Soundstage!
Todd Warnke


April 1997

Size is NOT everything...


WireWorld Atlantis II interconnect
WireWorld Atlantis II speaker wire
WireWorld Silver StarLight II digital cable
WireWorld Aurora power cord

While not exactly brimming over with testosterone, on occasion I've found myself exhibiting a bias toward the big and powerful. As stereophonic proof of this predilection, the Sound-Labs put out glorious sound and they are an imposing 6 feet tall. The Warner is the best amp I've heard for 2 grand or less and it's big, black and heavy. The Cardas Hex 5-C speaker wires are musical, detailed and the most accurate wire I've met and they look like boa constrictors that just finished eating a colony of mice. So, perhaps, my slight size fixation explains the neglect the WireWorld Atlantis II speaker wire and interconnects suffered when they showed up on my door step several months ago, 'cause, to tell the truth, they're kinda wimpy looking. To be fair, their cosmetics are excellent, with nice looking RCA's on the interconnects. Both are colored an attractive aqua blue. But they are, nonetheless, skinny.

On the other hand, the Silver StarLight II digital cable and the Aurora power cord (which come in standard audiophile overkill sizes), which accompanied their blue brethren, were welcomed into Casa de los Warnkes and "El System Mayor" without negative size connotations, in spite of their inferior cosmetics (the Aurora being especially challenged). When the WireWorld box first showed up everything did get a brief weekend fling with "El Mayor", but the poor little Atlantis twins were deemed lacking in bass and in need of David Salz' recommended 100 hours of break-in (that's the old preconception leaking in, notice that the fatter digital cable and power cord were not blamed for the softened bass). So, to break them in properly they spent a lot of time in the "el system menor" turning out nice enough sound, but whenever the occasion arose to advance them to the living room I seemed to find an excuse not to swap wire that day. Eventually, when conscience overcame reluctance and the slender but cute cables were given their chance at center stage I came to regret my earlier reluctance. But before I tell that story, some housekeeping details.

[PICTURE OF INTERCONNECTS AND SPEAKER]Details, Details, Details

David Salz has been turning out superb wire designs for years, first at StraightWire, and for several years at his own company, WireWorld. The Atlantis II interconnects occupy the third rung up in an eight step ladder, while the matching speaker wire is the fourth step in nine wire choices. At $90 a meter pair for the interconnects and $280 for an 8 foot pair of the speaker wire ($310 for an internal bi-wire pair), they are decidedly affordable.

In conformity with the Atlantis moniker, they are aqua blue. The interconnects are terminated with custom made, easy to handle, Teflon insulated, gold plated RCA's. The speaker wires I had on hand were terminated with spades that were the only obvious concession to price I saw in the Atlantis cables, being a little flimsy, actually bending several times while being moved around. As for their size, the interconnects are about half the thickness of my reference Cardas Cross cables, and are extremely flexible. Each run of the matching speaker wire, positive and negative, is about 50% larger in diameter than the interconnect. In addition, unlike the Cardas wire where both the positive and negative runs are enclosed in a common outer jacket, each run is in its own jacket, with the jackets joined, much like zip cord (please don't take that in any negative manner). This makes for a slightly stiff speaker wire, more stiff than my Cardas HexLink 5-C's, but also less bulky than the Cardas wire.

[AURORA POWER CORD]As for the aforementioned "buffed" power cords and digital cable, they also were of extremely high quality build. The Aurora power cord is $185 per 6 foot cord and comes in an extra powerful shade of Henry Ford's favorite color. The heavy duty three prong plug, while not encapsulated, is very sturdy. Pictures don't do it justice. It is thick and very stiff, barely
yielding at all when bent sideways.

The $160 per meter Silver StarLight II digital cable is terminated with the top of the line, custom made WireWorld RCA's. These jacks have an internal O ring to get and keep a tight grip on the female connector. The jacket is clear PVC with an underlying silver textile braid. This gives the digital coax a look very similar to the Silver Eclipse interconnect. The coax cable, while thick is relatively flexible, and looks good to boot.

config.sys

In many ways I was fortunate to have several speakers on hand to try the Atlantis wires out with (more on that to follow). Besides the standard Sound-Lab Dynastats, other speakers used were the Platinum Audio Studio 1, PSB Stratus Silvers and Dunlavy SC-III's. In addition, both the McCormack DNA-0.5 Deluxe and Warner Imaging VTE- 201S were used to evaluate the WireWorld wire and the Aurora power cord as well. My trusty Audible Illusions L- 1 pre-amp, which spent some time with the Aurora power cords, was used throughout the review, as was the JVC XL-Z1050 transport and the Audio Alchemy DTI-Pro, which were joined with the WireWorld Silver StarLight II coax. DACs were either the Audio Alchemy DDE v3.0 (connected to the DTI by the Audio Magic Mystic Reference) or the Assemblage DAC-2. Other odds and ends included Marigo Labs Bear Feet, Michael Green AudioPoints, German Physics Tone Cones, MIT Z-cords and a homebrew power conditioner.

Opening Shots

One good thing about hooking up a system with cable from a single company/designer is the sense you get of that designer's "sound." All the WireWorld products in this review - the Atlantis II interconnects and wire, the Silver StarLight digital cable and the Aurora power cord - delivered, to varying degrees, a similar and consistent sound. This "sound" was more pronounced with the speaker cables and less with the power cords, but nonetheless consistent; with the difference from wire to wire one of degree rather than of character.

At the end of their first weekend in the system, during which no critical but extensive casual listening was done, I felt that the WireWorld "sound" was clean and clear, but perhaps lacking in the bass department. However, my previous experience with wire in general, and with WireWorld in particular (having previously used a Starlight I digital cable) indicated the need to follow David Salz' advice and let these wires break-in for at least 100 hours. So, the interconnects and speaker wire were moved to the bedroom system to break in. As I said earlier, over the next several weeks, in spite of their improving sound in the small system, I never found the time to move them back into the main rig. Then the PSB's showed up.

Different strokes for different....

PSB turns out some remarkably good speakers for the money. The $1500 Stratus Silvers have many superlative qualities, being detailed, quick and having a very surprising bass extension for their size and price. But in spite of their overall excellence I couldn't come to grips with a mid-bass richness they exhibited in my room. In an attempt to deal with this I schlepped 'em around the room, swapped amps and played with various spikes. Finally, the WireWorld's came to mind. To make a long story short, in came the little blue wires and out went the bass hump.

I know this sounds like I'm describing the Atlantis wires as passive tone controls, and to a small extent that's right. Every single audio component imposes a character on the signal it passes. Unfortunately, that's the nature of sound reproduction. With that in mind, the goal of of high-end audio should be to both minimize signal changes and preserve as much of the original signal as possible, and this within the constraints of a given product's price point. In this light, the Atlantis wires performed very well.

The Nitty Gritty

Taken together, and starting at the top, the Atlantis speaker wire and interconnects had a smooth yet detailed treble. Open, airy and quick, I found that naturally recorded, acoustic music was well served by the WireWorlds. Cymbals had detail, with the swish of brushes equally well done. Their only treble weakness was highlighted when compared to the 3-4 times more expensive Cardas wires. There was a small but noticeable "mechanical" quality to the treble. By mechanical, I mean that the highest frequencies, on occasion, gave the impression of being reproduced by a mechanical source rather than being created by human hands. This was not constant, however, and tended to show up on higher quality recordings such as the excellent Nathaniel Rosen/Doris Stevenson "Reverie" (John Marks Records - JMR 10) disk of transcriptions for cello and piano. At times the upper register of the piano simply took on a mechanical sound. While audible, I don't want to over-emphasize this. The difference was only clearly audible after a/b'ing the WireWorld with the more expensive Cardas, and when left to its own, the Atlantis sounded very good indeed.

The mids, no doubt about it, were superb. Vocals, especially female, were immediate, expressive and detailed. Acoustic guitars purred, saxes growled, pianos sang and all did so without stepping on each other. In other words, the WireWorlds delivered the midrange to the speaker (and amp) virtually uncolored

As for that mid-bass, while still to the slender side of perfect, the break in had taken away most of the leanness I heard when I first put the WireWorlds in the big system. Let me emphasize that this leanness was slight and did not unduly color the bass. Bottom end detail was fully evident, bass had power and snap (undoubtedly due in part to the near perfect mids and good highs), and rhythm was very easy to follow. With the PSB's, this is a combination of traits that make for a good match. I actually found myself preferring the Atlantis combo to the 3 to 4 times more expensive Cardas wires with the Stratus Silver's.

As for other speaker combos, the Platinum Studio 1s also proved to be a good match for the little WireWorld's. The bass of the Studio's, tight, detailed and dynamic, is also limited, reaching to 50 cycles or so. The leanness in the Atlantis wires is right at and below this range, and so was not audible. However, their superb mids and highs were on prominent display. These speakers can image like Michael Jordan can shoot, with elan and from here out to the back yard. The WireWorld combo allowed them to do so without impairment.

The super detailed midrange of the Sound-Labs was another test the fully broken-in Atlantis twins passed with flying colors. The bass was a little lean for my tastes, but was considerably improved over their initial showing. The highs were still a little mechanical, but their overall performance was excellent.

To this point I've described the Atlantis wires as a pair. Taken separately, they differ only slightly. The speaker wires are ever so slightly more lean in the bass than the interconnects are. And the interconnects are just a bit more mechanical sounding in the treble than the speaker wire is. As for the mids, each is the equal of the other, meaning they both get it right.

[STARLIGHT CABLE]The Ugly Ducklings

As for the two other wires, let's start with the Silver StarLight digital coax cable. My long term digital reference has been the Ensemble Digiflux 75. This superb coax is detailed, fast, and very dynamic. Its largest flaw (in absolute terms the flaw is slight) is a slight coolness and emotional distance. Perhaps that would better be described as a slight trimming of the overall harmonic envelope in favor of the leading edge transient response. In comparison, the Silver StarLight was a richer cable harmonically, correcting this flaw of the Ensemble.

The StarLight was also very accurate in the mids, presenting superb re-creation of vocals. As with the Atlantis wires, the reason for so little commentary on this point is their basic excellence.

The highs were very good as well. Overall, I prefer the highs of the Ensemble due to its greater sense of air, but the difference here is very small. The difference is so slight that Robin, who is generally more sensitive to treble than I am, disagrees with me, preferring the Silver StarLight.

Staging was the equal of the mids. I never felt I was being short changed in any way. If a disk had imaged outside the speakers with the Ensemble, it did so with equal aplomb using the Silver StarLight. If a stage had extended 30 feet behind the speakers in the past, it did so with the WireWorld. In short, simply superb.

The Silver StarLight's flaws, while small, were in the bass, just as with the Atlantis wires. There was a very slight leaning to the very lowest bass that was only intermittently noticeable. Because the attenuation was so slight I had to spend a lot of time chasing and confirming it. And, because of its slightness, the ultimate effect was very negligible. The only other negative comment I can make is that transients were ever so slightly less vivid than with the Ensemble cable. Overall, this is a digital coax I could be very happy with. It gets the heart of the music spot on accurate, and errors in ways so small that only an unrepentant Scrooge would hold them against it. Excellent stuff.

As for the Aurora power cords, their performance was the equal of the Silver StarLight. Simply Superb. Every stock power cord was thoroughly trounced by the Aurora. On the other hand, the contest between the MIT Z- Cord and the Aurora was a little more interesting. I've talked previously about the proximity of Buckley Air Base and its electrical pollution. The MIT Z-cord with its encapsulated ferrites has been the only power cord that has consistently proven itself in my system. The ultra beefy Aurora, however, in many ways had the measure of the MIT's.

The one area I've never been entirely satisfied with the Z-Cords has been their bass response. With the Aurora cord in place I learned why. Bass was full, deep and very tight, edging out the MIT cords in both the full and deep departments. The mids were similarly spectacular. Detailed, quick and dynamic. However, the contest shifted back to the MIT's in the treble. The silence of the Z-Cords (and their ferrites) was quickly evident, especially on the Audible Illusions pre-amp. Ultimately I found the best combo to be either cord on the Audio Alchemy PS-3, the Z-Cord on the Audible Illusions and an Aurora cord on the amp. The best generalization I can make from this is that in a cleaner electrical environment the Aurora would be the probable winner, even on the pre-amp.

That's a wrap!

Whew! This is a lot to say about wire. Replacing every wire in your system, and then swapping back and forth is tiring work, but also very rewarding. I certainly gained a new respect for the excellence of the WireWorld line. The Aurora power cord does exactly what it should. It adds to the abilities of your existing amp and pre-amp, extending the bass and clarifying the harmonics of the mid-range and treble.

The Silver StarLight digital cable is equally successful in its task. Excepting only the slightest deep bass roll off, this cable is detailed, lively, accurate, fully dimensional, and enjoyable. I can confidently and heartily recommend it.

As for the Atlantis wires, they too are recommended, but with a small qualification. At their price point, perfection (or at least its very close semblance) is hardly possible. What is possible is an honest attempt at balance, clarity and minimal damage to the audio signal. In these respects the Atlantis wires are an unqualified success. My previous budget interconnect recommendation had been the Kimber PB-J or the MAS Black. After listening the Atlantis, I have to add a third to the list. If your system needs some life, lean to the Kimber, if it's relatively balanced, the MAS is a good choice, and if you need to control a loose bass driver, the WireWorld leads the pack.

As for speaker wire, XLO Pro 600 and AudioQuest Type 4 had been my previous champions. As with the interconnect, the Atlantis speaker wire is now added to the list. And of the three, it has the best mid-range and most balanced highs. While not for every system, the Atlantis twins do so much correctly that you can't afford to miss them.

...Todd Warnke
rlwtlw@ix.netcom.com

Aurora power cord - 6 feet
Price: $185 USD

WireWorld Atlantis II interconnect - 1 meter
Price: $90 USD

WireWorld Atlantis II speaker wire - 8 foot pair (single wire)
Price: $280 USD

WireWorld Silver StarLight II digital cable - 1 meter
Price: $160 USD

WireWorld, Inc.
3320 Griffin Road, Ft. Lauderdale, FL 33312
Phone: (954)962-2650
Fax: (954)962-2603

E-mail: wirewrld@icanect.net

Web-Site: http://members.icanect.net/~wirewrld/wireworld/