Cables & Accessories

Produced from two inner conductors of tinned oxygen-free copper with a quoted maximum level of 0.001 percent oxygen, each conductor here consists of 19 single strands of wire and is insulated with polyethylene insulation. Two twisted PVC insulators are also included and used as fillers in the construction. The cable is screened by four shields that Viablue calls ‘Quattro Silver’. This is a combination of two silvered spiral shields with separating fleece foil and two ALU-PETP foil shields. The company points out that the shields are positioned in opposite directions to maximise the screening effect. The cables are finished in the company’s Cobra sleeving, which is fitted between two vibration-absorbing clamps, one at each end of the cables. The interconnects are terminated with Viablue T6 RCA connectors, which have bronze pins with 24-carat gold-plated contacts, and the cables are directional as indicated by arrows on the insulation.

Flexible friends
This very flexible interconnect is clearly very high quality both in their construction and materials used. When connected between my preamp and monoblocks, the NF-S1 conveys a sound that is both sophisticated and elegant. Anthony Mawer’s Poem Once Remembered has a sombre opening played on an unaccompanied acoustic guitar that flows nicely into the following section where a flute joins in to take over the melody.

The playing is intimate, refined and beautifully clear. The bass line brings everything together well and is tonally in perfect balance with the rest of the music. A splendid recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No.2 played by Svjatoslav Richter gives a real sense of the piano being present in my room. The orchestra has superb depth, fullness and openness. The spatial positioning of the instruments is spot on and the piano is perfectly placed at the front of the soundstage. In short, the NF-S1 is highly elegant and refined in both appearance and performance. NR 

DETAILS
Price: £122 for 1m
Website: viablue.de/com/  

Read the full review in August issue 439