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| February 15th, 2010 15:08 |
Brilliance Hifi interconnect range |
I still find it amazing the number of companies that do not have a cohesive design philosophy. If a designer believes a particular geometry or specific material combination works then that should be evident through out their range.
I came across Brilliance about 4 years ago when they came to prominence by winning an award from a well known magazine for their entry level cable. Here we are looking at the companies interconnect range spanning 3 models from £83 to £500.
All the cables have a family look and feel to them and reading their literature they seem to have a sound design philosophy which should translate into a family sound.
Synergy
Constructed from high purity copper and finished with the ubiquitous black braide the Synergy looks well constructed. Right from the off the Synergy is a very likable cable: the music bounds along with great enthusiasm; bass seems well controlled if not particular extended; and timing is good. Tonal balance is good with only a slight bias towards brightness (not necessarily a bad thing at the price point as it will inject a sense of speed and openness into budget systems.) Please don’t confuse this with harshness. The Synergy never sounds brash, just lively and fun. A very well judged product that suits its position in the market very well.
Euphony
There is a Definite step up in refinement and the music definitely flows better. Gone is the slight zing injected, I would imagine, by the cheaper plugs on the Synergy to be replaced with a well controlled refined performance. In fact, I would say that the Euphony sounds slightly laid-back in comparison to the Synergy. There is an increase in realism and body to the sound, underlined with a fuller bass line with better extension but I would say it is more suited to slightly forward sounding systems. There is a lot of things the Euphony is doing well: I feel it could just offer slightly more insight. It seems to have lost the lightness of touch the Synergy had. An improvement in some areas and I think if you had a slightly lively sounding system it would bring the added refinement and smoothness to the game.
Agility
Constructed from Teflon insulated solid silver conductors and fitted with the excellent WBT 0152Ag silver nextgen plugs you appear to be getting a high specification for your money compared to a lot of brands out there.
The improvement to spatial separation and scale are immediately apparent. The Agility allows the music to come through with a delicacy and naturalness that simply was not present with the previous 2 cables. There is a deftness of touch and openness that allows the system to breathe. Gone is the slightly laidback presentation of the Euphony to be replaced with a neutral balance with a level of finesse the other two could only dream about. Where the Synergy and Euphony could definitely be said to be imparting a slight character to the sound, the Agility is pleasantly neutral. Timing is good and imaging is impressive.
It is always interesting to look at a number of products from one manufacturer. I think it tells you more about their design ability then simply looking at products in isolation. I am pleased to say that on the whole Brilliance has done a very good job. Out of the 3 they have one excellent product, The Agility, and one that offers tremendous value for money, the Synergy. It is only the Euphony that I am not wholly convinced by. It offers definite improvements over the Synergy in a number of areas but not enough to make up for the loss of sparkle and openness to make it a truly convincing upgrade over it. Having said that, if you have a slightly bright system or favour a laid-back presentation, it could well be the cable for you. The Synergy and Agility are closer in nature, open and fluid, offering great insight at their respective price points. They are well worth investigating.
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| Brilliance |
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| Brilliance interconnects |
| Category: Interconnects |
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| price: £from 83 |
| Date of test: 2010-02-15 |
The Synergy and Agility are closer in nature, open and fluid, offering great insight at their respective price points. They are well worth investigating.
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