TelluriumQ – Black and Ultra Black
TelluriumQ cables may not have been on the market for a long period of time, but already received several major awards (cables of the year label and many more) from the press. In fact, there's been so much praise for the TelluriumQ cables that writing yet another positive review feels a bit frustrating. However, having now had a set of TelluriumQ cables - Black RCA, Black XLR and Ultra Black speaker cables - in my system (description below), I just have to nod my head: all good words said their cables seem correct and the reputation well deserved.
So are these cables are worth trying? Absolutely. Are they so good that you should consider replacing your existing cables with them? As far as I am concerned, the answer is Yes. For my part, the reason does not lie in the technical wisdom that has gone into the TelluriumQ cables. I’m not a technical reviewer. I rather trust my ears than technical descriptions. In this case it was easy since the manufacturer has decided to be shy about the technical details of their cables (also patent pending):
“Why should we hand over all the hard work in R&D to our competitors?” Hence, we don't even know if the TelluriumQ cables contain real tellurium. Even if we did, it would be of much use: “Tellurium Qtm cables do not function like any cable people have heard before, so even if we did publish the technical specifications people would only be able to calibrate the information to what they have encountered already and then erroneously pigeon hole Tellurium Qtm.”
What is revealed is that in the TelluriumQ cables the main focus has been on the problem of phase distortion. The manufacturer's claim is that this problem has not been properly addressed in cables until now. Caring for how quickly a cable reacts to certain pulses in music such as the leading edge of a kick drum they consider as a clear improvement in the cable design. The pdf in the website provides graphs to support the point, and tells us for example:
"Strangely, signals (electric current) in wire (copper, silver, whatever) , tend to flow more freely at different depths in the wire depending on frequency etc. This is a very simplified way of looking at a much more complicated scientific fact, nothing more. Because of this phenomenon some signals are slightly delayed and become squashed together. This is especially true for low end bass. Unfortunately almost every speaker cable that is made suffers from this. Because nearly all cables suffer from this problem we have become accustomed to hearing smeared bass from our hifi systems."
Back to subjective evaluation. I compared the TelluriumQ cables to my previous cables including Audio Note’s high-quality silver cables, all major Zu cables, several Qued cables etc. In my system, the TelluriumQ’s simply turned out to be in a class of their own. I thought Franck Tschang’s hand-made copper-silver-gold-platinum interconnects would be my final reference cables. Now I think that the TelluriumQ’s interconnects are even better.
So what is it that the TelluriumQ’s do and the other cables not? Or do but only to a lesser extent? They are damn musical, for one thing. Second, they appear to diminish harshness of the digital sources. Third, they let the midrange shine. Fourth, they keep the low bass frequencies well under control. Not bad for a pair of cables.
The difference was not the littlest. The sound was humane, present, silky, lush, sweet. If singer&guitar combinations are high on one's ranking list the TelluriumQ cables will give really exciting results. Guitars, harmonicas, human voice ... in those areas these cables excell. Blues recordings are reproduced with good spirit.
Hear are some music samples to substantiate my point. Most of them are from iTunes, played through Decibel, BelCanto 3.5, and the rest of my system as described below, including now the TelluriumQ Black balanced interconnects, and Ultra Black speaker cables.
Human voice: Tok Tok Tok, "Cherries from my neighbour’s tree": the TelluriumQ's on duty, the singer becomes really alive, the bass stout and controlled, the soundstage well structured, all serving well the classic jazz combo style.
Different layers of bass: Pantha du Prince's "Bohemian forest, Satellite sniper". This piece is a real gem for bass lovers. The bass never gets smudgy. The bass lines stand out nicely and the bass notes have a fine acoustic character, and they are not supposed to prevent higher tones from shining. TellurimO’s turn this record to sensationally good music. The "Bohemian forest" has a nice array of bells and other metallic sounds, all sounding natural and non-digital.
Acoustic instruments: Rani Arbo & Daisy Mayhem is my favourite acoustic swing combo. On Cocktail Swing they have brilliant acoustic sets full of acoustic bass, dobro and pretty singing. Listening the "Snowbird" should bring two ukuleles or small guitars to one's listening room with a beautifully present singing. The name track has a stout bass and swing guitar placed in a nice acoustic soundstage. Other tracks present complex settings, which now with the TelluriumQ cables flow more freely than ever, by revealing the character of different instruments. A really stunning experience.
Independent instruments: Ruthie Foster's The Truth according Ruthie Foster features several revelatory tracks. "Nickel and nail" for instance has a bass track that should sound loose, powerful and such that the body gets in motion. Robben Ford’s guitar is clean and gutsy. Ruth’s voice is thinly recorded but should not masked by the powerful backing. TelluriumQ's passed these tests with a wide margin.
Soundstage: Stanley Clarke’s "Back In the Woods" in the Toys for men is a foot stomper, recorded in a semi-lively acoustics, with his foot tapping and a bouncy acoustic bass. A really muscular sound. The details should not be swallowed by the low bass. This is my favorite track for getting in the mood, and TelluriumQ's did not interfere.
Authentic recording: Ted Sirota's Rebel Souls has numerous fine tracks, available in a more than one format such as FLAC. "Tubby" is a track with bass, drums, hihats, saxophone solo and impressively recorded acoustics - as if the listener were present in their rehersal room. TelluriumQ's took me there.
Ringing, clapping: Canadian Melissa Laveaux’s Camphor And Copper has many good tracks. "Ulysses" opens up with a bell that should ring pleasantly low and long. Then one of the most difficult and revealing sound appears: a clap! TelluriumQ's do this very well. Mellissa sings with her personal coarse voice and a weird guitar tuning appears. All loose, independently listenable sounds. The guitar is very closely recorded.
Transients: Bob Brozman’s "Little tough guy blues" presents his powerful slide guitar, and all the possible transients that one can imagine, given that the cables are up to their task. A really gutsy and aggressive track to enjoy.
Explosiveness: Marilyn Mazur’s "Junkyard entrance" shows up a percussion virtuoso at her best. A challenging but highly enjoyable track. A good track to tune the system as well. A joyride with the TelluriumQ cables. 
Control over massive bass: Colin Stetson’s "Lord I Just Can't Keep From Crying Sometimes" from the new CD (and LP) New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges has some very low powerful bass. So much so that the listening room starts to fight back and the doors resonate. Neighbours wake up. Beautiful female blues singing should float independently over the tremendous bass layer. With the TelluriumQ's, a stunner.
Voice, guitar: Finally Neil Young’s beautiful "Love and war" from the LeNoise gives, as with TelluriumQ's, a low baritone and a standard guitar, and his mature singing with a nice echo.
Lessons learned: the TelluriumQ cables need time to burn in. A weekend will do, a week is better. They are revelatory cables, and will reveal weaknesses of the system as well. Fortunately, they do it in a civilized and encouraging manner. At the other end of the spectrum, TelluriumQ's are extremely rewarding cables that can surprise their owner evening after evening.
More info:
www.telluriumq.com
www.hifimesta.fi
