s I mentioned in the Furutech DPS-4 Alpha OCC-DUCC power cable review, the confusion caused by Furukawa's cessation of PCOCC copper cables hit all Japanese manufacturers except Acrolink. This brand is actually used by the Acro Japan company, a specialized division of Mitsubishi Cable Corporation, which in turn belongs to Mitsubishi Corporation http://www.mitsubishicorp.com. , a powerful Japanese corporation.
And that is because all Acrolink cables are based on, developed in the research department of Mitsubishi Cable Corporation, D.U.C.C. (Dia Ultra Crystallized Copper) copper wires. In company materials, Mitsubishi points out that copper pollution is not just the so-called diode distortion that arises at the contact area between two crystals, which is eliminated in PCOCC wires by maximizing the crystal's length, but also impurities inside the crystals. The researchers came to this conclusion based on the analysis of X-rays. The D.U.C.C. process involves a re-crystallization of copper and during this process the pollutants are released and removed. Copper of this type exhibits much less directivity, but Acrolink marks it on its cables anyway.
In addition to D.U.C.C. process the material used for the construction of the cables of this brand is treated to reduce its internal stresses - hence, in the leaflets describing the individual cables, the term "Stressfree" is used. The point is that while wires are mechanically extruded, especially when they are bent, an internal tension, stress builds up, which adversely affect the signal transmission, and thus the sound. Mitsubishi subjects the wires to a process that eliminates this stress. As the company points out, it is not about material "aging", i.e. softening.
A large proportion of Acrolink cables have a characteristic impedance of 75 Ω or 110 Ω and these are simply digital cables. Using them when only a low bandwidth is required, which is the case with an analogue transmission, actually makes sense. Wide frequency response, low distortion, etc. are equally important for these two worlds. Their designations reads 'DA' (from 'digital-analog') which means that this particular interconnect model is available as an RCA analog cable and a RCA or BNC digital cable. Sometimes also as analogue XLR cable and a digital AES / EBU (depending on the design) one.
7N-A2030III Pro
The tested interconnect is, however, part of the range that does not have a digital equivalent – its name includes only the letter 'A' (from 'analog'). It is offered in two versions – as the unbalanced RCA cable and a balanced XLR. It consists of two wires and a screen, so the RCA version has a pseudo-balanced structure in which both runs – the positive and negative one - are identical. The shield is connected only from the source side. Therefore directivity in this case is important.
The runs are strands of D.U.C.C. Stressfree wires of the 7N purity. There are 19 x 0.26 mm2 wires in each of them. Positive and negative runs are twisted in opposite directions. The shielding was made of two separate elements. The first is a classic brass band and the other is an Urethane Enameled Wire braid. These are Litz-type urethane-coated cables. Acrolink decided to use a hybrid layer of polyolefin and conductive polyethylene (inside) layer and a UV-resistant polyurethane (inside) as a dielectric. The both strands are stabilized by a bunch of cotton.
The interconnects are green and terminated with RCA connectors custom-made for Acrolink. The plug's body is made of carbon fiber and aluminum. The motif of the carbon braid was used on the cardboard box in which the cables are delivered. The middle pin is a tellurium copper tube, and the mass is made of beryllium copper. All metal components of the plugs are rhodium-plated. The outer diameter of the cable is 10 mm.
The 7N-A2030III Pro is a successor of the 6N-A2030II Pro interconnect, made of higher purity copper and has been on the market since 2013. Acrolink changes the range extremely rarely, so it seems that this model is to stay with us for some time.
ACROLINK in „High Fidelity”
REVIEW: Acrolink 7N-DA2090 SPECIALE - analogue interconnect RCA
KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY | meeting #90: Acrolink MEXCEL 7N-PC9500
REVIEW: Acrolink 8N-A2080III Evo - interconnect RCA
REVIEW: Acrolink 7N-DA5100 MEXCEL | 7N-DA2100 MEXCEL - RCA interconnects
REVIEW: Acrolink 7N-DA6300 MEXCEL - analogue RCA interconnect
KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY | meeting #72: Acrolink MEXCEL 7N-PC9100 vs. Acrolink MEXCEL 7N-PC9300 - power cables
KRAKOW SONIC SOCIETY | meeting #72: Acrolink MEXCEL 7N-D9300
REVIEW: Acrolink MEXCEL 7N-PC9100 - power cable (Polish)
REVIEW: Acrolink 7N-PC7100 - power cable (Polish)
Recordings used for the test (a selection)
Western Electric 300B Vacuum Tube Sound, ABC Records HF1043, „HD Mastering”, CD (2012)
Billie Holiday, Body and Soul, PolyGram/Mobile Fidelity UDCD 658, gold-CD (1957/1996)
June Christy & Stan Kenton, Duet, Capitol/Toshiba-EMI Limited TOCJ-9321, „Super Bit Jazz Classic”, CD (1955/2001)
Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz to Come, Atlantic Records/ORG Music ORGM-1081, SACD/CD (1959/2013)
Riverside, Eye of the Soundscape, Mystic Production MYSTCD 303, 2 x CD (2016)
Sohn, Tremors, 4AD/Hostess CAD3403CDJ, CD (2014)
Japanese issues available at
[REKLAMA5]
Acrolink cables can be divided in terms of sound into two groups: these striving for ever higher resolution and more detail and those that explore the depth of sound, building richness, mass, saturating sound. Among the former the best are the interconnects including the Mexcel 7N-DA6300 and among the latter power cables dominate, including the quite unique 7N-PC9100. The latter is used by several members of the Krakow Sonic Society in their systems, I use three of them myself.
The differences between these cables are extremely interesting because they are a result only of the geometry of the conductors and not the material used to build them. As I mentioned, all Acrolink cables are currently made of the D.U.C.C. Stressfree 7N copper. The cable under review belongs to the less expensive models in this manufacturer's range and it does not belong to the Mexcel series, i.e. its conductors' cross sections are round rather than square and are not separately isolated but the material remains the same.
But even considering all that, the 7N-A2030III Pro seems a bit different from both these groups. Compared to a warm, even bit "syrupy" sound of the Crystal Cable Absolute Dream interconnect, made of monocrystalline silver with addition of gold, it delivered a stronger attack and more treble, with an emphasis on clarity and transparency. In turn, when compared to the Acoustic Revive cable with Triple-C copper Acrolink presented softness, depth, refinement when building so-called "drama" and it was just darker sounding one. It would, however, be a mistake to classify it as something "between" these types - because it is ultimately about some types, not specific interconnects.
Its sound leans towards a presentation with a proper momentum, richness and power of the sound, but also with a “spark” in the treble too. There is a lot of treble, albeit much less than delivered by the more expensive interconnect of this high-end manufacturer. Transparency is very good and only when compared to more expensive reference cables one realizes that the price of the reviewed interconnect is not a mistake. The point is that more expensive cables, also by Acrolink, are able to better differentiate the depth of sound and are more effective in presenting a unique nature of different recordings and instruments used in them.
However, if we forget about the reference system and focus on "here and now" we shall better understand what this particular cable has to offer - and it is simply unique. There is a kind of softness in it, translating into a natural sound, both of vocals and electronic music, both percussion and a violin. It's far from sounding warm, yet it has a rich and saturated midrange. The part between midrange and bass is a bit “lighter”, and probably that is why this cable delivers and open sound instead of sliding into a safe and pleasant niche with other cable that play everything in such a nice and safe way. Their problem is the word "everything". Only the best designs of this type, as the above mentioned Absolute Dream, have both, the warmth and resolution.
A very nice saturation is combined with nicely accented treble in the 7N-A2030III Pro. I would even say that it is primarily about the upper midrange and treble. The midrange is particularly sensitive part of the band because the evolution “conditioned” to be particularly sensitive to it. The biggest mistake a designer may make is emphasizing the upper midrange. Usually they do that in order to improve the detail and clarity of the presentation. Equally often they do not achieve one nor the other, but rather “kill” the sound and also us, the listeners.
In this particular Acrolink, the frequency between midrange and treble, several kHz that is, is smooth and dark. I once wrote about it - dark actually means natural, because that's what live sound is, even if it includes a lot of high frequencies with cymbals or brass instruments. It's not about the volume of treble, but about its character. The reviewed cable is able to differentiate it very well and if there is a strong treble presence in the recording, it does not soothe it and does not roll it off, but rather melts it with a smooth and rich midrange. All this range is powerful with it, but the impression is as if the system was based on tubes, maybe ones on the steroids, but still tubes. If we compare the warm cables to EL34 and the open and powerful ones to KT120, then the reviewed interconnect would be a KT88 equivalent.
In terms of dynamics and scale there is nothing to complain about. As for the money we get both very nice differentiation of powerful attacks and quiet elements as well as large images. This cables does not take away any richness from the sound but it doesn't add any either. The soundstage is big, deep, multidimensional. With naturally recorded instruments and vocals we get an interesting, captivating panorama.
Summary
The 7N-A2030III Pro is a few years old already and probably sooner or later Acrolink will come up with something new to replace it. Knowing the reality I think it should "later" rather than sooner... I do not really know what the manufacturer could improve about this model, maybe except for making it even more resolving. But for the money, here and now one gets a cable that does everything well and is neither warm nor cold, neither distances itself from the recordings nor gets mixed in. I would say that it is neutral, but a better term would be natural. It will therefore be a very universal choice that will emphasize the character of the system it is used in. That's a really great interconnect and it receives a well-deserved RED Fingerprint!
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