Tchernov Cable Special Coaxial IC Review

Review. Tchernov Cable Special Coaxial IC. Another level

I am a long time fan of Tchernov Cable branded cables, many of them went through my system during the tests, and I myself own several cables, for example, the USB line Classic, the power line Special (in transport) and the digital coaxial SPDIF line Original. So I was wondering when I got a pair of new coax cables, but of a higher range - Special, with RCA and BNC connectors. What kind of cables are these and how justified is the twofold difference in price?

At first glance, the difference between the cables is only in the color of the sheath, my cable is blue, and the beginners are gray (as well as the power cable of this series, which I use in transport). Therefore, for the difference in characteristics, I turned to the official website: www.tchernovcable.com . These cables, like mine, use a 0.70 mm2 (19 x 0.23 mm) stranded BRC conductor , three-layer CAFPE ® insulation , and a double shield. One of the most important differences between the new cables and the Tchernov Cable Original IC S / PDIF I have is the use of Elastollan ® thermoplastic polyurethane as a sheath.. According to the manufacturer, this solution "provides long-term stability of all parameters and effectively dampens acoustic noise and vibration effects." Another important improvement is the use of more advanced Classic V2 connectors with a beryllium copper center pin with 10 µm gold plating.

As with other Tchernov Cable cables, arrows are marked next to the connectors indicating the direction of the signal. To complete the external inspection, I’ll say that the cables, like their predecessors, are made very carefully, it’s impossible to find fault. Beautiful high-quality connectors, excellent appearance of the shell and braid, flawless soldering. You will never know how much these cables cost if you don't know the answer beforehand.

All this is very interesting, however, you need to appreciate the sound. Above I said that I use Tchernov Cable in the system, and for a reason. This is especially true for the SPDIF cable. My system is very picky about the SPDIF cable, and not everyone is suitable, and it's not just about the price. I liked my current cable for its density, saturation, excellent relief and tangibility of sound. And it is clear that I expected no worse results from the newcomers.

The main character of this review will be the cable with RCA connectors, but in general, everything I will say applies to both cables. I will dwell on the difference between them separately. In addition, I will compare the new Tchernov Cable Special Coaxial IC / Digital RCA (S/PDIF) with my Tchernov Cable Original IC S/PDIF.

Since the cables were completely new (I opened the packaging myself), it was necessary to run in, which I did by running the cables in my system continuously under a signal for more than 200 hours each (that is, more than two weeks, since I never turn off).

However, of course, before that, I still listened to the system, without waiting for the burn-in. And at first he was very puzzled. I was expecting a roughly similar feed, but with better performance, or something. However, instead of this, at first glance, I got a more airy, spatial picture, but obviously not as dense as I was used to. Well, I thought, the taste and color, because someone will definitely need just such a sound option.

I even put my cable back into the system to check if I made a mistake and my memory is not failing me. No, it doesn't, and that's fine. I installed a new cable again and decided to wait at least a week for the critical auditions.

And not in vain! Now I can be more specific.

The physicality, density and relief that I so desired returned, and what seemed like airiness before, turned out to be transparency, accuracy and high resolution after running in!

All the hallmarks of high class appeared. First of all, I heard very detailed, tangible highs, natural, believable cymbals, timbre very reliable, with an excellent sense of the weight of the cymbal and the density of the main tone. Unfortunately, too much modern equipment turns the cymbals into something ephemeral silver, melting in the air, and this is not always the case. Everything is in place here, you close your eyes and see the plates in front of you.

Something similar happens with the bass, and no, of course, we are not talking about cymbals, but in this case, especially for plucked strings - a marvelous amount of detail, the same required relief and an abundance of overtones.

And then you realize that the main addition of new cables is resolution. A large number of events, more connections, more quiet details, and, finally, that very “blackness of pauses”. Oh yes, this is not for a red word. There is a feeling that some invisibly present elusive background noise, which has now completely disappeared, has gone somewhere. And this is not a completely formalized feeling, since the background hiss from the speakers from the power amplifier is still more tangible than the intangible noise from interference transmitted by my standard cable. There is just this feeling and that's it!

Against the background of this absence of noise, firstly, that very “transparency” appears, while we do not lose in density and corporality. Secondly, the smallest bursts of the signal at attenuation become audible, and all these “tails” drag on for a very long time, which gives a feeling of unity, lingering sound, coherence and melodiousness. Third, it gives us momentum! Surprise of attacks, brighter crescendos, dynamic contrasts.

At the same time, the clarity of the transition from the attack to the main tone becomes very good, and hence the clarity of perception of the moment the note is taken, and hence the coherence, PRAT, integrity.

All this set together defines the audiophile class of the system. And this is the main difference from the Tchernov Cable Original IC S / PDIF cable I have. That one is more melomanic, again both solid and embossed, but more “simple”, plays music mainly on the first layer. As soon as you install Special Coaxial IC / Digital RCA (S/PDIF) – everything is added here, little things everywhere, but the overall increase creates a screaming difference in the class. You begin to perceive music more easily on other layers - phrasing, intonation, sharpness of parts, general emotional intensity, energy, a clearer message. All of this, as I said earlier, is the result of what can be summed up in one word: resolution, but I wanted to be more specific. While maintaining the same parameters with my old cable, the new one is just a cut above in this aspect, yes actually,

Would I change the old cable for a new one? The answer is of course "yes"! Without hesitation. The advantage is great.

And about the difference between options with different connectors. In general (and perhaps this is not surprising), they sound very close to what can be called the word "same", but still there are some nuances. The BNC version is more airy (well, yes, it didn’t “seem” here anymore), it gives a slightly wider space, and, probably, some slightly greater “clarity” of the picture, or something, but in general I advise you to choose a cable based on the available connector system.

In summary: Special Coaxial IC / Digital RCA (S/PDIF) and Tchernov Cable Special Coaxial IC / Digital BNC (Clock) are great cables! I enjoyed this test and got a lot of impressions. I think in your short list of cables in the region of 10 thousand rubles. one of these cables must be present.