Spatia Speaker Cable Review

I’ve just finished listening to a pair of Spatia cables that I’ve had on loan for a week now and thought that I’d share my thoughts about them.  I’m not sure how much ‘burn in’ time these cables had before reaching me, so this review is on the cables as presented.

First, a few words about their appearance: they are substantial looking, though not stiff so as to present a problem when laying along the contours of a room. They are also ‘directional’, though the suggested amplifier connection end is not immediately apparent and I had to look quite closely to identify the blue band which was just about visible beneath the outer braided skin of the cable. The actual connectors are gold plated plugs which presented no problems fitting to either speakers or amplifier. The pair I auditioned were seven metres in length.

The cables already in my system are some manufactured by Merlin, the particular type I’ve now forgotten, as I have had them for about seven or eight years now. In my system they have always sounded truthful, musical and pleasing. So would the Spatias provide an improvement, a worthwhile upgrade?

I played a variety of music through them, chiefly classical and I was at once struck by their warmth and musicality. It struck me straightaway too that they had also a sonic signature similar to the Reflex Phono Stage that I’d borrowed a few weeks before.

At first I thought that they weren’t retrieving any additional information until I realised that the sense of space around instruments, which was well described by the Merlins, now appeared so much more natural and believable

There was also a focus there that, although good before, was now so much better at allowing that 3D quality to become manifest which I had experienced with the Reflex some weeks before. Here again was that feeling of ‘being there’ and that sense of ‘living presence’ which I had noted before.

In fact the full range of the sound spectrum, as recorded, was allowed to come through most naturally - from the lowest thwacks of a bass drum and deep growling notes of a double bass to the tinkling sounds of a celeste and the decaying sounds of a soft brush drawn over a cymbal.

On voice there was an uncanny presence, the expressive nuances of a song presented in such a life-like way. It seemed also that the sound of all the recordings that I played became much freer and more expansive as though the dynamic range had somehow been extended.

In conclusion I’d like to say that they are without doubt outstanding cables and to paraphrase a famous hi-fi manufacturer, really do bring you that much closer to the original sound.