Cables

Edwin Rynveld, Siltech’s CEO, has been driving the innovation behind this 43-year-old brand since 1992. His willingness to break with convention has informed the design of both Siltech’s amplifiers [HFN Jun ’13] and, more recently, its loudspeakers [HFN Dec ’25] but that same fresh approach has always been visible – and audible – in its cables. Now divided into three key series – the Explorer, Classic and Crown – it’s that middle range, and the Legend in particular, that marks the transition from ‘monocrystal copper’ to a proprietary silver/gold alloy, now in its ninth generation (G9). And silver is where Siltech (SILver TECHnologies) likes to hang its metallurgical hat.

There is some description of the Classic Legend 380L, sold in pre-terminated lengths at £2288/2m and £2988/3m, on Siltech’s website. However, arguably the most important feature is overlooked, for this is a genuine single-strand, solid-core cable comprising one 0.7mm2 conductor per signal/return leg. This is insulated in a tri-layer Teflon/PEEK/Teflon dielectric, surrounded by a silver-plated copper braid and then covered in the blue silicone rubber jacket seen in our picture. Each leg is therefore a coax, but the braid screen is ‘floating’, unterminated at either end.

System matching

The limited cross-sectional conductor area informs the Classic Legend 380L’s not insignificant 78mohm/m loop resistance, equivalent to a power loss of 0.085dB/m into 8ohm. A 3m stereo pair will have a 0.235ohm loop resistance which is very close to the output impedance we’ve measured from Naim amps over the years [HFN Nov ’23, Oct ’19 & Nov ’17]. However, it does rather thwart any advantage offered by those amplifiers boasting a low source impedance, including models as diverse as the Devialet Astra [HFN Aug ’25], CH Precision M10 [HFN Mar ’26] and Arcam SA45 [HFN Oct ’25]. Damping factor will be reduced with these amplifiers while the susceptibility to changes in system response, caused by swings in the speaker load impedance, will marginally increase.

By contrast, most tube power amps will be relatively unfazed by this extra impedance and may prove a better fit overall. Meanwhile, the geometry of the cable, and Siltech’s choice of high quality dielectrics, confers a usefully low 31pF/m parallel capacitance allied to a slightly higher 0.9µH/m series loop inductance.

Solid silver
Trialled in the HFN Listening Room [HFN Yearbook ’25] with a range of power amps and our resident Wilson Alexx Vfx floorstanders, Siltech’s Classic Legend 380L leveraged all the virtues of a ‘classic’ solid-core cable – freedom from grit and grain combined with delicious smoothness. The dazzling percussion from Andy Akiho’s Seven Pillars [ARP-0001; 96kHz/24-bit] was possessed of lightning speed and attack – the Sandbox Percussion quartet are a test for any hi-fi system – while simultaneously remaining free of any edginess or glare. The Classic Legend 380L is a foil to the belief that ‘all silver cables sound bright’.

Mixed with QSound spatial effects, Roger Waters’ third studio album Amused To Death [Sony 8884309 0552; 192kHz/24-bit] is nonetheless a tricky recording to fully navigate, but this Siltech cable stepped right through. The distinct vocal layers could be heard sliding over one another, from the background radio broadcast and harmonies at the opening of the title track right through to the emotive conclusion. Here the voice of WW1 veteran Alfred Razzell, taken from a 1991 BBC TV Everyman documentary, ranges far left and far back, dripping with poignancy. If it ever could be said – this cable is a keeper.

Hi-Fi News Verdict

Siltech’s mid-range Classic Legend 380L speaker cable is the stuff of high-end upgrades, to be sure, but the outlay is tempered by it being best suited to short 2-3m stereo runs. If your system is in need of a velvet-smooth hand on the tiller and, particularly, if you use long interconnects, with power amp(s) located close to the speakers – as we do in the HFN Reference Listening Room – then this cable ranks among the few, stand-out ‘must try’ designs.

Sound Quality: 90%