The Discovery Cable Interconnects and Speaker Cable:

AND NOW FOR SOMETHING GOOD AND ALMOST AFFORDABLE

I have to confess to a firm addiction to the state-of-the art. Like most reviewers, I can't resist the latest and greatest—even when I know that costs are rising through the roof. This is the addiction that drives me into reviewing products like the Wireworld Eclipse cables. Finding that last little bit of musical information. The fact is, however, that this kind of addiction can easily make the High End unaffordable—and sometimes almost obscenely so. It may be fun for reviewers—who borrow without having to pay—but it doesn't always help the real world audiophile who has a real world budget.

The Discovery Cable interconnects and speaker cable, how­ever, make an interesting alternative to ne plus ultra cables. They are not cheap—this is an oxymoron in the High End. A one meter pair of interconnects costs $240, although there is no extra charge if you chose the balanced Neutrik XLR cable over the unbalanced RCA cable. A custom phono cable costs $300. The speaker cable costs $320 for an eight-foot pair. But they are among the more affordable members of the unaffordable class.

They also are extremely good at any price. They may not be quite up to cables that are four or five times more costly, but they come close. Furthermore, Discovery spends a lot of time on pickup arm wiring where a number of manufacturers now deal with this as an afterthought. The Discovery arm cable is available in custom lengths, and is one of the best pickup arm interconnects available at any price.

Features and Technology
Joe De Phillips, the designer behind Discovery Cable, he thinks that many manufacturers charge for specsmanship, ra­ther than value. He believes, for example, that using solid con­ductors or elaborate stranding patters does not pay off. He sees no value for money in ultra pure of "six nines" copper, in Teflon as the major dielectric material, or in snazzy jacks and connec­tors.

De Phillips states that he designs on the KISS (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle, and that he decided on a twin-axial design as the best way of providing both balanced and unbal­anced interconnects. He chose stranded bare copper because it was both cheaper and sounded better than silver plated cop­per. Discovery uses "American mined" copper of high purity.' The interconnects use Polyethylene dielectric because this bothsaves money whie possessing the same dielectric coefficient as Teflon, and De Phillips says it sounds as good as or better than Teflon.

The Discovery interconnects twist the two conductors to prevent cross-talk and reduce EMI. They are foil wrapped and covered with a tin-plated copper shield. The use of a double shield helps reduce RFI, and the tin plating of the copper braid helps reduce oxidation. The outer braid acts as a shield and/or ground in all applications and is covered with a PVC outer jack‑
et.
Discovery uses lead-free silver solder, with a mildly reactive resin, because (a) De Phillips feels this sounds best, and (b) the mildly reactive resin keeps the sound from changing because the effects of the rosin last long after termination. All termina­tions are by hand. The connectors are well proven designs using copper and Teflon.

The speaker cable follows roughly the same design parame­ters as the interconnects. The six conductors are of stranded high-purity copper with Polyethylene dielectric on each of the six conductors. These are then cabled around a Polyethylene tube, allowing an air dielectric as well. The outer jacket is a pli­ant PVC to ensure cable flexibility. De Phillips feels that large "garden hose" designs are both purposeless and inconvenient.

One of the more interesting design features of the speaker cable is that the use of six strands means that it can be termi­nated for bi-wiring or tri-wiring using one cable. If you are tired of the price and rat's nest appearance of multiple speaker cables, this means you can save a bundle (in both senses of the word). Further, Discovery says that it will not charge for re-ter­minating the speaker cable as your needs change, or for re-ter­minating the interconnects. (They will only change for connec­tors, not for re-termination. A dangerous offer for the dedicated tweaker!)

Sound
The only way to put the sonic differences between the Discovery cables and ne plus ultra products like the top-of-the­line AudioQuest and Wireworld cables into firm perspective is to actually go and listen to them. I can give you adjectives, but words don't give you a firm grasp on the relative differences in quality, and this is what really matters.

In broad terms, the top-of-the-line competition provides more detail, particularly in the upper octaves, but the improve­ment is definitely one of diminishing returns, and the difference in cost in a complex system is potentially equivalent to the cost of a new preamp. When you think perfection, you have to have a balanced overall investment strategy. This is why it is so important to actually audition products, rather than simply read reviews.
As for individual aspects of sound quality, much will depend on your specific equipment. I cannot stress firmly enough that more than a decade of cable reviews has shown me that sonic nuances change with specific equipment interfaces. My experi­ence—using different cartridges, the Lustre pickup arm, Theta and Krell digital equipment, Classe and Krell electronics, and Apogee Studio Grand, B&W 801 III, and Thiel CS-5 loudspeak­ers—indicates that you are likely to get the following perfor­mance from both the Discovery interconnects and speaker cables:

•Deep Bass and Mid Bass: Very good, neutral, with good dynamics and no sign of special speaker and amplifier inter­action problems. Maybe not the ultimate bass, but close.
•Upper Bass and Lower Midrange: Once again, neutral. No warmth or suck out. Excellent definition and dynamics.
•Midrange and Upper Midrange: I did a lot of comparative lis­tening to how the Discovery Cables interacted with different equipment, and the midrange and upper midrange were con­sistently free of any apparent turnover point or frequency. They provide slightly less upper midrange detail than the best com­petition, but are quite good.
•Treble: The treble is relatively open and extended, but again has slightly less detail and apparent energy than the best and most expensive competition. At the same time, the treble is far better and far smoother than many trick cables costing sever­al times as much.
•Dynamics: Both the speaker cables and interconnects do a good job of handling dynamics, and the speaker cables are particularly good at handling high-level dynamics. Low-level dynamics and the handling of sudden low-level transients may not be up to the top-of-the-line AudioQuest or Wireworlds, but is much better than in the cables which attempt to alter the upper frequency balance and in most cables that claim mar­velous new technologies. The dynamics are not forward or aggressive.
•Transient Detail and Transparency: The transient detail and transparency are quite good, and are musically convincing. Once again, you do not get the anomalies in the deep bass and upper octaves you get with many far more expensive products.
•Harmonic Integrity and Coherence: The Discovery Cables produced realistic harmonics and good overall musical coher­ence. They are not the kind of cable that begin by surprising you with "new insights" and then gradually turn out to be unre­al. Piano, violin, harp, guitar, and lute solos all sounded natur­al.
•Soundstage Width, Height, and Depth, and Apparent Listening Position: The soundstage was live and open, with no particular changes in dimension or apparent listening posi­tion. Very good resolution of low-level soundstage detail, but not the ultimate.
•Imaging: Neutral.
•Apparent Signal-to-Noise Ratio: Excellent apparent noise floor, and no apparent RFI or digital interference effects.

Compatibility and Interface Problems
The Discovery interconnects and speaker cables are simple low imnPriannA low incillotanno low rananitanoP nrorilintq withand the wires are small and flexible. The speaker cables may be the most compact way yet to bi-wire or tri-wire, although I only tried them in the single-wire mode. The interconnects and speaker cables were electronically compatible with any equip­ment I tried, and put no mechanical strain on jacks and speak­er connectors. The pickup arm cable put less mechanical load than usual on turntable suspensions. If you like compatibility problems, buy something else.

Summing Up
Discovery cable is not the ultimate interconnect or speaker cable, but ultimates in High End reviews have a half life of about one issue. Discovery makes an outstanding set of products, whose excellence is another sign of convergence on cables that are neutral and transparent, rather than equalizers disguised as cables. They are real value for money. You can do a bit better in overall sound quality, but you will pay in blood for the difference.

—Anthony H. Cordesman

ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
Front End: VPI TNT III turntable; Lustre pickup arm; AudioQuest 7000NSX, Lyra Clavis
cartridges; Theta Data, Krell MD-10 com­pact disk decks; Theta DSPro Generation 5, Krell 64 Reference D/A converters
Electronics: Krell KRC, Glasse Six preamps; Krell MDA 300, Glasse One Thousand mono amplifiers
Speakers: Thiel CS-5A, B&W 801 III, Apogee Studio Grands
Cables & Interconnects: Wireworld Eclipse, AudioCtuest Diamond interconnects.


1 For liberals, American mined" means mined in America by unionized political refugees escaping human rights persecution by authoritarian regimes." For conserv­atives, it means, "mined in foreign countries by American-owned corporations that are developing the global economy" For High End audiophiles, it means "irrelevant."

Reprinted with permission from THE ABSOLUTE SOUND ®