In Love With A Princess - Siltech Royal Signature G7 Princess Interconnects

We continue our investigation of the excellent cable range from Siltech - this time Big E collected a pair of interconnects from its current top range, the Royal Signature Series G7, called the Princess. In the Royal Signature Series, the interconnect range are named after the female side - Princess, Queen, Empress, whereas the loudspeaker cables are named after the male side - Prince, King, Emperor.

More than a year ago, I listened to the predecessor of this Princess, the Siltech Signature Series G6 Forbes Lakes SATT, in my system, . The Forbes Lakes took everything that I used in my system, albeit many times cheaper, to the cleaners. Their impact on my music listening was nothing less than revelatory. Since that experience, I took them as the best interconnects as far as I am concerned. And 'Siltech Forbes Lake' was the name mentioned whenever anyone asked me which cables I considered the best in my system's context.

At RM20k a pair, I could not afford the Forbes Lakes, so I had to see them go. Now, their replacement came in with a further increase in their premium, the Princess goes for RM23k for 1.5m.

The Princess' construction quality continues with the Siltech traditional, it is nothing less than impeccable. Its look is virtually indistinguishable from the Forbes Lake. To my eyes, they are one of the most handsome pair of cables around, pity that they'll spend most of their time behind your equipment. The cables are pretty weighty, probably attributable to the amount of metal in them and the 2 clamps, one on each end. They inspire confidence even from just looking at them, no kidding. :-)

I put them between my Ayre C5-xeMP universal player and the Pass Labs X2.5 preamp, then I sat down, ready to repeat my previous experience of an amazing musical ride.


The Princess did not disappoint, the first quality that caught me was the quietness of the system. There was just music pouring forth from the speakers, the space between instruments and the time between notes were jet black. Illumination came from the music itself and no extraneous noice intruded.

Throw in something more complex, such as some tracks from Hugh Masekela's 'Hope' album, instrument delineation and separation was the best I have heard. Noise made by the audienc was clearly defined apart from the band, while instruments and voices of the performers could be heard in their own, separated space, and the whole thing was sewn together as a musical whole. It was uncanny.

This, of course, means that the Princess excelled at soundstaging. The stage spread slightly outside of the left and right boundaries of my speakers, stably anchored down just behind them. Images were well defined, layered and dimensional.


The Princess also rendered music very articulate. Recordings, rather than being rendered technically, became musical performances. In my listening session, violin and female vocals simply adored the Princess.... Listening to Anne Sophie Mutter and Itzhak Perlman's violins, I was bowed over by their artistry with the instrument and their beautiful string tone. The harmonic structure of the notes was excellently preserved and rendered. The Princess gave that silky, shiny, silvery hue that leave the listener in no doubt as to its pedigree - that it was high end.

It was amazing how much more music I could enjoy with the Princess, cd after cd became an enjoyable listening experience. The Princess interconnects are not for technical analysis, they are for musical enjoyment. They will not be your partner if you just want to know how high or how low the notes goes, how fast the transient was, whether the bass could hit you in the chest. No, they are about refinement, good taste and, above all else, musicality.

The Princess is pristine water from a mountain spring - clean, clear, but not bland. There is a certain sweetness to it, other than than it does not add any colour to the sound.

Such natural beauty does not need additional make-up, really.

Siltech is carried by CMY Audio & Visual, contact John, tel: 03-21439206