The Infigo Audio Sparkle Signature Cables are given a full audition by Marvin Bolden
In the (“good ole days”), new cable companies would start with auctions on Audiogon, and you could get a pair of interconnects for under $200. After they built their company profile up, the prices would begin to edge upward as well. This is how I got my start reviewing cables. I was one of, if not the first to review Silnote and Wywires interconnects for the now defunct online publication, StereoMojo.
Boy, have we come a long way. The cables on hand from Infigo Audio are $3000 for a 1m pair of interconnects and $5500 for a 3m pair of speaker cables quite a step up from the “good ole days”.
The owner, Hans Looman has been in the industry for years working for Resonessence Labs, a spinoff of ESS Technology, the well-known creators of the Sabre Dac chip. Their website states, Infigo, with a Latin origin meaning impressive (pending thumbs up or down).
Besides rca/xlr interconnects and speaker cables, they offer a USB cable, a DAC ( of course sabre chip), class a monoblocks, and a stereo power amp introduced at Axpona 2023. A nice lineup for a relatively new company.
The cables were sent to me by Calvin D. Johnson, the cable sales director and my contact for basic packaging as these were demo cables. Out of the box, both cables appear well-built, good looking, and WGT locking connectors as the connectors of choice on the interconnects.
Both cables feature:
Multi-gauge oxygen-free solid copper cores to reduce internal inductance
Quadruple layer ultra-low signal absorbing dielectric – inert to microphonic pickup
Oxygen free 3/4″ thick braided copper shielding
15-day trial period
The only two minor negative things I could find were the color of the directional arrows on the speaker cables was hard for these old eyes to make out and the legs on the amp end of the speaker cables. They needed to be about an inch longer as I had to crisscross the two legs to connect to my amp. This was only needed on one side of my amp as the other didn’t need to be crossed.
Evaluation Music sources:
If I Be Wrong by Wolf Larsen Call Me by Imelda May
North Dakota by Lyle Lovett Running Away From You by Sara K.
In My Secret Life by Leonard Cohen Cold Water by Damien Rice Giorgio By Moroder by Daft Punk Feather Moon by Vienna Teng
Devore Amante by Era
The Sound: Meat and Potatoes
I am a crème puff when it comes to female vocals, so the first session included: Wolf Larsen, Imelda May, and Sara K. Wolf Larsen’s voice on If I Be Wrong is airy with a breathiness that flows as if she is on a bed of clouds. You can contrast this “throatiness” with Imelda May’s crisp, pinpoint vocals on Call Me. The subtle vibrato in Imelda’s voice will give you goosebumps.
Sara K. in Running Away From You is another example of a smooth melodic voice that emanates from a silent background as if planets were being hurled from a black hole.
All in all the highs and upper midrange were some of the best I have heard with an organic tonality that will keep you in a relaxed mood of enjoyment throughout your listening session. After getting my fix for female vocals, time to turn to the males: Lyle Lovett, Leonard Cohen, Damien Rice, and Daft Punk.
To start, Lyle’s voice on North Dakota was very natural with an ease of pace that just places you in a dream state. When the female singer comes in as a duet, there is a heightened sense of separation between each singer. I would be remiss if I failed to mention the fine details that pop up in various locations within the soundstage emanating from a silent background.
In a test for the lower male voice, it’s hard to beat Leonard Cohen’s voice on, In My Secret Life. The huskiness was there with richness and a vibrant fresh tonality. I could hear the air move over his vocal cords like a thick fog rolling in over the hills.
Contrast that to Damien Rice on his song, Cold Water it’s almost the complete opposite, much higher in range almost reaching the female register. His voice was clear as a bell where you can hear every nuance in the song. The piano and guitar were so real that listening to the strings you could hear the hammer strikes on the piano strings and finger plucks of the guitar as if the instruments were in front of you.
After listening to the range of singing voices; there’s the tried and true method of listening to everyday speech. The Intro to Giorgio by Moroder is a short biography of Daft Punk. This monologue reminded me of one of those hearing aid commercials where you hear before and after voice clips. The voice was clear and precise, you could hear the intonations, inflections, and mouth noises (in a good way), on par with everyday speech.
Bonus:
Giorgio By Moroder by Daft Punk: For folks who like electronic music, there is some funky/disco after the intro that is snappy, dynamic, and … well … electronic, very danceable.
Devore Amante by Era: This song begins with a wonderful chorus as you can hear a bass drum and organ in the background, later in the song drums, and a guitar solo that might remind you of a popular Pink Floyd song.
Let’s go Tubing
Out of curiosity, I connected the cables to my Mastersound compact 845, 30-watt set integrated amp. The sound became fuller, the bass a little slower, and the lower midrange/upper bass became somewhat congested, but the overall sound was rich with the high end being smooth, detailed, and well-behaved. This was a very good match with maybe the lower midrange/upper bass needing a bit less heft.
Final Thoughts & Wrap up
What can I say, well in one word ……. Music. These cables have a sense of naturalness with an ease of flow that just makes you want to relax and become one with the music.
The overall presentation is clean, with clear vocals/instrumentation with pinpoint imaging and a big wide, and deep soundstage. Details are there but not hyped to the point of listener fatigue and all this is highlighted by a pitch-dark background. Now, I did prefer the Infigo interconnects with my reference Organic (https://organicaudio.eu/) speaker cables as they tame a tad of a slight heaviness in the bass region.
There’s something else I must mention, and that is the speed of the cables. Speed, not in the sense of thunderclap speed but a speed that is musical in keeping pace with the flow of the music. I never caught myself at any point of a song increasing the pace of my toe tapping to try to get the music to speed up.
If you are flying in this stratosphere of cables you would be remiss if you didn’t give the Infigo cables a try. Take advantage of the fifteen-day trial period, what can it hurt, you just might find your endgame cables.
Equipment used for evaluation:
Norma IPA 140 integrated amp
Mastersound Compact 845 integrated amp
Lumin u1 mini digital transport
L.K.S Digital Audio MH-DA004 dac
Rosso Fiorentino Volterra 2 speakers
Organic Audio Reference interconnects (1m pr $2175) & speaker cables (3m pr $4775)
Organic Audio Reference 2 power cord on amplifiers
Infigo Audio : https://infigoaudio.com/
https://infigoaudio.com/page/our-contact-info/
WHERE the MUSIC BEAT meets the AUDIOPHILE ELITE !
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