables
Depending entirely on what’s played, the Unity speaker cable can sound smooth, fluid, forgiving, or rough, raw, and even dry, just as the recording prescribes. And these differences are larger than with my favorite speaker cable in the more attainable price class, the Driade Flow Reference 808 which, by comparison, is leaner, and airier. The Driade has a very pleasing openness and is also highly refined but it is tonally less richly saturated, less organic, and less revealing of textures. All that is only fair given the large disparity in price but it did give me pause, as the Driade did outperform the Trinity speaker cable earlier. My other favorite speaker cable in a higher price range, the Mad Scientist Black Magic, achieves similar solidity, sonority, tonal saturation, and very realistic textures, and for these qualities, it remains an exceptional cable, but it can’t keep up with the Unity in terms of transparency, delicacy, refinement, resolution, and air.
Neutral and Natural
The Unity speaker cables and interlinks really are as neutral as they come while craftily avoiding ever tipping over to a more technical delivery. I suspect they manage this by sticking with copper conductors and not using any precious metal platings. Still, there must be more to this. For instance, the geometry and other materials used in the construction of the cables. I would say the Unity power cable has a distinctive copper sound but I cannot say the same about the interlinks and speaker cables. To my ears, the Unity cables are exceedingly natural. There is neither exaggeration nor beautifying, no polishing, and no added sparkle. But very importantly, nothing is taken away, either! There’s very little in the way of overlaid character and no feeling of any warmth or gravy being injected as some cables do. And yet, Unity provides timbres and textures in a well-saturated and very realistic manner. Well done, very well done indeed.
Synergy
Given the affiliation with Jorma cable being used in Marten speakers, one might assume a natural synergy but as I have sometimes come across, this is not a guarantee. In this case, however, as could be read above, the cables worked absolutely synergistically with the Marten Parker Trios.
But I was in for another surprise, as the cables’ superb qualities were not limited to the combination with the Marten loudspeakers. As soon as I moved my Magicos back in position and connected them with the Unity speaker cables, the Unity interlink and speaker cables turned out not only to work superbly synergistically with the Parker Trios but also proved a smashing success by further elevating the overall quality of the entire system.
Really, I thought while listening, are there no downsides to these cables? Try as I might, but no amount of swapping and comparing could unveil anything askew. All that was left for me was to conclude that these cables were not to leave my system again.
Conclusion
I’ve not heard the entire range of Jorma cables but based on my experiences so far, it seems evident that the Unity range is the sweet spot. The Unity Interlinks and Speaker Cables work superbly synergistically not only with Marten Parker Trios, but also prove a smashing success by further elevating the overall quality of my entire system with the Magico S1 MkIIs to beyond levels that I was able to reach so far.
They may not be the bargain of the century, but sonically, they deliver in spades. Never say never, but given their marvelous balance of virtues, I have a feeling that it will be very hard to further improve on them without spending a small fortune.
External Links
Manufacturer: jormaaudio
Distributor for the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg: HVP Audio
Tel: +31614926947
Email: hvp.audio@telfort.nl
Distributor for France & Monaco:
PRESTIGE AUDIO SELECTION
Contact : Marc Loubeau
Tel : +33(0)6 49 89 68 88
Email : contact@prestigeaudio-selection.fr
Two portfolios :
Prestige Audio Diffusion: www.prestigeaudio-diffusion.fr
Prestige Audio Selection: www.prestigeaudio-selection.fr
Hello Christiaan,
can you please briefly characterize the difference between Unity and Origo speaker cables? I’m consider one of these for the Sonus Faber Guarnieri Evolution driven by Gold Note pre/power.
Thanks a lot!
Best wishes,
Lubosh
Unity is tighter, more incisive and direct, and more articulate. Origo is smoother, more relaxed, more refined. And mre spacious, perhaps.
Hi Christian Jorma using boxes (By-Bee) what’s inside – perhaps a filter – same as used by Transparent Cable best regards Lars
I don’t think there’s anything electronic in the wood pieces of the Unity cables. That does not have to mean they do nothing though:-).