˻ FIRST TEST ˼

⌈ WK AUDIO is a company founded by WITOLD KAMIŃSKI in 2017 in Plichtów, near Łódź. An architect by profession, a music enthusiast, and a columnist for “High Fidelity” writing about culture in the broadest sense, he offers three series of cables: the top-of-the-line The Red, the mid-range The Ray, and the entry-level The One. We’re conducting our first test of the most affordable RCA analog interconnect. ⌋

WHEN YOU OPEN THE WK Audio website, you’ll see photos of cables from The Red series - that is, the top-of-the-line series (the manufacturer uses hyphenated and capitalized spellings: TheRed, TheOne, etc.; to simplify matters, I’ll use the unhyphenated spelling: The Red, The One, etc.). And no wonder - it has gained widespread recognition, far beyond Poland’s borders, and, besides, it looks the best. The vast majority of quotes used by Witek Kamiński, the owner and designer of WK Audio, also come from reviews of this series, and it is this series that has garnered the most awards, praise, and admiration. And rightly so - it’s well-deserved.

The fact is, however, that what the company is truly capable of is evident in every price range where it has something to offer. And among them, paradoxically, the entry-level segment seems to be the most challenging. High-end has clear rules - there are no price limits, so there are no compromises either, and the designer can go “all out.” Where every zloty counts - often literally - the financial pressure adds to the performance pressure. And that’s what burns out most designers. It seems that’s not the case with Witek (we’ve known each other for years, we’re on a first-name basis, and he’s the one who designed this year’s covers for “High Fidelity” - just to be clear).

▲ A few simple words…

WITOLD KAMIŃSKI
owner & designer

THE STORY OF THE WK AUDIO BRAND began with The One. In 2017, I developed a power cable that was the result of my passion for music and sound, and its name was meant to literally reflect the purpose of its existence - it was to be the only audio product offered by... an architect’s office. The cable was an experiment and an attempt to contribute to the discussion on how music played at home should sound to come as close as possible to its original form - live music. This passion and several years of experimentation were recognized with the prestigious “Best Product of 2018” award from “High Fidelity.”

‖ Witek Kamiński with The One cables

Currently, my company’s product lineup includes as many as three complete cable lines aimed at a wide range of customers. Following the success of The One power cable, I began work on The Red, a top-of-the-line, no-compromise cable series. Development took as long as four years, as all WK Audio cables are original designs.

The The One series is based on the knowledge and experience we’ve gained over nine years of designing ultra-high-end and high-end cables. We’ve learned how to apply this knowledge to reduce production costs while maintaining the high quality and sonic character of more expensive cables. As a result, we are now able to offer The One cables at affordable prices. We have, in a simplified way, utilized many materials and solutions derived directly from our mid-range TheRay line, as well as from our top-of-the-line The Red cables.

‖ The One interconnects in the designer’s reference setup

TheOne RCA Interconnect is handcrafted. Great emphasis was placed on selecting the optimal wire braid geometry to match the materials used in its design. The signal is carried by ultra-high-purity silver. The cable is double-shielded. The first shield is made of silver-plated OFC copper, and the second is made of high-purity copper. The RCA version of the cable features Furutech FP-160G connectors.

TheOne cable line, as our most affordable series, holds a very important position in the WK Audio lineup. In many cases, cables from this series are the first choice. But they are designed to encourage buyers to continue their journey with our higher-end cable models. ‖ WK

▒ Interconnect The One RCA

WITEK DOESN’T SAY MUCH about the design of his products. Like most boutique manufacturers, he bases his designs on knowledge and experience, that is, a combination of publicly available information and listening tests. And while the former is something most people can “grasp,” the latter requires time, patience, and sensitivity. And this combination isn’t all that common.

Experience, on the other hand, is something that can easily be taken away from someone without a second thought. That’s why you won’t find much information about The One RCA cable. What is certain is that his cables are designed and manufactured in Poland, personally by him. It’s also known that these cables are produced in collaboration with the RCM showroom and Roger Adamek. Furthermore, wires from the Japanese company Furutech are used in their production, but with a proprietary topology and original ideas regarding shielding.

For me personally, this is a nostalgic return to the past. After all, WK Audio is one of those Polish companies -and there are several dozen of them - that made their debut in the pages of “High Fidelity” and that grew under our watchful eye. We read:

As Witek adds, the entire The One line “is based on (…) the knowledge and experience gained over seven years of designing ultra-high-end and high-end cables.” He adds that he used this knowledge to reduce production costs, “while maintaining high product quality,” which he can “offer at a very affordable price.” He also says that he used “many materials and solutions” derived directly from the mid-range The Ray series, as well as from the top-of-the-line The Red series, in its construction.

The One RCA cable features a proprietary topology and, as the manufacturer emphasizes, is as simple as possible to “reduce production costs compared to more expensive series.” However, this isn’t apparent from the outside. While it lacks the metal components found in the more expensive series, it does feature the company’s signature leather strap connecting the two cables, from which hangs a metal tag bearing the company logo. From the outside, this interconnect is hard to mistake for other WK Audio cables, as it features a black mesh finish; on “The Ray,” the mesh is sea blue, and on “The Red” - well, you know.

The interconnect under review is exceptionally flexible. And it is directional. The first version he developed was a balanced IC, meaning it featured two signal lines and a ground line. In the RCA version, it appears to be a pseudo-balanced design, meaning the signal lines and ground are carried in the same silver wires, and the shields are connected on one side - the signal source side. Therefore, connect it so the ends with the white and red heat-shrink tubing plug into the amplifier.

The One RCA features attractive, sturdy Furutech FP-160 (G) connectors. All of its components are made of non-magnetic materials and have undergone a cryogenic treatment known at Furutech as α (Alpha). The center pin and the body are made of a copper alloy plated with a layer of 24-karat gold. The insulator is Teflon.

Witek’s cables come in lengths different from the standard ones. Based on his listening tests, he concluded that his designs should be 1.8 m long; more → HERE. The cables come in an attractive red box made of coated cardboard. The only thing missing from the box was an instruction manual - even just a diagram showing how to connect the cables (remember - they are directional).

▓ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED • The WK Audio The One analog interconnect was tested in the “High Fidelity” reference system, connecting the RCA output (gold-plated WBT Nextgen jacks) of the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player to the input of the Spheris Evo line preamp from the same manufacturer (again, gold-plated WBT Nextgen jacks).

The test was a AAA/BBB/AAA comparison with A and B already known, and the reference point was Siltech Triple Crown interconnects (approx. 80,000 PLN) serving as ‘B’.

» RECORDINGS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

• “JOJO” TAKAYANAGI SECOND CONCEPT, Cool Jojo, Three Blind Mice/Sony Music Labels MHCL-10201, SACD/CD » 1980/2026 ‖ review → HERE ˻PL˺.
• ALICE IN CHAINS, Dirt, Columbia COL 472330 2, CD » 1992.
• MARK KNOPFLER, One Take Radio Sessions (The Trawlerman's Song EP), Mercury 9870986, Studio Digital Clone CD-R » 2005.
• Miracula. Medieval Music for Saint Nicholas, Ensemble Peregrina, Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett, Tacet 213, Master CD-R » 2014 ‖ review → HERE.

• DEZERTER, Wolny wybieg, Mystic Production MYSTCD 537, CD » 2026.
• SANTANA, Santana, Columbia | Sony Music/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. UDSACD 2151, „Special Limited Edition” № 3870, SACD/CD » 1969/2015 ‖ more → HERE.
• MILES DAVIS, Birth of the Cool, Capitol Jazz/Universal Classics & Jazz UCGQ-9101 02, „100. rocznica urodzin Milesa Davisa – SACD Selection” Series, SACD/CD » 1957/2026 ‖ review → HERE.

I’M LISTENING TO THIS ALBUM; I’ve been listening to it over and over again, and I just can’t get enough of it - the album Cool Jojo by “JOJO” TAKAYANAGI SECOND CONCEPT, recently remastered by Mr. Isao Kikuchi at Mixer’s Lab - a studio owned by Warner Music Mastering - is excellent, both musically and sonically. Musically, it’s also surprising - after all, Masayuki Takayanagi-san, a jazz guitarist, comes from a background of improvisation, even the avant-garde, yet here he plays such a beautiful, classic style.

Even more astonishing is the sound. This is one of two albums released by Three Blind Mice that were recorded using a 13-bit digital system from Diatone (a division of Mitsubishi), with a sampling frequency of 50 kHz, on U-matic tape. I’m familiar with similar recordings from Denon, also 13-bit, and they’re excellent as well. I don’t know what their secret is, but perhaps it’s simply a conscientious and meticulous approach to every stage of production and post-production.

I believe that Witek Kamiński works in a similar way. His cables played this album (and by “played,” I mean how they modified the signal) in a perfectly balanced manner, in a beautiful, truly beautiful way - just as this album is. Yet it is by no means bland. It was immediately possible to identify the direction its tonal character takes. This cable is geared toward the fullest, deepest reproduction of the midrange. Its extremes, though slightly overshadowed by the midrange, are clear, clean, and resonant.

From the very first moments I spent with it listening to ˻ 1 ˺ Froggy Day I was certain that it was the range between 200 and 6000 Hz - that is, the frequency range of the 1963 Gibson ES-175, the acoustic-electric guitar played by “Jojo,” as well as the vocals - that these are the areas where the designer of The One “pushed the limits” when choosing between various options. To tell the truth, it’s rare in this price range to find a cable capable of rendering so many nuances, so many levels of sound - whether from the aforementioned guitar or, moving on to the next album, Mark Knopfler’s vocals.

But it was with this album that I also heard something else that had escaped me at first. Namely, that The One RCA, “playing it safe in the midrange” - to use a cliché - doesn’t roll off the treble at all, nor does it roll off the lower end. The title track opening the EP, the ˻ 1 ˺ The Travlersman’s Song, begins with a fairly bright acoustic guitar positioned slightly to the left, deeper in the soundstage, which is soon joined by Knopfler’s low, heavy guitar. Interestingly, the bright “acoustic” wasn’t muted at all. It was resonant, it was lively, and rhythmic, which is, after all, its role here.

The Dire Straits singer’s voice had fewer sibilants than with the reference cable, and those that remained featured a gentle attack. It was very pleasant, engaging, and - in a way - soothing. The sound wasn’t muted; it was still a rhythmic, dense performance, with a clearly defined drum beat, a powerful bass guitar, and a deep soundstage. Yet, at the same time, it was soothing to me. This is because it is an absolutely non-aggressive cable, entirely focused on pleasure, and exceptionally stress-relieving.

However, we’re still talking about a very versatile interconnect. It may have a sense of calm about it, but it doesn’t impose that calm on the music. By slightly rounding out the attack and focusing our attention on the midrange, it gives the impression of a warm, smooth cable. And yet, when I played the album Dirt by ALICE IN CHAINS, and at 2:09 in the ˻ 6 ˺ Rooster the guitars kicked in with a wide sound - it was a powerful entrance, a truly “dirty” one . That’s exactly what I was expecting, and that’s exactly what I got.

The interconnect from Plichtów really brought out the full potential of this sound - it’s a cable that delivers great volume - its aggression, but also its melancholy, because that’s what grunge music is all about. The album I was listening to was the first American CD release, put out by Columbia (!) back in 1992. Those early releases are a bit rough around the edges, a bit unpolished. Yet there’s a certain truth to them, one that’s usually killed off by subsequent remasters, which try to emphasize and “bring out” this or that, while downplaying what the original mastering engineer seemed to consider less important.

The One played this album exactly as I wanted it to. It smoothed out the treble a bit; it didn’t go as low as the reference cable, nor was it as precisely focused. And yet, despite such a huge difference in price, it wasn’t as if I didn’t want to listen to it. On the contrary - this kind of music, these kinds of albums will sound excellent with the WK Audio cable. It will give them “gravity,” fullness, and density; it will tone down some of the aggression in the treble but retain the energy; it will lean toward “niceness” but won’t drown everything in warm syrup.

The flow of energy is truly magnificent with this cable. This is partly because the cable under review brings the soundstage slightly closer including the background, making everything seem more “here and now.” At the same time, it preserves their integrity and gradation. When I heard Agnieszka Budzińska-Bennett in ˻ 1 ˺ Gaudet ecclesia, a piece from the collection Miracula, and then on the second track of the album entitled ˻ 2 ˺ Santissimo pontifici her high vocals stroke, it was done with verve and passion. The delivery was immediate and complete - well “polished,” one might say.

▒ Summary

EIGHT YEARS IN AUDIO is just a moment. Yet this “moment” encompasses Witek’s experience, translated into The One RCA interconnect for excellent sound quality. The sound is mature, focused, and dense, yet wonderfully dynamic. It’s delivered without any added aggression; the high frequencies are resonant and articulate, yet also slightly warmed and rounded. The same goes for the bass. It extends deep, is full-bodied, and possesses an inherent softness.

The soundstage is something that will give listeners particular cause for satisfaction as it is wide and quite deep. Not quite as much as with reference interconnects and - generally speaking - more expensive cables, but in this price range, it’s still “above average.” The individual layers blend perfectly; they’re well-defined and don’t try to “overlap” one another. Both the flanger effect - which is really powerful and applied to the electric guitar at the beginning of Rooster - and the interior of the room in Basel where Andreas Spreer recorded the ENSEMBLE PEREGRINA had a strong character of their own and were essential to understanding this music and this sound.

The Red, WK Audio’s flagship series, is exceptional - I have no doubt about that. However, it’s products like The One that shape the audio world. They’re the ones that reach a large number of people, and they’re the ones that stick in their memories. Give it a listen, and I’m sure that you, too, will one day look back on it fondly, even if you eventually “switch over” to much more expensive cables. ‖ WP