Audio Cable Reviews

Blackcat Graceline Wagner Reference Cables.

Cables and wires are not excavators or curators of detail. Nor do they provide additional transparency, resolution, air, ambiance, and/or other technical insights from the musical information—the ones and zeroes, the analog waveform—via CDs, streaming, albums, tapes, etc. which one eventually hears. Cables and wires are, in fact, translators and interpreters of the musical information. In this respect, they communicate information between the various audio components from source to amplification to speakers to the listener. Their purview is simply to correctly, accurately translate what they are being ‘told’. Though unlike translators and interpreters of languages, cables and wires can convey spatial cues—air, ambiance and space in given venues or studios or, at least, some measure of their volume. Cables and wires also translate information with regard to the interplay, positioning of various performers, where they are and the distance between them—their relative spacing, ‘layering’. There are, of course, differing skill levels between cables and wires with regard to their ability to translate musical information. I have owned some of the worst and some of the best cables and wires with regard to their abilities as translators, interpreters of musical information.
The worst cables and wires have mistranslated, misinterpreted the musical information. This misinterpretation left out critical bits of information—technical, spatial, musical—from component to component, which resulted in a multitude of maladies—a lack of transparency, detail, resolution, ambiance, air, tonal/timbral accuracy, and frequency spectrum integrity. The best cables and wires, on the other-hand, have translated/interpreted the musical information in a ‘whole-cloth’ approach, which effectively rendered CDs, streams, albums, tapes, etc. from component to component to one’s ears, as it was meant to be heard and experienced and naturally so.

What I relay via this review is my experience with a cable loom which is the best translator of musical information I have owned, reviewed, or heard. This is the BlackCat Graceline Wagner Reference cables. REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various accoutrement, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.

THE REVIEW SYSTEM

• Shanling ONIX XST20 SACD/CD Transport

• Bricasti Design M1SE DAC w/ethernet

• Rega P10 Turntable w/Apheta cartridge

• Aurorasound Step-Up Transformer

• Gold Note PH-10 Phono-Preamplifier

• Gold Note PSU-10 Power Supply

• Allnic ASRA 7500 Headphone
Amplifier/Integrated

• Allnic HPA-300B Headphone Amplifier/Integrated

• Aurorasound HFSA-01 Integrated/Headphone Amplifier

• Lyric Audio Ti 100 MkII Integrated

• BlackCat Graceline TRON AES/EBU and SPDIF Digital Cables

• BlackCat Graceline Wagner Reference RCA Interconnects

• BlackCat Graceline Wagner Reference Speaker Cables

• RSX Technology BEYOND and MAX Power Cords

• Meze Audio Empyrean II Headphones

• Meze Audio POET Headphones

• Devore Fidelity Orangutan O/96 Speakers

• TORUS RM20 Power Conditioner

• SEISMION Amplifier Stand (powered)

THE SOUND

The Graceline Wagner Reference cables are on another level, entirely, in terms of their ability to translate aliveness, openness, transparency than all my other reference cables. This ability results in more detail, greater resolution, and a wealth of spatial cues across the various components than I am used to hearing. The air, the ambiance, the space translated by these cables is outstanding, as information I had only believed electrostatic headphones or speakers capable of now came forward via the Wagner Reference cables. This is information the other reference cables simply could not
match. The Wagner Reference cables immediately create a chasm in the level of performance between my reference cables and even Graceline’s own Level-2 cable loom. Performances are beautifully lain out with a level of realism, naturalness of tone,
timbre, and texture in a way I’ve not previously heard. There is also greater
dimensionality—width, depth, height—which renders the interplay between
musicians, the spatial cues of a given venue with greater volume, space, and, again, more naturally. Further, the Wager Reference cables translation of tonal/timbral differentiation provide colors and shadings, which lend greater credibility to instruments and to singers, which make them more apparent, more alive, more real. The Wager Reference cables are the box of 124 crayons, relative, to the box of 24 crayons offered by the other reference cables, which seem monochromatic in comparison. There is not a musical genre which does not benefit from the Wagner Reference cables, which are able to communicate greater detail at lower volume and even greater quiet, blackness, which give further insight and connection to the music.

BASS

To begin to understand the ability of the Wagner Reference cables with regard to
translating bass is, perhaps, to start with word association. Gravitas. Weight. Force.
Propulsiveness. Differentiation.
With the Wagner Reference cables in system bass was more available, in every respect. It was more substantive, more taunt, more transparent, more resolving. It’s as if the Wager Reference cables lifted all prior limitations—translation woes—of my reference cables, which had been, in fact, limiting the system’s bass to the music’s detriment. I had thought about repositioning the speakers to improve their bass response. However, this was not necessary via the bass-translating abilities of the Wager Reference cables. Amazing!
The Wagner Reference cables differentiate bass via their translation of tonal and
timbral shadings and colors, which speaks to, well, a more natural bass response and
not, figuratively, a one or two-note bass response. The effect results in bass which is evermore nuanced, refined in its ability to easily project the upright bass, bass guitar,
tympani, drums, etc. into one’s listening room in a more believable, more dimensional way. And those ‘ephemeral’ images which had been buried deep within the soundstage were brought to relevance, to life by a better translation of bass frequency, which had the effect of deepening the sound-stage.

MIDRANGE

Imagine sitting in a small cafe, listening to a rather exceptional guitarist, and you are
close enough to hear her fingers traveling along strings, the fretboard, and the body of
the guitar. And when her voice comes, the lyrics emerge with breath, air, presence, and one’s heart is engaged. This would, of course, be the epitome of a natural performance and without the need for a translator. In the course of the Wagner Reference cable review I have listened to and re-listened to countless singers ranging from Sarah Vaughn to Rickie Lee Jones to Tracey Chapman to Boz Scaggs to Michael Franks to Stevie Wonder to Sade. The Wagner Reference cables’ translation place performers and voices in space with presence, inroom physicality, and a dimensionality, which is breathtaking. There also came greater insight into the music in the form of previously unheard or unnoticed detail—lyrics, spatial cues, micro-detail, etc.—and greater refinement which were now part of the performance. In this—the translation of voices—the Wagner Reference cables have had no peer,
regardless of price. Bravo!

TREBLE+

The Wagner Reference cables translate treble information with all the resolve, the
transparency, the detail, the nuance, which my digital reference sources are able to
communicate. The result was more air, atmosphere, and space, far above my current reference cables, which have all been very good. The Wager Reference cables also translate the quiet, the space in-between, the ‘blackness’ in ways the prior reference cables simply could not match. This coupled with their translation of nuance, refinement, articulation of the ‘delicate’, the micro-details, left the other cables wanting in comparison, and less natural. The ultimate treble tests for me are a suite of ECM titles—Bobo Stenson’s Goodbye, Tomasz Stanko’s Suspended Nights, Tord Gustavsen’s Seeing, Changing Places, The Other Side—which I use to ascertain treble+ resolution. These ECM titles are excellently recorded and can be a torture test for digital front ends unable to properly communicate treble+ information. In this my digital front-end has proven itself
tantamount in many respects though not all to the Grimm Audio MU2. However, if
one’s digital front end is not up to task, the treble+ segments—cymbals, crash cymbals, their metal on metal interplay—will, in fact, sound like something ‘frying’ on a too-hot skillet or a sheet of paper being crushed into a ball. This has never been a problem for my digital front-end. How well this treble+ information was translated by the Wagner Reference cables was the intent. The Wagner Reference cables translate more treble+ detail across these various albums and, in particular, Goodbye, which has an abundance of treble+ information, better than the other reference cables and they did this effortlessly! There was no back and forth needed to understand this, it was immediately apparent. The Wagner Reference cables did this with musical and technical acumen, and a wealth of spatial cues, which together communicated, again, naturalness. Yes, naturalness appears quite often across my notes and there’s a reason for this. Superb!

THE DESIGN—LOOK AND FEEL

The BlackCat Wagner Reference cables are fine, thin in terms of diameter/width and
weight in comparison to the typical ‘garden-hose-sized’ reference cables, which tend
to be both gargantuan and weighty. Nonetheless, in their more refined appearance they lose absolutely nothing and gain much with regard to their potency, their technical acumen, and their musicality.
Their fabric sheaths are composed of a multi-color blue and red weave, which lend to their aesthetic appeal, their subtle beauty. And they tend to clean up the overall interconnections of one’s stereo system in a nice and tidy manner.
As per Mayu’s description of the Wagner Reference cables’ construction, she provides the following:

“The structure of the Wagner Reference cable combines a tri-axial arrangement
of open-braided, matrixed wire-tubes separated by layers of insulation, in a
termination arrangement that keeps capacitance fundamentally low and
velocity reasonably high (due to the air content of our unique AERON insulator). The Wagner Reference cable is also all copper, where Mezame, the Graceline Level-3, cable has some silver.”
The Wagner Reference cable’s modus operandi is to achieve natural tone “without
losing resolution to bring the vortex of sounds from low to high as thick as Wagner
could bring”.

CONCLUSION 

The Graceline Wagner Reference cables as translators of information—digital and
analog—are the best I have yet heard. The key is their outstanding ability to translate
every aspect of musical, technical, and spatial information from component to
component to one’s ears, to the sole benefit of the music. They provide a superb
translation of musical information beyond the ability of my other reference cables,
which, in comparison, are not nearly as convincing or dimensional or as natural. The Wagner Reference cables simply allow the music to flow as it was intended.
The Graceline Wagner References are an epiphany akin to the epiphanies I
experienced with the Grimm Audio MU2 streamer, the Audiomat Opera Integrated,
the STAX SR-X9000 electrostatic headphones, the HiFiMan Susvara (original) planar magnetic headphones, and the Accustic Arts Player II CD Player. Once you’ve heard them, it’s very difficult to consider another as their match.
The Graceline Wagner Reference cable loom is extraordinary and shows itself on a
level above other reference cables, which I have had the pleasure of owning, reviewing, and hearing these past years. They receive, easily so, our Diamond Award and our Breakthrough Award for innovative excellence. I do believe they are
the first cable to do so. Bravo!

Pros: Their ability to easily interpret, translate all the musical, technical, and spatial information of one’s music like no other cable I have yet heard.

Cons: They are not inexpensive.

GraceLine Wagner Reference RCA Interconnects (1.5m, 2.0m): $4995, $5995

GraceLine Wagner Reference Speaker Cable (1.5m, 2.0m): $5295, $6295

THE COMPANY
BlackCat Cables
P.O. Box 2653
Cumming, GA 30028
[email protected]
[email protected]

AKR Magazine | 2026

Black Cat Tron 3 SPDIF cable.

Writing a review, any HiFi review at least, always has its problems.
These can be sometimes technical, just getting something to work as expected can be a trial and they can sometimes be of an esoteric nature because you venture into opinion.

However, when it comes to writing reviews on cables and in particular digital cables it takes on a new level of complexity. This is partly because it is difficult to understand why one digital cable sounds different to another, particularly when a digital cable after all is only transmitting ones and zeros; of course it is more complex than that and it’s in part the quality of transmission that impacts the systems timing that can result in sonic differences, but sometimes you come across a product that it’s so obviously better than so many things that have gone before it, it’s difficult to explain. The Black Cat Tron 3 cable is one such. (Black Cat Cables were the brainchild of Chris Sommovigo and now carried forward by his widow Mayu.

https://blackcatcable.com/about-us/)

Let’s give some background. Over the last few years I’ve had a number of different CD transports; among them CEC TL5, the Esoteric PO5 and recently the Magnetar UDP 900 and now the Onix XST 20.These CD transports have variously been connected to my Devialet 220 Core Expert Pro with Chord Music cable, Chord SarumT cable, Shunyata Omega-x cable, Tellurium Q silver diamond cable as well as an original Black Cat Silver Star 75 cable. Of those cables mentioned two were standout but for different reasons: the Music Cable because of the sheer amount of detail and tonal accuracy and the Omega cable, again for its detail and tonal accuracy but also vast soundstage. In fact, either of those cables could have become my forever cable but every now and then I would still use the SilverStar – this impossibly thin but beautifully made cable in many ways produced the best overall sound and the one cable I kept coming back to, so why change. With this in mind I decided to get the best BNC – RCA adapter for the SiverStar I could and contacted Dave Wilcox at HIFI Consultants to buy the XOX connecters to get the best out of the cable connecting the Onix to the Devialet. I realised that of course he was the UK distributor for Black Cat and we discussed the Black Cat range so decided to try the Tron 3 SPDIF as well as buying the XOX connectors.

On arrival and putting the brand-new Tron cable into my system it became obvious almost immediately that this cable was special – so let’s talk about the Tron sound quality.
It has to be said that the Tron cable took a while to settle down. The first day or so it seemed to be bass heavy, the next few days perhaps almost bright but all of this time extremely transparent. It has now played in my system for some hundred hours and I think is now stable.

First let’s put this in the context of my whole system and my 3m x 6m listening room – speakers are Falcon Acoustic LS3/5a gold badge and Revel BE126s on proprietary stands.
Amplifier is a Devialet Core Expert 220 and most of the listening was done with the Onyx transport. Loudspeaker cable is QED Supremus zr cable and power cables are Oyaide Tunami v2 with Furutech connectors, fuses are Synergistic Master Fuses, power delivery by Power Inspired. Equipment stands by Natuzzi with proprietary acoustic platforms.

After a hundred plus hours of running in The Tron Cable has somehow given the system simply more energy and life than I have heard before.
The sound stage is always a realistic size appropriate to the music and it’s recording. The depth and height similarly so. Some live albums such as the excellent Jeff GoldBlum’s The Capitol Studio Sessions really do sound as though the event is live in my room- likewise some studio recordings – such as the simple exquisite guitar playing of Ralph Towner’s At First Light Sound. This is so lifelike that I might as well be in the recording studio myself.

The level of acoustic detail retrieved by the system I have not heard before – the positioning of instruments in space and the rhythm and timing is sometimes breathtaking. It’s difficult not to get up and dance and move your feet the sound is infectious. The bass is deep, the midrange beautifully clear with voices as intelligible as I have heard in any system and the treble simply extended and natural.
The build quality is excellent as you would expect with their XOX connectors, and the cable is relatively thin and malleable making placement easy. I know of different sounding high quality digital cables,
but I haven’t yet heard one that’s better. That makes the Tron 3 a bit of a bargain.

Tron Review | Walton Arts | May 2026

Graceline Level 1 “Kibou” series cables

The Graceline level I cables were totally grain-less in their presentation. They offered effortless liquidity with excellent transient speed, so when powerful micro-dynamics took place, you heard them with the correct speed and force erupt into the room.

The Graceline level I loom was very balanced. It starts with its airy, pristine, detailed, but not etched, high-end presentation to its beautiful mid-band creation of tonality and space around individual instruments. Finally, it is excellent in accuracy and tonally correct extended bottom-end frequencies.

The sonic characteristics above were being produced at a higher level than through my complete loom of Black Cat Cable 3200, which had been my reference cables for the last three years. 

The Black Cat Graceline “Kibou” level I XLR interconnects and speaker cables are not inexpensive. However, when you bring in the materials used and the build quality, the excellent ease of setting them up in your system because of their flexibility, and most importantly, their remarkable performance regarding absolute transparency, producing beautiful timbres and tonality, and an overall linear balanced top to bottom presentation, they are well worth the financial expenditure to bring your system’s performance to a higher level of enjoyment.

stereotimes | by Terry London | September 2024

Re-Tales #34: Succession: VPI & Black Cat

In November 2022, Stereophile reported the sudden passing of Chris Sommovigo, founder of Stereolab and manufacturer of the company’s Black Cat brand of audio cables, in August 2022. There was no succession plan. “It was clear that this was all so sudden that there were no succession plans in place and virtually no kind of roadmap to shift the management and production from Chris’s hands-on approach to someone else.” Two industry colleagues stepped in: Doug White, of hi-fi dealership The Voice That Is, and Christopher Hildebrand of Fern and Roby. Both were Black Cat dealers and Chris Sommovigo’s friends. Mayu Sommovigo, who is originally from Japan, is a classically trained musician and teacher. She’d had little to do with Stereolab. She knew little about making cables. She wasn’t an obvious successor, but Chris’s legacy was important to her. She decided to keep the business going.

sterEophile | by Julie Mullins | June 2023

Black Cat Graceline Level 2 Interconnect & Speaker Cable Review.

Worth every freaking penny because your system will appreciate it!
In March of 2019, I reviewed Black Cat’s 3200 interconnect, speaker, and digital cable in Enjoy The Music. I was very impressed by these relatively affordable cables. The Graceline (by Black Cat Cable) Level-2 interconnects and speaker cables reviewed here are a considerable step up from those cables in sound quality. All of the music that passed through the Black Cat Graceline L2 cables gave me the impression that these cables were able to increase the level of resolution in my system, bordering on, but never crossing the line to having too much. It sounded as if it was able to take full advantage of the recordings, I played during the review period with a very multi-layered, drawn to scale soundstage and all the other traits we’ve come to expect from exceptional high-end equipment.

Enjoy The Music | by Tom Lyle | February 2021

Audio Ramblings and the Matrix Cables from Black Cat Cable

Okay, so let’s cut to the chase, the Black Cat Matrix line of cables (specifically the 3202 interconnects, 3232 speaker cables, and the DIGIT USB) are exemplary. Stunningly good for the price. How does Chris get this sound, this performance, this level of musicality for such—the world of high-end audio—a seriously affordable price? The scary thing is that these are the not the least expensive cables Chris offers—he does have cables costing way less—so how good are those at a few hundred? Plus, as good as these are, I would be hard pressed to want to go further up the Black Cat ladder (he does offer cables that are several thousand dollars)! I mean, those would have to be insanely good!

Positive Feedback | by Dave Clark | April 2019

Black Cat 3200 Series Interconnect, Speaker & Digital Cable.

My system became a sonic time machine. During the Black Cat cable’s review period I listened to many different types of music, sourced both digitally and from my analog front-end. The takeaway was that Chris Sommovigo’s description of his cables having an “effortless” quality when it comes to sound reproduction is spot on. I hope I’m not accused of using this term instead of coining my own to describe what I heard. The term “effortless” has been used before, especially when describing a signal that remains undistorted during loud passages. But the Black Cat cable went further. This might be a bit of an over-simplification, but this trait resulted in not allowing any of the frequencies that they reproduced to draw attention to themselves, which can distract the listener from the other frequencies. This was especially true of the midrange frequencies, a characteristic which may not impress some as much as hearing a super-extended bass or treble, but this is where the majority of the music lives. And therefore, it became easier to focus on those frequencies, as well as the rest of the music. 

Enjoy The Music | by Tom Lyle | March 2019