My Audio Cable (MAC)
Roy Harris
I
received a tip from a friend about a palladium interconnect cable. I followed
up the lead and discovered that the designer, Steve Hallick, is a local
manufacturer. His office is in Massapequa, NY, approximately 8 miles from
my residence. I visited Steve and auditioned a stereo system consisting
of a modified Jolida CD player, a Decware tube amp, the Horn Pipe horn
speakers, and of course, MAC cables. After comparing the palladium cable
to the gold cable, I selected the following cables for review: 1 meter
MAC Au interconnect $429; 6 feet Cu Q 10 speaker cable $249; 6 feet Sound
Pipes AC cord x 2 $288 for a total cost of $966. In the past, I have reviewed
cable products whose total cost exceeded the price of a component. This
is the first of two reviews whose retail cost of cable is less than $1000.
Cable Construction and Design
The MAC Au contains 2 strands of 22k
gold, using a simple twist, i.e., 1 turn every 3 inches, and an air/teflon
dielectric. The connectors, gold plating over copper, are proprietary
and the solder is 4 % silver WBT. The Sound Pipes AC cord uses 37 strands
of 26 gauge silver plated copper. Each conductor is 10 gauge. The 3 conductors
are configured in a spiral twist and the dielectric is PVC. The IEC is
proprietary and the plug is Marinco. The speaker cable is made of 5 -
9’s stranded OFC wire. The dielectric is teflon. Each conductor
is 7 gauge and the geometry is a simple twist. The connectors are BFA
banana plugs. The connection is mechanical, using set screws. The design
philosophy is neutrality with extension. Steve auditioned and studied
the designs of his competitors before starting to design his own cable.
His products are consistent with the following principles: 1) The simpler
the better. 2) No exotic construction. 3) Fewer materials the better.
Listening Results
Recordings were selected to elicit the
cables effect upon the following sonic attributes: timbre, spectral balance,
depth, width, dynamics, and noise/decay. Five CDs were chosen. The purpose
of each CD is indicated next to its description:
1) Offenbach “Gaite Parisienne”,
JVC XRCD2 0224, track 1 (depth, width, dynamics)
2) Holly Cole Trio, DON’T SMOKE IN BED, Alert Z2 81020, track 1
(spectral balance)
3) Steely Dan, AJA, MCAD 37214, track 3 (timbre)
4) Andy Narell, SLOW MOTION, Hip Pocket HD 105, track 2 (noise/decay)
5) Handel, “12 Concerti Grossi op 6”, DGG 447733, track 1,
disc 1 (spectral balance)
Upon hearing the first few measures of
“Gaite Parisienne”, it was obvious that the orchestra was
not restricted in its expression of dynamics. Instrument placement extended
to the edges and behind both speakers. Another highlight of this track
is the interplay between woodblock and triangle. The full-bodied sound
of the wood block was projected from the wall behind the right speaker.
The triangle, emanating from the foreground was not etched or aggressive,
yet retained its natural shimmer and decay.
Holly Cole’s voice is close-miked.
One would expect to observe some sibilance. In fact sibilance was noticed,
but it didn’t seem to be exaggerated or annoying. Her voice was
very clear. One can hear the sound of certain words projected from her
throat. The acoustic bass displayed a realistic balance of weight and
articulation. The clarity of Donald Fagen’s voice was not associated
with an excess of treble harmonics. Pete Christleib’s saxophone
solo sounded more like a tenor sax than alto, as there was sufficient
presence in the lower midrange. I have heard AJA many times and observed
on some occasions that this section of “Deacon Blues” can
reveal a peak in the upper midrange/lower treble. This obviously was not
the case here. At the beginning of SLOW MOTION, the electric bass is plucked
and a bell is struck. The bass projected the punch one would expect to
hear from this instrument. The decay of the bell was audible in the foreground
in the presence of other instruments.
There was not a hint of stridency or
brightness coming from the violins of the Orpheus Chamber Ensemble. One
noted several violins playing in the foreground, accompanied by a larger
violin ensemble in the background. The few violins in the foreground could
be heard as individual instruments, and the notes of a harpsichord could
be heard in the foreground, separately from the string ensembles. Thus,
one could appreciate both articulation of strings and a blending of strings.
Conclusion
The salient characteristics of the MAC products include a balanced frequency extension at both extremes, resolution capable of revealing subtle musical information and the ability to present complex material without congestion. There was no bloom, romance or euphonic coloration. The presentation was closer to truth than to beauty. These cables would be most appropriate for stereo systems which are already well balanced or somewhat warm, or if one desired a very focused presentation, regardless of spectral balance.
Associated Equipment
Preamp: Bent TVC
Amplifier: VTL Deluxe 120s
CD Player Vincent CD-S6
Speakers Magnepan 1.6s
Interconnect Cable: Maple Audio Whisper, Soundstring Audio
Speaker Cable: Element Cable
AC Cords: Omega Mikro, Voodoo Cable, Element Cable, PS Audio
Accessories Room Tunes, PS Audio 300, Chang ISO 6400, PS Audio Juice Bar,
PS Audio Noise Harvesters, Enacom filters, Cocobolo cubes, Soundfusion
Sound Boosters, Gutwire Notepads, ERS sheets
Manufactured by MAC
Call 516-557-9172 for questions or complete pricing information
Source of review sample: Manufacturer loan
E-mail: :myaudiocables@mac.com
