BLACK RHODIUM Emperor DCT++

TR19.11.2011

Speaker cables

Today, there are many companies using cryogenic treatment of conductors with the claim of relieving material stress and improvement of molecular conductivity. The Emperor DCT++ is cryogenized twice in the production process.

Function and form

95%

Ease of use

42%

Sound

95%

Appearance

The Emperor DCT++ uses silver plated copper strands with the total cross-section area of 6mm2. Interestingly the cable is not insulated in Teflon and rather uses silicone rubber polymer that, according to the company, is better for accurate portrayal of the leading edges and decays in music.

The black outer jacket boasts of a Made in England sign – didn’t I say it is a patriotistic company? Through this black jacket you can see a white core of conductors, that were terminated with gold-plated spades on one end and with clamping bananas on the other end.

Bend radius is about 50mm which is comfortable enough to get the cable to its place behind a rack, especially when Emperor DCT++ is pretty lightweight. The latter is beneficial when connecting stand mounted speakers – some heavy speaker cables tend to pull the monitors down from their stands.

Bass management

Weight

Slam

Articulation

This review is a part of The Low and Mid-tier Speaker Cables Megatest that includes 18 different speaker cables. The pilot article is available at SPECIAL EDITION REVIEWS section of Audiodrom.

Clarity & delicacy

Detail

Air

Transparency

The Emperor DCT++ is an attractive and transparent cable with competent imaging. The voices in Gloucesterhire Wassail were nicely separated and contoured in well laid ambience. The image depth and width was natural and stable, with singers being locked in their positions. I could not trace any boxiness or thinness in the timbres and a higher sense of ‘flesh’behind the voice was the only thing that I missed.

Tonal accuracy

Timbre

Dynamics

Temporal resolution

The acoustic guitar of Johnny Cash was rich in detail and the Emperor DCT++ portrayed its transients with sharp peaks and clean and long decays. It was one of the few cables in our test that could retrieve soft entry of drums at the beginning of White Rabbit – through the Emperor DCT++ the drums were recognizable a second earlier than with the competitors and the cable threw extra light also on other delicate details of this instrumental track.

Spatial resolution

Holography

Soundstage width

Soundstage depth

The Emperor DCT++’s weak spot is in its lows. The cable’s bass is fast and informative, its depth is somehow limited, however, therefore Pink Floyd’s Young Lust could not be enjoyed with full Mobile Fidelity’s bass extension. At normal circumstances one will hardly notice it, unless you know the deeper bass really is on the recording or unless you compare the Emperor to a better cable. Challenged by our reference, Krautwire Fractal, the Black Rhodium Emperor DCT++ was indeed lighter on the bottom. At the same time it seemed to be a bit more airy and faster as the natural result. It would be nice to have a crossover of the Black Rhodium and, let’s say, Vincent Premium, to preserve the dynamics, detail and speed of the former and add the bass extension and punch of the latter. This is nitpicking, however. The Black Rhodium Emperor DCT++ is an excellent speaker cable at a very good price.

Price as reviewed:18 700,- Kč

Recommended resellers

Nisel SK, Bratislava, tel. +421 905 203 078

Manufacturer's website: http://www.blackrhodium.co.uk

Associated components

Sources: Primare CD32, Luxman D-05 and Accuphase DP-510
Amplifiers: Primare I32, Luxman L-590AX a Accuphase E-560
Interconnects and speaker cables: Krautwire Fractal, Cardas Clear, Homegrown Audio DNA
Loudspeakers: Audio Physic Virgo V, Dynaudio Confidence C1 and Xavian Giulia, Chario Constellation, Xavian Preludio, Revel Ultima Studio2, B&W 805 Diamond and Atohm G 1.0
Power conditioning: Nordost Thor (modified), Snakeblock, Nordost Valhalla

Gallery

39%

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