No.5 does so many things well, but its priority is timbre. It is willing to sacrifice some of the exciting aspects for a more mature sound. This is not a cable that will make your jaws drop with its soundstage or blow you away with resolution. But it captivates you with a sense of rightness in the tuning as it is quite linear in its signature. That is not to say that it is completely a neutral cable. Its tone actually falls on the warm side due to the inherent warmth in the midrange and a smooth treble. But because it maintains a linearity from bass and all the way to the the treble, the warmth strictly stays within the note and doesn’t shroud the midrange.

As the bass on the No.5 is tilted towards the mid-bass, the dynamics and power are not the stand out traits of the cable. It does however offer good rumble, as the lower bass is still adequately present. Mid-bass takes control of the bass with good punch and offers a touch of richness to the presentation. But it is not necessarily enhanced to sound overly warm and draws the line before it makes the sound woolly.

The midrange is this cable’s forte, because of the transparency and the naturalness it is able to portray. It is not the kind of pseudo-transparency that is achieved through boosted upper-mid or treble. But the kind of transparency, that is achieved through linearity in the midrange, allowing instruments and the vocals to be portrayed without any coloration. This transparency and the linearity results in excellent timbre, that is not quite common among entry level cables. The note structure in the midrange are full bodied and nicely articulated to portray sufficient details as well.

The treble is rather linear with moderate extension and so the resolution is good, but not a highlight of the cable. Treble extends a helping hand to the mid-range to maintain the natural timbre, by not venturing into brightness. And so this is not a cable that you choose for sparkle or excitement. Overall the treble falls on the smoother and forgiving side.

Soundstage may not be as holographic as on hi-fi cables, such as the Leonidas or 1960. Although it only constructs a decent sized stage, the stage is quite clean and well organized. But don’t misinterpret the stage to be small. It’s defintiely larger than stock OFC cables. It’s just that it can’t compete with the big guys. The imaging is very good for an entry level cable, but again, expecting high quality precise imaging from a $150 cable my be too much to ask for.

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