NASA-Grade Perfection in Gold Plating
SMR has contracted the specialist plating company Epner for the plating of its connectors. While Epner may not be a familiar name in audiophile circles, they are renowned for their Laser Gold process, which has also been utilized for NASA’s Hubble and James Webb space telescopes. Now, that same technology is used to plate Vanish loudspeaker terminals. This plating is 99.99% pure gold and features a knoop scale hardness of nearly 200.
Vanish Terminations
“The Vanish termination is a cold weld, metal-to-metal fusion so complete, electrical resistance becomes virtually non-existent with no degradation.” As SMR notes, even with ‘Audiophile’ cables, terminations are often an afterthought. Terminations that utilize screw pressure to clamp against the side of a conductor result in minimal actual contact area between the sides of a few conductor strands. Screws are designed to fasten, not to create a secure, low-resistance, reliable contact. These terminations can lead to contamination of the contact surfaces and degrade over time as the cable and screw housings age. Soldered connections are an improvement over mechanical connections, but are inherently inconsistent and subject to fatigue and cracking over time. Solder also tends to wick up conductor strands, stressing the conductor where the solder ends. Nevertheless, most litz cable is terminated using solder, as this is the easiest method to deal with the individual strand insulation.
The best possible termination, not just according to SMR, but in general, is a uniformly crimped, cold-weld termination. Vanish cables are terminated by first removing the litz insulation using a unique methodology, and then immediately crimping over the remaining pure copper strands and environmentally sealing the assembly to prevent oxidation. The SMR crimping process utilizes a 13-ton hydraulic press that applies force evenly around the cable’s diameter, creating a uniform, durable, and consistent cold weld connection with essentially zero contact resistance.
Vanish 334
Vanish 334 is the flagship speaker cable from SMR, which I will review in this article. The cable is constructed of four AWG #7 litz conductors woven in a tightly coupled configuration, using two conductors per polarity run, resulting in an equivalent AWG #4 conductor cable.
Each Vanish 334 cable polarity run consists of nearly one thousand individually enameled, oxygen-free conductors, each with a diameter far below the electromagnetic skin depth of copper at the upper end of the audio frequency range, but not so fine that proximity effect losses are introduced. This allows for consistent resistance across the frequency range, while also benefiting from the low resistance and inductance of a massive cross-sectional area cable, without the tradeoffs in capacitance. In contrast, most ‘audiophile’ cables are typically multi-stranded but do not use a litz configuration with fine, individually insulated strands, resulting in unavoidable compromises.
Vanish 287
SMR also offers a more affordable version of the Vanish 334 cable, called the Vanish 287, not reviewed here. The Vanish 287 is constructed with less copper than the Vanish 334 line, but is made using the same high-quality materials, construction, and attention to detail as the Vanish 334 cables.
Available Terminations
The Vanish speaker cables are available in 4-foot, 6-foot, 8-foot, and 10-foot lengths, and can be ordered with either 30-degree spades or 90-degree spades.
The speaker end can also be configured as bi-wire or tri-wire. Finally, SMR Cable Technologies also offers a complete custom cable termination solution to meet specific system needs.
Running In
The Vanish cables have been designed to be 100% bi-directional, meaning there are no markings to indicate the direction, as the amplifier and speaker ends are interchangeable. SMR does not provide recommendations for the amount of required running in. The cables under review have seen 10A of current in both directions for a few minutes, as is necessary for terminal contact resistance tests. Apart from this, they are brand new.
Nevertheless, the cables sounded smooth, relaxed, and refined from the very first seconds of use. With prolonged use, I found them to gain a bit more conviction and dynamic expression, but otherwise, I heard very little in the way of running in.
Review Context
The Vanish speaker cables were listened to in the main system, which currently consists of the CH Precision L1 preamplifier, CH Precision A1.5 power amp, LAiV GAnM power amplifiers, Magico S1 MkII, Apogee Centaur-, and Duetta Signature speakers, the latter recently fitted with new foils. Digital sources were the Antipodes Oladra and Grimm MU1 music servers. All interlinks are Driade Flow Link Reference 808, and the usual speaker cables are Driade Flow Reference 808. All components are powered by the PS Audio P20 PowerPlant.
Neutrality
Whether it is good practice or not, cables are often used as a tuning method. Early in the audiophile quest, this can lead to overcompensation, but at a certain point, many audiophiles strive for neutrality. Of course, the big question is what exactly constitutes neutrality. As I heard more and more cables, a pattern emerged where some cables pulled the sound in a smoother, lusher, or warmer direction, while others pulled the sound in a dryer, leaner, cooler, more analytical, or even clinical direction. Between these extremes lies a range of relatively neutral cables. While that seems entirely logical, it is important to keep in mind that the assessment of neutrality is still, in part, dependent on the system components, room acoustics, and personal preferences. Suppose a system and room tend to pull the sound in a specific direction, the natural tendency is to apply cables that pull the sound in the opposite direction, so that the overall presentation becomes more balanced. The danger here is that a skewed perception can emerge of what constitutes neutrality.
This is why I feel it is essential to attend live performances and audio shows, and listen to various systems in different rooms. At some point, the accumulated experience will lead to an aggregate understanding of the variables, and with it, the importance of neutrality.
Despite my best efforts to mitigate room modes, reflections, and power dependencies, my listening environment is not perfect. It absorbs a bit of energy at certain low frequencies, and generally produces a sound that is slightly sweet and forgiving. In essence, this makes warm components sound warmer than they are, and it allows for the use of analytical components that, in a more barebones-sounding system, could lean towards sounding too cool or a little clinical. Armed with this knowledge, I naturally take this into account in my reviews. However, there is no denying that it remains a factor in my assessments of components and cables. This is why I always try to make direct comparisons with other products in the same category, as this helps describe their relative performance.
Given my room’s tendency to smoothness, I generally prefer to use components and accessories that do not add extra warmth and are essentially neutral to slightly analytical. However, I am careful not to let the system lean over into a clinical or anemic performance. I am all about precision and neutrality, but I am also careful not to lose the musicality; otherwise, what’s the point?
As regular readers will know, I normally use Driade Flow Reference 808 speaker cables, which work very well with my room and system, and especially with the Magico S1 MkII speakers. These speakers are very highly resolving and essentially in the neutral zone, but unlike the older Q-series, they are definitely on the voluptuous, smooth, and forgiving side. I have recently added Apogee Centaurs and newly refurbished Duettas to my speaker arsenal, both speakers that are even more transparent than the Magicos, while also being less forgiving. I will involve all three for this review.
Next: Listening – Apogee Centaur, Magico S1 MkII, and Conclusion
