 Analysis Plus Oval One Interconnects and Clear Oval Speaker Cables
Cables continue to be a contentious issue in audio. Some
people hear differences seemingly so vast that you’d swear the cables have more to do
with the sound of a system than the components they’re connecting. Others hear no
difference at all and swear that any differences that the first group is hearing stem from
overblown imaginations. As with most things, though, the truth likely lies somewhere
between the extremes.
When properly matched to an appropriate system, cables can
provide an incremental improvement to a system’s sound -- the last touch, so to
speak. And this improvement does not have to cost all that much. The Analysis Plus Oval
One interconnects and Clear Oval speaker cables break the sub-$100 price barrier -- $83
for a six-foot run of speaker cable and $89 for a one-meter interconnect can buy you a
terrific improvement over the "gimme" cables that most manufacturers include in
the box.
Background
Just as there is disagreement about whether cables make any
difference at all, for those who do believe they do make a difference, there is also
disagreement as to exactly how. Cable gauge, geometry, shielding, and materials have all
been cited as possible reasons. Then there are the more obvious things such as the quality
of the connector that terminates each end. As a result, different companies employ
different methods to build their products -- and to differentiate their own products from
the competition.
The folks in charge of Analysis Plus are electrical
engineers who specialize in providing measurable, quantifiable data about why their cables
do what they do. Analysis Plus didn’t start in audio; it started out as a consulting
firm providing in-depth engineering expertise to a wide variety of industries. When it was
hired by a well-known audio company to provide data that would substantiate the
performance of its products, one thing lead to another and Analysis Plus ended up with a
cable design with performance characteristics that were easily measurable and which should
correlate with good sound. The company spun-off an audio division that now produces cables
based on this experience. That’s why Analysis Plus can be seen at trade show after
trade show with its oscilloscope demonstrating just how its cables -- and the
competition's -- perform under various tests
Among other things, Analysis Plus believes that the
geometry of a cable is critical to the cable’s ability to transmit a signal without
degradation. That caused the company to develop its patented, nifty-looking Hollow Oval
design. According to the company’s president, Mark Markel, "every wire is
statistically as close to the return current as every other wire." This is said to
distribute the current density more evenly, which makes the resistance of the cable
constant over a wider range of frequencies compared to conventional round cables. And, of
course, Analysis Plus claims, all this is measurable.
Description
The Oval One interconnects are far more substantial than
most inexpensive interconnects. The cable portion is finished in a thick purple jacket
with a cleanly fitted shrink jacket that goes over the RCA termination. It’s a fully
shielded design in order to keep the noise floor low. The high-quality 75-ohm RCA
connectors provide a tight fit -- important for optimum signal transfer -- but not so
tight that they are difficult to use or will rip the RCA jacks off components when
they’re removed. Overall, they're nice looking and well finished.
The 14-gauge Clear Oval speaker cables have, as the name
suggests, a clear PVC outer jacket. The individual high-purity, oxygen-free copper
conductors are covered with either black (negative) or purple (positive) insulation and
are stacked on top of one another. The Clear Oval cables that I received were terminated
with gold-plated spade lugs that should fit most binding posts. They are also available
with banana plugs or pins for those who prefer these methods of connection.
Both the Oval One interconnect and Clear Oval speaker
cables feature crimped-on, solderless terminations said to protect the dielectric from
heat damage. Both the speaker cables and interconnects are quite flexible and easy to use,
but are solid enough to give the sense of confidence that comes from using
high-quality cables.
Sound
 I’ve found many of
the "gimme" cables have a thin, almost zippy sound that can be irritating to the
ears. The same goes for the lamp-cord speaker cable that some audio dealers will supply at
no extra charge. First, I used the Analysis Plus Clear Oval speaker cables with an Arcam
AVR100 receiver, Panasonic DVD-A110 DVD player (used as a CD player), and Athena Audition
AS-B1 loudspeakers. I heard an incremental increase in low-level detail from recordings.
Everything sounded just a little bit clearer and more refined. The top-to-bottom balance
of the sound was also better. The system imaged better. For instance, vocalists were
placed more precisely in the soundstage from left to right and there was also a good sense
of depth to the presentation.
Adding the Analysis Plus Oval One interconnects
incrementally improved the sound, but in a way that surprised me.
I normally use my DVD player as a transport and rely on the
digital-to-analog conversion capability of the Arcam receiver. It sounded better that way
than when I used the player’s internal DACs and sent an analog signal to the
receiver. That was before the Analysis Plus Oval One interconnects came along.
With the Analysis Plus interconnects on the analog outputs
of the DVD player (using the DVD player’s internal DACs) the sound was warmer,
richer, and more enjoyable overall. Less-than-perfect pop recordings such as "Lady
Marmalade" from the soundtrack to the movie Moulin Rouge [Interscope
0694930352] became weightier and less harsh when played back at high volumes. The bass on
Billy Idol’s Greatest Hits [Chrysalis 72435-28812-2-2] was stronger and
firmer. Cuts such as "White Wedding" and "Rebel Yell" sounded less
etched than before, but still had plenty of low-level detail.
Well-recorded classical CDs also benefited from the use of
the Analysis Plus interconnects. Robert Silverman’s powerful piano playing on Beethoven:
32 Piano Sonatas [Orpheum Masters KSP830] came alive and there was more body and
weight when the piano hit its lower registers. The Analysis Plus interconnects provided a
more "fleshed-out" sound that was powerful and visceral, yet easy to listen to.
With both speaker cables and interconnects in place, the
system had a more substantial, fuller sound that was smoother to the ears. Strings on Eva
Cassidy’s Live at Blues Alley [Blix Street G2-10046] did not sound as hard and
her voice was placed further back in the soundstage with more depth and air around her.
Although the effect was not huge, the soundstage was unmistakably larger with greater
delineation of its individual elements. On Madonna’s "Sky Fits Heaven" from
Ray of Light [Maverick CDW 46847], the spooky synthesizer scales imaged well
outside of the speakers and the vocals were more precisely placed and holographic
sounding.
The added weight that the interconnects added to the
presentation and the clean transparent sound of the speaker cables complemented each other
nicely on the varied tracks on the soundtrack to the movie City of Angels [Warner
CDW 46867]. The opening piano bars of Sarah McLachlan’s "Angel" had
excellent pitch definition and authority and McLachlan’s vocals were breathy and
mournful.
The guitar riffs of the Goo Goo Dolls’
"Iris" can sound etched at times, but they remained smooth and powerful with the
Analysis Plus cables in the system. Peter Gabriel’s "I Grieve" exhibited
deep, throbbing bass, but the subtleties of the complex and atmospheric sound were still
discernible. The Analysis Plus cables provided a sound that was powerful, yet always
remained coherent and refined.
Conclusion
Specialized audio cables such as these Analysis Plus
offerings should not be used to compensate for poor-sounding components. Instead, they
should be the icing on the cake -- to allow you to hear everything the system is capable
of. In a system that already sounds good, the Analysis Plus Clear Oval speaker cables and
Oval One interconnects provide a discernable sonic improvement over basic cables. I
enjoyed the increased weight and power of the music, along with the system's improved
transparency. The cables are also well-built, attractively designed, and, perhaps most
importantly, priced reasonably enough that the cost of this upgrade is easy to justify.
Price of equipment reviewed
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