Listening and comparing
Contents
This new Art Speak SPDIF cable does not disappoint. The playback has a pleasant calmness that is not there with the Forrest and older Art Speak cable. This is both when playing CDs and streaming.
The Art Speak gives the music a nice focus in the middle, something the older cable also has as a feature. With the new Art Speak, the sound is almost positioned in 3D, emanating from the centre. The nice layering in the depth of the soundstage stands out when playing Talk Talk. At the same time, the Art Speak is very clear in the placement of instruments in the soundstage, you can effortlessly point them out side by side and behind each other.
The differences in sound
The Forrest is the benchmark for comparison in sound. The old Art Speak SPDIF cable loses out on this against the Forrest. Only the new Art Speak and the Forrest are compared.
The sound is a bit drier in tone with the Art Speak, the Forrest makes the music sound a bit warmer. The reverb is audibly longer with the Art Speak, so it is not dry in that sense. Especially in cymbals, it is clearly audible. In ‘Rhizome’, the Art Speak produces a drier, but also much richer brass sound in the percussion, with a lot of layering in the sound. When the Audioquest Forrest is put back, it sounds more like a tin drum kit in comparison, while the Forrest is not bad, quite the contrary. You would be unable to pick this up if you did not listen to the cables back to back, on the same set.
In comparison, the Forrest is a bit grittier. It is just all a bit less than with the Art Speak, which is more refined. The Art Speak does sound a bit more poignant in the mids and highs. The Forrest is a bit more rounded and sounds more pointed in the attack of drums, for example.
Of course, a cable does not produce sound, it is all about the contribution it has to the end result.
Like water
The big surprise is the smoothness that the new Art Speak SPDIF cable brings. In Hania Rani’s track, more detail is audible, but above all a clear connection between notes. It sounds smoother, much less staccato than the Forrest.
In the comparison between Forrest and Art Speak, using the Beethoven recording, Steely Dan and the Tindersticks, the sound of instruments is more natural. It all does not sound so ‘HiFi’ and therefore more natural. It is very reminiscent of Yamaha’s signature sound: very correct, meaning with little colouration, and neutral, meaning with the right tonality of instruments. I read the words ‘balanced’ in my notes every time.
The effect of this cable is that the music is produced transparently and effortlessly.
This also has a downside: Peter Gabriel’s “i/o” cannot be swallowed with the Art Speak. You get too much of everything pushed into your ears. The Forrest ‘tames’ the sound just enough to be listenable. The Art Speak simply shows that we are confronted with this album’s boosted mastering.
The earworm
Describing ‘objectively’ what a cable brings and what the differences are in a comparison has one flaw. It cannot convey to the reader what it does to you as a listener. That is a personal experience, of course, but essential in describing the value of this cable. Objectively, the differences are small, but audible. The big difference is in the experience of music.
The music has more cohesion, the notes between instruments melting together more, while at the same time the background is quieter so you perceive more detail. This is quite a contradiction, because usually a quieter background leads to more perceivable detail and more detail to more disintegration of the music. Less feeling, more analytical.
Not so here. This Art Speak SPDIF cable lets the music speak. I cannot stop listening. Not to hear what the differences are, or that I hear a ting or a tang sounds different. The earworm is that the music feels organic and therefore the meaning of the music presents itself more clearly, making the feeling the music evokes stronger. That is the big difference.
Practical information
The quoted price of €219.50 is per metre.
You will not find Art Speak in shops, nor is there a website. For more information, email in**@ar******.nl.
Cheers Martijn, will check it out. 🙂
Cannot be bought from a store or webshop? Is it a prototype ?
No. Ordering is only through the mentioned e-mail address. It is a legit manufacturer. We’ve testen a lot of his creations over time and visited him. Just use the search function on ‘Art Speak’.