⌈ The Japanese company TiGLON was founded in 2008. Initially, it was called Kryna Pro, and changed it to TiGLON in 2010. Its founder and main designer is Mr. KENTARO OKINO. We test its top cable set, consisting of the TPL-2000R interconnect and the TPL-2000SP speaker cable. ⌋

HERE IS SOMETHING ABOUT TESTING AUDIO PRODUCTS that borders on schizophrenia. Most often it looks like that, that the editor selects an amplifier, player, cables, etc. from the manufacturer's lineup, plugs them into his own system and describes the sound, usually pointing to the changes that have taken place in it. The reference system is thus a key element of the test. But it is not the only reason.

The gap between what we say and what we do consists in the tacit agreement that although we are aware that audio products make up the system and it is the system that "plays", we decide to insert a foreign element into it. In a way, we "de-tune" what we previously composed with such reverence. And at the same time, we do not get from the tested product everything that it can offer.

However, it cannot be done differently. The testing procedure forces us to do this. Therefore, the reference system is important in two ways - as a reference point and as an environment for the product under test. The first requirement assumes "best", the second "friendliness". The higher quality the system and the better it is matched with these two requirements in mind, the better. In the real world, however, it is always one of these two elements that prevails over the other.

That is why, from time to time, I try to test products in pairs, for example a preamplifier with power amplifiers, an interconnect with a speaker cable, and preferably with a power cable. This gives a broader picture than a single product test. So when I was thinking about the tests for the HIGH FIDELITY issue, which you are reading, I decided to reach for the cables that were already in our magazine, but separately: the TPL-2000R RCA analog interconnect and the TPL-2000SP speaker cable from TiGLON and listen to them together.

▌ Technology

BOTH CABLES MENTIONED HERE belong to the most expensive series of this manufacturer "TPL" (tests → HERE). As I wrote in the test of each of them, "the most expensive" in the context of this company does not mean "very expensive". Nevertheless, in their design we will find very interesting technical solutions and ideas. Since both cables have already been thoroughly discussed, let's just repeat the most important information.

⸜ MAGNESIUM TiGLON, like all sensible companies, has developed its own techniques. Among them, the most important are: the use of magnesium, reaching for DF-OFC copper and its processing in a process called Hyper Saturated Energizer. The cables are terminated with very good plugs, which, however, do not resemble the "jewelry" that many "mainstream" manufacturers boast about. In the interconnects, these are copper, silver-plated RCA Bullet Plugs from KLE Innovations, and in the speaker cable - BFA plugs or Furutech spades with rhodium-plated contacts.

Magnesium is the main distinguishing feature of this company's products. Already in 2005, the company proposed speaker stands in which it used magnesium, and in 2008 it patented the use of this material for cable shielding. Since then, this material can be found in all its products. It also works well as a vibration-reducing material. It is used in the TiGLON cables in two ways: in the cable shielding, it is a tape with vaporized magnesium, and secondly, as filters visible at the ends of the cable; the latter are called the Advanced Magnesium Filter (AMF). Because the foil is wound in a specific direction and this direction affects the behavior of the signal, the company's cables are directional.

⸜ DF-OFC The conductor chosen by this manufacturer is copper called DF-OFC. It is one of the varieties of oxygen-free copper (OFC) obtained in a process called DIP FORMING. This method of production was patented by the American company General Electric. In the mid-1970s, its license was sold to the Japanese company SHOWA Electric Wire And Cable Co., Ltd., which was a separate division of the Tokyo Electric Company (today: Toshiba Corporation).

The process involves producing a fine wire and passing it through a trough of molten copper. After forming a thick core, it is then hot rolled. This type of material formally has a purity of 99.99%, however, it has a higher conductivity than comparable OFC cables; more about the types of copper currently used in audio → HERE and → HERE.

⸜ HYPER SATURATED ENERGIZER The conductor used for the production of TiGLON cables is processed in a device called Hyper Saturated Energizer. This technique was jointly developed by TiGLON and, as we read, "a group of engineers from Europe, the United States and Asia." Both cables use its latest version HSE Grande (Hyper Saturated Energizer Grande). These are three devices (previously there were two), specialized in improving various aspects of cable performance.

Although we do not know the exact principle of their operation, they are probably generators of various types of signals, used to form the crystal structure of cables - audiophiles talk about "burning in" in this context. The manufacturer says about them:

The „White HSE” (name comes from the color of the front panel – ed.) is a dedicated device that improves the ultra-high frequency range and the overall sense of S/N and speed, the “Gold HSE” is a dedicated device that specializes in full bandwidth and a sense of depth, and the “GMR-3″ is a dedicated device that specializes in the power and dynamic range of the sound quality. Black HSE” is a dedicated device that focuses on the power and dynamic range of sound quality.
⸜ Introduction of new run-in technology, → TIGLON.co.jp https://tiglon.co.jp/en/archives/4972

All cables are delivered in modest, nice looking boxes, lined with foam inside. Inside you will find bags the cables are inserted in. The cables themselves are nice, neat, and their appearance is not exaggerated. They are not very flexible, so they take time to settle properly in a given place.

▌ SOUND

⸜ HOW WE LISTENED The TiGLON cables were tested as a system and compared to the reference system: the Siltech interconnect and speaker cable, which cost PLN 99,000 (1 m) and PLN 240,000 (2.5 m), respectively. The comparison was conducted as A/B and A/B listening with A and B known. The fragments of the songs I listened to were 1 to 2 minutes long. The comparison was not instantaneous - the breaks for switching cables took about 30 seconds.

The TPL-2000R interconnect connected the RCA output (WBT Nextgen, gold-plated sockets) of the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player and the input of the Spheris III line preamplifier of the same company (again, WBT Nextgen sockets, gold-plated). The speaker cable connected the transistor power amplifier Soulution 710 and the Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers.

Płyty użyte w teście | wybór

⸜ ART PEPPER, Art Pepper meets The Rhythm Section, Contemporary Records/Craft Recordings CR00392, SACD/CD (1957/2022).
⸜ FAUSTO MESOLELLA, Live ad Alcatraz, Fonè/Master Music NT017, XRCD24 (2014/2016).
⸜ MICHAEL JACKSON, Thriller, Epic/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2251, seria „Original Master Recording, Ultradisc II”, SACD/CD (1982/2022).
⸜ DONALD FAGEN, Nightfly, Warner Bros. Records/Warner Records (Japan) WPCR-14170, seria „Warner Premium Sound”, SACD/CD (1982/2011).

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PLUGGING THE TIGLON CABLE SYSTEM into the reference setup gave a sound with a very similar tonal balance. These are cables that are on the warmer side of neutrality, but still close to the balance point. This is due to the fact that they present the sound in an extremely well-tuned way, which makes them not seem shrill. As if the high level of ordering the sound guaranteed getting rid of the excess energy of the sound attack, or rather its exaggeration.

But not energy as such. When testing both cables separately, I said that energy is their important distinguishing feature - listening to them in the system confirmed these observations. The drum solo from You'd Be So Nice To Come Home To, the track opening the ART PEPPER’S album Art Pepper meets The Rhythm Section, was explosive and very fast. It had something of a live performance, some inner aggressiveness and power, but without the sharpness and emphasizing of the attack.

Speed is an element that was emphasized with the TiGLON cables stronger than when I reviewed them separately. Therefore, although it is a slightly warm sound, its energy is extremely high. The piano hit in Red Pepper Blues, the second track on this album, with the instrument played here by Red Garland, was strong, unambiguous, without blurring or prolonging the attack. At the same time, it is an attack without the unpleasant feeling of being attacked. It's about the proper rendering of the signal build-up, not about making the listener impressed with how fast the sound is.

TiGLON cables tend to bring the foreground closer to the listener. The sound is big and rather massive with them. But they don't do it automatically, and it's the same every time. Pepper, recorded by Roy DuNann with closely placed microphones and divided into two mono channels, connected only by reverb, was within reach. In turn, the FAUSTO MESOLELLA guitar from the Live ad Alcatraz album, released by Mr. Kazuo Kiuchi (Combak Corporation) as part of his Master Music label, on the XRCD24 disc, was further away than with the reference cables, as if the Japanese set emphasized thus the main features of both recordings.

The guitar in question was shown further away from me, but with a very characteristic effect. This so-called "delay", set very high here, so the sound of the strings is not clear, but comes in "waves". TiGLON showed this property nicely. It did not exaggerate with the "cleaning" of the sound, but it did not deepen the effect either. The instrument had a lot of air around it and there was a nice depth to the performance. Which means that the cables differentiate both time and timbre changes well.

But it is also so, that Japanese cables slightly magnify what is closer to us. As if they were bringing instruments into our room. They shorten the reverb - at least compared to the Siltech system - although, as I indicated with the Mesolella album, they do not extinguish it. They simply bring out a clear attack and fullness from the sound. Both of these elements, the attack and the richness, are strongly interconnected here, and these elements cannot be heard separately.

The interesting thing about this sound is that although it seems warm, it is also open. There are a lot of sounds from the top of the band and they are clear and strong. But they also never reach the point where instead of "c" we have something like "sh". The other extreme of the band is saturated, has good weight and texture. It is so that we focus our attention rather on the mid and upper range. That is why, as I see it, it seems that the Siltech cables go much lower in the bass. The tested cables do extend nicely down, but not as much as it would appear from the first impression. The TiGLONs fill the low registers very well, but you have to get used to their presentation - then you will notice it.

I think the tonal balance is maintained very carefully in the Japanese set. Because both Billie Jean from MICHAEL JACKSON's Thriller and I.G.Y. from DONALD FAGEN's Nightfly album sounded in a full, dense way. This is mainly due to the dense, strong midrange, based on a very good transition to the bass. That is why the second of these albums, recorded on a 3M digital tape recorder (16 bits, 50 kHz), was not slimmed down. And that's very easy to do.

▌ Summary

EACH OF THE TESTED CABLES can work in any other system, where it will show all the advantages that I wrote about in their individual tests. But used together they will emphasize their strengths. And it is focused, dense sound with great energy and "attack" of the sound. The cabling system, although warm in expression, does not slow down the presentation, but rather energizes it.

So it would be an alternative to Nordost and Siltech cables, at least those from a similar price range. The TiGLON system offers a warmer presentation, and the instruments are closer to us, more tangible. The tonal balance is shifted a bit further down with them. However, the energy and attack are comparable with all these sets. The resolution of the Japanese cables is very good, but the most important thing seems to be the smoothness and "flow" of the sound, not the selective indication of individual sounds, which in turn is the strength of the Nordost and Siltech.

The TiGLONs will prove themselves wherever we do not want to open the sound by adding treble, but by adding energy. They won't fix the timbre if it's shifted to either side. But they will also support systems that are nicely put together. Because these are just such cables that help to extract the elements setups they work in are based on. They do not clearly impose their character, blending in with system’s character. ●