Product: HD Signal+ Esoteric line cable
Manufacturer: HiDiamond_® - Italy
Approx. price (1-meter terminated pair): 650 $/Euro
Reviewer: Stefano Monteferri
Reviewed: October 2002

More than one year passed since TNT-audio reviewed, as an absolute premiere AFAIK, the HD Signal + line cables, one of the very first realizations of the then newcomer HiDiamond_® from Rome, Italy.
Since the beginning of 2001, the firm's production volumes increased, and its diversificated product offer can now satisfy even the wildest demands in the field of cable connections: signal/line (RCA and XLR), loudspeaker, digital, video and power.

Although it may sound a nonsense, HiDiamond_® staff is working on a set of "non-cables" - actually, a connection method to replace line cables in an Audio or HT system, made possible by using an high quality radio wave transmitter/receiver set. The results, according to the firm's PR, is comparable to the use of a good line cable.

The HD Signal+ Esoteric cable

It's the cable reviewed here, and it represents the firm's "diamond's head", being the most expensive of the entire range of its line cables. Its main characteristic is the adoption of conductors made of a mixture of OFC copper and graphite, while the insulator is XLPE (a polyethilene net). Outer sleeve is made of smooth PVC.

The connections used are very good - they can be screw-fastened and are made of brass processed with a 20-micron galvanic bath of gold (double-thick in the inner faces). The specified capacitance is 120 nf/Km.

Due to a hardwood sleeve inserted in the middle, upon which is printed the trade mark and the cable's direction, Signal+ Esoteric cables sport nice aestethics and are easy to use, particularly thanks to their very good flexibility.

The Sound

Can balance and spectacularity co-exist? In HD Signal+ Esoteric's case, the answer is Yes. I'll try to be clearer...

Frequency extension is complete. Starting from the extended and well articulated low range, following through the extremely controlled and awkward redundance/imprecision-free mid-low range, proceeding toward the sweet and fluid midrange, arriving to the precise and smooth mid-high range, and ending with the well detailed and airy high range.

Never aggressive, while transparent and detailed, the tonal balance of the Esoteric version reminds the HD Signal+ cables' performance, although we're now to a sharply higher quality level, with a much finer grane and a superior naturality sensation.

Dynamic contrasts are very well rendered, microinformations don't have to struggle to emerge from a musical ground so luminous, yet so velvety that causes the listener to feel a particular sensation of "grace and lightness"...

Where HiDiamond Signal+ Esoteric cable is spectacular is in the virtual image reconstruction, that - depending on the rest of your system - is notably much wide and deep. Single elements are projected in the space in a wisely accurate way, sweetly designed in their boundaries, well spot-on, but never shouted in the listener's face.

This cable proves, substantially, to be free from what is commonly named "monitor effect", and object projection is more tilted toward the depth behind the loudspeakers.

A sound that you could listen to for hours, in full relax, but well aware that this cable does everything it can so that you don't loose those precious nuances from your favourite records...

Conclusions

HiDiamond wanted to engage an extremely clear and precise production strategy - make and sell product with very good performance at reasonable prices.

I cannot certainly say that a pair of line cables costing 650,00 Euro can be afforded by every pocket. But, int the so-called "high-end" world it's not rare to meet high level cables costing even twice or three times as much. According to my experience, those HD Signal+ Esoteric cables can be surely placed among the best in terms of musical performance.

A thank-you goes to Salvatore Filippelli, in charge at HiDiamond, for its kind cooperation.

Copyright © 2002 Stefano Monteferri - http://www.tnt-audio.com