Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference MKII Speaker Cable – Prestige Topology Of the RS4 MKII
Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference MKII is a $1738 USD high-end cable for high-end flagship speaker systems, and it is the absolute prestige, the best cable Ricable currently has in store for music lovers. Today we will review the RS4 MKII, the 4 meter version of the High-End Shielded Cable with Noise Reduction, and we will compare it with other high-end cables, including Audience Studio One (2899 USD) and Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference 1st generation (1518 USD).
Introduction
Audiophiles all over the world are celebrating now that Ricable has released a 2nd version of their Invictus Speaker Reference cables, and the new RS4 MKII is the thickest, biggest and hopefully best sounding cable they made to date. This is the only company that I know of which offers a lifetime warranty, 100% customer satisfaction and free returns for their products. As an Amazon Influencer, I earn from qualifying purchases, and using the purchase links in my reviews helps me maintain this website and Youtube Channel. Hue thanks to Ricable for providing the sample for this review, in exchange for my honest opinion.
PROs – Heavy, Sturdy and slightly more flexible than the first generation, a very sharp, well-defined and clean sound, good instrument separation and outstanding imaging, exceptionally quick but warm bass, and a sharp, crisp treble all make a contrasty, vivid sound. The midrange is rich and euphonic, musically pleasing. Locking connectors that expand in the terminals for a more secure fitting.
Cons – Still very heavy and thick, will pull on the terminal connectors of your speakers if they are bookshelf speakers.
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Build Quality / Aesthetics
Starting from the center, Invictus Speaker Reference is a high-end pair of speaker cables with a strong desire to be the best, basically a dream cable. Ricable promises a more flexible, easier to install design that places less strain on the connectors, and they also have upgraded the R-Tec Main Dielectric, to optimize the electrical transfer, and with a new aesthetic, the Invictus Speaker Reference is made to give your system a sleeker look.
Although the outer design still bears the recognizable large size, and the non-magnetic / shielded carbon cable separation block,. It is an entirely different cable on the inside, with the conductors still made from 7N MARC, but with an increase in the number of wires, from 970 to 1038 wires. Together with the polymer-insulated, center conductor, they each are 7.6mm2 hexaphonic conductors. The Germanium Semiconductor RNR Technology or Ricable Nosie Reduction are in traditional Hexaphonic Geometry with as many as 1038 0.08mm wires structured in a triple twist on a polymer insulated center conductor.
Ricable also introduced a new material in the cable for insulation, along with the treated cotton, allowing to strengthen the double shelinding without altering the electrical characteristics of the conductors. You can order any length you may desire by contacting Ricable, and this is a good moment to mention that the company believes so much in their products that they are offering Lifetime warranty for their cables, along with free returns, and a satisfied or refunded policy, with support for 60 days. Even so, not a single person has returned a cable to Ricable to date, so that speaks volumes about the kind of satisfaction the customers feel with their products.
If you want to get a little more technical, the new Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference MKII has a capacity of 35pF/m, a resistance of 2.3 OHMs / Km, and a RMS wattage supported of 800W RMS MAX. It is good to keep in mind that while the outer diameter is 22mm, the conductor section is 7.6mm2, with a conductor structure of 1038 triple twisted wires in 6 standards + 9-Strand Solid Core Insulated Conductor. The material used is 99.99999% MARC Pure Copper, and the Geometry used is Hexaphonic, with an internal Shielding made of Aluminium / Mylar / Magnesium, and a Dielectric insulator Double Technopolymer R-TEC. We have 24K Gold Plated Contacts, and the connectors are IFC Copper MonoBlock Body, with a central expansion pole and a shell with a carbon finish.
Subjective Usage
Although Ricable did make the new Invictus Speaker Reference MKII more flexible and easier to bend than the 1st edition that we have reviewed, it is still one of the hardest to bend cables we have reviewed, and it feels quite sturdy and hard. I would generally recommend to use it either with floorstanding speakers, or have some kind of support for the speakers, as the cable is quite heavy and will still pull a bit on the speaker terminals / connectors if you’re using bookshelf speakers.
The cables are directional, and you’re best off respecting the directionality, although I did not notice an audible difference when testing the cable with the directionality inverted. On the other hand, the most serious stress test that I can do includes routing the cable behind my monitor beneath a power chord, 10 cables running in the same space, and multiple power converters plugged in. Even above this, the Invictus Speaker Reference MKII is routed above my PC, touching the PSU, then right next on top of the router, for the right channel, while the left channel is isolated and left alone. This means that we can test how good the EMI and RFI insulation is most directly, and the test results came back excellent, there is no added noise in the right channel, despite me putting this cable in the way of an interference like a little spoon in a soup.
I was a big fan of the colorful selection of cables tha Ricable made before in the Invictus line, but the new ones look sleeker and more elegant, they give my room more modern and artsy vibes, while the old line was colorful, but a bit too evident for a set of cables.
Sound Quality
Pairings – As Invictus speaker Reference MKII is a speaker cable, we have placed it in between the amplifier and the speakers for multiple setups, including Keces S300+ driving a pair of Pylon Audio Diamond 30 mkii speakers, ECDesigns PowerDAC-SX driving a pair of KLH Model Five Speakers, a Topping B100 Stack of Monoblock amplifiers driving a pair of Elipson Heritage XLS7 Desktop Speakers. It is generally excellent for all combos, and the self-expanding poles help a lot with keeping the connection stable, if the cable is suspended in the air.
Overall Signature – The general signature of the Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference is quite different from the original, sounding more open, a bit brighter, but also more detailed and more dynamic. It seems to push even more life and colour into my system, creating a more vivid listening experience, and it is currently one of the most revealing and most detailed sounding cables that I have tested. The special insulation and noise removal tech is working very well, as even with systems where a bit of background noise is typically audible, that noise is fully canceled and the only sound you’re hearing is a crisp, clean and precise one. Interestingly, this means that the cable will audibly color the sound and remove / filter certain parts, so it is a good idea to think of it like a filter.
Bass – Starting with the bottom end, we are once again hearing that full, voluptuous and warm low-end that I loved with the original Invictus Speaker Reference, but this time in a tighter, more precise, and quicker presentation. The new MKII seems to keep up better with aggressive and fast music, whilst still creating the same warmth and presence of the bass that we’ve heard with the First Generation. There’s a slight tendency of reducing the 100 Hz bump with most systems, so the sound will have a feeling like a veil has been taken off, and this is normal when you reduce the 100 Hz area, as that can easily add a bit of veil to any song / system.
Midrange – We have a sweet, musical sounding midrange, with a vivid, and open presentation, good instrument separation and a good definition of both male and female voices. Invictus Speaker Reference MKII tends to slightly favor female voices, so it has a slightly increased presence in the upper midrange, which gives the feeling of a crystalline and clean midrange, but it also has a smoother, organic texture which controls it and keeps it from being too sharp.
Treble – We also get a sweet, airy, and crisp treble, with a good amount of energy and sparkle, although the treble in particular is a touch brighter and more open on the MK II than it was on the original Invictus Speaker Reference. Generally speaking, MK2 is a very sharp and extended sounding cable, having more energy and personality than the MK1, and presenting music with more strength and definition.
Dynamics – One of the things that impressed me the most about the original Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference was the extreme level of dynamics and contrast it had, but MKII takes that one step further. By having a slightly brighter treble, slightly faster bass, but still the same amount of bass, music has even better definition and sounds more dynamic, everything being even more dynamic and punchy. Overall, if you want something that brings the kick out of your music, MK II from the Invictus Speaker Reference will be happy to oblige.
PRaT / Textures – We get an organic presentation that blends sharpness and resolution with musicality, basically you hear all textures and micro textures, but they are not forced to be grainy or sharp, just rendered beautifully organic. I noted this previously in some of my reviews, but after testing around 30 cables I realised that the biggest change they bring to music is in how they render textures and Invictus Speaker Reference MKII is one of the most organic and most cohesive sounding cables on the market. While not quite as fluid as Audience Studio One, it is richer and has a higher degree of harmonics, presenting and revealing a bit more information for those micro details.
Soundstage – I also commented on the 1st edition that it has a wide and holographic soundstage, but MK2 improves on the instrument separation and definition, while having about the same soundstage size and shape, well rounded and with an equal amount of width as it has depth.
Comparisons
Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference MKII RS4 MKII vs Audience Studio One (1738 USD vs 2899 USD) – Low Mass vs High-Mass cables is an interesting discussion, but while Invictus Speaker Reference is such a huge and heavy cable compared to the ultra thin and mini Studio One, both cables have a fairly small and thin actual conductor, as both companies agree that a perfect geometry and material used in the cable will have the most bearing on the sound.
I believe that I compared MK1 and MK2 of the Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference all throughout the review, but Studio One is a different subject, it sounds a bit more dynamic, more vivid, but leaner in the textures, with a faster bass, but a lower amount of bass, a slightly softer treble and a more relaxed, laid-back and smoother sound. Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference MK2 creates a sound that is more peppy, richer in the midrange, with more textures, a bigger and fuller bass, and a sharper treble, but as both cables have a close enough level of resolution and clarity, I believe the one you chose will be based on your preference for aesthetics, and on whether you want a thin and flexible cable like Studio One, or a thick and heavy cable like Invictus Speaker Reference.
Value and Conclusion
When reviewing a very expensive cable like the Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference MK2, the value is good only if you have a very expensive and high-end system that can reveal the abilities of the said cable. While I can hear the differences it makes with more affordable Speakers like NHT C3, the price point only becomes morally justified when I use it with a high-end system like Keces S300+ driving the Pylon Audio Diamond 30 mkii, as that’s when the feedback kicks in and you understand why you’d purchase a high-end cable for a stereo system. Basically, if I were to give you a rule to follow, if each component of your system costs less than the cable, you’re not likely to hear the improvement it can bring to the sound as much as when each component has a significantly higher cost than the cable.
Award – With all of this being said, I like what I am hearing, and next to the Low-Mass Audience Studio One, Ricable Invictus Speaker Reference MKII is currently the best sounding cable I have heard my whole life, in my own system, and which I can confirm will have an audible effect on your listening experience, so it replaces the original Invictus Speaker Reference in the Audiophile-Heaven Hall Of Fame, being a very interesting sonic upgrade you can give to your system.
At the end of the day, cable talk becomes more and more relevant the higher you climb in price with the rest of your system, and while when I was at the entry-level range I always laughed and sneered at the idea of high-end cables having an impact on your system, I now understand and can confess that once all your system is in order, this is a nice little investment to add the final touches to that system, bringing forward the best it has to offer.
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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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