KáCsa KCE, KCO és KCS SUB3 belépő szintű szubkábelek tesztje

2020. október 16., péntek, 11:55

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KáCsa KCE, KCO and KCS SUB3 entry level subwoofer cable review

Comparing and testing entry level subwoofer cables first may not seem to be an easy and inspiring task but in reality subwoofers are always a joy to be tested and as we have found even entry level cable offerings can make an impact. Can a cheap but decent cable cause a surprise and can silver plating win over ultra pure copper? Read on!

Not so long ago any standard RCA cable was accepted to be sufficient for connecting a subwoofer to a home theater or stereo system but thanks to cable manufacturers, and good common sense for that matter, those days are over. Fortunately, cables are now taken more seriously by more and more audio enthusiasts: they are components for sure, even if in most of the cases they do not cost as much. Although nowadays several subwoofer cables in many price categories are available, this segment seems to be one of the most overlooked and underrated area in audio. Why? The answer to this is rather controversial: because those cables only carry bass. Given the fact that almost every audiophile music lover out there would literally kill for a speaker that has fantastic bass and you will not find anybody who would not prefer the great, fast, tuneful, precise and taut type of it this controversy is still to be resolved. Subwoofers are purposely built for dealing with the lower end of the frequency spectrum and providing the best possible cabling that our budget allows should not be overlooked at all because it will result in better performance and this is true for power cords and subwoofer cables too. We may revert to the case of power cords for subwoofers in an article or review later but for now let us just deal with signal cables and see what kind of results can be achieved at the entry level!

For this review 3 different 3 meter RCA terminated subwoofer cables were given to us by Kácsa Audio: the KCE-SUB3 (OFC copper), priced at 6 450 HUF (17,90 Euros), KCS-SUB3 (silver plated copper) which costs 10 300 HUF (28,60 Euros) and KCO-SUB3 (OCC copper) priced at 14 481 HUF (40,20 Euros). Prior to the tests the cables had been burned in via the Cable Cooker Pro cable burn in device. It should be noted that the price increase does not only indicate better or different quality conductor and/or shielding materials but also better quality RCA plugs too. While we are at termination it is important to note that just like any other wire in a system subwoofer cables can also act as antennas and in order to prevent that not only shielding is the answer but the shield should be connected properly as well.

These cables are available in bulk for those with solid soldering skills and it is obviously a walk in the park for the professional technicians of KáCsa Audio, however if you do not feel comfortable with this, it is a better idea to leave that part of the business to them, you will not be disappointed. That said, all three cables were meticulously terminated and marked for direction with an arrow on the heatshrink which makes connection as easy as 1-2-3 and you are good to go.

So it is time to put those entry level cables to the test and see or rather hear their strengths and weaknesses. Product code names are most probably easily memorized and remembered by the people who work with them on a daily basis but a fantasy name would make them easier to refer to however lacking those we decided to just call them by KCE, KCO and KCS. In our mind E stands for entry, S stands for silver plated and O stands for OCC/UP-OCC copper.

Fine details and nuances are more associated with midrange and treble but there is tremendous information to be delivered in the bass segment as well. Attack, decay, sustain and release all affects the performance and bloated too heavy, slow, dull bass sound is never to be favored over fast, tuneful, precise and playful. But how can you upgrade if you are not intended to replace the subwoofer itself? Honestly, the most important factor is to select a subwoofer that meets our budget and has the right size for the room but after that is done, before upgrading to a better sub, fine tuning may be the way to go: this is where cables come into play.

For the comparisons a classic was selected from 2013: the post-apocalyptic action adventure movie, Oblivion. The story takes place in 2077, on an Earth devastated by war with extraterrestrials that has caused humanity to relocate itself to Titan. The film follows the story of Jack Harper, a technician who has been sent back to Earth to service drones used in the fight against remaining extraterrestrials (scavengers). After witnessing a spacecraft crash, from which he is able to rescue a survivor, Harper is captured by scavengers and fights against a new and evolving alien threat. The main character is played by Tom Cruise and to cut the long story short: there are explosions, and a lot of them, just what we are looking for here.

Undoubdtedly the price tag of our first cable, the KCE-SUB3 reflects that it most probably is an entry into the realm of subwoofer cables. It is expected to offer some performance increase over a stock cable and it is to be used in modest systems with lower end subwoofers. The cable uses stranded OFC conductors, single OFC shield and it is terminated with aluminium housing, gold plated RCA connectors.

The cheapest cable did not disappoint because for as little money as it costs it was able to raise some eyebrows when it was inserted in the system. (NAD T778 receiver, DALI OPTICON speakers and Gallo Acoustics TR-3D subwoofer). We expected something more indolent and obese but we were glad that the sound was pretty accurate for its price. When the spaceship takes off in the introduction scene we wanted to go further and it is not a bad start. Checking out other scenes, for example when Jack Harper lands in a stadium to find and repair a drone the scene offers some blasts and they are handled pretty well. We heard better for sure but as the saying goes: "you pays your money and you takes your chances" and it holds true here as well. With some further investment better sound becomes a reality when we insert the second cable into the system, the KCS.

The KCS is a different animal in that its conductor material is not "just" stranded OFC but silver plated stranded OFC. Other than that the geometry and shield are pretty much the same as the KCE but the KCS has a thicker PVC outer jacket and silver colored and striped outer sleeve that resembles the conductor material. More importantly the RCA connectors are of better quality than those used with the KCE which are still decent enough for a cheap cable.

Silver, being a better conductor material than copper is often believed by audiophiles to be a better choice if one would like to emphasize higher frequencies in a system but for a full range cable silver plating is only effective if the outer silver layer is thick enough. Heavily plated cables have a character that is more close to silver than to copper. Silver plating however can result in harsh and irritating high frequencies and too much of a good thing if not applied with the greatest care. Wait a moment, we are talking about a subwoofer cable here, aren't we? What does silver have to do with the bass frequencies? And why would we have to worry about harsh highs with a subwoofer? Well, the point is, we should not, actually. And this answers the previous question that first may seem strange but using silver plating here offers itself as a cost effective way to increase performance by enhancing low frequency articulation and intelligibility without causing irritation.

Can this theory be put into practice? Partly, with the KCS. The signature of silver plating can be clearly detected in the sound it produced, some extra articulation is there with the explosions and overall the bass has become more dry and clear but at the cost of some weight and authority in the lowest registers. Precision can clearly be detected when Harper thinks he has escaped from the cave but, because of a broken cable, ha!, he falls back. An earth shaking, awe-inspiring scene and it was fun to watch again and again. The loss of some authority does not mean at all that bass has disappeared but in this price category it seems that definition, resolution and weight can simply not be had on the same level as with (much) higher priced competitors. Nevertheless, at less than double the price the KCS is clearly a better cable than the KCE and there are subwoofers with which its strenghts may come paricularly handy.

For the third and most expensive cable out of the three contenders we have to pay more than double the price of the KCE but the KCO-SUB3 interconnect offers a significantly better conductor material: 0,8 mm2 cross-section solid core UP-OCC copper (UP-OCC stands for Ultra Pure and Ohno Continuous Casting) and better quality 24K gold plated, teflon insulated RCA plugs (RP 70GT-9). The KCO is double shielded (Aluminum Mylar foil and OFC braid is used for that purpose), the space between the twisted conductors is filled up with PP yarn and it has symmetrical construction. Its outer insulation is a black PVC jacket and the outer diameter is 8,5 mm. We were looking forward to seeing or rather hearing if the lack of silver plating but a much better quality copper conductor was going to be the winner.

It did not take long to detect and truly, it did not come as much of a surprise at all that the KCO is a much stronger opponent than either the entry level KCE or the KCS. Better quality conductors, insulation/filling, shield and termination resulted in a more precise and non-fatiguing presenation that has not lacked anything that the other cables provided but rather gave more of everything and in the good sense of the word. It never became "too much" just better. More belieavable, better transients, more dynamics and neutrality, detail and a smoother overall presentation were the reward of the higher pricetag. Mind you, the differences were not subtle compared to either of the cheaper cables and the price difference is not that much to be intimidating. One of the most interesting and exciting parts of the movie is when Jack and Julia are trying to escape from the drones after Vika is killed by one of them. This scene is monumental, and the couch is tested by the amount of vibrations no matter if they were coming from a blast or a roaring engine and we liked what we heard here. Explosive dynamics, details without harshness, grip and the best balance of the three cables that portrays the clear winner of this review, the KCO-SUB3. Of course there is always room for improvement but this is some serious cable for the money and it is recommended for listening. Kácsa Audio offers home auditions on a deposit so it is possible to try the cable of your choice in your home environment and system before purchase and we are sure that you will not be disappointed.

Compass

Price:

KCE-SUB3 (OFC réz): 6 450 HUF (17,90 EUR)

KCS-SUB3 (ezüstözött réz): 10 300 HUF (28,60 EUR)

KCO-SUB3 (OCC réz): 14 481 HUF (40,20 EUR)

Distributor:

KáCsa Audió Kft.

+36-1-2209100

1149 Budapest, Fogarasi út 19/E

kacsa-audio.hu

Our opinion

Excellent value for money