REVIEW: Mad Scientist Audio Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+) Analog Cable Cable

Model:	Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+) Analog Cable
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$799
Description:	Stranded Carbon fiber analog cable, 1 meter.
Manufacturer URL:	Mad Scientist Audio
Model Picture:	View

Review by paco on April 09, 2018 at 07:43:26
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for the Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+) Analog Cable

A NEW LINE OF CABLES
There are a few companies using carbon fiber to make cables for audio, but they have come with just a few models, rather experimental I'd say, none of them reaching any real success, except Mad Scientist Audio, from New Zealand. I've been using many of their products, including their Heretical Digital Cable, Heretical Analog Cable, and lastly their excellent Audio Shotgun Heretical USB, which i reviewed here not long ago (https://www.audioasylum.com/audio/cables/messages/17/173330.html).
Let me say i always was very impressed with my results in using them, mostly because of their extreme musicality. Now Bob and Kay Prangnell have come with yet another impressive milestone, the new line of cables entitled Flexible Carbon/Graphene Interconnects, available for both Analog or Digital. Here I'm reviewing the top of the analog line, the
Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+), in my case terminated with KLE Copper Harmony plugs.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION
Technically speaking, the main novelties of the new line are two. Before, all their carbon fiber cables used "solid" runs of carbon fiber in teflon. Because of that, they were rather stiff so a little inconvenient to use. Now they managed to find a "stranded", then flexible carbon fiber, which can easily be belt for convenience.
The second novelty is that these cables are impregnated with graphene, a form of carbon consisting of a single layer of carbon atoms, whose molecules are arranged in very special way; it has many interesting properties, but for audio the main one is being the best conductor available, much superior to copper, silver or whatever. Not long ago Bob Prangnell introduced the Mad Scientist Graphene Contact Enhancer, which they sell in small bottles, to be used to improve all contacts in an audio system. Now they discovered that this enhancer can be also used to impregnate the whole length of the stranded carbon fiber cables. So a new line of cables was born.
There is little information about the structure of the Flexible Carbon/Graphene Analog cables in the Mad Scientist Audio site, so I asked Bob about this and got this prompt reply: "The signal wire is made from about 12,000 strands of carbon fiber. These are lightly twisted and impregnated with graphene and housed inside an oversize teflon tube. The earth return is high quality PCOCC copper wire. The interconnects also feature a multi-part screening system that incorporates 'bad antenna' design to minimize the amount of RF energy picked up."

FIRST IMPRESSION
Before, I was using very nice analog IC's; among them the Heretical Analog Cable Plus, also made with carbon fiber (solid), and my favorite DIY one, made with Jupiter 28AWG very pure OCC copper in cotton and teflon. All of them with my favorite RCA plugs, the KLE Copper Harmony. However, I was not prepared for what I heard when I just connected my DAC/preamp to my speakers amps with this cable. I wrote this about the sound only after the first moments: "wow! tremendous presence, uncanny transparency, brutal visceral impact,YET very smooth and warm; this sound is of the 'they are here' type, rather that of the 'you're there' type; everything sound more forward, with a lot of immediacy, but not agressive in any way". The rest of this review is just the development of this first impression.

BREAK-IN
After 48 hours continuous playing: the bass experimented a clear improvement in clarity and integration with lower midrange. 80 hours: remarkable change for the better, sort of "jump" in sound quality; low mids and bass clearer, more controlled; mids more resolving: details not heard before (Shostakovich:Violin Concert, Passacaglia section); highs more extended (Corelli: Concerts, Paganini: Caprices), but not totally fullbodied. 200 hours: a further "jump"! the process of extending highs continued, probably arrived to an end, now with full body, a lot of body; low mids and bass now perfect, deep, tight, etc.; percussion espectacular; soundstage extremely big, wide, wall to wall, and especially very tall, as never before. 300 hours: still minor improvements, all frequencies perfectly integrated in an organic whole.

PROOF OF THE PUDDING
Critical listening of a difficult, very complex grand symphonic orquestra work: Stravinsky: Scherzo Fantastique (Boulez, NYPO); everything in place, total saturation of the sound; very rich presentation; the different families of instruments remarkably well layered; lots of low level details appearing from nowhere; very high musicality because of the emotions of the music being so well conveyed; just a spectacular experience!
This cable, as compared with my reference IC's recalls me the difference between a goo plastic cap (e.g. Auricap) and a good copper foil/PIO cap (e.g. Audionote); much warmer sound, but no loss in dynamics or detail; also, the soundstage is enormous: some even think that PIO caps may even introduce soundstage not really on the recording... not me! If you're a DIYer you will know what a mean... :). A similar difference can be found between power plugs, e.g. between Oyaide 046, rather dry and analytical, and Oyaide 079, more fullbodied, warm and way more musical. Finally, this cable may well be regarded as an extra output stage, very close to when you add a good tube output stage to a solid state DAC or preamp.

To finish, a few more detailed remarks about different sorts of music follow.

TIMBRES
Correct reproduction of the musical instruments genuine timbres is the main mission of an audio system, then of an audio cable. The more difficult timbre to be reproduced, the more difficult that mission to be fulfilled. To me, the most difficult timbres to be realistically reproduced are the driest: clave, which may sound very metallic, viola de gamba, often very dry, and even violin, especially in the highest registers and high volume, either solo, string quartet or massed strings. So I prepared a serious exam for this cable, by using the most difficult recordings of those types known to me.
- Clave: Bach's French Suites, by Gustav Leonhardt (a miking problem: too close!)
- Viola da gamba: Schenck's Nymphs of the Rhine, by Les Voix Humaines (probably the same)
- Solo violin: Bach's Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin, by Nathan Milsten (first 80's recording)
- String quartets, a few particular pieces:
Bartok: String Quartet #4 - 5. Allegro Molto (Vegh Quartet)
Britten: String Quartet #3 - IV. Burlesque: Fast (Britten Quartet)
Ligeti: Streichquartett #2: Presto furioso, brutale, tumultoso (Arditti Quartet)
Mozart: String Quartet #6 - 2. Allegro (Quartetto Italiano)
Before, I couldn't really enjoy those works, I just tolerated them most of the time. With this cable on my system, now I am really able to better enjoy them: now they sound like reall music! The texture of the instruments timbres and the layering of the quartets are now very present, so the emotions of the music, the main purpose of the composers in writing those pieces, is much better achieved. And this is independent of whether you like those pieces or not. So the final marks obtained by this cable in the examination are very high!
(No, I don't forget cymbals! I checked them, and many other solo instruments, and exotic sounds, through probably the best engineered test recording available: Courts & Parsons, Sound Check 2), to extremely good results as well.)
DIFFICULT ORCHESTRAL WORKS
OK, you got the timbres right, but then you have to combine them in families then in a complex whole: the grand symphonic orquestra being the most difficult one. Here timbrical success is not enough: now you need spatial and dynamic credibilty. I already mentioned above Stravinsky's Scherzo Fantastique. Here I want to add just a few more particular pieces in this genre which are really a difficult challenge for any audio system to correctly reproduce, at time because of the complexity of the scores, at times because of the difficulty of reproducing the emotions intended to be conveyed by the music:
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 3 - (2) Marcia Funebre (Klemperer: Philharmonia O.). If you're not deeply moved by this piece there is something wrong in your system.
- Messiaen: Turangalila-Symphonie - Final (Chailly: Royal Concertgebouw O.). To try to reproduce this piece correctly is an almost impossible task: a terribly complex score with terribly agressive instruments and terrible ostinato dynamics.
- Stravinsky: Le Sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring) (by Gilbert: NY Philharmonic O., or even with better sound by Jansons: Concertgebouw O.). This is the ultimate challenge for an audio system: I've been struggling with this work (which I listened live a few times as well) with all the systems I've owned since I discovered it 50 years ago with my old mono His Master's Voice turntable (by Karajan, I think).
Well, how well this cable behaved now? The same very, very high marks: the best reproduction I ever got of them! Enough said, period.
VOICES
I arrive now to the place where emotions properly live and are better expressed: human voices. Even better: female voices, the most perfect musical instrument ever. In audio terms this means the midrange territory. Here total clarity and total credibility and presence are needed. Since I do not want to make this review much longer, I'll just say this. I tried some of my favourite recording by the four jazz absolute queens (for me): Sara Vaughan, Ella Fitzgerald, Dinah Washington and Billie Holiday, then by the four opera absolute queens (for me): Maria Callas, Joan Sutherland, Renata Tebaldi and Renee Fleming. Now those recordings give me so much musical pleasure that finally I must say I'm very angry with Bob Prangnell! Why? Easy: because now it is soooo difficult for me to leave my system alone and do other important things!!... :)

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Parts Connexion

Topic - REVIEW: Mad Scientist Audio Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+) Analog Cable Cable - paco 07:43:23 04/09/18 (4)

Mad Scientist Audio Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+) Analog Cable Cable - PingPing 14:23:35 04/10/18 (1)

RE: Mad Scientist Audio Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+) Analog Cable Cable - paco 00:16:14 04/11/18 (0)

RE: REVIEW: Mad Scientist Audio Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+) Analog Cable Cable - alan m. kafton 12:16:53 04/09/18 (1)

RE: REVIEW: Mad Scientist Audio Flexible Carbon/Graphene PLUS (FCG+) Analog Cable Cable - paco 13:11:05 04/09/18 (0)

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