Canuck Audio Mart

First off I would like to thank Omer at Oz for lending me the cables under review here. I originally email Omer asking for some advice, he offered to send out some cables for me to give a listen to, no strings attached. I would recommend OZ whole heartedly, and plan to give him a lot more business.


The Contenders: (all cables are 1m)

• Kimber PBJ, Ultralink Ultima, Unity, Ascendant Solo

The PBJÂ’s are up for replacement in my system. I am trying to put together an all-Canadian system, and the three other cables are all from Canadian manufacturers. My system currently consists of; Rega Planet CD, StudioLab Reference 1 Speakers, Cambridge Audio Integrated Amplifier, Gutwire Basic Speaker Cables, and a Gutwire Stingray Power bar. I am using Gutwire Notepads for vibration damping.

Description

I have owned the Kimber PBJ now for well over a year. I have always utilized this cable from my CD Player (Rega Planet) to the whatever amp I was using. It is a lightweight cable with three separate twisted colored strands. Connectors seem to be of satisfactory quality.

The product from Ultralink is a HEAVY cable. Silver in color and screams quality. The connectors seem to be of a higher grade than the Kimber and make a real solid connection.

The Unity cables, at least to my eye seem to be the most interesting of the bunch. A woven gray surface and good quality locking connectors. They are lightweight, although heavier than the Kimber.

Last product here is the product from Ascendant the Solo. My wife thinks these are the sexiest of the bunch due to the material used. Appear to be of high quality, with a luxurious feel.

The Plan

I decided to pick 5 songs from 5 different artists, all of which I am very familiar with. Each song was picked to challenge each cable with a different presentation. I listened to each group of 5 songs and then traded out the cables. I made notes on each cable as I was listening. I then repeated the same procedure with my wife as the listener. We then compared notes and went from there. Not very scientific I am afraidÂ…but it is the best we could come up with. Not that it matters but here are the 5 songs we picked:

Steve Earle – Fort Worth Blues
Norah Jones – Don’t know why
Allison Krauss – Down to the River to Pray (O’ Brother Soundtrack)
Metallica – Hero of the Day
Kid Rock/Sheryl Crowe –Picture


The Results

The Unity, Ascendant, and Ultralink cables all out performed the PBJÂ’s I had been listening to for 1.5 years. The Kimber product was good, just did not seem to have the balance of the other 3.

Both my wife and I noted that the Ultralink cables had stronger bass than the Kimber, with smoother highs and better imaging. They made the music sound more put together than the Kimber with great definition of the instruments across the soundstage.

The Ascendant cables never seemed to come into their own within my system. The performed better than the Kimber, with strong bass. But the midrange seemed a bit “off”.

The Unity cables were the best of the bunch. They made the music seem right. The total balance of these cables matched what I was looking for. Smooth and silky would be the best description.

Based on this I bought the Unity cables.

Thanks again Omer!!

Glad you liked the Ascendant Cables! They're handmade in Barrie, just up the road. Jeff the owner of Ascendant does a great job! We also are pleased to carry the line.

Scott

Thanks Quinlan -

That helps me as I'm also looking at two of the products you've mentioned.

I'm surprised about all listed being better than the PB&J, but it's valuable to follow the process as only your ears matter on your own system.

Oz does seem like quite a good retailer based on comments read on this group, and their prices seem very reasonable for products offered.

Thanks for helping me out by sharing your views.

WOW, a very big thanks Quinlan for sharing your (and your wife's) thoughts/impressions on these 3 cables.

All three cables are great, but it's very clear that some work better in a given system. The only way to know for sure is to try them out.

I'm thrilled that our own Unity interconects at $130, were the best match versus the Ultralink ($150) and the Ascendant ($250) for your system.

Here's a pic of the Unity Interlink:

Thanks as well to Omer who offered to send me some samples of cables to try out- no strings attached.

It became apparent very quickly that the Unity interconnect was the best of the cables I auditioned. The Unity interconnect was brighter with a wider and more detailed soundstage providing detailed bass, clear highs and well defined midrange.

Easy purchase decision.

Thanks Omer!!!!

Always a pleasure!

If this keeps up, we're going to have to have a clearance sale for all the cables that Unity is outperforming!

Hey Omer,
Sounds great. Anything that performs at 95% or your Unity's but costs about 50% the price of them you can send my way!

well, I'm clearing out my remaining stock of Maple Audio on eBay Canada......worth checking out.