It’s early August, and I’ve just returned from Europe. While in Vienna, I visited Pro-Ject Audio Systems and the European Audio Team, followed by a trip to the Netherlands to visit International Audio Holding (IAH), the parent company of Siltech, Crystal Cable, HMS Elektronik, and Sphinx Audio Engineering. My reports on these two visits will soon be published online at SoundStage! Global, but I have a few pressing deadlines to meet first. Our art director, Karen Fanas (a master of improvisation whose successful career partly involved dusting off my photographs), is going on vacation next week, so my photos need to be submitted immediately. Since I need to handle the photography, I must finish this editorial before doing anything else.

As you will read in my factory visit report, IAH is a fascinating and ambitious company. It not only conducts exciting research into the very nature of sound reproduction but is also about to launch two new loudspeakers under the revitalized Sphinx brand. I listened to these speakers at the 2025 Munich High End Show and during my visit to the IAH facility on this trip. If my initial listening experience is of any value, these are exceptional speakers.

A few months ago, I received a complete set of Siltech’s Royal Single Crown cables. We published a review of their speaker cables this May, and I subsequently analyzed the results of replacing the other cables in my system with Royal Single Crown.

Over the years, I’ve used a plethora of impressive cables in my system, but I’ve found myself never investing as much as I have in the Royal Single Crown series. I’ve used cables that sound just as good, and cables that feel just as good, but none that combine both. Sound performance? Crystal Cable’s Art Series Monet speaker cables are a strong contender, which is unsurprising, given that their conductors, like the Royal Single Crown series, are made of Infinite Crystal Silver. The Monet cables are also a challenger in terms of feel and appearance, but clearly from a completely different angle. Crystal Cable’s approach is thin and flexible, while Siltech’s is solid and luxurious. Both are equally satisfying, but their styles are quite different.

In short, the final piece of the Siltech Royal Single Crown project was replacing all the cables on my analog source with new ones. Now, it’s important to consider that the signal strength from the phono cartridge is several orders of magnitude weaker than the high-level output signal. The maximum signal produced by a typical DAC is about 2V. Compare that to the 0.5mV signal from a moving phono cartridge. That’s 0.0005V, low enough to be affected by everything. A strong wind, humidity, and damn it, any kind of electrical interference can ruin such a weak signal. There are also physical and environmental factors. The physical interface, the stylus and the record, operates at the micrometer level, and is therefore extremely sensitive. Over the years, I’ve found that the stability of the turntable motor has a significant impact on the sound quality of the analog source, and this stability starts with the power cord.

So, we let alternating current into the motor, and a microscopic signal emerge from the cartridge, travel through the tonearm, and enter the phono preamp. These transmission paths, taken together, are like the neurosurgeon of the audio world, dedicated to guiding and processing signals from the smallest, most fragile sources.

So, to be blunt, I expected switching to Royal Single Crown cables would affect the sound of my analog system. Since 2018, the VPI Prime Signature has been the star of my system; other turntables have come and gone, but the VPI has undoubtedly been my mainstay, faithfully serving me and paired with a multitude of cartridges. I particularly love the DS Audio DS 003 optical cartridge paired with the EMM Labs DS-EQ1 optical phono preamp, but for the past few months, I’ve been using a moving cartridge with a Mola Mola Lupe phono preamp. During my review of Siltech’s power cord and cartridge cable, I spent time trying out both technologies.

Yes, I know I changed two things at once. My thought is that most people considering products like the Siltech Royal Single Crown will likely jump in with both, like I have, rather than just replacing one cable at a time. Besides, I’m eager to try them out, so let me know.

The Siltech Royal Single Crown power cord ($9985 USD, €8760 EUR) replaced the Audience FrontRow cable I reviewed a few years ago. The tonearm cable ($8920 USD, €9438 EUR) squeezed out the Crystal Cable Diamond Series 2 Reference2, which entered the market last year. Keep in mind that these are definitely high-end products, and I was very satisfied with their performance. I don’t expect a huge improvement from switching to Siltech, but I anticipate some changes.

First, let’s talk about some practicalities. The Royal Single Crown tonearm cable is a sturdy little thing. The cable itself is quite thick, but the metal blocks at both ends significantly increase the weight and reduce the overall usable flexible length. This means that if the cable is suspended in the air, the RCA connector end will bear a considerable amount of leverage. The VPI Prime Signature itself is heavy, and its connectors are sturdy, but I imagine smaller, lighter turntables might tilt, or the RCA jacks might be pulled off, unless the cable is resting on a speaker stand or otherwise supported.

Siltech’s grounding connection isn’t traditional. Because the cable is a dual-mono design, each channel has its own ground connection, but only at the phono stage. There’s no dedicated ground connection at the turntable end. I dutifully connected each ground wire to the phono stage I was using, but through the two preamps, I could still hear some hum. Fortunately, Siltech provides a separate, dedicated ground wire, which is very thin and easy to handle. Using this wire alone, I finally achieved hum-free and interference-free operation.

On the other hand, the power cord is practically plug-and-play. It’s also heavy, but the industrial-grade motor on my VPI is also quite heavy.

Writing reviews of tonearm cables and turntable-related products is like hunting a sick antelope. As I said, any change is immediately noticeable, and the switch to Royal Single Crown cables was no exception. So this report was easy to write; the biggest difference was in the low frequencies. I hadn’t expected much change in the low frequencies, and if there was, I’d have to check to confirm that the Bowers & Wilkins DB2D subwoofer was indeed disconnected. Listening to a half-speed reissue of Tragically Hip’s *Day for Night* (Universal Music 7747461) was a completely different experience after the cable change. It sounded like an additional amplifier driving the B&W 805 D4 Signature’s woofer. The song “Grace, Too” opens with a thunderous, deep bass that feels genetically modified, designed to shock unsuspecting listeners. With the VPI turntable completely re-cabled with Siltech cables, the bass is deeper, louder, and more three-dimensional—a complete victory.

Bass—it’s addictive; I bet it’s a prostate-related reaction. The success of *Day for Night* encouraged me to pull out Holly Cole’s *Temptation* (Blue Note / Classic Records, JP5003), another low-frequency feast, though much calmer than *Day for Night*. This cover compilation played a significant role in my complete immersion in Tom Waits. My favorite track on the album is “Tango Til They’re Sore,” filled with beautiful hooks and galactic imagery. Sure enough, the bass came crashing down on me, full of punctuated tidal waves of power, noticeably more powerful than through the Audience/Crystal Cable setup.

I played “Tango Til They’re Sore” several times and still didn’t get tired of it. Equally interesting was the tinkling piano spatial positioning on this track. Through the Siltech setup, those little right-hand ornaments occupied a slightly tighter, more precise position, making them easier to emerge from the background and easier to locate in the soundstage. The piano is indeed slightly more forward, as is Cole’s vocals; her voice reaches out to me with more substance and a more tangible quality. The opening piano trills sweep directly forward through the soundstage, so lifelike, and with some studio techniques, the right-hand phrase sounds about five feet wide.

I’m discussing this with you as I listen, and I’m making a note of it. While I often listen and write, I don’t always write down what I’m listening to immediately. Now, dissecting my Siltech experience, I’m sharing my findings with you.

I listened to the entire album sitting down. *Temptation* is a pleasure, a gem, a work of art. Holly Cole is Canadian, and I was honored to attend one of her concerts early in her career in that small street-side venue, which made me feel closer to her and her music. But this is truly a superb record. Switching to the Siltech Royal Single Crown power cord and phono preamp added a sense of space around the instruments and Cole’s sound. Remember, the previous Audience/Crystal Cable setup had no issues. Yes, the bass is deeper and better controlled with the Siltech cables, but the previous setup also sounded great, with a huge, deep soundstage and a wide sense of depth.

But with the Siltech cables, I felt closer to the music. The Royal Single Crown cables brought the instruments closer, slightly more prominent, providing a more intimate presentation. The change is subtle, but beautiful. It’s one of the hardest things to describe, but that’s how it works, right? Tighter, more prominent bass and… that ethereal intimacy.

I acknowledge its success this time, and I highly recommend you check out this cable combination.