Hanowa Signature Edition

 The Hanowa Signature Edition, when used with the AC power cord and analog audio cables, can enhance the sound quality of a higher-end audio system.

Professional musicians had and have a rather dubious reputation when it comes to equipment selection: what is used on stage usually does not have to win a beauty award or set new resolution records. Loudspeakers, amplifiers and cables should work, even if they are heavily used. Basta! The fact that balanced connections with super-solid plug-socket combinations dominate also primarily has to do with reliability. These things can withstand a shower with dubious liquids such as cold coke without immediately producing a short circuit that destroys everything.

The different versions of Hanowa's Signature Edition have the same structure: the individual conductors inside wind around each other in a helix arrangement, the shielding is divided into an inner plastic shield, which, in addition to electrical interference, also keeps footfall noise away. On the outside there is a - also visually wonderful - sealing made of leather. Without exception, the plugs come from Viablue.

Recently, however, the picture has changed, and the boundaries between professional and home use are becoming increasingly blurred. That's why more and more professional outfitters are taking the plunge and developing dedicated, high-quality product lines for use in home systems.

This gives quality-conscious music fans real gems like the Signature Edition from the traditional manufacturer Hanowa, behind which stands the company Solton Acoustic, which specializes in PA needs. The fact that the homepage is called www.hanowa-lab.com is no coincidence and not just an indication that Hanowa cables are laboratory-certified, ut reflects the scientific approach that has been used at Hanowa for years in development and production.

"We put a lot of heart and soul into it," says Sebastian Sperl, head of the Solton family business, which was founded in 1972 and started out in the professional market with guitar tube amplifiers and loudspeaker housings. Solton is proud of the close cooperation with jazz and pop greats like Antoine "Fats" Domino, who completely relied on the German company's musicians' equipment on his European tour in 1975/76.

A little later, rock'n'roll inventor Bill Haley followed suit - word got around about the unconditional reliability of the Solton devices. Hanowa came on board in 1975, and over the years the two companies became more and more closely intertwined.

The Hanowa Signature Edition XLR cable

Why the long preamble? To make it clear that Hanowa cables are not comparable to common high-end accessories. Because, unlike that, they can withstand rough studio or concert use. And because they are designed according to modern principles of the cleanest possible signal line. 

The Signature Edition Analog Audio Cables in the XLR version (2-meter stereo pair for 6900 euros) are a DNA helix-style stranded arrangement of several individual conductors made of high-purity, monocrystalline copper or a copper-silver alloy, trimmed as much as the possible low capacitance between the conductors and low resistance. Sebastian Sperl has no problem making his data sheets available to FIDELITY, which lists impressive values ​​for the electrical values ​​as well as the degree of purity of the material.

Hanowa also puts a lot of effort into shielding to prevent interference. The plugs are obtained from Viablue, which is also where FIDELITY authors use them, for example when it comes to the self-assembly of cables.

The hyper-precise finish that the customer gets from Hanowa ex works can never be achieved in a home workshop. Because at Hanowa/Solton, lifeblood is combined with a high degree of know-how in relation to modern production methods. Series variation, which is commonplace elsewhere, would simply not be tolerable in a professional context.

The most important property of these cables from the Hanowa Signature Edition is that they don't have their own sound, that they weren't "sounded" here, and the frequency response wasn't tricked. That wasn't necessary either: These cables with their distinctive leather sleeve - which not only looks and feels good, but of course also contributes its mite to vibration elimination - are as neutral as the proverbial "bare wire".

Conversely, this means that weaknesses in the electronics, which are mercifully "ironed out" by other device connectors, can be heard crystal clear with Hanowa cables. In the recording studio, one cannot and does not want to make any mistakes, which is why the perfection achieved here is also due to the other clientele.

A dimension in itself is the power cord of the Signature Edition (1.8 meters for 6500 euros/each), from its defined low resistance - according to the manufacturer only 2.5 to 2.93 ohms per kilometer (!) Cable - practically every fed with it device benefits. My recently completely revised No. 27 by Mark Levinson. A power amplifier in which every improvement in the power supply equals a positive contribution to the sound account. With the Hanowa Signature Edition Power Cord, the bass range appears much more contoured, more stable, and simply "blacker". Even the noise floor seems to decrease.

The XLR cable provides that pleasant increase in spaciousness and clarity that is inherent in low-capacity cables. This becomes particularly clear with good classical and jazz recordings and actually everywhere where the person at the controls in the recording studio knew what he was doing. Incidentally, it is not entirely unlikely that these recordings were made with equipment from Solton or Hanowa ...

INFO

Mains and audio cable Hanowa Signature Edition
Concept: low-capacity mains and device connection cable trimmed for low resistance with all common connections in various lengths
Prices: AC Power Cord €6,500 (1.8 m, with Viablue packaging), Analog Audio Cable €6,500 (stereo pair 2 x 2 m)

CONTACT

Hanowa Germany, Solton Acoustic
Oberer Mühlweg 6
94060 Pocking, Rottau
Phone +49 8531 913880

www.hanowa-lab.com