Transparent Audio MusicLink Plus Interconnect (US$ 270/1 meter),
HDL Digital Cable (US$ 95/1 meter),
MusicWave Plus Loudspeaker Cable (US$ 530/8 ft. single-wire pair)
Manufactured by Transparent Audio, Inc.
Rt. 202, Box 117, Hollis ME, USA, 04042
Phone: (207) 929-4553, Fax: (207) 929-4271
Email: transparent@transparentcable.com,
web: http://www.transparentcable.com

Source of review sample: Manufacturer loan

Yes, Virginia, cables do make a difference. While that statement might send objectivists into a frenzy, in my opinion, cables do have a profound influence on the sound of an audio system and can be the difference between merely good and state-of-the-art sound reproduction. No, I can't prove these assertions mathematically, nor can I devise measurements to obtain physical evidence for all of the differences I hear. Instead, I choose to let my ears, rather than an oscilloscope trace, be my guide to a level of musical satisfaction that, sadly, many objectivists will never know.

Ignoring the defiant cries of the flat-earthers, several bright cable designers (XLO's Roger Skoff and AudioQuest's Bill Low spring to mind) have dedicated themselves to the search for a cable that can pass a musical signal unaltered. To this end, these designers have come up with many innovative designs and topologies and, in the process, have significantly advanced the state of the audio art. Not unexpectedly, all of this innovation often comes at a price, and several of these designs sport price tags that would make Donald Trump do a double take. However, thanks to trickle-down technology and innovative manufacturing techniques, several companies are now producing well-engineered, yet relatively affordable cables for Everyman, one such company being Maine's Transparent Audio. Three of Transparent's more affordable designs, the MusicLink Plus interconnect, HDL digital cable, and MusicWave Plus loudspeaker cable, are the subject of this review.

Caveats

I would be remiss if I did not first emphasize that cables are, perhaps, the most system dependent of all audio components - a cable which works well in one system may not work as well in another. Although I can't guarantee that a cable which has a particular set of sonic attributes in my reference system will have the same set of attributes in yours, my attempts to audition these cables with a variety of associated components and source material will hopefully reveal enough about their sonic character that you will be able to decide for yourself whether or not an audition in your system is warranted.

MusicLink Plus Interconnect

As far as price is concerned, the MusicLink Plus interconnect falls smack in the middle of Transparent's line of five single-ended interconnects. The MusicLink Plus is constructed around a pair of conductors composed of several 99.999% OFHC copper strands wound around a Teflon dielectric center core. As with the MusicLink (non Plus) interconnect that I also have on hand, the Plus contains a module which houses a passive filter network designed to help reject, and filter out, noise injected into the cable from external electronic sources. In addition to the filter network, Transparent employs multiple layers of shielding in the MusicLink Plus to further decrease the likelihood of noise infiltration. Personally, I haven't been plagued with noise problems when using unshielded cables in my listening environment, but audiophiles who aren't so lucky will appreciate the strides Transparent Audio has taken to make their cables immune to them.

The MusicLink Plus is, physically, a much more substantial cable than Transparent's less-expensive MusicLink - the Plus' filter network is substantially larger, the cable is heavier gauge and better insulated, and termination is via a much higher-quality pair of RCA connectors.

While cable break-in is a hotly contested topic on Usenet newsgroups like rec.audio.high-end, I have found that cables do, in fact, change sonically over time and not always in insignificant ways. For that reason, the MusicLink Plus, and the other two cables reviewed here, were broken in for more than fifty hours before any serious listening was done.

Auditioning of the MusicLink Plus took place in my usual reference system, where it was used to connect the analog outputs of either the Theta DS Pro Progeny or Assemblage DAC-2 D/A converters to one of the line-level inputs of the Conrad Johnson Premier II preamp.

To get a handle on the Plus' sonic signature, comparisons were made with Transparent's own MusicLink interconnect and Stager Sound Systems' Silver Solids interconnect, a cable about which I'll have much more to say in the coming months.

Listening

Quite in common with the HDL digital cable reviewed below, the MusicLink Plus excelled at reproducing music's low frequencies. The immense bass drum in the last movement of David Zinman's rousing version of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances (Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Telarc CD-80331) had terrific impact and power, yet remained well-defined and controlled.

Lovers of the sound of a well-recorded drum kit (I definitely count myself among them), should run out and pick up Joe Morello's Morello Standard Time (DMP CD-506). This disc, engineered by DMP's resident genius, Tom Jung, contains some of the most natural drum sounds I've heard on record. The sound of Morello's low toms on Alone Together from this disc, exploded into the listening room via the MusicLink Plus to a degree which was unmatched in my experience. In addition to the power and dynamics of Morello's percussive performance, the different timbres of each drum and drum head were fully laid to bare by the superior resolving powers of the MusicLink Plus.

While the MusicLink Plus was powerful and dynamic in the bass, it was also refined and detailed. All of the detail in Christian McBride's solo bass performance on Night Train from Gettin' To It (Verve 314 523 989-2), was beautifully reproduced by the Plus - each subtle inflection of plucked and bowed string was easily discernible, as was each movement of McBride's body and upright bass, greatly adding to the illusion of reality.

Many more examples of the MusicLink Plus' bass prowess exist in my listening notes, but I won't bore you with the details. Suffice it to say that the MusicLink Plus raised the level of my reference system's bass performance to a new plateau.

Lower midrange body and texture were also well preserved by the MusicLink Plus. The sound of Janos Starker's cello on Mercury's lovely CD reissue of Dvorak's Cello Concerto in B minor Op.104 (Mercury Living Presence 432 001-2) had excellent body and tone, sounding convincingly woody and resonant. Moving higher in this frequency band, the massed chorus on Harmonia Mundi's award-winning recording of Brahms' Motets Op. 74, as performed by RIAS-KAMMERCHOR, was smooth yet powerful, the sound of the chorus exhibiting a certain "rightness" that could almost have been mistaken for the real thing. Only in the upper midrange did the MusicLink Plus exhibit a trace of hardness, which was evident, to varying degrees, on a selection of female vocal recordings. This slight upper midrange hardness was also evident with the less-expensive MusicLink but was not in evidence with Stager Sound Systems' Silver Solids interconnect. While it is possible that the slight upper midrange glare heard with both Transparent cables could have been a result of those cables faithfully reproducing recorded anomalies or problems in upstream components, the silky smooth, glare-free upper midrange of the Stager Sound Systems cables made a pretty compelling argument otherwise. I must emphasize that the Plus' midrange glare was quite minor and rarely detracted from my enjoyment of my favorite vocal recordings.

The MusicLink Plus' treble was detailed, smooth and extended, with no traces of glare or brightness. The triangle in the final movement of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances was harmonically rich, with great sparkle and purity of tone. These same endearing treble qualities could be heard in the reproduction of cymbals, triangles and tambourines during Emmanuel Chabrier's España (Paul Paray conducting the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Mercury Living Presence CD 434 303-2).

The MusicLink Plus was a very lively cable and exhibited excellent rhythm and pace. The talented guitar duo of Strunz and Farah make considerable use of complex and intricate rhythms on Americas (Mesa Records R2 79041) , all of which were faithfully communicated to the listener by the MusicLink Plus. The incredible forward momentum of Christian McBride's In A Hurry from Gettin' To It, was in no way diminished by the MusicLink Plus in the reproduction chain. In fact, the MusicLink Plus had far less of an editorial effect on rhythm and pace than the other cables I had on hand for comparison.

Finally, depth, imaging and soundstaging via the MusicLink Plus were all superb, rivaling the best I've heard in my system to date. Instruments occupied their own distinct physical space within a wide, deep soundstage and remained in that space regardless of changes in frequency or sound level. Instrumental outlines were precisely defined and realistically rendered by the MusicLink Plus, which imparted a you-are-there realness to the sound of small jazz, classical, and pop ensembles.

Comparisons between the MusicLink Plus and Transparent's less-expensive MusicLink turned up nothing unexpected - the MusicLink Plus bettered the MusicLink interconnect in almost every respect. The MusicLink Plus threw a wider, deeper soundstage, exhibited more precise imaging and had better dynamic abilities than the MusicLink. In addition, the Plus had a deeper, more extended bottom-end, a smoother, more liquid midrange, and a more extended, grain-free top-end. Given its clear superiority over the MusicLink, the MusicLink Plus is well worth the additional $100 and handily earned its 'Plus' designation in my system.

Conclusions

There are many well-respected cable companies manufacturing high-quality interconnects for use in high-end audio systems. I haven't had the opportunity, or time, to audition all of them and, therefore, I can't claim that the MusicLink Plus is the "best" in any sense of the word. What I can state with certainty, however, is that the MusicLink Plus is an excellent interconnect, one which contributed significantly to my listening pleasure over the last few months. The MusicLink Plus has terrific bottom-end weight, extension and definition, a smooth, liquid, nearly glare-free midrange, and an extended, detailed top end. As well, the MusicLink Plus has great dynamics, transient response, and soundstaging and imaging abilities.

Although the ideal cable will have no sonic signature of its own, this is rarely, if ever, achieved. In reality, we must content ourselves with the search for a cable which minimally degrades the audio signal it carries, and which faithfully communicates the musical message. Transparent Audio's MusicLink Plus is such a cable, and I highly recommend its audition to anyone in the market for a reasonably-priced, high-end interconnect.

HDL Digital Cable

The HDL is Transparent Audio's entry-level digital cable. Despite its reasonable price, the HDL's construction and quality of materials are quite impressive. The heart of the HDL is a solid-core center conductor made from high-purity, oxygen-free copper, triple-shielded to minimize noise infiltration. Termination is either via Transparent's custom made coaxial RCA connectors (the terminators of choice for our review sample) or instrument-grade BNC connectors. Transparent's RCA and BNC connectors, along with their proprietary termination techniques, ensure that the HDL digital cable maintains its characteristic 75 Ohm impedance throughout the cable and its termination.

As with most audio cables these days, the HDL has a "preferred" direction, that being the direction of signal flow. For all of my auditioning, I complied with the manufacturer's recommendations and connected the HDL such that the arrows on its jacket pointed from transport to DAC.

Throughout my listening sessions, the HDL was used to carry the digital data stream from the Theta Data Basic II transport to either the Theta DS Pro Progeny or Assemblage DAC-2 D/A converter. My usual reference digital cable, the excellent XLO Type 4, and, briefly, the WireWorld Starlight II were used for comparison purposes.

Listening

I started my listening sessions with one of my favorite solo bass tracks - Night Train from Christian McBride's Gettin' To It. McBride's inventive use of both plucked and bowed bass notes, in an effort to evoke the sound of an old train pulling into a station, was well communicated by the HDL. The lowest registers of McBride's acoustic bass were very well rendered, the HDL demonstrating its ability to delve down into the lowest reaches of the frequency spectrum without sacrificing pitch definition or tonality.

Two other recordings which I've found to be invaluable for evaluating a component's bass performance are The Holly Cole Trio's Temptation (Alert Music Z2-81026) and Don't Smoke In Bed (Alert Music Z2-81020), both of which find bassist David Piltch in top form. Piltch's throbbing bass lines provide a rock solid foundation for the trio's clever arrangements of pop, jazz and country tunes and present a real low-end challenge to any audio component. The HDL was definitely up to this challenge and did an excellent job of presenting the deepest of deep bass notes on these recordings.

Reproduction of the midrange was another area in which I found the HDL to excel. The HDL's midrange was smooth, open and relatively grain-free. Cassandra Wilson's voice on her cover of U2's Love Is Blindness, from the musically inconsistent yet beautifully recorded New Moon Daughter (Blue Note 7243 8 32861 2 6), had all of its huskiness intact, and sounded very liquid and natural throughout its range. The HDL's excellent midrange reproduction had me digging out, and enjoying, all of my favorite female vocal recordings, from Holly Cole's Don't Smoke In Bed to the perennial audiophile favorite, Janis Ian's Breaking Silence.

While the HDL's bottom-end and midrange performance were very good, things were not as rosy at the top-end of the spectrum. The HDL seemed to be missing much of the top-end sparkle and air of both the XLO and WireWorld cables and seemed to round the edges of high-frequency transients. This lack of top-end air and transient speed had a tendency to drain the life and excitement out of many recordings, which forced me to lean more heavily on the volume control in an effort to restore some of it. The cymbal crashes and rim shots employed by Steve Davis on The Lynne Arriale Trio's Blues For T.J., from The Eyes Have It (DMP CD-502), had less "splash" and "pop" via the HDL, which made this track sound uncharacteristically dull. Mark Knopfler's electric guitar on You And Your Friend, from Dire Straits' much-underrated On Every Street (Mercury 510160-2), lost some of its bite and sting when the HDL was in the reproduction chain.

Another area in which I found the HDL to be a bit lacking, especially in comparison with the slightly more expensive XLO Type 4, was harmonic completeness and richness. The wonderful overtones associated with a piano's hammer strike or a wooden violin or guitar body vibrating in sympathy with a bowed or plucked string, were not allowed to fully develop by the HDL, resulting in a dry, almost over-damped sound on some recordings. For example, the wonderful post-fundamental overtones of Aaron Davis' piano on tracks from The Holly Cole Trio's Temptation were missing in action via the HDL.

Although I had some criticisms of the HDL's lack of top-octave energy and harmonic richness, I should emphasize that, in absolute terms, listening to music with the HDL in the playback system was quite enjoyable. Its superb bass performance was a boon to recordings with an abundance of low-frequency content, its smooth, liquid midrange did justice to well-recorded female vocalists and its dynamic abilities were appreciated on full-scale orchestral works. Yet, in relation to the other digital cables I had on hand, something was missing - a certain air, sparkle, and electricity which make music exciting and involving, as well as a degree of harmonic bloom and richness which give high-quality music reproduction an appealing, life-like quality. True, the bits were all there but, unfortunately, some of the magic wasn't.

Of course the HDL's lack of top-octave energy may actually work in its favor, given that, at its price point, it will likely be partnered with relatively-inexpensive digital front ends which often exhibit a rising treble response and a tendency to etch high-frequency transients. In my system, however, this subtractive coloration did prove to be a musical liability.

Conclusions

At $95/1m, the HDL is reasonably-priced and, with its shelved-down top octave, may be just the ticket for the modest digital front ends with which it will likely be paired - namely, those which may be overly aggressive in the treble or which etch high-frequency transients. Having said that, I must admit that when paired with my digital front end, which has a relatively smooth top-end, the HDL sounded a bit dull and lifeless and lacked harmonic richness.

In summary, if you're in the hunt for a state-of-the-art digital cable, it's unlikely that the HDL will be your last stop - Transparent Audio, and several other manufacturers, market digital cables which will be more appropriate for systems on the bleeding edge of digital technology. If, on the other hand, you're on a tight budget and in the market for a well-made digital cable for use in a modest digital front end, then the HDL is well worth a listen.

The MusicWave Plus Loudspeaker Cable

Contrary to what several of my non-audiophile friends thought when they first laid eyes on the MusicWave Plus loudspeaker cable, it is not a garden hose nor part of the main power trunk from Toronto Hydro. While the MusicWave Plus is a large-diameter cable (in single-wire form it's about 1/8" thicker than my reference bi-wire run of AudioQuest Midnight Hyperlitz), it is very forgiving and easy to work with.

As with the MusicLink Plus interconnect, the MusicWave Plus contains an integral filter network which, according to the manufacturer, is designed to "reject ultra high frequency noise and stabilize the impedance behavior of the cable while maintaining proper phase relationships". Transparent claims that their filter network reduces the fatiguing brightness inherent in unfiltered cables. Whether or not it was due to the filter network, the MusicWave Plus did exhibit a warmth, naturalness, and liquidity that is reminiscent of live, unamplified music.

One word of caution when using cables which contain an integrated network like the MusicWave Plus- if your speaker's binding posts are at a height that leaves the network dangling freely, then take extra care to ensure that the connection at the loudspeaker is very secure. Otherwise, the weight of the network may tend to pull the cable free of the binding posts, resulting in a short circuit and possible damage to your amplifier (and, for once, I'm not talking from experience!).

For the purposes of this review, I was supplied with an 8 foot, single-wire run of MusicWave Plus, terminated with spade lugs. If bi-wiring is your thing, Transparent manufacturers bi-wire runs of their speaker cables at approximately twice the cost of their single-wire equivalents.

As was the case with the other cables reviewed here, the MusicWave Plus was broken-in for an extended period (upwards of one hundred hours) before any serious listening was done. Comparisons were made with my long-term reference bi-wire run of AudioQuest Midnight.

Listening

If you think that reviewing audio equipment is all fun and games, think again. After hours of seemingly-endless cable swapping and near-infinite repetition of the same demo discs, I was starting to go more than a little CRAZY. In an effort to retain my sanity, I decided to file away the Holly Coles, and the Janis Ians of the world and bring out a new crop of discs for use in auditioning the MusicWave Plus.

One disc which I hadn't spun in quite a while was Genesis' A Trick Of The Tail¹(Atlantic Records 38101-2) featuring the debut of Phil Collins as the lead singer of the English art-rock quartet. The MusicWave Plus rendered the 12-string guitars of Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford and Steve Hackett with great clarity, detail and harmonic faithfulness, without the slight coarseness heard with the AudioQuest Midnight.

After experiencing excellent bottom-end reproduction from both the HDL digital cable and the MusicLink Plus interconnect, I expected no less from the MusicWave Plus. I'm happy to report that I wasn't disappointed. Once again, the Transparent cable managed to extend my system's bottom-end lower than I'd thought possible without sacrificing low-end detail or definition. Through the MusicWave Plus, Mike Rutherford's pounding bass line on Squonk, from A Trick Of The Tail, thundered into the listening room, each note remaining well-defined and distinct from the rest. Conversely, through the AudioQuest Midnight, Rutherford's bass line was harder to follow as the notes had a tendency to blend together into a sonic whole. On Entangled, from the same album, the MusicWave Plus exhibited a good degree of midrange detail, air and transparency. Tony Banks' use of a synthesizer to mimic the sound of a massed, wordless chorus in the song's final moments, came across beautifully through the MusicWave Plus, without any of the graininess or edginess heard with lesser cables.

Scanning my record collection for something new and different, I instead discovered a disc which was old and familiar but which I hadn't listened to in some time - the Mozartean Players' 1991 recording of Mozart: The Complete Piano Trios (Harmonia Mundi HMU 907033.34). I decided to give it a listen with the MusicWave Plus as part of the sonic equation. From the first notes of Stanley Ritchie's violin in the last movement of the B-flat Divertimento, K.254, I knew I was in for a treat. The MusicWave Plus aided in capturing one of the sweetest and most beautiful violin sounds I've had the pleasure of listening to. The acoustics of the recording venue and the immense halo of air surrounding each instrumentalist were beautifully rendered by the MusicWave Plus, adding greatly to the sense of sonic realism. My regular attendance at live period music concerts has made me very familiar with the sound of "the real thing" and I must tell you that the warmth, body and bloom of Myron Lutzke's ca. 1742 cello, as reproduced by the MusicWave Plus, was very convincing indeed.

The MusicWave Plus was quite adept at rendering a convincingly wide, deep, three-dimensional soundstage. I totally agree with those who say that a component's ability to create a believable soundstage is meaningless unless that component is otherwise musically enjoyable. In the case of the MusicWave Plus, the listener can have his sonic cake and eat it too as musicality, imaging and soundstaging are all part of its vocabulary.

Up to this point, none of my musical selections had fully tested the MusicWave Plus through the all-important midrange, and, in particular, with the revealing sound of the female voice. I decided to give a listen to one of my favorite female vocal recordings, The Cowboy Junkies terrific debut, The Trinity Session. This is a live to two-track affair recorded in Toronto's Church of the Holy Trinity using a single Calrec Ambisonic microphone. The recording is terrific in every way and beautifully captures the complete ambiance of the church, including its noisy air conditioning system. Margo Timmins' lovely vocal performance on the cover of Hank Williams' I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry should be heard by anyone in love with the female voice. The recording captures every breathy whisper and inflection of Timmins' voice, all passed along with aplomb by the MusicWave Plus. The ambiance of the Church of the Holy Trinity was fully fleshed-out and communicated by the Transparent cable to a degree which the AudioQuest Midnight could not quite match. In addition, the space between the band members and the depth of the soundstage were diminished when the AudioQuest was substituted into the system. This last effect was admittedly subtle but noticeable nonetheless.

I couldn't resist investigating the MusicWave Plus' dynamic abilities using David Zinman's awe-inspiring version of Rachmaninoff's Symphonic Dances. Not surprisingly, the MusicWave Plus exhibited explosive dynamics similar to that of its cousin, the MusicLink Plus interconnect. Orchestral climaxes burst into the room in stunning fashion, catching me by surprise on several occasions. The MusicWave Plus was also harmonically rich and complete (listen to the French Horn in the final movement - superb!), and sounded more full-bodied and three-dimensional than the AudioQuest. At the top-end, cymbals shimmered, and triangles rang out beautifully. From top to bottom, an excellent performance.

Conclusions

At $530 for an 8 ft., single-wire pair, Transparent Audio's MusicWave Plus loudspeaker cable is certainly not inexpensive - many people wouldn't consider spending this much money for a pair of loudspeakers, let alone for a pair of loudspeaker cables. Is the MusicWave Plus worth its asking price? Most definitely, in my opinion. Besides pushing all the usual audiophile buttons, the MusicWave Plus brought a level of refinement and musicality to my reference system which will be hard to live without. Much of my time with the MusicWave Plus was spent glued to my listening chair reveling in the ease and naturalness which this excellent cable imparted to my favorite musical selections. In short, Transparent Audio's MusicWave Plus loudspeaker cable offers audiophiles more than a taste of state-of-the-art sound at considerably less than state-of-the-art prices. Highly recommended.

-- Andrew Chasin

Associated Components

The Transparent Audio HDL digital cable, MusicLink Plus interconnect and MusicWave Plus loudspeaker cable were all auditioned as part of a system consisting of a Theta Data Basic II transport feeding the bits to either a Theta DS Pro Progeny or Assemblage DAC-2 D/A converter, a Conrad Johnson Premier II preamplifier, an Aragon 2004 Mk. II amplifier, and either the ProAc Studio 150 or ProAc Response 1SC loudspeakers. Other cables used were the Transparent Audio MusicLink interconnect, Stager Sound Systems Silver Solids interconnect, XLO Type 4 digital interconnect, WireWorld Starlight II digital interconnect and AudioQuest Midnight Hyperlitz bi-wire speaker cable. All electronic components were placed on Target equipment stands and fed power from my listening room's dedicated 15A power lines. My 12' x 16' x 8' listening space was fully treated with Echo Busters room treatment products, including Echo Busters, Bass Busters, and Double Busters.