Cables & Accessories

For those that like a solid silver tonearm cable, the Silver Melody 1.5 is screened and fitted with a quality carbon fibre-finished connector as standard or with a 90° connector as an alternative option. At the amplifier end it is terminated with KLEI Absolute Silver Harmony RCA plugs (HFC 391), which have a solid silver earth connection and a thick silver plating on the signal pin.

The solid wire conductors are made from 99.99 percent silver wire and insulated with the company’s own formulation of dielectric material. There is 50 percent more silver used here compared with the original Silver Melody 1, while the cable is finished in the company’s characteristic purple sleeve.

Sound quality
After running the Silver Melody 1.5 in (essential, especially for silver cables that can sound a little harsh when new), the sound from my Kiseki Blue NOS cartridge is every bit as sweet and refined as I would expect from a premium interconnect. An EMI Eminence recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 is crystal clear and the piano is never swamped by the orchestra, even during the crescendos. There is excellent front-to-back imaging and I am really drawn into the performance, which is both sophisticated and engaging. For some jazz, I spin a direct-cut LP of the Syd Lawrence Orchestra playing Benny Goodman’s Sing Sing Sing. The energy and excitement of this incredibly exuberant recording is infectious. The trumpet and trombone solos are really sharp and real without becoming in any way unpleasantly harsh. The drums that resound throughout the entire piece are punchy and tight and the Silver Melody 1.5 certainly takes the whole performance in its stride. This is a really cracking high-spec tonearm cable, which competes with rivals well above its price point. NR

DETAILS
Product: ISOkinetik Silver Melody 1.5
Price: £299
Type: Tonearm cable
Telephone: 0208 2418890
Website: isokinetik.co.uk
Read the full review in July issue 438