ROTH AUDIO Orfeo
Power cables
Visually the Orfeo does not stand out from usual expectations about an aftermarket power cord: black synthetic protective braid, reasonable thickness and pliability, solid weight, and no high-end bijoux like wooden or aluminium blocks.
Function and form
For connections the Roth Audio Orfeo relies on many times validated standard – gold-plated or rhodium-plated Furutech IEC and Schuko terminations. It is not because it was the easiest and cheapest option but because the listening sessions (also with a panel of hifi enthusiasts) showed the widest consensus with the Furutechs. I can only confirm it as I had the opportunity to listen to alternative terminations of the Roth cable in my system. Still, if a customer wishes for a different set of connectors he is free to ask for a quotation.
The design of the Orfeo is about 6 solid core conductors with 4mm2 in total. The cable is double-shielded, triple-shielding is available on request.
Bass management
I like the bottom end of the Roth Orfeo which was neither lean nor slow or too heavy. I feel it has exactly the right balance with the rest of the frequency spectrum and the Orfeo lets you hear micro resonances of piano or double bass without masking them with too much oomph. It is not surprising therefore that voices are not just voices through the Orfeo, rather they are physical bodies behind microphones, no matter if I listened to a male or female vocal.
Clarity & delicacy
There is nothing wrong with stock power cords but it is only when the system is wired with properly designed cables that one finds the stock cords sound fuzzy and unfocused. The Orfeo eliminates all this. It can very well delineate individual instruments within the soundstage and make the background a grade darker and more quiet. It is like someone added extra dynamic headroom to your system.
When I compared the Orfeo to my reference cables I missed a bit more of airiness and better retrieval of ambient information, especially with the recordings where such information was a part of the performance (like live miked material). Still the performance of the Orfeo is very good if I consider its rather low price.
Tonal accuracy
There is not a lot to say about the tonal balance of the Orfeo – it is all just right. There is no thickness, thinness, warmth or tonal sterility, the sound is fluid and balanced the way I use to hear at good seats in a concert hall. Well, perhaps I’d like to have a degree more transparency and a bit more of dynamics too, yet at the asking price of the Orfeo miracles are not expected.
During the listening sessions I often found myself contemplating about whether the Orfeo’s naturalness is more or less correct than what other cords that I had for comparison gave me (read further). In case that one does not need a cable to correct tonal imperfections of a system the Orfeo may be the cable of choice. In case one needs to tame exacerbated highs or shift other tonal imbalances other cords may be a better match.
Spatial resolution
The Roth Audio Orfeo was challenged by many highly regarded power cables during its stay in my system - AudioQuest Hurricane, Synergistic Research Euphoria Level 3 and SR Galileo SX, Ansuz Acoustics C2 or Pangea AC14-SE MkII to name a few. I also had some prototypes of other Roth Audio’s cabling on hand. In such a competition a cheap cable is usually beaten. Not in this case; despite it has some limitations the Orfeo is so skilfully balanced that can stand against the best.
Recommended resellers
Roth Audio, Praha, +420 777 674 381
Manufacturer's website: http://www.rothaudio.eu
Associated components
- Sources: Accuphase DP-720, SPL Q2048 Mastering Equalizer
- Amplifiers: TAD-M2500 MkII
- Interconnects and speaker cables: Audioquest Redwood, Audioquest Wild Blue Yonder, Ansuz C2, Ansuz D2, Tellurium Q Silver Diamond, Vovox Sonorus XL, Nordost Valhalla V2
- Loudspeakers: TAD Evolution One E1
- Power conditioning: Shunyata Research Denali, Nordost Valhalla, Ansuz C2, Pangea AC-9SEMKII, Roth Audio Orfeo + několik dalších prototypů, Synergistic Research Atmosphere Level 2, Synergistic Research Euphoria Level 3, Synergistic Research Galileo SX, AudioQuest Hurricane
Gallery
AAI Maestoso
I got to meet the Maestoso power cable last April and spent three weeks with it. Back then the cable had a black protective mesh through which a deep blue shielding sheath was seen; a combination that gave the cable deep blue look ...
Recommended resellers
Authentic Audio Image, Povážská Bystrica, +421 905 694 943
ANALYSIS PLUS Power Oval 2
Zvuk byl doslova třpytivý. Nejvíc ze všeho mi svou barevností připomínal mýdlovou bublinu za plného slunečního světla, na jedné straně plnou spektrálních odlesků, a na druhé nezastírající svou průhledností pohled posluchače. V rámci ...
Recommended resellers
Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475
ANSUZ MAINZ C2
Long 10 years passed since I've declared in my review of Nordost Odin power cables "There is no other piece of wire like it". In the context of high-end audio market of 2009 I still stick to my declaration. In the context of ...
Recommended resellers
RP Audio, Ostrava, +420 737 366 831
AUDIOQUEST Hurricane
I had reviewed the AudioQuest Hurricane few months ago at a local distributor's place. It was that good that I have decided to audition it again in my own system to verify what I heard and to challenge it with competitors from ...
BLOCK AUDIO Snakeblock
All power cords have certain filtering effect. The best case scenario is that a power cord filters itself out from the sound, and this was the case of the Snakeblock. It stepped aside and let the music communicate with me with more ...
Recommended resellers
Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475
CARDAS Golden Reference
Please be warned in advance: the Golden Reference is, and similarly most George Cardas’s cables, not neutral. If your definition of neutrality is a strident professional sound, that is stripped of emotions in favor of precision (and ...
Recommended resellers
Absolute Audio, Praha, tel. +420 777 739 377
FURUTECH Powerflux
After sharing our homes with more than 20 different power cords that had resided for over three months in our reference systems we learnt that, yes, a power cord could make a sonic contribution which is far from being insignificant. ...
Recommended resellers
Audiostudio s.r.o., Olomouc, tel. +420 608 752 475
