Even novice audiophiles soon come to realize that there is a vast universe of high-end interconnects, digital cables, speaker wires and power cords out there, all competing for a portion of your audio budget. Long gone are the days of old when the patch cords that came with the equipment you purchased were the order of the day. This wide choice of cables is a situation that must be taken into consideration when putting together a high-end system. To complicate matters further, the price range for interconnects start at a couple of bucks for generic patch cords and run to $3K per meter and higher. One rule of thumb that should simplify this situation somewhat is this: you do not want to pay more for interconnects than you paid for the component. Many people still have a difficult time accepting the fact that "wire" can cost as much or more than many traditional components such as preamps or CD players. One must also keep in mind that under ideal conditions, good cables will allow you to realize the best performance that your components are capable of delivering. You cannot however, make a "silk purse out of a sow's ear". Good cables need to be attached to good components. With audio, balance and compatibility are everything.

Every so often, an individual will come along who is determined to offer a line of audio products which will deliver a high level of performance at reasonable prices. Robert Lee, who founded and runs Acoustic Zen, is one person that comes to mind. Being a classically trained musician gives him a decided advantage, when it comes to designing and voicing audio products. When you think of it, by combining his engineering background with his musical training, it is little wonder that the results are products of exceptional musicality.

In 1998, prior to launching Acoustic Zen, Robert Lee partnered with Jim Wang to create Harmonic Technology. Very soon after their initial release, the Harmonic Technology line of products quickly earned a class "A" rating from the audiophile press and consumers as well. Lee left Harmonic Technology to found his own company, Acoustic Zen. The Acoustic Zen line of cables was released at the 2001 CES Show in Las Vegas. They quickly won critical praise for their design innovations and sound quality. Since that time, the tradition of creating very high quality products with a focus on musicality at real world prices has continued.

For several years before launching Acoustic Zen Technologies, Lee was busy researching the use of "single-crystal" wire. As a result of his research, he decided to use "zero-crystal" (extremely long grained), pure and unextruded, continuous cast wire. Acoustic Zen products are a culmination of Robert's more than thirty years of design and research experience.

My first experience with Acoustic Zen interconnects and digital cables came with the audition of the WOW series. These were the same cables that were reviewed by Martin Appel a short while ago. At first listen, I found them to be somewhat bright and forward. After a short burn-in period, these tendencies disappeared. This was another reminder not to pass judgments based upon first impressions. In brief, I found the WOW interconnects to offer fairly good extension at the extremes and a very good soundstage. Tonally, they were warm and very forgiving. While the level of detail they retrieved was more than adequate, I was pleased to find that they did not try to pass off hardness and/or edginess as detail the way many inexpensive components often do. When you consider the price of the WOW cables, you will quickly realize that they are another of those all-too-rare, sonic bargains. They offer a very high level of performance at an entry-level price. Soon after, I exchanged the WOW interconnects for the Matrix Reference IIs and the Silver Byte digital cable.

I have to admit that I approached this review with a bit of trepidation. My past experience with silver interconnects was less than rewarding. In my system I found them to be tonally cold and hard sounding. In many instances, mid-range glare was also included at no extra cost. However, up to this time though, I hadn't encountered any of Acoustic Zen's silver products. While the Silver Byte is the only cable here that is all silver and the Matrix Reference lls are a mixture of silver and copper, I was still suspicious.

Sound

I usually like to audition cables as a complete system if possible. I am better able to get the sonic foot print by listening this way. After installing the cables, I didn't do any serious listening until after a lengthy break-in period. I'm going to come right to the point here. These cables were a real surprise in the best possible way. Rather than being brittle or displaying any of the unpleasantness that I had previously experienced with other silver cables, the Matrix Reference IIs were just the opposite. I found them to be smooth, yet not so much so that they glossed over any musical details. Tonally, the Matrix Reference lls are well balanced and lean more to the cool side as opposed to being euphonic. This is not to say that they are in any way clinical; rather, they are cooler in my system than the Von Gaylord, for instance.

Female voice is always an interesting test of a component or of a system. One of my favorite recordings of a female artist is Norah Jones' CD, Come away with me [Blue Note Records 7243 5 32088 2 0]. With the AZs in my system, I was able to hear all of the intimacy and breathiness of her unique voice. No one attribute was overdone, just a very natural presentation.

The all important midrange is well served by these cables. Instrumental timbres were full and on the rich side of the spectrum. Again, the things that I find most objectionable were missing, namely, hardness or edginess. This was true whether listening to analogue or digital sources. Tonal weight was in no way impeded with the AZs in the system. I am sure that the tonal weight that I heard was in large part due to the Golden Sound power cords that I was also using at the time. Transparency is good but I don't think that it will satisfy audiophiles that want to hear in and around the individual instruments, regardless of the recording. To my ears, this super transparency only calls attention to the system instead of the music.

The bass is deep, tight and tuneful. You will not find any one note bass here. Ray Brown's Some of my Best Friends are, The Sax Players [Telarc Jazz CD-833388] is a fine example of wide ranging acoustic bass. His is a consistently full and robust tone. Just listen to "How High the Moon", for an example of this. The AZs allow the full weight and bloom of the bass to come through without adding any bloat. Niles Petter Molvar's Solid Ether, [ECM 1772 314543365-2] is a recording that is full of heavy drum and synthesized music. This recording will provide a real test for your speakers' woofers as well as the low end response of the rest of your components. Also, since there are a number of musical lines being played at the same time, all of this information has to be sorted out and resolved, otherwise the music can become cacophonous. The ability of these cables to resolve detail as well as unravel complex music was very good. The Zens were never tripped up by this or any other music that passed through them.

The Acoustic Zen cables presented a very natural image. Instruments were clearly located across the stage with good specificity. Soloists were presented with a rather soft rounded edge about them as opposed to the razor sharp cut-out that I have experienced with other cables. Images were always stable; I never experienced the "image wander" that has sometimes occurred with other cables that I have had in the system or the "bunched center" that I have experienced in the past, i.e., when several instruments seem to be playing from the same spot at the same time on the stage.

The Zens are also very good at macro as well as micro dynamics. These characteristics are very important with big band or symphonic music. Low level details are well preserved. Often when a component is revealing, it can be hard or harmonically sterile as well. This was not the case with these cables. They never exhibited any hardness or glare.

Summary

The Acoustic Zen interconnects and digital cables are well constructed from high quality parts. Sonically they are well balanced transparent and smooth. They do not overemphasize any one area or present artifacts as musical information. In the universe of cables, they offer very good value for the money. It is little wonder that they continue to receive the accolades from the audiophile press. Given their high level of performance and their relatively low price, they are highly recommended.