Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite Speaker Cable – Smoothly Shielded For HiFi Music Reproduction
Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite is a 882 EURO / $950 USD pair of cables for speakers, with this price tag being for today’s 3 meter pair, as the price is lower for 2 meters, at 778 EURO / $840 USD, and increasing up to 1095 EURO / $1185 USD for the 5 meters variant. Today we review the medium 3 meters variant, and as with most cables, regardless of the shielding and quality, it is always a good idea to get the shortest length you can for the best sonic quality possible. Today we will review in-depth the Dedalus Speaker Elite and compare it with the Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference (1518 USD). We will also include pairings with KLH Model Five (2499 USD), Pylon Audio Diamond 30 MKII (3000 USD), and with NHT C3 (1249 USD). All of those setups will be driven by a Keces S300+ Stereo Amplifier (3499 USD), powered by a SMSL DO200 PRO DAC (399 USD), or driven straight from the ECdesigns PowerDAC-SX (3700 USD), a DAC with direct speaker output.
Introduction
Before you dive in and read my review exploring the cable, take a moment to appreciate that the difference between cables can be slightly less than what you notice with other components, such as DACs and AMPs, so if you prefer investing in those components, cables are generally the component you upgrade the last in a listening system. This should be true for all systems, and although it may seem random, I keep reviewing cables from Ricable because they have their own special noise canceling technology that I like a lot. The reason this works for me is that in my room, my cables run beneath my PC computer, a large TV used as a monitor, and at least 9-10 audio devices with large toroidal transformers, along with countless wireless devices, and for me noise and interference is generally a problem. A Huge Thanks to Ricable for providing us with the sample for this review.
PROs – Natural and bold sound, Smooth and relaxed presentation in the textures, gives music a good sense of space and definition without scattering it. It is sturdy and well built, but flexible, not too heavy, a beautiful color, with options to customize the color, and length for each customer, lifetime warranty, 60 days time to decide if you will be keeping it.
Cons – It carries a premium price tag.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://www.ricable.com/en/prodotto/dedalus-speaker-elite-cavo-audio-hi-end-di-potenza-schermato-per-casse-acustiche-hi-fi-con-noise-reduction/
Build Quality/Aesthetics/Fit/Comfort
Starting with the technology that can be found inside the Dedalus Speaker Elite, this is a cable that connects your amplifier with your speakers. The cable can be ordered in multiple lengths, and you can choose it, or even ask for a customized version if you need something else. The whole concept of the Dedalus Speaker Elite is that the company decided to make a cable that is considerably better than the Dedalus Speaker cable, but also try to make it more affordable than the big brother, the Invictus Speaker Reference. The result is the Dedalus Speaker Elite that we are reviewing today.
Having gained precious insight from the Invictus, Ricable used the knowledge to develop a completely new cable in their Dedalus speaker elite, trying to be more economical with the materials, without sacrificing on the quality. For the Dedalus Speaker Reference, the company made the conductors from 7N MARC copper, using an innovative hexaphonic concept, stringing together 784 wires that make up each 6.4mm2 conductor. The result is that Dedalus Speaker Elite has a section similar to Dedalus, but a geometry similar to Invictus, reducing the steric encumbrance, which should lead to a superior listening experience.
I personally don’t have enough insight to judge the technical part here, but you can read more about the Steric Effects on Wikipedia to understand a bit better. At this moment my understanding is that the geometry and materials developed by each cable manufacturer influence the sound slightly, and most of the arguments against cables come from people who don’t want to invest in cables, as the differences can be hard to notice, while most of the pro arguments come from people who wand and are willing to invest for this step of upgrading the listening chain. I personally am not one to judge, because I make far greater mistakes, like listening to songs from Youtube sometimes, instead of literally just opening Tidal and streaming the better version. Mind the gap, but I pay for Tidal, pay for Youtube, yet sometimes I just want to see the video and Youtube’s where I go to, even though Tidal also has video content. So from my perspective, every listener should take their own road and enjoy what they have the way they feel like. I like having good cables, but usually the weakest link in my listening setup is the source data.
Ricable has their own unique tech for implementing a double dielectric made from two newly developed R-Tec Polymers, which is part of how the the Dedalus Speaker Elite will isolate the current in the cable, as this design should improve on the dielectric constant and promote the functionality of the semiconductor, using the RNR Noise Reduction.
Besides the rather complex setup inside the cable, a mixed cylinder and cotton insulation is now featured on the Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite, and the connectors are the same ones used on the Dedalus Speaker, BFA Banana Plugs in copper / Tellurium with a central reinforcement pole. As this is a handmade cable, build to order, many of the aspects can be customized, including using spades or bananas, making the tips directly from the conductor, for old spring connections, customizing the length according to your needs, and you can even request a different color for the coating, to better match your room aesthetic.
Ricable is one of the very few companies that offer a On-Site Lifetime Warranty, with no handling costs, and if you purchase from their website, you just have to open a ticket and the company will send a courier to collect the defective part for repair or replacement. There is a 60-day Money Back Policy, and you have 60 days to decide if you are happy with your purchase (this is the longest I have ever seen, better than eMag, Amazon or any shop really), and if you’re not happy within 60 days, you are free to return the cable, or exchange it. Those returns are free, and if you order from the Ricable website, they will offer you assistance with all your needs, including deciding what is the best solution for you.
For this review, I have added the pairings and test setup in the introduction, but I also wanted to add that for taking the sonic impressions I went to extra lengths, including blind listening tests, and even replacing the cable on just one of the speakers with a different one, both sighted and blind replacements, to better understand how the cable influences the sound.
Sound Quality
Overall Signature – The sound of the Dedalus Speaker Elite is natural, drawing in characteristics I’ve heard in the Invictus Speaker Reference, such as the wide soundstage, and the excellent dynamics, but having a slightly lower amount of bass and a smoother texture, slightly less edge all across, but still a refined, silky sound with excellent resolution. There is a slight emphasis on the lower midrange, and male voices, making them sweeter and more musical than neutral, while female voices are emotional and crystalline, clean and have no harsh textures to them. The cable works well with all music styles, having a slightly slower and warmer bass adds presence and musicality to the low-end, while keeping the rest of the frequencies well defined and in relatively strong contrast. If you find you’re often or easily fatigued by the sound of your system, but don’t want to lose on the detail / resolution it has, Dedalus Speaker elite offers a strong contrast, excellent resolution, but also a relaxed and clean sound, taking away edge and harshness from textures, but leaving in all details. This actually has the effect of enhancing the details and clarity as you hear more of the sound that makes sense to your ears, without harsher textures that typically would confuse a listener.
Bass – Starting with a warm, slightly wooly but clean low-end, Dedalus Speaker Elite creates a natural, slightly soft and silky bass that fills in all the space, having a slightly slower speed, and a fuller presence than most cables for speakers. Bass has a softer bottom end, with a natural impact, and a natural towards slow decay speed, which aids in creating the feeling of space and depth, volume and presence to music. The whole bass is strong and presented with transparency, so songs that have a stronger mid bass will be presented as such, while songs which have a stronger sub bass and low-end punch will be presented as such.
Midrange – The midrange inherits a hint of warmth from the bass, having a musical and clean presentation with strong transparency. If anything, the sound seems to be less veiled than with most cables, although if you want the ultimate transparency and resolution, there is also the Invictus Speaker reference. Dedalus Elite sounds slightly more musical and slightly warmer too, with a softer texture, resulting in an easier listening experience. I feel like I can crank the volume more, with less fatigue and a more refined, silkier listening experience, the midrange is a bit fuller, more spacious and more natural in the texture. Dynamics are top-notch and they emphasize with each music style, rock and metal sounding crisp and sharp, while rap sounds full and chill, and classical has all the staging and separation needed to sound realistic, like it would in a high-end theater. For example, with songs like Futakuchi Mana – Datte, we have a clean background guitar playing on all the background layers, and a drum that is playing right in the middle, with the foreground element being her sweet, emotional and clean voice. Synths and special instruments fill in all the space of the song, while the song has strong stereo imaging and separation between instruments, without any of the individual elements sounding bright or harsh.
Treble – If the overall sound is natural, the treble is on the silkier side, with a softer texture, softer impact, but transparent extension, up to 20 kHz. This kind of sound makes you want to increase the volume, as sound doesn’t get fatiguing and you always get a silky top end, even with bands notorious for their harsher and brighter mastering, like Infant Annihilator, or most metal. You could argue that this slightly lowers the detail, but having grungy textures in the treble is typically perceived as harsh and fatiguing by most listeners, and not as actual detail. I am personally able to more easily identify background instruments and elements in music as I’m not struggling with sounds that are too sharp and too harsh for my ears. Naturally, this may be because I can increase the volume more, but in the end the whole listening experience is more pleasing and more detailed on my end.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – This is where I think the cable makes the highest difference, besides adding a slightly warmer bass sound, and widening, and deepening the soundstage. The texture presentation of the Dedalus Speaker Elite is really specific, it is softer, silkier, creates a less harsh and and easier to enjoy. This can be felt with all instruments, including guitars, and drums, but it is especially evident with synths where square waves are far less edgy and sharp sounding in the midrange, creating an easier listening experience. To extend, this makes female voices more emotional, takes the texture away, giving all female voices a slightly cleaner tone, while male voices also get a slightly lower amount of texture, and a softer texture, which makes them sound more open and less fatiguing, so warmer and smoother.
Soundstage – Size and depth are two of the characteristics I feel the Dedalus Speaker Elite has inherited from Invictus Speaker Reference, as they seem to have almost the same width and depth, both very expansive and holographic, pleasing to the ear and presenting music in an engaging fashion, placing you right in the middle of action, with sound expanding boundlessly all around you. I feel like the speakers I am using, Pylon Diamond 30 MKII are not bound to the room, and a good cable always seems to help a bit with the feeling of spaciousness. We have a strong instrument separation, but the emphasis is always placed on how layered music is without feeling analytical and clinical, as Dedalus Speaker reference is a natural sounding cable, it does not force sound to be cut apart, instead it blends everything together in a more open space.
Comparisons
Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite vs Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference (950 USD vs 1518 USD)
Build – Speaker Elite is a slightly thinner cable, and a slightly more flexible cable, with the Invictus Speaker Reference looking bolder, more colorful and having more interesting connectors, than the rather standard ones we’re seeing with the Dedalus elite. Both cables have high-end noise isolation, and you should hear zero noise with those cables, compared to most unshielded cables. I have a few high quality, thick pure copper cables from Amazon, but they have zero shielding, and you can usually hear the differences between a properly shielded cable and one that’s just naked copper with a bit of transparent plastic on top. I personally love how both cables look, I can appreciate the Invictus Speaker Reference for its bold, thick and solid construction, and Daedalus Speaker Elite for its prettier colors, slimmer and more flexible construction. For speakers, I never noticed a difference when cables are touching the ground or a difference in microphonic noise, unless using a Tube PRE / Tube AMP, although those are known for inducing a bit of microphonic noise if you touch the tubes, and only for certain products (Feliks Euforia for example has zero tube noise or tube microphonic noise).
Sound – While Invictus Speaker Reference is designed and will sound more engaging, more vivid, more dynamic and more upbeat, Daedalus Speaker Elite sounds similar in dynamics and soundstage, with a wide, holographic sound, excellent spatiality between instruments, and that black background with zero noise, but it is a bit smoother in the textures, adds a bit less character to music, allowing it to push through with better transparency. The sound of the invictus is bolder and more solid, while Dedalus Elite is a bit smoother, a bit gentler and a bit more nuanced. This is what would be the biggest difference between the two cables, Dedalus Speaker Elite enhances nuance and refinement, a bit of a gentler sound, while Invictus Speaker Reference is as bold, vivid, dynamic and forward as possible, giving life to all music.
Pairings
KLH Model Five + Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite (2499 USD + 950 USD) – KLH Model Five has a brighter sound, so I noticed a much cleaner, less harsh and less fatiguing sound when I implemented the ricable Speaker Elite in the listening chain. Dedalus Elite also seems to increase the soundstage width and depth, giving music more space to breathe and play, creating a slightly softer, warmer, bassier sound which is more enjoyable given the usual sharp sound of the Model Five. Dedalus elite can totally control and soften the speaker slightly, which is actually a welcome change for them, so if you ever felt like you would like less sharpness but still the same detail from Model Five, Ricable Speaker Elite is a great way to enhance your listening experience.
Pylon Diamond 30 MKII + Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite (3000 USD + 950 USD) – As currently Diamond 30 MKII is my most used pair of speakers, and the ones I am using the most, I can notice the difference the cable makes immediately, and the sound becomes slightly softer in the texture, but gains a bit more bass quantity and volume, slightly less treble harshness, but keeps all the detail and resolution Diamond 30 mkii can push intact. Instrument layering and separation is better with Dedalus Speaker Elite than with most cables I have tested for the speakers, and the general feeling of weight is improved, while female voices are slightly more crystalline, male voices sounding warmer and more pleasing overall. While I generally wouldn’t suggest reducing the texture and sharpness on a speaker, it can aid with fatigue reduction if your music is already plenty sharp, and it can give you a more satisfying listening experience. My music is generally rock, metal, and EDM, so having slightly softer textures does improve my experience, although the more brilliant Invictus Speaker reference is what I am using most of the time when I want the increased transparency and I’m in the mood for a detail shower.
NHT C3 + Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite (1249 USD + 950 USD) – NHT C3 is a more affordable pair of speakers, but with huge potential, as they have the mastery of NHT behind. The sound of C3 is generally natural, but the treble can be on the brighter side in most rooms, while the bass is a bit on the limited side, and the texture tends to al;ready be fairly natural and soft, without any need for damping it. Adding the Ricable Speaker Elite doesn’t seem to further dampen on the texture level, but it does seem to increase the soundstage width and spaciousness of the sound, while the bass becomes warmer, slightly softer in impact, but larger in quantity, and the treble gets smoother, siulkiuer, more relaxed, everything sounding more natural.
Value and Conclusion
Explaining the value of a high-end premium cable can be complicated, but if you have a system that is worthy of this kind of upgrade, if your system is theoretically able to show the differences between cables, and if you personally want to invest in high-end connectors, Ricable offers what I consider to be excellent value, through offer a solid product, with a beautiful sound, but also excellent warranty, support, and even a 60-days happy or return policy.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking to upgrade your listening experience, a high-end cable is an excellent way to do this, and Ricable is one of the friendliest and most professional companies creating high-end cables, and the best part is that they make those to order, so you can always rely on them to make a custom order, to offer lifetime warranty, as well as flawless quality for their products. If you’re looking for a natural sounding cable, with excellent dynamics, and extra noise isolation, as well as a beautiful design, Ricable Dedalus Speaker Elite is a fully recommended purchase, and a cable you won’t regret adding to your listening setup.
Product Link
You can grab one here – https://www.ricable.com/en/prodotto/dedalus-speaker-elite-cavo-audio-hi-end-di-potenza-schermato-per-casse-acustiche-hi-fi-con-noise-reduction/
Technical specifications
Capacity – 45 pF/m
Resistance – 3 ,0 Ω/km
RMS watts supported – 700 W RMS Max
External diameter – Ø 18 ,5 mm
Conductor Section – 6 ,4 mm²
Structure Conductors – 784 triple twisted wires in 7 concentric braids
Diameter strand – 0 ,10 mm
Material Conductors – MARC Pure Copper 7N 99 ,99999%
Geometry – Hexaphonic
Dielectric Insulator – Double Technopolymer R-TEC
Internal shielding – Mylar and Aluminium
External shielding – Tinned OFC Copper Braid
External Protection – High density sheathing with Polyethylene/Nylon overbraid
Connector material – Alloy Copper Tellurium
Contact – 24 K Gold Plated
Features Connectors – Banana BFA Professional with reinforcement plug ,24 K Gold Plated Copper/Tellurium Alloy Body ,Gold plated with specific Gold/Copper electrolysis technique ,Amagnetic Shell
Special features – RNR – Germanium Noise Reduction System
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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