JPS Labs Superconductor 2 Interconnects and NC Series Speaker Cables

by Marc Mickelson

It seems like it was just yesterday that I was writing about the JPS Labs Superconductor interconnects and speaker cables, but it's actually been more than a year. Between then and now, I've used the Superconductor interconnects and speaker cables as my reference because of their neutrality, the ability of these cables to impart no recognizable sonic signature of their own. As I reasoned in that first review, this quality is probably due to the low electrical measurements of the cables--and thus low interaction between them and other equipment. I've used the Superconductors with a wide array of components: Amps, preamps, speakers, and digital--both tube and solid state. They've worked well in every instance, the perfect reviewer's tool.

Over the past year, JPS has bulked out its line considerably, adding a comprehensive set of power cords and now a new line of interconnects and speaker cables, dubbed the Superconductor 2 and Superconductor 2 NC Series respectively. These new cables don't replace the original Superconductors, which will be still be offered. Instead they aim at bettering the performance of the original cables, and the cynic in me wonders if their loftier price--$695 per meter pair of interconnects, $1950 per 8' pair of speaker cables--is meant to catch the attention of audio high rollers who perhaps shun the more reasonably priced Superconductors. Their loss....

The Price of Aluminum

As you may recall, the original JPS Labs Superconductor interconnects and speaker cables are unique because they each use a copper-coated aluminum conductor surrounded by a corrugated tube of high-purity copper, which fully shields the conductor from RFI and EMI. The Superconductor 2 interconnects and NC Series speaker cables employ the same materials and configuration, but the conductor is 50% larger, decreasing the already-low electrical measurements of the original Superconductor cables even further. The interconnects use locking WBT RCA connectors and the speaker cables locking WBT banana plugs or Cardas rhodium-plated spades. Both the interconnects and speaker cables have a finely woven outer jacket, which, designer Joe Skubinski claims, minimizes the sonic effects of the dielectric and of any static buildup. The new interconnects and speaker cables are still rather stiff and ship in anti-static pouches that reportedly maintain the cables' pre-burned-in condition.

A note for those of you who already own original Superconductor cables: JPS Labs is offering a trade-up program, with 75% of the retail price of your original Superconductors going toward the price of equal- or greater-length Super 2 interconnects or NC Series speaker cables. Contact JPS Labs or one of its dealers for full details.

System

I've used the original Superconductor cables with essentially every piece of equipment I've reviewed over the past year, while the Super 2s (for short) have so far had the luxury of connecting only a few pieces: ProAc Response Four speakers, Lamm M1.1 and M2.1 monoblocks, Lamm L1 linestage, Joule Electra VZN-80 Mk III amplifier and LA-100 Mk III linestage, Timbre TT-1 DAC and Wadia 20 transport. I've also used the full complement of JPS Digital, Analog and Power AC cords, along with the API Power Link cords.

Keen-eyed readers will note that I also use the fab Audio Magic Tubed Interconnect, and for the evaluation of the Super 2s, I had it both in my system (between DAC and linestage) and sitting on the sidelines while I used a second pair of Super 2s in its place.

Super Too?

In general, the JPS Superconductor 2 interconnects seem to deliver all the music that your equipment has to offer--an attribute that the original Superconductors also have. So then why buy the Super 2s? Because they go the extra mile, improving on the original Superconductors in some key areas.

First, clarity--the ability for the sound to startle with its greater immediacy and resolution. If you have equipment you love, the Super 2s will remind you why you love it, although in no way can their sound be considered etched or overly detailed. (I frankly don't know of any cable whose sound can.) On the contrary, they seem to have the endearing sort of naturalness that all great pieces of equipment have. They sound neither overtly musical nor ruthlessly revealing. They just seem to reflect in a more original way the properties of the upstream equipment--and the music, of course.

The Super 2s seem to dig up more subtle and small-scale effects, such as Diana Krall's breathing on her newest CD Love Scenes (Impulse! IMPD-233), which is not nearly as schmaltzy as its title suggests. I also noticed an increase in air--like that on the opening of "North Dakota" from Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth (MCA/Curb MCAD-10475)--and what seems to be a blacker, more noiseless background. Dynamics are certainly not hindered by the Super 2s, as the music can go from soft to very loud in an instant. Danilo Perez's Panamonk (Impulse! IMPD-190) displays this in the context of some fine piano playing. Although the Super 2s don't quite measure up to the Audio Magic Tubed interconnect in terms of air and dynamic capability, they are still exceptional in this regard, and I'm not sure if such additions offer more or less sonic truth. Besides, it's not fair to compare any pair of standard interconnects to the Tubed Interconnect because it's an active device.

The NC Series speaker cables are equally impressive. Unlike the original Superconductors, the NC Series cables are single-wire only, which means that you'll have to use jumpers (which JPS Labs can make out of the special 8-AWG Super 2 terminating wire) or two runs if your speakers are biwire capable. Although the Super 2 interconnects sounded fine right out of their anti-static baggies, the NC Series speaker cables needed a little break in--ten hours or so--to lose a touch of diffuseness. After they're broken in, the NC Series speaker cables really strut, increasing bass weight noticeably but retaining the overall neutral balance that the original Superconductor speaker cables have.

But I equivocate. In a certain sense, this review is no review at all, with only a pittance of information about the sound of the products under evaluation. I admit my guilt, but I have an excuse: How do you describe something that seems to have little or no character of its own? Maybe I'm missing something or need to do more direct comparison to discover what these cables are doing. Maybe. In the end, though, I enjoy the Super 2 interconnects and NC Series speaker cables, and that's enough for me.

In a Quandary

The JPS Superconductor 2 interconnects and NC Series speaker cables are very special. Along with the Audio Magic Tubed interconnect, they make up my new reference combination and the part of my system that will require some serious begging before I'll tinker with it. Why would I want to? Although the newest JPS cables sound more resolving and refined than the original Superconductors, which I still think are exceptional, I have a hard time coming up with a laundry list of obvious sonic characteristics, and this is high praise in my opinion. The new cables aren't cheap, but there are certainly cables that cost much more than they do. I'll let others worry about wire from now on. Check please!

There is something that you should ask yourself, however: Which JPS cables should I buy? For the most part, your budget will help you come up with an answer. If you have the scratch, spring for the Super 2s and NC Series speaker cables. They're the finest wire I've had in my system, and their seeming universality makes them strong candidates for your--or any other--system. If the rarefied price of the Super 2/NC Series combination is too much for you to spend, the original Superconductors are waiting to make you happy. Neither is a compromise.

I finally had the chance to meet Joe Skubinski at CES 98, and he was just as I thought he would be: amiable and levelheaded. I suspect that he knows he has something special in his new cables, which he had in use in the room he shared with Gallo Acoustics as well as a number of other rooms, and I can only agree. The newest cables in the JPS line are permanent additions to my personal list of great audio products.

...Marc Mickelson
marc@soundstage.com

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