This is a review written by Terry Ellis September 2025.

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A new direction, the RIGHT direction?

For some audiophiles their HiFi systems networking will be as far from the forefront of their minds when it comes to sound as will a potential system upgrade to it. Up until 2025 that was me too, I had what I thought was a simple but good enough networking arrangement where any further changes would bring incremental improvements at best.  You could say I was forced into exploring networking this year by certain manufacturers but that would be a lie.  I have had my eye on the many different networking cables, switches and more released in recent years with a nagging doubt, am I doing all I can? Doing all I can is important as a reviewer to not only share my experiences to help others but to also make sure I have the best system available to review products more effectively. It speaks volumes that the networking setup I use today in September of 2025 is totally different to the one I started the year with, based on my discoveries.

Back in June Tellurium Q contacted me to tell me about their latest product development code named “Plato’s Ghost.” The HiFi industry is devoid of cool names and instead we get boring product codes, so being a long time user of TQ products I was intrigued to learn more. The product turned out to be a new network cable, or what TQ call a Digital Streaming Cable and at that point it would have been easy for my eyes to gloss over while losing interest very quickly. I have made that mistake with new TQ products in the recent past so there is no way that was happening this time.

Managing Director Geoff Merrigan went on to tell me absolutely nothing about the cable design as is customary TQ, except he was honest and explained the new Ultra Silver II Streaming cable came about through R&D for a completely different project with a member of the design team having the foresight to apply it to a networking cable. Creating something new, that has a different construction to the norm and from this Plato’s Ghost was born. For me the question raised, if this is a new direction is it the right direction?

Plato’s Ghost explained

I don’t claim to be the smartest human being, or even the smartest audiophile.  I tend to know a lot about what interests me but a lack general knowledge and common sense according to my partner, but what does she know? Plato’s Ghost meant abolsutely nothing to me so don’t feel bad if its the same for you. I had to ask and this is the paraphrased reply from Geoff

Hi Terry,

Plato’s Ghost has multiple levels of meanings, for me in the context of the new cable. For example here are four:

1. The phrase highlights the human tendency to strive for perfection, a concept central to Plato’s philosophy. “Plato’s ghost” can represent the persistent drive towards an ideal, even if that ideal is unattainable.

2. We have been down a lot of blind alleys with R&D over the years and those “failed” projects were “buried”. (Always learnt something so the word fail is a bit harsh). Some materials and approaches in this cable have been “resurrected” and repurposed from one such blind alley from 4-5 years ago in a way I had not considered. So, it is in part the “ghost” of an abandoned project we had buried.

3. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, for instance, describes how humans perceive shadows of true forms, mistaking them for reality. In audio terms, this symbolizes the quest to transcend the “shadows” of distorted or imperfect sound to reveal the “true form” of music, as close to the original performance as possible. The “Ghost” in the name suggests an elusive, almost ethereal quality, implying that the cable strives to be an invisible conduit, letting the music’s essence pass through, while at the same time pointing to the idea that we can never fully achieve this and

4. Perfection haunts this pursuit like a ghost and is also as intangible as one. We still try though.

Understanding Tellurium Q

I have been a user of Tellurium Q cables since pretty much I started on YouTube, meaning over eight years now. I am very fortunate to have TQ Statement cables in my system, analogue, digital and power, both the original and the newer MKII versions more recently. I am in almost constant contact with them as I change amplifiers, speakers and more. I think it therefore says a lot that when I unboxed the Ultra Silver II streaming cable it felt and looked quite like a Statement cable to me.  It’s heavy and it’s stiff and when you bend it you can see bright copper I believe through the weaved outer black braid material just like you do with the Statement II cables, minus the red colouring. I have to think there are at least some things in common between them and that can only be a good thing. Apart from this I don’t have anything intersting to say about the US II SC’s physical form. The RJ45 connectors at each end seem very good quality and that is me done.

Listening to the differences between the Statement and MKII cables showed me the improvement path that TQ are on. They are looking to create cables that better “unpack” the music, cables that allow you to hear the music more clearly with less in the way from the cable itself. I loved the OG Statement cables because they made music sound so bold and rich all the time, I nicknamed this the “Statement Effect.”  The Statement MKII still sound like that, but its done in a less “thick” sounding way, so with less thickness there can be more clarity, more space, more details, more ambience or a more realistic tonality is able to come through. While I massively appreciate this about the Statement MKII I still have a general preference for a warmer and bolder overall sound and this is important for this review as you will see.

I think it’s also important to clarify that yes I have been a big TQ cable user for a long time, meaning you could call me a “fanboy” and maybe even biased towards their products.  I think that would be a fair assumption, except I have never had a TQ streaming cable in my system, ever.  So they have not been the only manufacturers cable products that I have used for all these years and that is also very important for you to know for this review.

The right system or frame of mind

Some people might think that the HiFi reviewer has the best job in the world and there are days I would agree, who doesn’t love listening to music on shiny new gear all the time.  The reality is there is so much more to it than that. I feel the pressure to get it right with that pressure seeming to increase with time served and the higher standards I set for myself. That mindset means I always want to have the right system available for each review and cable reviews need this more.  I need to feel 100% settled with the HiFi system in my room, with everything setup as “perfect”as it can get before I would even start it.

I have the Audio Solutions Figaro M2 speakers here as my reference review speakers for 2025.  These were my speaker of the year for 2024, but living with them for a much longer period of time has allowed me to learn more about them. They are a super clear sounding speaker that can be a little ruthless with the truth about the HiFi system quality you put before them. I did know this about them from their review, but not quite to the same extent as I do now. Over the course this year I have been tweaking their placement in my room to find a better balance of their bass to the rest with different amplifiers.  Some amplifiers drive them better than others for their bass, with the big Gryphon Diablo 333 I had here for their review being so good their positioning was much less fussy.

I appreciate this is info maybe seems off topic however I think its important context. The amplifier I used for this review is one I am testing still but it’s potentially a masterpiece at its price, the Canor Audio Virtus A3. I think it has been the best matching amplifier sound balance wise for the Figaro speakers since I had the Gryphon 333 here last year. When it’s right you just know it and that meant it was the right time to do this cable review.

For the music source I chose to use the Matrix Audio NT-1 digital transport with the very special Matrix SC-1 reference clock, this is a fine sounding digital music source with extreme clarity of sound.  I connected both USB and digital coaxial cables to test both connections to the Canor Virtus A3 and so I could use it’s internal DAC.  The DAC has a filer mode called “Optimal Transients.” I have never seen that mode on a DAC before but at the moment its “The One”

Speaking of the one, I added a network switch to my system this year, actually several in the end as part of my explorations into networking comparisons with SFP cable alternatives and more. I have written multiple articles on this topic with this being the first.  If your exploring HiFi networking for the first time my series of articles I think will help you. The culmination of months of testing resulted in me adding a Network Acoustics tempus switch to my system as a new reference product. I used this switch for this review with the TQ US II SC linking from it to the Matrix NT-1 and again I felt this was important review context. The temus allowed me to have all the cables I used in my comparison listening connected at all times so switching between them took only seconds, perfect.

Initial Listening – a Statement II lite ?

Describing the different sounds of networking cables can be a bewildering challenge, I mean how much difference can there be and how do you find the right words for it?  I have found there can be a surprising amount of difference depending on how you test them but finding the rights words to describe them is not always easy. Listening to the US II SC I was instantly struck but how graceful all streamed music from Qobuz sounded, there was a real sense of ease about about how the music was being delivered using it.  That seemed to be because of how exceptionally well music is, what I am going to term “delaminated” that Google explains as the separation of layers.

This is potentially leading into a typical cable review claim where said cable has better clarity and veils were lifted, you have heard it all before and from me too. That is not good enough and its also not quite correct.  The US II SC seemed to a have a Statement II “lite” effect on the music, to use the same descriptive terms again.

its done in a less “thick” sounding way, so with less thickness there is more clarity, space, details, ambience or realistic tonality able to come through.

This sums up so very well my listening impressions of the US II SC and what I have found I really like is how it helps the layering of the music in the depth plain. The sounds that we perceive in music coming from behind or outside or forward in the room completely free of the speakers, that illusion is exceptional with this cable.  You combine that with the graceful ease and for many audiophiles this will be a SUPER natural sound.

But I have to be honest there was not the same OG Statement effect I mentioned before, so the music didn’t also sound bigger and bolder and richer compared to my far more expensive reference networking setup, more on this shortly.  At first I was left with a review quandary – what do I think is technically better sound and which do I prefer?

My preference becomes irrelevant, because it’s what you like that is important if you are considering spending your hard earned money. How much money are we talking  £655.37p / metre and that is of course a lot of money for a networking cable. However in the grander scheme of HiFi system upgrades, depending on what level your system is at this could be seen as a reasonable cost for what you get, value for money is personal.  I think it’s extremely well priced for what it does, for giving you a Statement II lite kind of sound. I know some audiophiles will absolutely will love this cable but I needed to compare it others to be sure.

Comparisons

In an ideal world I would have one of every product at every price to allow for the most accurate and meaningful comparison listening, sadly I don’t live in that world. When it comes to networking I have one reference setup that recently became all Network Acoustics switch, streaming cable and filter. The total cost of this is exponentially more than the £655/ metre the US II SC costs but it meant I still had to do this comparison, even if unfair. I do of course have quite a few generic Amazon CAT6 cables in my home and these created a very interesting comparison for if this might be your first purchase of this kind. I do also have here my former reference networking cable the JCAT Reference Lan that costs €700 for the current “Gold” version, so quite similarly priced, but I have the original version and not the current “Gold” one.

It made sense to start the comparison with the similarly priced JCAT and listening to a lot of different music, but focusing on one Album 10 by Sault this listening test reaffirmed what I thought about the TQ cable in isolation. It’s definitely different or sounds different, maybe you could it unique I cannot say. I used the track L.U. as it starts off simple, has some nice female vocals with underlying strong bass and by 2 minutes 30 seconds it gets very intense with many layers. I could hear a lot of what is going on between the cables with this one track alone. The JCAT straight away sounded bolder and more solid than the TQ and that of course leans more towards my preference, but when the bass comes in it sounded a lot thicker than the TQ.  The sound stage felt more side to side with the vocals seemingly on the same imaging plain as the bass and guitar from a depth point of view.  With the TQ cable the sound was a little softer, the bass was not quite as full or solid but I could hear clearly where the vocals sat a little further back from the guitar which is a little back from the other sounds and the especially the bass. So the “delamination” of the music’s layers was better with the TQ cable, noticeably so. Here is the truth of it one person may prefer the more well layered but softer sound of the TQ or they may still prefer the more solid, thicker and upfront sound of the JCAT with the sacrifice to some layering. I say this because neither sounded bad they were just different.

The cheap generic CAT6 cable test was more interesting because for the simple intro to the L.U. track it sounded really nice and made me question everything I was doing. I was still listening to the same great HiFi system after all, that had not changed.  The track did initially seem more central focused like the left to right placement was less well defined but with very simple music it’s hard to know if its real or just placebo. By 2 minutes 30 when the music gets very intense the sound with the generic cable was awful compared to both the TQ and JCAT. It was harder in the edges and messier sounding, more tense and just not good at all, again by comparison.  What was more interesting about this section of the song was the TQ cable really shone here for taking the whole intensity in its stride, the layering or timing of the music stayed super smooth and composed. It made the harder to enjoy listening intensity into an easy to listen to music passage that had just gone up in energy, showing the intensity of what we hear in music is not always how the music is put together, sometimes it’s caused by the system itself. Interesting stuff.

My sum up from all of this comparison listening was the TQ was by far my favourite of the three and even though it doesn’t have usual preference for sound I couldn’t help but really appreciate what it was doing. I know sometimes it takes time for us to change our preferences when something is new, well it does me but by now I was feeling very strongly towards the USII SC however the comparison to my reference setup showed me something different and maybe it’s limits are.

The unfair reference 

My reference networking cable setup has recently become the Network Acoustics muon pro streaming system that costs £2,395 and consists of a streaming cable and a large network ethernet filtering box, the muon pro. So this is an unfair comparison based on the price however I had to do it, I wanted to do it.  This was the ultimate test in my eyes for the Ultra Silver II streaming cable quality.

I think the muon pro streaming system does for streamed music what the OG Statement cables did for my main HiFi system components back when I added them, they make music sound bigger, bolder, warmer and more grandiose. The muon pro streaming system do that significantly better than the TQ US II SC. The whole sound stage feels more filled in from the floor to the ceiling for the scale and presence of the music in the room and how can anyone not like that?

There is a but though, they do sound a little thicker too when you compared to the TQ cable and there is not the same sense of graceful ease and obvious 3D depth to the music but its very, very close and better in some other ways with it.  I have to be honest, I still preferred the Network Acoustics products overall but I was left with a little sense of nagging doubt that I would miss the extra something the TQ cable was doing, because it is different and what it does I really like it and knew I would miss it?

Is there still more to be had?

I thought for the interests of science (meant in jest of course) I would try to mix and match and use the TQ US II SC cable instead of the Network Acoustics cable with the muon pro filter. Could this give me the best of both – yes and no.  There was definitely a bigger more grandiose scale of sound with this setup and the thickness to the music was gone so I could hear the positive traits of both products in the music and that was of course great but I do think they are the perfect partner, not quite but I wouldn’t put anyone off giving the, a try.

My sum up here, I found I was happy with either cable feeding the muon pro filter and could adjust to the two different sounds very quickly with the NA cable sounding bigger, bolder slightly but slightly thicker and TQ cable sounding less thick and slightly better spatially but not as warm and bold.  Given the price difference between the two you could call that a win for the Ultra Silver II SC, however I do really like the effect of the muon pro filter that has not changed.

Final Thoughts

It’s clear from listening to this new Tellurium Q cable that the different direction they have taken with it has resulted in something really quite stand out different sonically, that I think some will hear and instantly love. Whenever a product veers in a slightly different direction to the norm it becomes an “Essential Audition” product, one you need to hear to believe it, or believe in it enough to buy it.  I have an award that covers those products perfectly and that should be what I give to TQ for this cable.

Except I am not, instead I am awarding a Serious Bang for the Buck because of how well the Ultra Silver II streaming cable held up to my much more expensive reference setup, even showing me something it maybe it doesn’t do perfectly well, for less than a quarter of the price.

My calling it a Statement II lite cable might be way off the technical mark and apologise if that is the case, but I am not saying sorry.  To me that is exactly what it is.

A Serious Bang for Buck Award is granted in recognition of a products stand out high performance being significantly greater than its perceived price point

For the full specification of the Tellurium Q website here