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Special Visit from Tellurium Q
Written by Terry Ellis
A Visit that made a real Statement
On a very hot and sweaty Wednesday morning in July 2018 Tellurium Q MD Geoff Merrigan and his lovely wife Pam became the first visitors to the Pursuit Perfect System listening rooms. Their visit was to introduce and demonstrate their premium cable ranges to me all on one day with a lot of hot swapping, literally, so I could hear the differences and benefits as you change their family matrix and go up the ranges. This was a really useful and interesting day for me, I got to hear all the cables and my reference review system performing to a new level I didnt know it was capable of.
A Visit that made a real Statement
On a very hot and sweaty Wednesday morning in July 2018 Tellurium Q MD Geoff Merrigan and his lovely wife Pam became the first visitors to the Pursuit Perfect System listening rooms. Their visit was to introduce and demonstrate their premium cable ranges to me all on one day with a lot of hot swapping, literally, so I could hear the differences and benefits as you change their family matrix and go up the ranges. This was a really useful and interesting day for me, I got to hear all the cables and my reference review system performing to a new level I didnt know it was capable of.
Starting at Ultra
The decision was made to start the days testing with Ultra Black and then work the way up the ranges so I could experience as much as possible in one day. I already had some experience with Ultra Black, I had been using the balanced analogue connections between the Luxman C700U Preamplifier and M700U Power thanks to Nintronics for the loan of all that kit. The Ultra Black Speaker Cables were a very interesting set of cables to listen to. I spent a lot of time recently listening between the Black and Black II speaker cables and straight away I could hear the familiar sound of the black family I am now very accustomed to. Tight focused sound, lovely mid range with character and presence as it should be. The Ultra Black a very obvious and clear step up from the entry level Black II Range but very in keeping with what makes them so good, just more of it, a bigger scale of sound, larger mid range presence and improved dynamics. I had some niggles with the Black that I didn't have with the Black II when doing my testing and review of them. The short time listening to the Ultra Black I didnt notice these same limitations I was actually really very impressed and think they again seem like great cables at their price point, with very little to find fault with.
The decision was made to start the days testing with Ultra Black and then work the way up the ranges so I could experience as much as possible in one day. I already had some experience with Ultra Black, I had been using the balanced analogue connections between the Luxman C700U Preamplifier and M700U Power thanks to Nintronics for the loan of all that kit. The Ultra Black Speaker Cables were a very interesting set of cables to listen to. I spent a lot of time recently listening between the Black and Black II speaker cables and straight away I could hear the familiar sound of the black family I am now very accustomed to. Tight focused sound, lovely mid range with character and presence as it should be. The Ultra Black a very obvious and clear step up from the entry level Black II Range but very in keeping with what makes them so good, just more of it, a bigger scale of sound, larger mid range presence and improved dynamics. I had some niggles with the Black that I didn't have with the Black II when doing my testing and review of them. The short time listening to the Ultra Black I didnt notice these same limitations I was actually really very impressed and think they again seem like great cables at their price point, with very little to find fault with.
Quickly Moving Up
It wasnt long and I was asking for the more premium cables to be handed to me and out came a very interesting loom of Tellurium Q Silver Diamond cables. I Installed both an analogue RCA cable from our Reference Dac the Chord Qutest to the Luxman Preamplifier, Balanced Analogue cables from the preamplifier to the power amplifier and then the speaker cables including the matching jumper cables. This was quite a different sound, but not so different as to not recognise it from before. I want to firstly point out that by naming the cables "Silver" they have not made them bright, forward and certainly not harsh in any way. What I noticed with the Silver Diamond loom was more space to the presentation, especially front to back. Vocals seemed more focused and crisper, with a cleaner edge than I am used to, certainly more laid back and less aggressive. Certain attacking elements of a song (trumpet, Sax) was more well pronounced likely because there is less smear across the sound as a whole allowing each element of the song to be more well defined in its own space. It was a very clean presentation and I was particularly impressed by the separation between vocal and bass - the bass was adding foundation to the music but was also its own entity that was very easy to track and appreciate. I can see this cable being very popular with a lot of audiophiles who favour sound stage clarity and "air" to the sound but dont want to sacrifice a full range bass and big mid range. There was clearly more frequency extension at the top end - trailing ends of note and decaying high frequencies was lovely to hear as part of the music mix.
It wasnt long and I was asking for the more premium cables to be handed to me and out came a very interesting loom of Tellurium Q Silver Diamond cables. I Installed both an analogue RCA cable from our Reference Dac the Chord Qutest to the Luxman Preamplifier, Balanced Analogue cables from the preamplifier to the power amplifier and then the speaker cables including the matching jumper cables. This was quite a different sound, but not so different as to not recognise it from before. I want to firstly point out that by naming the cables "Silver" they have not made them bright, forward and certainly not harsh in any way. What I noticed with the Silver Diamond loom was more space to the presentation, especially front to back. Vocals seemed more focused and crisper, with a cleaner edge than I am used to, certainly more laid back and less aggressive. Certain attacking elements of a song (trumpet, Sax) was more well pronounced likely because there is less smear across the sound as a whole allowing each element of the song to be more well defined in its own space. It was a very clean presentation and I was particularly impressed by the separation between vocal and bass - the bass was adding foundation to the music but was also its own entity that was very easy to track and appreciate. I can see this cable being very popular with a lot of audiophiles who favour sound stage clarity and "air" to the sound but dont want to sacrifice a full range bass and big mid range. There was clearly more frequency extension at the top end - trailing ends of note and decaying high frequencies was lovely to hear as part of the music mix.
Time to Pull Out the Big Guns
Geoff had told me he was going to bring his new Statement Cables with him, this was very exciting but also concerning, I feel my review system performs to a high level but I am also very mindful its far from the top of the audio tree. Was my system deserving and even worthy of the companies flagship Statement cables, well I suppose there was only one way to find out.
I replaced the full loom of Silver Diamond Cables Analogue RCA, Balanced Analogue and Speaker Cables with Jumpers for the Statement Cables. I am a fan of how Tellurium Q finish their cables, its understated but its very nice and always feels quality including their more recent retail packaging. The Cable ends being milled aluminium are a nice touch and on the Statement cables the ends are black, a nice distinguishing feature. Another feature is the red colouring under the outer sheathing on the cables, this again is visually subtle but welcome. I didnt have the cables in my hands for long but they felt quality and heavy like you would expect at the price point, with the rest being very typical Tellurium Q.
How did the Statements Sound?
This was not a long enough demo to fully assess the sound quality, neither was it long enough to try enough styles of music, but it was long enough for me to want them and want them badly. The sound didnt immediately make me go wow, but it only took one song for me to start to appreciate what the cables are all about. They do belong in a category of their own on the Tellurium Q Matrix hence the reason the company has categorised them as such.
The sound was big in scale full in sound and rich, with fantastic sound stage and resolution, however the kicker for me was the mid range. A large, expressive and focused vocal that was also relaxed, organic and analogue in nature all at the same time. The vocals had drive and dynamic swings within them while remaining relaxed and sweet. Fantastically separated and rhythmic bass that's part of the music foundation but easy to track as its own entity. Lovely amounts of detail with the impressive part being the trailing elements of the music, the decaying of notes was very clear. This a sound an audiohphile can fall head over heel in love with but Geoff from Tellurium Q wasnt finished impressing me just yet.
Geoff had told me he was going to bring his new Statement Cables with him, this was very exciting but also concerning, I feel my review system performs to a high level but I am also very mindful its far from the top of the audio tree. Was my system deserving and even worthy of the companies flagship Statement cables, well I suppose there was only one way to find out.
I replaced the full loom of Silver Diamond Cables Analogue RCA, Balanced Analogue and Speaker Cables with Jumpers for the Statement Cables. I am a fan of how Tellurium Q finish their cables, its understated but its very nice and always feels quality including their more recent retail packaging. The Cable ends being milled aluminium are a nice touch and on the Statement cables the ends are black, a nice distinguishing feature. Another feature is the red colouring under the outer sheathing on the cables, this again is visually subtle but welcome. I didnt have the cables in my hands for long but they felt quality and heavy like you would expect at the price point, with the rest being very typical Tellurium Q.
How did the Statements Sound?
This was not a long enough demo to fully assess the sound quality, neither was it long enough to try enough styles of music, but it was long enough for me to want them and want them badly. The sound didnt immediately make me go wow, but it only took one song for me to start to appreciate what the cables are all about. They do belong in a category of their own on the Tellurium Q Matrix hence the reason the company has categorised them as such.
The sound was big in scale full in sound and rich, with fantastic sound stage and resolution, however the kicker for me was the mid range. A large, expressive and focused vocal that was also relaxed, organic and analogue in nature all at the same time. The vocals had drive and dynamic swings within them while remaining relaxed and sweet. Fantastically separated and rhythmic bass that's part of the music foundation but easy to track as its own entity. Lovely amounts of detail with the impressive part being the trailing elements of the music, the decaying of notes was very clear. This a sound an audiohphile can fall head over heel in love with but Geoff from Tellurium Q wasnt finished impressing me just yet.
Time to unleash the Power
Out of the box of Tellurium Q wonders Geoff pulled out the Statement power cable to join the other Statement Cables in the system, he insisted its design is intended to be used straight from the wall and not from my usual High Current Power Conditioner the Isotek Titan. A few minutes later and a GIK Acoustics Soffit Trap moved around the Statement power cable was in and the system ready to go, I plugged it straight into a Wall Socket and used it to power the Luxman M700U amplifier. The sound now got even bigger in scale with more energy and drive to the music, the vocals were more fleshed out and more palpable but still relaxed and smooth. Certain details in the music layering were more pronounced and easier to hear. The Statement power cable replaced what I had considered to this day about the best power cable you might find and the sound had changed but I wanted to check it was 100% for the better so I changed back to my usual power cable setup, then back to the Statement Power Cable again. It was clear after going back to my usual power setup the music didn't have the same energy and drive to it. It also seemed a little harsher and more brittle in the mid range. Going back to the Statement Power Cable brought the life and energy back to the music and reinstated a smoother and better vocal / mid range.
It was at this point I started to consider the magnitude of the achievement by Tellurium Q, they have developed a cable range that is the best I have heard so far, by far, actually very far. The sound of my reference review system with the Statement cables in was ticking all the right boxes for me and ticking more boxes than I knew it could. These are special cables, they made what I had previously thought special seem a little average which seems harsh given how good they are but comparing them to the Statements shows the clear difference. The sound from my reference review system was presenting music in a way it never has the whole time I have been using it, which makes me believe the only way I could achieve this level of sound quality would be to use Tellurium Q Statement cables. I dont think any amplifier, dac or other component or tweak will get the sound quality to this level, because I have tried so many already and its never been at this level or even close. This answered the main question I started with, can a set of cables at this high level be justified with a system at only this medium level, YES is the answer, much to my surprise. In fact at this point of ownership of such a system it would seem almost silly to spend money elsewhere as a mean of improvement because the cables will still be a limiting factor, even really, really, really good ones. Wow those Statements I want them in the system real bad.
At the Top there is only one way to go
After a a long breadth of disappointment it was time to take the Statement Cables out of the system, this is not something I did with any enthusiasm I can assure you. Geoff thought it was a good idea to work back down the cable range so I could familiarise myself with the sound of the Silver Diamond Range and a full loom of Black Diamonds. I installed the Silver Diamond loom again and it was at this point the difference in price between the Silver Diamond and Statement was justified. I have always suggested when people demo products especially cables put them in the system for a period then take them out, go back to how you had it before and see if you can live with it. This was a hard step down to take from the Statements which is crazy considering only minutes before I had been really impressed with the Silver Diamonds, well what had changed; nothing except I had heard the Statements. The Silver Diamond was certainly no less good, they are still excellent but the Statements raised the bar stratosphere high, its almost unfair making an audiophile listen to them and then taking them away. After listening to the Silver Diamond loom again I took them out and listened to a full loom of Black Diamond cables and the difference between the Silver and Black sound was demonstrated again but this time to a lesser extent in the differences compared to Ultra Black.
An end that was mixed in the result
At this point if the day I was feeling tired, I had been up and down more times than a theme park roller coaster making cable changes. Pam Geoffs wife suggested a different approach, she suggested I try the Silver Diamond Speaker Cables with the Black Diamond Analogue RCA and Balanced Cables to test a mixed combination. This was very interesting because it wasn't something I would have considered a positive move despite Geoff often saying you can mix and match Black with Silver and Black with Blue, but not Silver with Blue. This cable combination helped to restore a portion of the sound quality that I had been really missing since taking Statement Cables out. I am a sucker for a big bold sound, and big bold mid range, I prefer this to out right sound stage space. The Statements were special because they had all the positive traits of both the Black and Silver Diamond and then more, much more. By using a combination of Black and Silver Diamond I was hearing and appreciating improved clarity, but also a fuller and richer sound than if I was using just the Silver Diamond or Black Diamond cables exclusively. I think this is a good lesson to pass on to potential customers, this is something for them to try out as well if the balance of a full loom of one or the other doesn't totally click or if you want to try and eek out more performance.
A Huge Huge Thanks
At the time of packing away I don't admitting I was exhausted and a little emotional, I had worked really hard to test all the cables out, listen attentively and play host. I had also been laughing and joking and having a really good time with two lovely people talking about subjects and topics of great interest. Days like this make the job worth all the late nights, long hours and hard work it was a really wonderful, interesting day. The pain of Geoff and Pam taking the Statements with them was made just a little easier, they allowed me to temporarily hang on to the Black and Silver Diamond Cable combination that we finished with, the combination with the nice balance of the two family sounds. That was a really lovely thing for them to do and it will allow me to do all manner of testing, tweaking and demonstrations with A/B demos with them. They are fantastic tools for reviewing equipment because they are such high quality cables that give you the truth good and bad.
I had mentioned to Geoff in conversation that I am a power cables nut and I dont know if that had any effect on their next decision. Geoff made a comment that was music to my ears, he commented that the Statement Power cable sounded so good in this system it should also stay as it would be a crime to remove it. Wow what a wonderful thing for them to do to leave the cables here on loan and again that will allow me to review the Statement Power cable and demonstrate its sonic benefits going forward something I am really looking forward to.
So a huge thanks to Tellurium Q for coming all the way out to see me, and spending the amount of time they did with me. It was a wonderful day and a fantastic insight into what the company can do, how they see things and their approaches to making music better for different people with different tastes, systems and setups. They have achieved something quite special with their development works leading to the Statement range that is really an audiophiles dream cable, it does everything you could ever want, and helps give you the sound you always wanted. I am now making a plan to have them in my review system one day, not too far away I hope.