Cables

As part of its ongoing mission to offer only products of the very highest quality, Brandt Audio has developed its own weldable connectors for speaker cables, both bananas and forks. Their plating of 5 microns of fine gold (usually 4 microns in the jewelry industry and only 2 microns for standard audio components) eliminates the need for a prior layer of nickel plating (nickel, being magnetic, is undesirable). These beautiful connectors ensure a perfect transfer of current between the amplifier and the speakers.

Brandt-Audio has created two lines of speaker cables: a “standard” one that uses tested classic materials, and another one that pursues an esoteric path through, among other, the use of natural materials. The “sensual line” represents the fruit of ten years of research, it is intended for lovers of timbre and lovers of “total musical happiness” through an unforgettable sensual sound immersion.

1/ How to choose your speaker cable : COLTRANE sensual, WAGNER SE sensual or COLTRANE & VERDI II ?

“Standard line” : COLTRANE & VERDI II: These two cables are acoustically very close, but the VERDI II has an architecture that offers more space, which translates into a boost in the soundstage. The VERDI II can also be mounted in bi-wiring in the same conductors. These are generous and harmonious cables with lots of bass.

“Sensual line“ : WAGNER SE sensual is an evolution of the first generation WAGNER with a marked improvement in construction. This cable is the one that equips the SE versions of STENHEIM’s ALUMINE TWO, THREE and FIVE loudspeakers. It is an extremely lively cable with nevertheless an exceptional softness and musicality thanks to its double insulating sheath in pure cotton.

COLTRANE sensual offers the same finesse with added body and perfect control of low frequencies.

If the use of jumpers is required by the construction of the speakers you have, it is essential to ensure that they are made from the same material as the speaker cabling, otherwise you will not get the full benefit of your cables.

Raising the speaker cables off the floor on small studs is strongly recommended.

2/ And how to choose your interconnect?

WAGNER or DEBUSSY, which one should you choose? The Debussy interconnects offer incredible definition; they are very lively as “studio” interconnects, while the Wagners are softer and more musical. The choice will depend on what sound you want to obtain according to the acoustics of your listening room and the electronics you have. Both WAGNER and DEBUSSY interconnects are available in “classic” or “sensual” line.

The two models of RCA plugs that we have selected for our interconnect cables have nickel-free plating. You should bear in mind that nickel, which favors the resistance of the plating, is magnetic, causing a slight loss in the high frequencies of the signal resulting in a decrease in definition.

The KLEI connectors fitted as standard to all Brandt-Audio RCA interconnects are tremendous from a musical point of view. These connectors, designed by Eichmann (KLEI), are made in Australia and known to purists to be among the best in the world. Previously Karl-Louis founded the ETI brand which he sold a few years ago to create an even more successful model with KLEI. These are our favorite RCA connectors. They are silver-plated copper and the plastic body minimizes the impact of the metal mass. We substitute the M3 retaining screws with non-magnetic brass screws. This results in an almost “direct” transfer of sound between the cable and the terminal block of the device to which it is connected. Acoustically, these connectors are very soft and extremely musical.

The beautifully-made RCA CARDAS connectors, available as an option, maintain fabulous contact all around the plug, and ensure very close contact on all the terminal blocks. They are solidly made from rhodium-plated brass. The sound produced by the CARDAS connectors is colder and more analytical than that produced by the KLEI connectors. From an aesthetic point of view, the CARDAS are particularly beautiful with their gilding and rhodium plating.

For the XLR connectors, we chose a NEUTRIK model that enjoys an excellent reputation throughout the industry. Made in Switzerland, it is used by most cable manufacturers.

The high-end CARDAS XLR, which is also available as an option, is made of fine materials and is nickel-free. In comparison to the CARDAS, the sound passing through NEUTRIK XLRs seems to be missing something. Of course, it is not a blatant difference and it is perfectly acceptable, but the freshness and liveliness offered by the CARDAS XLRs are clearly a cut above.

Fine-tuning a cable takes a lot of time. BRANDT-AUDIO cables are the final result of a long development process. Perfectly balanced, they are produced individually in a specialized workshop in Geneva, Switzerland.