USB DONE RIGHT: Two magic boxes that let computer audio ...

tant, but then they are usually positioned
near the rear of the orchestra.
We came to a preliminary conclusion
that it was too bad this cable and the
preceding one share a name.
We listened to Laudate! and once
again we found the improvement to be
huge.
Both Steve and Gerard concentrated
on the often troublesome female voices,
which this time were consistently strong
and even vibrant. They weren’t quite
as eerily natural as they had been with
the Mavros, and they even hardened up
somewhat in one passage, but we liked
the dynamics. We also liked the great
depth, which is what this remarkable
recording was famous for.
Toby approved as well. “It’s still
viscous and not easy-flowing,” he said,
“but it was nice.”
On Hard Day on the Planet, the Hyper
Symmetrical came into its own, and it
was close to matching the performance
of our reference. The vocal articulation
of this song was excellent. So was the
bottom end, and there was an exciting
liveliness to the piece. “The excellence of
the cable reminded me that Wainwright
is an important poet, like Dylan or
Harry Chapin,” said Steve. Toby thought
the sound was a little thinner, though he
liked the bass tone. “I hope it’s cheap,”
he said.
Well, no, it’s not exactly cheap, but
it is barely more expensive than the
Navigator it is meant to replace, and we
can say that it is every bit as good. In a
time of audio inflation, that’s a pleasant
surprise.
We’ve added it to the store.
Ascent Symmetrical, 1 m, $973
When we originally adopted several
of the Atlas interconnects for our store,
there was one which cost about double
the price of the Navigator All-Cu (which
of course we praised). It sounded excellent.
Trouble was, it sounded just like the
Navigator, and so we never did recommend
it. This Ascent cable would seem
to be its equivalent. Could it justify its
higher price?
The Ascent Symmetrical (shown
above) looks fancier than the Hyper, but
its configuration is nearly the same. The
difference is in the dielectric insulation.
Atlas calls the series “High V.”
That stands for “high velocity.” We
might assume that electrons can travel
at the speed of light, but the medium it
travels through, in this case copper, will
slow it down. Atlas says that the capacitance
of conventional cable structure
also slows down the passage of electrons.
Its High V cables are insulated with
microporous PTFE foam. There’s a
white paper on the subject, as there are
for so many cables. We’ve read it, but of
course technical claims never serve as
the basis for our evaluations. We were,
however, eager to listen. The proof of
the pudding…
Expensive though the Ascent is,
remember that our own favorite, the
Mavros, has risen in price, to $1594 (suggested
list) for the usual 1 metre length.
We would pit one against the other.
The Ascent did very well, letting
through tremendous energy, with convincing
spaciousness and depth. The
rhythm was strong (we might assume we
could take that for granted, but we would
be wrong). The strings were delightfully
crystalline, and we admired the timbres
of the piano, the woodwinds and the
brass. The music seemed less loud than
with the two previous cables, but that
was because it appeared to be coming
from farther back. “There may be some
confusion in the highs,” said Toby, “but
not much.”
We continued with the Laudate!
choral recording, and by the time we
were finished we were pretty much ready
to give this remarkable cable a pass.
Once again the space was huge, as
of course it should be. The opening
notes from the organ were gorgeous,
and everything kept on getting better.
The voices were more rich than bright.
Though there was lovely intermodulation
among the voices, the separation of
sounds was just fine. “That’s a good trick
to have pulled off,” said Toby.
Of course the cable wasn’t inventing
any of this, merely letting it through.
On the final song, Hard Day on the
Planet, the Ascent was a good match
for our Mavros. The dynamics of this
energetic song were strong. The plucked
bass had a wonderful resonance, and
even the finger snaps at the opening were
more present. The saxophone had been
a little “buzzy” with the previous cables,
but not with this one. “I love the way the
beat comes in,” said Toby. “I could read
the singer’s intention better. When he
sings you know he’s chuckling because
you can sense it.” He thought the Ascent
might actually be the best cable yet.
Well…not quite. When such questions
come up we then return to our
reference, as we did this time. We listened
to the Wainwright song with the
Mavros back in its place. It remains the
undisputed champion.
But on two out of three less-expensive
analog cables, Atlas has clearly done the
right thing.
Digital cables
A coaxial digital cable looks like half
of a pair of analog interconnects, but
of course it isn’t, or at least it shouldn’t
be. The role of a digital cable is totally
different. You shouldn’t expect the differences
in tonal balance that you would
have with analog wiring, but that doesn’t
ULTRA HIGH FIDELITY Magazine 53
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