Golden Oval Speaker Cables

9 AWG pure gold over proprietary copper woven into our patented hollow oval geometry in an oval-coaxial configuration. Special dielectric provides proper structural impedance. Comes standard with our gold T1 connector or our new Big Gold BFA banana.
Price: $4,740/per 6 ft; $6,330/ per 8 ft.

Golden Oval Interconnects   

  Pure gold over proprietary copper woven into our patented hollow oval geometry. Special TEFLON dielectric provides the optimal impedance. A conductive sheath eliminates microphonic movement noise. Inner structural dielectric preserves hollow oval shape. 100% shield coverage and gold Litz shield for EMC/EMI protection. Available with XLR, RCA and BNC connectors.
Price: $1,999/per meter; $1,719.00 ea additional meter.

[The prices listed are USA prices and don’t include for international freight charges, taxes or Customs duties.]

Address:
106 1/2 E. Main Street
Flushing, MI 48433 USA
Phone: 810.659.6448
Fax: 810.659.8101
Website: http://www.analysis-plus.com

I’ve cable in my possession that ranges from a mere $20.00 per meter to an amazing $2,000.00. Yes, that’s also per meter. If you want me to tell you that a $2k cable is 100 times better than the twenty-dollar cable, then you want me to tell you a lie. But, at the same time, I won’t lie to you and say that this $2k cable isn’t magnificent and possibly the best I’ve heard. Life can be very expensive that way. Ask any audiophile, except Peter Aczel.

Analysis Plus is one company that’s been on the audio scene for a little over three years now, designing cables that are both excellent sounding and affordable. Obviously, they weren’t the first to design an excellent cable, but in my opinion there are very few manufacturers that can boast excellence AND performance at affordable prices. Analysis Plus is one of those few companies.

Mark Markel, Analysis Plus’ resident cable guru, whom I often refer to as “the Man behind the Curtain” due to his genuine super low profile, isn’t just some guy who knows how to braid and decorate cables out of his garage. His background is well noted and highly technical. That said, when he and cohort Dr. Sun decided to start Analysis Plus Inc., by making a new line of cables that defied the price-versus-performance conventions, I was literally all ears. That was their Oval Nines cable, if you remember, that went on to become an instant success and place Analysis Plus on the audiophile map. Analysis Plus’ Oval Nine had set a benchmark because they proved superior sounding cables didn’t have to be expensive while many inferior cables were. In one fell swoop, I concluded back then that on a shoestring budget, and armed with an open-minded approach, you could easily own some of the best cables available “regardless of price” for about $400. If you read my first encounter with this affordable cable, you may recall that it outclassed my former reference, the Harmonic Technology cables (which by the way were twice the asking price of the Oval Nines). My, what a difference a day makes.

Analysis Plus’ most recent design aptly named Golden Oval, introduced this year from their pro lineup, doubles as their most auspicious as well as most expensive to date. Keeping true to AP’s design, the Golden Oval uses their patented oval braiding using pure gold over oxygen-free copper. It is a very special ultra pure copper that is sourced from France. This ultra pure copper has a lead time of 6 months and is then shipped to New England Electric Wire Corp in Lisbon, New Hampshire where it is woven the special patented oval design. All terminations, done exclusively using Analysis Plus' binding posts, are performed in Flushing, Michigan.

An eight foot run sets you back a whopping $6,320.00, while a standard meter of their Golden Oval interconnect disconnects $2,000 (per meter) from your wallet. For a company like Analysis Plus to produce such an expensive cable with a history that was virtually written by brandishing affordable products on budget conscious audiophiles begs the question: has Analysis Plus’ front office flipped their wig? Or, knowing how good their affordable products are—is there actually a method to their madness? Would it then be wise to invest in something as expensive as Golden Oval cables? This we shall see.

The Analysis Plus Golden Oval has been a mainstay in my rig for some time now. In fact, I was offered a meter of their very first XLR interconnects. But judging them devoid of an accompanying full-length interconnect, AC cord and digital cable proved difficult, if not nearly impossible. Initially, something did change that was detectable. I thought the cable was warmer sounding than the excellent Silversmith Silver cables that I also had on hand. This was confirmed by my good friend Tommy, who just so happened to be visiting and occupying the sweet spot enjoying some new jazz CDs. “They sound smooth as Hell P” said Tommy. “Yeah, Tommy, but I’m wondering if this sound is a byproduct of these cables or their interaction with these other brand cables I’m using,” I responded. My feelings were positive but I still couldn’t be too sure of what the cables were doing when, in terms of absolutes, there was still too much in the way. What I really needed was an all Analysis Plus Golden Oval setup, which would mean two pairs of their speaker cables (yikes!) for vertically bi-amping to my two Tact 2150 amplifiers. A single one-meter run of their best interconnect and a four-meter digital run going right into the Tact amp from the Tact 2.2X digital pre/room correction device was requested. It took some time, but all the above mentioned cabling showed up and has been thoroughly evaluated over a three-month period.

There is no question that I enjoy certain things about certain cables. My favorite cables today hail from Shunyata Research’s new Aries cable line. This, their least expensive of three lines, has acquitted itself as reference caliber under many different and strenuous scenarios. Ditto, the Silversmith line. As far as cables go, I honestly doubted I could better these delicately handcrafted cables in the areas of transparency and bass articulation. At more than $1,250 per meter, one couldn’t nominate these as affordable either but they simply did things that easily qualified them as a “must have.”

As good as these two cables are in their own right, as well as compared to everything else I’ve auditioned, I ultimately preferred the more natural performance of the Analysis Plus Golden Oval overall.

Some Things You Simply Cannot Explain

Sonic synergy, as hard as it is to acquire, remains unmistakable once heard. It’s like catching lightning in a bottle. Mixing and matching isn’t easy but the more you do it, the more you realize how important and mystical it is—and how hard it is to achieve. Make no mistake about it, living with the Golden Oval cables has set my system apart with a new sense of musicality that I honestly didn’t expect, nor did I think possible.

The very first thing I noticed from the Golden Ovals was the absolute “being there” presence in the midrange that felt almost physical. Voices immediately sounded three things at once: three-dimensional, life-like and palpable. Through the Golden Oval as well as the Silversmiths before them, nothing sounded strained or taxing. But the Golden Oval made everything sound noticeably easier. This presented even a greater sense of ease and effortlessness to the music. Sade’s “Lovers Live” CD [Sony EK86373] offered a glimpse of how distinctly raspy and chesty this sex diva’s voice really sounds. I admit that I’m in love with Sade—even though she’s sometimes too up-close and personal—sounding as if she’s chewing on the mic. That said, her presence via the Golden Ovals, seemed to emit from right before the microphone a step backwards yet palpably vivid while remaining right-sized and centered between the loudspeakers. How the Golden Oval managed to bring so much of what sounds “live” to light, while remaining distant, delicate and “there” simultaneously, is a magical feat I’ve still not quite figured out or have seen this side of Siegfried and Roy (minus the unfortunate tiger attack).

Another great sounding disc is the newly remastered 2-CD compilation of “Earth, Wind & Fire” [Columbia 2-086661]. “Reasons,” “Devotion,” “Keep Your Head to the Sky,” “That’s the Way of the World” and the melancholy “After the Love is Gone,” through the Golden Oval allowed me to relish each of these classic hits in a way I had not done previously. Here’s a gritty ‘70s R&B-funk band, led by the super talented Maurice White, whose music literally became the soundtrack to my adolescence. Each song had me in its persuasive groove via the Golden Ovals. From the lowest hip-shaking bass notes up to the highest octaves tenor Philip Bailey could reach, the Golden Oval took on every instrument with an unusual touch of naturalness my system has not exhibited prior to their installation. Bass articulation, for example, along with the overall musicality sounded more resolute and exact, improving the overall tonal landscape quite visibly. Sibilance took a couple of steps backwards while vocal resolution and intelligibility (the ability to hear individual voices clear and distinct) stepped up.

I don’t have to mince words here. I think you know how very much I enjoyed the Golden Oval products. Thus far, they have remained a staple of my systems musical diet. I simply can’t find anything else with the Golden Oval’s multifaceted abilities to present string tone, delicacy, ease and (uncannily natural) flow to go with its hair-raising low-level resolution capabilities. Yes, the Siversmith cable sounds absolutely incredible and yes, the Shunyata Aries are, in my opinion one of the best cables available for its price, but in terms of getting virtually all the things I’m looking for in a single product, I must take my hat off to the Golden Oval.

And please don’t get this thing twisted. Both the Shunyata and Silversmith remain reference quality as well. In a system so dependent on what each component’s doing, the results could prove different at the mere switch of any one component. This is why you must trust your own ears and tastes. For my tastes, the Golden Oval does all the things I like in my system. They’ve allowed me to stop evaluating everything so damn hard and finally sit back and enjoy some good old R&B classics. This is rare, indeed. There is no question the Analysis Plus Golden Oval cables are expensive, even by today’s standards, but when a cable performs on this level what else is there to say?