Cables

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Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Mar 02, 2021
hfnedchoiceOne of nine speaker cables in one of five separate ranges, this 'Micro Air' design from In-akustik's Reference series represents a sweet spot.

Once Germany's best-kept cable secret, the In-akustik brand – part of the family-run Braun Group – is nothing if not comprehensive in its offering. Every type of power, analogue, digital and AV cable is included, across multiple ranges, alongside custom-install accessories that extend to ambient LED lighting solutions.

Review: Paul Miller, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jul 09, 2025  |  First Published: Jul 01, 2025
hfnedchoiceGermany’s most prolific cable company launches the fifth generation of its ‘AIR Helix’ geometry. We hear its latest copper Referenz speaker cable

From selecting its own copper ore, drawing and refining its strands at a partnering mill and meticulously hand-fashioning its premium products, Germany’s In-akustik has been approaching cable construction with a passion since 1977. The pursuit of an air dielectric, preferable but less practical than PTFE, HDPE, PP or PVC, is a particular mission for this brand and one taken to its next level in the Referenz LS-4005 AIR.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Nov 24, 2022
hfnedchoiceTaking its Carbon range to 'the next level', and celebrating Kimber Kable's 40th anniversary en route, the Carbon 18XL is its latest flagship.

Kimber is a stalwart of the cable scene, emerging alongside Monster and AQ in the late '70s but with its own spin or, more accurately, twist on things. The open-weave geometry, variable-diameter copper stranding and Teflon insulation of the now-classic 4TC speaker cable defined not only its lumped parameters but also informed its 'voicing' – a warm but richly detailed sound that won the hearts of many a budding audiophile.

Review: Paul Miller, Lab: Paul Miller  |  Dec 09, 2025  |  First Published: Jan 01, 2026
hfnedchoiceThe design is instantly recognisable, but there’s new thinking buried within the familiar braid of Kimber’s Carbon interconnect. Review & Lab: Paul Miller

If Kimber Kable could be said to have a core philosophy then the sage advice ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ would come very near the top. Of course, Kimber does have its own longstanding USP in the form of its ‘VariStrand’ conductors, braided geometry and use of both PE and PTFE dielectrics, depending on a cable’s position in the range. Copper is still the material of choice in this Carbon interconnect, each conductor comprising seven strands of four different diameters. These strands are clamped within a ‘carbon-infused polymer’ that forms an electrostatic screen, while a Teflon sleeve provides a final insulating layer with superior dielectric properties. Four of these conductors, for left and right channels, are woven into Kimber’s familiar braid.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Apr 11, 2022
hfnedchoiceKimber Kable has championed high quality dielectrics and open-weave cable geometries since the late '70s, but now it's gone 'naked'.

Cable aficionados will already know that the best insulation is no insulation at all, with air (in lieu of a vacuum) providing the best and most cost-effective dielectric. Did I say 'cost effective'? Kimber's new flagship 'Naked' interconnect costs a cool £12,700 per terminated metre – either with heavyweight gold-plated WBT RCAs or XLRs finished in a choice of Wenge or Purple Heart woods. For longer runs, 1.5m sets cost £15,150 or £17,600 for 2m. This is very 'high-end'.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  May 26, 2022
hfnedchoiceOnce in the vanguard of the late '70s hi-fi cable revolution, In-akustik now has a vast catalogue. We test the top Reference/Micro Air interconnect.

Only one issue ago we reviewed an interconnect cable whose core thesis focused on achieving a low capacitance and dielectric loss by utilising an 'air' insulation. That was Kimber's new flagship 'Naked' interconnect – a cool £12,700 per terminated metre [HFN Mar '22]. Somewhat more affordable, but also leveraging the 'air dielectric' theme, is the NF-204 Micro Air interconnect from Germany's most prolific cable manufacturer, In-akustik, based in Ballrechten-Dottingen.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Feb 01, 2018
hfnedchoice.pngNaim’s meticulous engineering of its Statement amplifier did not stop with the bespoke alloy casework, but extended to the speaker cable itself.

During the development of its flagship Statement amplifiers [HFN Jun ’15], Naim Audio went into exquisite detail, even defining the silicon substrate and legs of its custom transistors. So while analysing every component and length of PCB track, Naim Audio also turned an engineering eye towards the cables that might accompany its ‘ultimate amplifier’. Its Super Lumina cable is the result, priced at £650 per terminated stereo metre (£3245 for a 5m stereo pair).

Review and Lab: Keith Howard  |  Jun 19, 2019
hfncommendedShort of having a dedicated generator in your garage, you are not going to get cleaner mains than from PS Audio's new Power Plant, which is bigger and better than ever

In a game of audiophile word association, 'mains regenerator' will elicit the response 'PS Audio' just as surely as 'electrostatic headphones' does 'Stax'. PS Audio can't claim to have introduced mains regeneration to high-quality sound reproduction – that distinction belongs to Linn Products and the Valhalla board for the LP12, introduced in 1982. But nobody generalised on that specific, realising that a regenerated mains waveform might bring improvements to audio components other than a turntable's synchronous AC motor, until PS Audio introduced its original Power Plant, to a somewhat bemused hi-fi industry, in 1998.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Sep 26, 2023
hfnedchoiceThe UK's longest-serving cable company celebrates 50 years with a special edition version from its X-Tube range, and it's a 'Golden' upgrade.

Was it really 25 years ago that QED celebrated its Silver Anniversary with a special edition XT speaker cable? Or a full half century since the brand burst into our audiophile consciousness with, three years later, what must surely be the most famous cable of all time – QED 79-strand? Monster Cable would surely argue the toss, but for hi-fi fans building their first system on a budget, the classic figure-of-eight 79-strand (still only £1.99/m) has long been the go-to choice.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Jan 01, 2018
hfnedchoice.pngAs one of the brands that kick-started the cable revolution, QED has always emphasised value in its designs. The Supremus flagship is no exception.

What began with its 42-strand and 79-strand speaker cables has seen QED on a journey of discovery culminating 40 years later in this flagship Supremus offering. Closer in physical bulk and generally unwieldiness to a hawser than a speaker cable, QED's new top-of-the range wire has almost nothing in common with the figure-of-eight-shaped 79-strand cable that was in the vanguard of that early subjective revolution.

Hi-Fi News  |  Sep 12, 2024
Premium Signature series cable unveiled

Billed as the result of ‘more than five decades of technological evolution’, QED’s Supremus Zr is the brand’s new flagship Signature series loudspeaker cable, and priced from £1399 (2m) to £2599 (5m), including termination.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Feb 27, 2026  |  First Published: Mar 01, 2026
hfnedchoiceA founding father of the hi-fi cable boom has launched a new flagship boasting zirconia ceramic boots...

Co-founder, Bob Abraham, would surely never have guessed his classic figure-of-eight 79-strand speaker cable (now circa £2/m) would still be going strong some 50 years after its launch in 1976. The QED brand was formed in 1973 and despite dalliances with hi-fi separates and accessories has remained most firmly associated with cables. QED’s design theories were outlined in its 1995 ‘Genesis Report’, this informing the X-Tube (XT) cable range, and refined in the 2007 ‘Genesis Report II’ from which this latest Supremus Zr flagship is derived.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Mar 10, 2026  |  First Published: Apr 01, 2026
hfnedchoiceThis Dutch cable brand has been serving audiophile hi-fi systems for many decades. We test its modern ‘Classic’

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.

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Apr 24, 2023
hfnedchoiceSweden's Supra brand was in the vanguard of the cable revolution in the late '70s so its new and vibrant Excalibur flagship is no mere stab in the dark.

With its blue-tinged foil screen positively glowing through a tight, translucent PVC jacket, Supra's flagship speaker cable, priced at £1700 for a 3m terminated set (£300 per additional stereo metre), makes for a vivid statement. It's a world away from the speaker cables that helped Tommy Jenving launch his Swedish Supra brand in 1976. Its Supra Cable 4 and 2.5 used bunches of very fine copper strands in a standard figure-of-eight geometry. Its later 10mm2 Supra Cable 10, with 2562x0.07mm 4N copper strands, still has the lowest series resistance that I've measured (3.1mohm/m) when tested nearly 30 years ago [Hi-Fi Choice Aug '94].

Review and Lab: Paul Miller  |  Sep 13, 2019
hfnedchoiceA prime example of why audiophiles should never dismiss the unassuming, TCI is the epitome of a no-nonsense cable company.

As the sovereign serpent in TCI's (True Colours Industries) longstanding range of loudspeaker cables, King Cobra is not new but it has 'evolved' since we last tested the Stereo version [HFN Jan '13]. Seen here is the 'Bi-Wire' version of King Cobra, ostensibly comprising a pair of the same conductor cores used in the Stereo iteration but with the two signal and two return paths combined at the source (amplifier) end. So this version of TCI's flagship cable supports bi-wiring but not bi-amping.

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