The fabulous Silversmith Fidelium Speaker Cable

Based on their pricing and their uniqueness, a few days ago, I bought a pair of Fideliums to trial. They’re competition were Nordost Tyr II’s and Iconoclast (by Belden) -- an OFE wire pair and a SPTPC wire pair. Along with the Fidelium’s, these 3 were unowned audition pairs. My previous Synergistic Research “Absolute Reference” cables developed a short, so I was in need of speaker cables.

Long story short, the Fidelium's are keepers, by comparison, the other’s aren’t. There were NO readily apparent, significantly obvious differences between the cables frequency response wise. Perhaps with more extended A/B testing, I might have had an all-around frequency winner, but I didn’t care, because I heard sounds coming from a blackness the others didn’t possess! That was the 1st. positive that immediately stuck me. The 2nd positive was an overall smoothness that was immediately apparent. Perhaps that was attributed to how the note's leading & trailing edges were handled, or to a lack of distortion, I’m not sure exactly why, nor do I care, because it was out of the norm, appreciated and immediately preferred over the other cables. Both of these attributes were niceties with the price of $1,195 (8-ft pair) being even nicer, when compared to the ~$5k Nordost and ~$2 & 2.5k Iconoclast. As such, I too am looking forward to a potential Jeffrey Smith Interconnect.

My pocketbook will be opened, because my hat is tipped to Mr. Smith. It’s nice to see an inventively designed product that performs well above its price point and there is no inclusion of magic boxes (fore & aft, &/or plugged into the mains etc.), mysterious fluid fillings, magnetic this or that, quantum tunneling, cryogenic treatments etc. Of course the same could be said for the other cables I trialed, especially the Iconoclast's whose design philosophy is well publicized and widely discussed.

By the way: My front-end is a dCS Rossini DAC; amplification is Atma-sphere MA-1 OTL monoblocks and SoundLab Majestic 845 full-range Electrostatic speakers.
Since I have had silversmith fideliums, I have never felt the need to change them. And, I am constantly changing to get and try best. For me, these speaker cables are the best deal period (almost cost-no object), considering the price we have to pay for small difference in different components. The only speaker cables, I am going to change to, will be Hemingway Z core sigma. I am changing the power cords now, but am waiting for silversmith to come out with fidelium ICs. I wish they made whole loom of cables, I will be happy with them.
 
Since I have had silversmith fideliums, I have never felt the need to change them. And, I am constantly changing to get and try best. For me, these speaker cables are the best deal period (almost cost-no object), considering the price we have to pay for small difference in different components. The only speaker cables, I am going to change to, will be Hemingway Z core sigma. I am changing the power cords now, but am waiting for silversmith to come out with fidelium ICs. I wish they made whole loom of cables, I will be happy with them.
From the Audiogon Forum:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/new-silversmith-fidelium-cable?sort_order=desc (scroll down to last entry)


glory's avatar

glory​


1,384 posts
11-26-2020 6:52pm
It’s an $800.00 cable and sounds great for its price, but it’s a beginner cable for a beginner system.
Hemingway Alpha makes it sound like an $800.00 cable.
 
From the Audiogon Forum:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/new-silversmith-fidelium-cable?sort_order=desc (scroll down to last entry)


glory's avatar's avatar

glory

1,384 posts
11-26-2020 6:52pm
It’s an $800.00 cable and sounds great for its price, but it’s a beginner cable for a beginner system.
Hemingway Alpha makes it sound like an $800.00 cable.

I love Hemingway and myself have Z core beta power cords. They are best power cords. Have you listened to silversmith fideliums ?
From the Audiogon Forum:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/new-silversmith-fidelium-cable?sort_order=desc (scroll down to last entry)


glory's avatar's avatar

glory

1,384 posts
11-26-2020 6:52pm
It’s an $800.00 cable and sounds great for its price, but it’s a beginner cable for a beginner system.
Hemingway Alpha makes it sound like an $800.00 cable.
Have you listened to silversmith fideliums ?. Don't get me wrong and am not undermining Hemingway in anyway. They make the best cables. I myself have Hemingway z core beta cords and am planning to go full loom power cords from them. I got same feeling from fideliums as I got from Hemingway, but each good in their own way.
 
Have you listened to silversmith fideliums ?. Don't get me wrong and am not undermining Hemingway in anyway. They make the best cables. I myself have Hemingway z core beta cords and am planning to go full loom power cords from them. I got same feeling from fideliums as I got from Hemingway, but each good in their own way.
I have not heard the Silversmith Fideliums. I just saw this guy's post at Audiogon and decided to share it to provide some balance. I don't doubt that they are good. My own speaker cables - Verastarr Grand Illusion are also flat ribbons and have received nothing but rave reviews. I have Hemingway Z-Core Beta and Echole Omnia power cords and am looking for a demo Fono Acustica to try. My ears tell me that the gold/silver alloy conductors used by these three companies outperform and are significantly more musical than any copper or silver cables I've heard including all of the big names (Ansuz, Crystal, Nordost, Siltech, Transparent, ...etc.). Any cable upgrade I make from here on out will be from one of these three companies.
 
I have not heard the Silversmith Fideliums. I just saw this guy's post at Audiogon and decided to share it to provide some balance. I don't doubt that they are good. My own speaker cables - Verastarr Grand Illusion are also flat ribbons and have received nothing but rave reviews. I have Hemingway Z-Core Beta and Echole Omnia power cords and am looking for a demo Fono Acustica to try. My ears tell me that the gold/silver alloy conductors used by these three companies outperform and are significantly more musical than any copper or silver cables I've heard including all of the big names (Ansuz, Crystal, Nordost, Siltech, Transparent, ...etc.). Any cable upgrade I make from here on out will be from one of these three companies.
Same here. I have echole omnia and Ansuz c2 pc on source and preamp. Have Hemingway z core beta on conditioner and amp. As mentioned, the silversmith is something people discard seeing it’s price. But for its performance I will not be surprised if he had priced it north of 7k. You will appreciate that only when listened to. I have listened to speaker cables north of 7k. Only other I want to listen to is Hemingway sigma speaker cables and Townsend f1 fractal. On the other hand, have listened to bunch of cables which are priced 5-10 times more but nothing close to silversmith. I am not fan or promoting any brand (in fact I got the silversmith used), but want them to be recognized.
 
Same here. I have echole omnia and Ansuz c2 pc on source and preamp. Have Hemingway z core beta on conditioner and amp. As mentioned, the silversmith is something people discard seeing it’s price. But for its performance I will not be surprised if he had priced it north of 7k. You will appreciate that only when listened to. I have listened to speaker cables north of 7k. Only other I want to listen to is Hemingway sigma speaker cables and Townsend f1 fractal. On the other hand, have listened to bunch of cables which are priced 5-10 times more but nothing close to silversmith. I am not fan or promoting any brand (in fact I got the silversmith used), but want them to be recognized.
You've sparked my curiosity so I will try to find a way to listen to the Fidelium cables. Note that I haven't heard the Townshend Fractal F1 speaker cables, but I have the interconnects and they are outstanding and a tremendous value.
 
You've sparked my curiosity so I will try to find a way to listen to the Fidelium cables. Note that I haven't heard the Townshend Fractal F1 speaker cables, but I have the interconnects and they are outstanding and a tremendous value.
You will not be disappointed. I have Townsend f1 fractals ICs too and am very impressed enough that I want to try their speaker cables at some point in future.
 
A new double review: http://v2.stereotimes.com/post/silversmith-audio-fidelium-speaker-cable-by-mike-wright/
Not surprisingly, they LOVED them!

Greg Weaver has awarded the Fidelium as the Cable of the Decade:

Try it, you'll buy it!
Hi Testy, just a quick correction, Greg Weaver has awarded the Fidelium "Audio Product Of the Decade" saying they are "the most influential audio product of the past decade" that includes all other audio categories and is extremely high praise.
 
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The reviews I've seen of this cable are a little vague about what it has been compared with. I prefer reviews like Marshall Nack's of the Fono Acustica cables for example where he makes direct comparisons with the Audience Front Row cables that he previously reviewed. I would be very curious how the Silversmith Fidelium compares with two other highly touted foil ribbon speaker cables - Verastarr Grand Illusion (which I have) and Townshend Fractal F1. Four separate runs with difficult to connect terminations sounds like a pain in the ass when it comes to routing. Rather than sell a separate adapter why can't Silversmith just design a tapered termination into the cable to begin with? And why like Verastarr and Townshend can't they find a way to join the two ribbons for much of the cables' length so you only have to route two not four runs? Intrigued to try them but not in a rush to deal with the practical issues.
 
Funny, I must be in the minority on this one. I tried the Fidelium's speaker cables and was not impressed. It had compressed dynamics limited frequency extremes and a overall dullness to the sound. In addition I had to raise the volume level.
I am using tube mono blocks so that may have been the difference. I dunno know.

ozzy
 
Funny, I must be in the minority on this one. I tried the Fidelium's speaker cables and was not impressed. It had compressed dynamics limited frequency extremes and a overall dullness to the sound. In addition I had to raise the volume level.
I am using tube mono blocks so that may have been the difference. I dunno know.

ozzy
You are in a distinct minority...
But system compatibility is everything!
 
Funny, I must be in the minority on this one. I tried the Fidelium's speaker cables and was not impressed. It had compressed dynamics limited frequency extremes and a overall dullness to the sound. In addition I had to raise the volume level.
I am using tube mono blocks so that may have been the difference. I dunno know.

ozzy

I find myself somewhat at a loss to understand the dramatic degradation in your system that you report when running these SC’s
For the order of magnitude you are stating the cables would have to exhibit extraordinary LCR measurement characteristics , in particular Capacitance.
The only other speaker cables I can recall that have resulted in anything close to what you report were from High Fidelity, that are a whole other animal entirely!

Something singularly odd is afoot here.
 
ozzzy said:


Funny, I must be in the minority on this one. I tried the Fidelium's speaker cables and was not impressed. It had compressed dynamics limited frequency extremes and a overall dullness to the sound. In addition I had to raise the volume level.
I am using tube mono blocks so that may have been the difference. I dunno know.

ozzy

I find myself somewhat at a loss to understand the dramatic degradation in your system that you report when running these SC’s

For the order of magnitude you are stating the cables would have to exhibit extraordinary LCR measurement characteristics , in particular Capacitance.
The only other speaker cables I can recall that have resulted in anything close to what you report were from High Fidelity, that are a whole other animal entirely!

Something singularly odd is afoot here.

Because I recently purchased the Fidelium's I auditioned, my results were the opposite of Ozzy's. But I know nothing of Ozzy's: 1) components, 2) room, or more importantly, 3) his sonic preferences.

"Singularly odd" is an apt generalization of our hobby. We all have our personal sonic preferences, or if we've experienced enough different components and setups, we should have our own personal preferences. My preferences might coincide with someone else’s, or NOT. Add that concept to the wildly different components and rooms we all have and is there any wonder why I may like cable X, but other’s may, or may not like them. The varying different types of speaker preferences is but one example. Some like cones and domes, others like horns, open baffles, planar magnetic's and/or electrostatic's etc. Some of these provide similar presentations, others not so much. But yet we all make our choices based on our personal preferences. Taken a step further and trying to apply the results of someone's cable experiences with their components and personal preferences, to our own experiences and components is difficult to impossible. In this case, the “your mileage may vary” statement couldn’t be more apt. Which is why an in-home audition is so very important!!
 
I do remember Jeff Smith telling me that the exposed side of the connection needed to face the amp and speaker rather than the binding post nut. He did say that having the exposed side facing the binding post nut would degrade sound quality. Perhaps Ozzy had them connected that way?
 
Thanks for your responses.
No, I tried very hard to like the Fidelium speaker cables. Connected them back and forth over and under, etc. But they just didn't do it for me.

For what its worth, I have the Lumin X1 running direct to my Bob Carver M350 tube mono amps. My speakers are Focal Sopra 2's.

I also have a Audioquest 7000 power conditioner. My Cabling consists of Synergistic SX, Audioquest Dragon power cords.
Interconnects are Shunyata Sigma V2 balanced.

ozzy
 
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Hi, new to this forum after lurking for a while. I bought these Silversmith cables unseen based on the review and am awaiting them next week. Its certainly fascinating to read the combinations that members have run through with cutting edge brands and technology.
Can anyone venture a comparison on their qualities and sound with the Iconoclast Speaker cables or Audio Envy SP7?
 
 
HI QuadDiffusor.
Thanks for this link - you have come the closest to answering my question. I am still curious to know how this cable compares to Audio Envy's latest offering of IC's
Also trawling through Galen's writings I couldn't grasp exactly what aspect of his design was superior to TaraLabs, High Fidelity. WW's offereing etc etc which all use airtubes, and focus on LCR and minimising skin effect. Can you narrow this down further? How were the conductors used uniquely, and Galen able to minimise these electromagnetic distortions with his designs?
How exactly was the Iconoclast SC's better than the Fideliums in terms of sound and imaging?
 

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