Cable Asylum: REVIEW: Luminous Audio Technology Renaissance Cable by driver

Model:	Renaissance
Category:	Cable
Suggested Retail Price:	$12.50 per ft. + $40.00 gold spade termination
Description:	99.997% OFC speaker cables
Manufacturer URL:	Luminous Audio Technology
Model Picture:	View

Review by driver ( A ) on February 28, 2002 at 14:46:01
IP Address: 141.152.11.19

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for the Renaissance

Let me start by saying I've known Tim Stinson, the owner of Luminous Audio for about 20 years & live about 5 miles from him, so getting the cables for a home audition was easy. After listening to them it's a shame its taken me this long to try them out. I even have an audio bud here in town who has Luminous IC's in his system but have never liked the particular sound of this friend's system until recently. He moved, so perhaps his electricity is cleaner and/or the room set-up made the difference. I have no financial interests in Luminous, etc. etc. blah blah blah
I'm also using one set of Luminous Synchestra Signatures (RCA) from the CD player and will follow up with a review in a few months once my new cables & speakers are run in. I'm picking them up this weekend.
I've had the luxury(?) of sitting home for the past few months due to a work related injury, so I've been spending a lot of time with the stereo revisiting my CD collection. I started picking certain CD's for this review based on my familiarity with them & was only going to listen to one or two cuts to provide some insight but pretty much wound up listening to the entire disc. That should be the first clue as to how musically involving these cables are. The speakers, pre amp & CD player have been in the system for almost a year and the amp right at 5 months this weekend.
My requirements for ANY cable are that they need to provide the best detail possible without any brightness, shrillness or sibilance. I've tried some silver cables & I just can't take them. You wouldn't think detail this good could come from a copper cable but they deliver.
These cables not only are the smoothest I've heard but they provide great detail & air along with a very big soundstage. They are musically involving & my favorite listening spot is in a rocking chair. This gives meaning to the term rock & roll. I really enjoy sitting there rocking away. I sit 10' from ea. speaker & the speakers are 9' apart. It's just a great feeling to be enveloped in this big sound & enjoying it. You are not forced to listen for the details, rather, they come to you. I can tell the difference between hitting the edge of the cymbals for the crashing sound or near the center for that ting ting sound. Also, the splash cymbals really sounded like a splash with the quick decay. It was neat! Then there is the high hat-nothing better than hearing them come together & depending on the pedal action the drummer can... OK, I see that I'm getting carried away & am still on cymbals. Vocals were very natural & I always use my Sara Groves CD when auditioning as I saw her twice last year & can 'go back' to the show when everything is just right. Backing vocals were also clearly defined & I swear I heard an electronically influenced Mickey Mouse type voice for backing vocals on the Dread Zeppelin version of Immigrant Song in the chorus where it goes "Our only goal where we can sing along" instead of "goal will be the Western shore". Anybody know for sure? This is a great CD to play for anybody who's never heard it as it has a lot of information & is a good recording.
It's been a lot of fun and that's the crux of this sometimes maddening hobby. I want to just sit back & enjoy the music without wondering if I'm missing something or planning my next upgrade path. With the Luminous Audio cables I feel content to stay right where I am. I've never said that before about a cable, although I've been happy with a few before & have lauded their sonic benefits.
Now for a few more specifics if anyone has made it this far! I played a few cuts of Elastica, "Car Song" & "Hold Me Now" because they're in your face guitar driven songs & I wanted to hear how the mix would play out. The vocals were just above the music mix which is where I used to put them on guitar heavy songs (I used to run sound but will save that for later). It was fairly easy to both make them out & listen to the guitars. Sometimes those guitars just get on my nerves but this was easy enough to listen to. Then for a change of pace I put on some Van Cliburn in Moscow as I like most all styles of piano. The phone rang & by the time I got back to it I didn't want to replay so I put on Diana Krall for some piano & her voice. It was nice. A touch of reverb on her voice with the corresponding decay was very pleasing. On "Let's Fall in Love" I especially liked when the bass string vibrates a bit much right at the end of the 'jam' from an enthusiastic pluck. Details like this are just there & you don't have to strain to hear them. Another specific cut I played was "God Made An Angel" by Timbuk 3. The beginning of this song has a bongo riff followed by an acoustic guitar riff that's pretty dynamic. I then went back & turned it up & played it again. It was great. For most of my listening sessions, which were spread out over 3 days and lasted from 3 to 5 hours ea., I maintained a volume that was a bit lower than what I usually listen to as it was actually very pleasant & unnecessary to apply more power. I just like that old classic line, "Scotty, I Need More POWER!!!" Whee, I'm having too much fun.
I haven't addressed bass yet because, well, I've been concentrating on addressing these other aspects. I really like my bass. The bigger the better. Not big boom boom boom bass but big like a giant boxing glove gently hitting your whole body (i.e., SPL's). I've only experienced this running sound & have been trying to make it happen in the living room (ha!). And it has to be tight. We don't serve oatmeal at my house. Just one of the bass heavy cuts I played was "Two Medicines" from the Timbuk 3 CD & I turned the volume up to see how the cables dealt with this. Yep, nice & tight & able to deliver the bass with authority.
I know this is long but like I said at the beginning, I have more time now than I've had in years & I'm using some of it to enjoy the stereo & subsequently write this review. These cables deliver. Even without the low price aspect these are one of the best kept secrets IMO.
Finally, this is my first review here so let me know what you think. Thanks.

Product Weakness: They may not be the last word in extreme high freq. detail but there's enough there for me.
Product Strengths: Product Strengths: Product Strengths: As described above and they are flexible & unobtrusive making them high on the WAF.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Ayre V-3, 100 watts w/latest upgrades
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Pass Aleph P w/upgraded power supply
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Meridian 506.24
Speakers:	Unity Audio Signature I w/factory bi-wire capability
Cables/Interconnects:	Luminous Synchestra Signature to CD & Stealth ETS to amp (my 2nd system IC)
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	mostly rock w/some alternative, big band, Christian contemporary, some jazz & classical.
Room Size (LxWxH):	21 x 11.5 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments:	regular stuff-2 sofas, W2W carpet, 10' x 7' drapes, plants & animals.
Time Period/Length of Audition:	12 hrs. over 3 days after one week system run in with well broken in cables
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	I used stock power cords to the wall which is a P&S 5252-I outlet
Type of Audition/Review:	Home Audition

Product Weakness:	They may not be the last word in extreme high freq. detail but there's enough there for me.
Product Strengths:	Product Strengths: Product Strengths: As described above and they are flexible & unobtrusive making them high on the WAF.