˻ PREMIERE ˼

⌈ WK AUDIO is the company founded by Witold Kaminski, established in 2017 in Plichtow, near Lodz. An architect by profession, music passionate, and author of columns in “High Fidelity” on culture in the broadest sense, it offers a record clamp, an anti-vibration platform and several series of cables. We are testing the latest AC power cable belonging to TheRay series. ⌋

WK AUDIO is an example of how original plans or original assumptions don't always come to fruition the way we would have imagined. And it's not that something goes wrong, it's just different. Witek Kaminski, after all, started with the Pure anti-vibration platform, which we tested in June 2018; more → HERE. It was a very good product, I must be say. The next step, however, was not its more expensive or cheaper counterpart, but... power cables. Equally good performers, I should add, but... cables.

And in this direction his company has developed. To this day, he still offers the aforementioned platform, and sells quite a lot of it, mainly to Asian countries. The cabling division of the lineup, however, keeps developing. And I probably won't be wrong when I say that what worked here was the synergy that the owner of WK Audio developed between his company and RCM, a Katowice-based distributor of both electronics and cabling. And, above all, turntables.

It is from its offer that all Furutech plugs come, as well as, it seems to me, the bare “wires” from which the finished cables are constructed later. Additionally, Roger Adamek, who runs RCM, plays the role of the first (and perhaps second and third) internal reviewer, it seems to me.

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| A few simpel words…

WITOLD KAMIŃSKI
owner and designer

⸜ Witek Kamiński with the „High Fidelity” August cover in his hands during Audio Video Show 2024

THERAY SERIES is a more affordable proposition than TheRed cables. Despite the fact that they are separated by as much as twice the price difference, all the know how acquired during several years of work on my top series of cables has been included in the TheRay cables. The knowledge gained in material science, conductor geometry, the use of structures that protect conductors from harmful vibrations, allowed me to present cables that, despite such a significantly lower price, offer sound of very high quality.

Their sound, in my opinion, does not deviate from the company's ‘sonic signature’ reserved for the top-end TheRed series. Currently, there are two cables in the WK Audio TheRay series: a speaker cable and the AC power cable just reviewed. An analog and digital interconnect are nearing completion to complete the line.

⸜ Again, Audio Video Show 2024, this time WK Audio cables, from the left: TheRay power cable, TheRed XLR interconnect, and TheRay speaker cables • photo Witek Kamiński

The tested cable is made of very high-purity copper. The cross-section of the conductor is 6 mm2. Each of the cable's conductors has a different construction, tailored to the nature of its task, which is typical for WK Audio PCs. The cable has a proprietary braiding and is made entirely by hand.

I paid very close attention with this project to issues related to eliminating parasitic vibrations, by definition harmful to sound. The thickness of the cable and its rigidity is precisely the result of these measures. Also, the aluminum elements placed on the cable on both sides are elements that minimize vibration. WK

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THERAY IS A CABLE intended to be positioned a shelf lower than the top-of-the-line TheRed. It therefore uses slightly different components, such as plugs. The conductors may also be different, although there may just as well be fewer of them. In this particular case, it's the latter. Witek does not describe his designs, protecting them from copying, so we don't know for sure. What we do know is that it is high-purity copper, and the cross-section of the working conductor is 6 mm2. And, as we remember in the case of TheRed cable, it was 18 mm².

The outside sleeve’s color reminded me that of a sea, since the name - ‘ray’, comes from stingray. The ends of the vibration-protected part of the cable are finished with nice sleeves, on which the logo, series name and other information are engraved. The cable is offered in 1.5m length as standard, but 2 and 2.5m lengths are also available on request.

I mentioned different plugs than in the company's top cable. These are maybe not top models, but they are still high quality components from the Japanese Furutech, namely FI-E38R and FI-C15 NCF R. The former is a Schuko type plug. Its contact elements are made of OCC copper and bronze, coated with a layer of rhodium. They are subjected to the company's cryogenization process called Alpha. The front part of the plug is made of nylon, while the rear part is made of polycarbonate.

The FI-C15 NCF R also has contacts made of the same materials, cryogenized, but a different Furutech-developed technique, called NFC, was used in the construction of the body. NFC stands for Nano Crystal² Formula. It is a type of material initially used by this Japanese manufacturer for AC power plugs and sockets, such as the FI-50 NCF (R) IEC plug and FI-06 NCF (R) socket. The first products with NFC were introduced in 2015.

Let’s recall that it is a synthetic resin with special properties. Press materials speak of a “crystalline material” characterized by “active” properties and its dual action. First, it generates negative ions, eliminating static electrification of the material. Second, it converts kinetic energy (vibration) into heat in the form of, emitted to the outside, infrared waves. As the manufacturer emphasizes, there is nothing magical about these “crystals,” it's pure physics, and their effect on the signal is measurable; more → HERE.

▌ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED • WK Audio's TheRay AC power cable powered the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition player (№ 1/50) during the listening test, and was compared to my reference, the Siltech Triple Crown power cable. The test consisted of the AA/BB/A comparison, with the familiar A and B, using short, two-minute samples from the album in question.

Both cables were plugged into an Acoustic Revive RPT-4EU Absolute AC power strip, which in turn was fed by a 2.5-meter Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500 AC cable. The Acrolink was connected to a Furutech NCF wall outlet, which is fed by a separate power line with its own HPA fuse. This line is made from a 6-meter section of Oyaide Tunami Nigo cable.

» RECORDINGS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

⸜ RÖYKSOPP, The Inevitable End, Dog Triumph DOG013CDW, „Promo | No. 25”, CD-R (2014).
⸜ MARK KNOPFLER, One Take Radio Sessions (The Trawlerman's Song EP), Mercury 9870986, Studio Digital Clone CD-R (2005).
⸜ MUSICA PRIMA, Musique Au Château. L’Atelier de Musique Anciente de Gruyères 2003-2012, Artilab 12548, Compact Disc (2012).
⸜ JOHN SCOFIELD, Swallow Tales, ECM Records ECM 2679, CD (2020).
⸜ ANDRZEJ KURYLEWICZ QUINTET, Go Right, Polskie Nagrania „Muza”/Warner Music Poland 4648809, „Polish Jazz | vol. 0”, Master CD-R (1963/2016).

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ON FRIDAY, DECEMBER 14th., completely unexpectedly for me, the new album by Norwegian duo Röyksopp appeared on streaming services. “New” is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration, but certainly - the latest. In their own words, Nebulous Nights is “an ambient reinterpretation of [the album] Profound Mysteries. It's a live-recorded “after-hours” session filled with “nods and tributes, as well as references to the Röyksopp tradition.”

I initially liked this album, especially listened to at night, through headphones, but I got bored with it rather quickly. Yet, to reminiscent I reached for the duo's most important disc, 2014's The Inevitable End. This material, at one time listened to by me very often, it sounded just as atmospheric as before. But different. Now I can hear the bandwidth extremes better, as if the “contour” button had been added to the system. I don't mind, it gives me a meaty bass and an open treble. But it's also clear that the Profound Mysteries, which was created after the return to playing together, is a much better recording.

And yet... The music contained on The Inevitable End is wonderful. Witek Kaminski's cable showed what I'm talking about, namely the withdrawal of the midrange, because that's ultimately what it's all about, without deepening this effect. It was also immediately audible that this is a cable that likes to present a powerful slam at the bottom of the band. The bass is energetic and powerful with it. The opening ˻ 8 ˺ Here She Comes Again track bass part was thus shown low, dense, and strong.

TheRay does not go as low as the reference cable. But, to be honest, the difference was not very big, and in terms of energy transfer, the Polish cable was at a very good level. The highs, on the other hand, are shown differently by WK Audio than by the Siltechs. They are softer, more polished, one might say. It's as if someone ran over the recording with a fine microfiber cloth and took off the dirt, slightly enhancing its golden glow.

I think it's all about the way leading edge of the signal is handled. Playing, the second on the aforementioned album ˻ 2 ˺ My Monument (T.I.E. Version) track, recorded with Robyn (Robin Miriam Carlsson), I immediately got a higher tonal balance and less saturation of the bottom end - that's how this track was recorded. Which reminded me of Crazy from the Uncovered album by Audiofeeels, I return to regularly.

The album of the Polish vocal group is perfectly recorded, except, just, for this one track. Musically excellent superbly arranged, it is much less resolving, it is also brighter. The tested cable showed this transition without problem, with ease. But it also slightly warmed up what can sometimes cause problems in many systems - a brightening of the upper midrange. Indeed, TheRay seems to play with a wide bandwidth, with high dynamics but also with a kind of thoughtfulness.

This involves smoothing out the sound, but not by masking the dynamics, but by thinning out some of the upper midrange, is how I see it. Interestingly, I did not perceive this treatment at all as a darkening of the sound, much less a reduction in resolution. This is a really resolving cable, I have no doubt about that, and at the same time dynamic. Because also MARK KNOPLFER's guitar from The Trawlerman's Song EP had the speed, but also the density that was achieved by recording the whole band “live” in the studio, during one of the radio sessions.

Thus, it is a really good cable. Fast, but also somewhat warm and dynamic, but on the other hand able to celebrate long phrases as well. The incredibly energetic opening of the Musique Au Château album, with a deep drum beat, was rendered by the system TheRay was plugged into, in a naturally deep and dynamic way. The high notes of the medieval lute, which entered immediately afterwards, as well as others, were clear, pure, and truly sonorous.

A RETURN TO WARM vibes confirmed that the WK Audio cable is focused on the midrange. As I say, its extremes are very good, but after a while we come to the conclusion that the midrange is what “turns us on” the most in this performance. JOHN SCOFIELD's rather low-recorded album Swallow Tales, released in 2020 by the ECM label, had everything I expected from it. Steve Swallow's dense bass, the leader's nice, warm guitar amp, and when needed, a hard beat on Bill Stewart's drums.

And yet... You could feel in this playing that it's all about fluidity, that the designer cared about depth and freedom - but precisely in that order. This is a cable that differentiates timbres very well, with a deeply built soundstage. It does not draw attention to detail, nor does it accentuate individual sound plans. On the other hand, it doesn't play with large planes. This is interesting, because we usually deal with one or the other case.

So when they played in unison on saxophone and trumpet with a muffler, Jan Ptaszyn Wróblewski and Andrzej Kurylewicz in ˻ 1 ˺ Go Right, the title track from the ANDRZEJ KURYLEWICZ QUINTET album, released in 1963, these instruments were clear, but nevertheless played in a shared space. Wroblewski's flute did not have a brightened top, but was clear and selective; it also had a nicely filled tone. It was very cool.

▌ Summary

This is because Witek Kaminski's LATEST POWER CABLE successfully combines midrange, where the edges are slightly smoothed, and the opening of the whole. It gives a low, meaty bass, but still our attention is focused on the midrange. It has a tendency to slightly distance the foregrounds, perhaps because the soundstage with it is very deep, clear and at the same time orderly. It is not about a “cloud of sound”, but clear sources.

It's a cable for systems in which nothing needs to be fixed, but which need “flavoring”. TheRay does it without losing vitality and energy, in that sort of elegant way. It plays “wide” in the sense of momentum and dynamics, and is resolving. But it's a resolution that doesn't turn into excessive detail. It's a cable with very good tonal and dynamic balance. A really good product and simply - I'll say it again - cool. ●

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THIS TEST HAS BEEN DESIGNED ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES adopted by the Association of International Audiophile Publications, an international audio press association concerned with ethical and professional standards in our industry, of which HIGH FIDELITY is a founding member. More about the association and its constituent titles → HERE.

→ www.AIAP-online.org