[Review] Interconnect Cable Harmonix HS-101GP

We present another splendid cable from the Japanese brand Harmonix

• Product: Harmonix HS-101GP
• Type: Interconnect Cable
• Price: 1.550 euro (1m)
• Contact: www.mojeaudio.pl

The tested interconnect cable is the flag model from the, maybe not very big, but incredibly sophisticated catalog of products, aimed at the most fastidious audiophile. HS-101GP (Golden Performance) is characterized with an incredibly low impedance, starting with specially designed plugs and ending with the conductor made from directionally drawn, PCOCC copper. The Cable is equipped in an independent and advance shielding system and the cable has additional shield connectors at the plugs, which should be connected to the grounding point on the device connected. It is worth to mention, that the Japanese have some kind of grounding mania, and have suitable connectors installed – we can find those on units manufactured for example by Luxman or Accuphase. Also visually, there is nothing we can blame this interconnect for, as it is very elegant. Attention is drawn by the splendidly workmanshipped plugs (made from rhodium plated copper), with regulated connection force – they work very precise and do not get jammed. The connection points are from gold plated, and then covered with a thin layer of rhodium, copper. The nuts which allow for tightening of the plugs on the sockets, and thus very precise contact, are made from non-magnetic materials, and the external cover is made from plaid carbon fiber, covered with resin and polished to have an ideally smooth surface. A similarly made interconnect, described as HS-101GP-SUS is available in XLR version. During installation we noticed, that the cable are quite rigid, and do not bend easy, although we do confess, that we have seen more rigid constructions.

SOUND QUALITY

Tests of top cables from different companies are always more interesting to our team, than usual. It wasn’t different with the HS-101GP – it is an exceptional cable, even when compared to the most advanced and most expensive constructions of this kind in the world. Plugged in a hi-end audio system, the Harmonix interconnect reveals a sound full of the subtlest details. But most interesting is the fact, any one of us, during the first contact with the Japanese cable, ascertained, that the cables do not brighten the sound, even more, they sound “darker” than other cables, like the splendid tapes from Nordost. But it is not due to a withdrawal of the upper range, but rather a silence, that appears between the individual reverbs. Every little accent is ideally finished here, masterfully polished, like a diamond. Air and breath present in the micro-sound layer are incredible, there is perfect harmony and rhythm, and there is not trace of compression. HS-101GP is also far the most musical cable we met to date. Plugged between the CD player and amplifier it extracts every little drop of juice from the music, regardless of its genre. It is beyond any doubt, that the HS-101GP is a very universal interconnect, devoted from any preference for a certain material. Due to the unlimited dynamics it leads the bass line perfectly. It brilliantly “opens” the sound of the cymbals on rock music discs. With classical music it does not mask the fracture of the individual instruments. And in jazz? It just enchants with the beautifully reproduced timbre, worth the best tube amplifiers – please listen to Miles Davies’ trumpet and you will know what I have in mind. This cable transmits music in the most beautiful style known to us. If you will have the chance to listen to the Harmonix HS-101GP at least once, your quest for finding the ideal cable will end sooner than you think. HFC

VERDICT

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QUALITY/PRICE

Hi-Fi CHOICE MAGAZINE

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