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Essence®gZero10 Interconnect cables single ended

I received these IC's about 12 days ago and since then they have been cycling through the burn-in process - i.e. 24 x 7 streaming internet radio.

They already sounded as good as the gZero6 right from the start, but the blurb on the KLE Innovations web site implyed a significant improvement.

It took over 200 hours for them to "break out", but when they did - let's just say it was well worth the wait.

I've been fortunate to have tried the gZero3 on my system and I currently own the gZero6 and having now heard the gZero10's the one thing that stands out about the entire range is their consistency of tone - it just does not change.

So what has improved with the gZero10 ?...
- the dynamics are faster
>>> the gZero6 was excellent, but the gZero10 is significantly faster

- the very fine details have improved- especially the those extremely fine whispery details that contributes to the emotion of a vocal performance and also the mechanical artifacts as the performer depress instrument keys or move up and down the fret/finger board adding to the realism.

- the image is more spacious and accurate - instruments and artists are placed with laser precision but the space around them not only contains artifacts from their instruments, but also those adjacent instruments. It's a much more natural blend.

- the bass is significantly deeper, but extremely well controlled to the point where textures, even in the lowest frequencies can be heard.

But for me, the most convincing improvement is the reproduction of the venue acoustics present in recording of live performances.

One album I have is Julian Bream and John Williams Together. The venue acoustics have always muddied their position on the stage, but the gZero10's have cured that issue and then some - this is perhaps one of the best live recordings I have - now :-)

I have had the opportunity to audition the gZero3 on a friends very nice system and we both agreed they outperformed his far more expensive silver XLR interconnects from a well known brand, so the gZero10's should provide an even better sonic performance on systems capable of extremely high resolution.

If I had to sum up the key qualities of the gZero10 I would have to say they are fast, articulate, spacious, smooth and are able to convey the emotion of the performer and the space of the venue

These IC's are extremely good on my analogue rig, but on my DAC they bring the performance as close to analogue as I will probably get.

Either way, these IC's are excellent performers and will give more expensive cables a run for their money.

Yes, they are a little pricey, but they will probably be the last cables you buy.

Visit the KLE Innovations web site for more details and reviews

And if you do happen to buy a pair - be sure to give them 300 hours burn-in

Regards
williewonka
williewonka OP
1,826 posts
 
I don't normally post updates this quickly, but these cables deserve this
one.

Going through my albums I came across Tubular Bells by Mike Oldfield and
thought I'd give it a whirl.

What came next left me totally GOB-SMACKED!!!

The reproduction of this fortress of multi-tracking was absolutely superb.

If you don't know this album, its a single artist that has multi-tracked over
and over to replicate almost an orchestral piece using more modern day
instruments that include both acoustic and electric instrumentation.

The net result is a cocophony of sound that can sound jumbled and
distorted on the best of systems. But this was something special :-)

The clarity of using these IC's cut through the confusion and presented a
crystal clear image that was very deep and just as wide and extremely well
controlled.

The dynamics were as crisp as a pane of glass shattering.

These cables were always completely in control of the extremely low
frequency bass lines of both guitar and synthesizers.

Side one culminates in the striking of tubular bells (of course) but it was as
though I was in a belfry - crystal clear, dynamic and with a smooth decay
full of texture.

These IC's are without a doubt extremely good

Hope you find this feedback useful :-)
williewonka OP
1,826 posts
 
UPDATE - due to naming conflicts with another company the range is now called KLEI gZero2/3/6 &10.

The word "Essence" is no longer used

Regards
yping
330 posts
 
Williewonka, I've listened to the gZero6's and they are very nice, indeed, and your post indicates that the 10's are much better, interesting...
yping
330 posts
 
Thanks Williewonka for the review. It sounds like a really really good sounding IC :)
williewonka OP
1,826 posts
 
Yping - I also was a little sceptical about how much better the gZero10 could be, since the gZero 6 was already very good, but the proof really was in listening.

Most of my Orchestral tracks (not all) have a larger image and more space around the various instruments. It is so much more natural sounding and on tracks recorded in large venues the sense of space is very large.

On one album I have with a cello soloist the natural venue acoustics fill the entire listening room and reflected sounds appear to be coming from behind, so it's as though you are there right in the venue

On other albums you can hear the vocalist swallowing just before they start to sing and once they do sing you can hear every tiny nuance in their vocal performance and the sound is very realistic.

I really have not heard anything this good.

Having said that - and for fear of repeating myself - ALL of your cables, power cables and speaker cables included need to be very high quality in order to allow this cable to perform to this level of detail. But once they are, you will hear details like never before. Using the gzero10's on a really high resolution system should be even more revealing.

As I went through the albums in my collection some revealed amazing improvements in details, while others were not as revealing, simply because the details were never captured.

Case in point - my Doobie Brothers album was as good as it's going to get, literally no change in the sound when using the gZero6, but my Beatles album was amazingly detailed and the image so much bigger than when using the gZero6.

So you really can't assess these cables by listening to only a couple of albums since it depends on how detailed the recording was at that time.

Most of my albums sound better, but the degree of the improvements varies from one album to another.

My own DIY cables are not quite as good as the gZero10 and lack a degree of realism and some extremely fine high frequency details - they also do not yet have the clarity, which proved that you just can't add the Absolute Harmony to existing cables and get the same results.

Hope this helps
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