The Ricable Dedalus Speaker Cables was an ongoing idea of one, Sergio Modenesi, whom I’m sure many of you have never heard of but is the proprietor of Ricable, Inc. Sergio, intuitively brought forth collaboration between his work at troniteck. it (which at that time sold mainly computers) and his love of music and high fidelity.
Eventually, Sergio came to the idea of starting and marketing specific cables for Hi-Fi with his brand in mind. The brand was coined from the conjunction of the name of the son of the creator (Riccardo) and the word “cable” in English (“cable”), which together gave life to the name of the new brand Ricable.
These cables and power cords were new to me and so I contacted Dario Caprai, communications officer of Ricable, to see if he could let us have a listen to these audiophile cables within my full system for a complete review. Dario was kind enough to send me the whole loom and has been quite helpful as the review progressed; thank you for this fantastic job!
ABOUT RICABLE
In early 2009, Ricable was founded and they first produced hand-built HDMI cables for high-end audio systems in Italy.
It was the first Made in Italy product, and the forerunner of the Ricable Custom 2.5, which was only available by the linear meter or in reels, was added to the catalog at that time due to the rising demand for high-quality bipolar speaker cables. Since that time, sales of the Ricable brand more than doubled in 2011 compared to 2010.
The initial piece required twenty hours to complete as the focus was placed on determining the appropriate production logic to maximize output and minimize processing times. And now, the company has been selling a full line of loudspeaker cables power cords, and interconnects, featuring the Dedalus, which is within their top level of the product line and of which encapsulates the review we have here today.
DEDALUS KEY FEATURES
The Dedalus Signal is a Hi-End cable that was meant to exhibit Audiophile qualities and is a direct descendant of the Invictus Signal series. Thanks to the lively and musical sound it incorporates we should notice a well-balanced soundstage, excellent transient response, and natural harmonics as they were naturally designed to stand out for its neutrality and detail.
MARC (Multicore Annealed Ricable Conductor) conductors are a full 70% pure in comparison to OFC copper, which should bring forth a smoother and more compact surface on the 0.55 mm2 stranded copper conductors. These conductors, which are used with 0.08 mm strands of wire will allow for 70 percent greater audio transmission than standard OFC copper.
The cables use all-copper RCA connectors as well with a hot-pole expansion mechanism having a 30% reduction in copper connector weight compared to brass.
Ricable surmises that there is an improvement in these connectors’ 24K Gold plating thanks to a particular (unique to them) Gold/Copper electrolysis method of application.
SPEAKER CABLE SOUND
Unusually for me, I put the full loom of the Dedalus cables into my current system and started listening to them without any substitutions of the products that I normally use as my (current) favorite cables. In effect, the Dedalus speaker cables replaced either the Audience Studio 1’s or my Inakustik LS-400s.
The Dedalus cables, as noted above, are full copper (thank goodness) without any silver-or silver-plating. The interconnects replaced were my Audience Studio 1’s as well. I have also been using and evaluating the latest SPIDIF digital connector by Clarus (Crimson) between my Audio Note CD player and either the BorderPatrol SE-1 or the newly introduced Denefrips Pontus II. (review forthcoming).
Most quality audiophile cables require a running-in period to varying degrees. I’ve had many cables that sounded great right away, but I have also used a plethora of cables that required a considerable number of hours to break in. Here we find that the Ricable Dedalus appears to fall into the former type as it sounds quite prodigious within the first 24 hours of listening.
Upon first auditioning, one immediately notices some unusually enticing qualities of sound reproduction emanating from my desired program material. The first thought that comes to mind is that these are “exciting” cables. Now don’t get me wrong. They do not disrupt the natural tonality or neutral frequency response of the music, but they do display an “electrifying” quality to the sound being reproduced.
Further exploration reveals a natural, full-bodied, and soul-moving tonality within its overall expression. As one listens further, you notice that these cables exhibit almost all music with a straight line and even frequency balance, while also giving most instruments in the recording mix a feeling of “being there”; right in the front rows at the head of the soundstage. In effect, the Ricable loom gives the feeling of self-effacing excitement, while keeping all the music constrained and reproduced and not “pushed up” in its overall exuberance!
Once you ease into their detailed yet never overly engraved presentation, you realize that this cable system imbues the listener with the feeling that the music is just “there” before you. It is a sound that is somewhat immediate, yet never overtly in your face. The soundstage is wide and deep and again, with a host of different music sources, is tactile and explicit, but also exhibiting a full transparent midrange and sweet treble response.!
Stereo imaging is first rate and with a few classical piano concertos introduced, (Alfred Brendel remastered) the pianist is fully centered (when recorded as so) along with a fine expansion of the instrument towards the middle right of the stage.
Once in a while, depending on the particular components integrated with the Ricable, you may notice a tiny touch of “sharpness’ in the extreme high frequencies; however, this inevitably also varies with (as always) the quality of the program material of your choice.
Bass response is full, well integrated, and extremely deep; as far down as your speakers will allow, which was gratifying and exciting. There you go– the Ricable is, without doubt, an “exciting” set of speaker cables, interconnects, and power cords. I liken the word exciting with the fact that the sound is natural and neutrally “arousing” within all aspects of its frequency range. I enjoyed these speaker cables—a lot!
INTERCONNECTS AND COMPARISONS
The Dedalus interconnects have that same fully overt, yet somewhat gratefully restrained tonal quality as well. Although when compared to my Audience Studio One’s, they appear a touch more immediate, with a smidgen less hall ambiance. Stage width is just about on par and depth and transparency are quite similar to the Audience cables. When compared to the Inakustik LS-400, however, the sound is a bit less “smoothly” intense or penetrating in its present form.
When used interchangeably and comparatively with my other speaker cables, particularly with the Audience Studio 1’s, the overall balance may be a touch…more forward with the Dedalus, but by gosh, they are detailed, translucent, and never harsh or fizzy in any way! Hence, the combination of the Dedalus interconnects and speaker cables are extremely musical and enrapture your senses of the performance displayed before you.
The power cords are sturdy, well made, and quiet as a church mouse. Compared again to cables by Wireworld and my Inakustik’s, at least for the former, they are right up there in the same quality or league of sound reproduction (at half the price!). Nevertheless, the Inakustik’s, mated with their AC-3500 power conditioner, comparatively speaking is another story in itself. Here I can still appreciate how Inakutiks power cord and conditioner can take you to the highest level of sonic beauty; yet of course, notwithstanding the huge price difference between them!
Otherwise, you will not be disappointed with the level of quality that the Dedalus loom can make on your full system. Considering the cost of these cables, it would be hard to find many audiophile cables that give such musical satisfaction at their price point.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Examining the level of finish, choice of materials, and quality of reproduced sound delivered, plus–the fact that this cabling is manufactured entirely by hand in Italy gives us the feeling that we are using a most exclusive cable line from this company.
Acknowledging that The Ricable Dedalus RCA interconnects and speaker cable exudes much musical pleasure, a stereo 2-meter pair of speaker cables costs $435 while the interconnects and power cord are $300 a meter and $400…!! respectively. If these are not audiophile bargains… then nothing is!
With the Ricable Dedalus, one always gets the sense that we are listening to all the detail and inner workings of a given recording. Full sound structure and transparency are abundant and first-rate. The Dedalus cable loom can inevitably inspire confidence for the most demanding audiophile and music lover. If you add to this the exceptional packaging as well, it further translates into the product’s top-notch quality. With this Dedalus cabling from Ricable, we can listen to all musical genres with the utmost satisfaction and delight.
Although the Dedalus cables are part of the manufacturer’s premium line, ironically it is not the most expensive part of the line. However, there is no doubt that they are outrageous best buys for the most sophisticated listeners. Highly recommended!
Review system for this product: Loudspeakers: Quad ESL-63, Spendor BC1, Harbeth Compact 7 ESR/XD, Audio Note AN/ED~ Digital: Border Patrol DAC SE-I ~ Innuos Zenith Mk.3 server/streamer ~ Wyred4Sound 10th Anniversary DAC ~ Audio Note (UK) CD3.1x/2 Analog: Audio Technica LP-7/ZYX Bloom 3 Amplification: ~ Pass Lab XP- 12 preamp ~ Pass Labs XA30.8 power amp ~PS Audio M1200/ Cambridge Duo MC/MM ~ Audio Note I-Zero integrated, / Cables/ Conditioners: Inakustik AC-3500p power station & LS-4004 speaker cables, AC-2404 reference Air Power Cord ~ Audience Studio 1 interconnects, speaker cables, Clarus “Crimson” digital, loudspeaker, Interconnect Cable and digital spdif / Audio Art 1 e” AC Power
Pricing:
Dedalus Power: 1,5 m / $400.00
Dedalus Speaker (pair): 2 m (bananas amplifier end—spades at speaker end) / $435.00
Dedalus Signal RCA (pair): 1 m / $297.00
Dedalus XLR (pair): 1 m / $369.00
Ricable S.r.l
Via Novara, 99/B
28047 Oleggio (NO)
Tel/Fax 0321/921271 – P.IVA 02555790035
WHERE the MUSIC BEAT meets the AUDIOPHILE ELITE !
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