KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug Review
As such, I have come to appreciate their extraordinary abilities of these RCA connectors, which includes extremely fast response to not only very fast highs generated by percussive instruments such as cymbals and tambourines, but also their superb control of bass details such as those generated by pipe organs and synthesizers.
Also, the image that the Silver®Harmony RCA Plugs convey is wide, deep and very precise. But perhaps the best quality of all - they are very “spacious”.
What do I actually mean by “spacious”? - In this case, it’s the ability to convey the space around the musicians and the subtle reflections of sounds from of their instruments within the recording venue.
The KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug represents the pinnacle of the KLE Innovations Harmony®Plug range of RCA connectors and as such, should provide the best performance.
Their appearance is almost identical to the KLEI Copper®Harmony and KLEI Silver®Harmony RCA Plugs except for the mauve colour of the logo stamped on the collar. But inside, the centre pin and neutral pins are made of solid silver in accordance with KL’s Signal/Ground formula, giving them an IACS conductivity rating of 106%
But I still had to wonder, after becoming accustomed to the already exceptional performance of the KLEI Silver®Harmony RCA Plugs which, due too its solid silver neutral conductor and the extra thick silver plating on the copper centre pin, has the same 106% rating. Exactly what was left to improve upon?
Thanks to the guys at KLE Innovations, they had saved me considerable time by sending a set of KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug which had already undergone the 150-200 hours burn-in normally required from new, so that period of time had now been reduced to around 24 hours hours.
Whilst waiting for the RCA’s to arrive I had selected several albums from my collection of vinyl which I thought might best demonstrate the improvements the KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug should bring to the party.
Since KLE Innovations is located in the “Land of Aus” (Oz) (aka Australia), what better album to select than Business as Usual by Men at Work. The sound engineering on this album is superb. Details, such as the high frequency edginess of the the Sax and the crispness of the drums and guitar work to the more subtle changes in the textures of the various bass lines on the various tracks made it a very good album for the evaluation.
In very simple terms…
Everything got bigger, faster and cleaner!
The bass line now had added detail and texture, the cymbals were crisper and fuller, the mids were warmer, the dynamics were faster and the image just seemed more complete. There was an added “punch” to both the percussion and also to the hammering of the very muted guitar strings. Lastly, the vocal detailing is now very clear and very well isolated within the recording.
Songs from the Wood, by Jethro Tull, an album from my long distant past, has always been a favourite. It features some of the best harmonized and multi tracked vocals ever put onto vinyl. It was these vocals that the KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug seemed to perform minor miracles with micro details, in order to separate each vocal into a clearly audible presentation.
For me, spatial integrity, i.e. how accurately the artists and instruments are represented in the space of the recording venue, is best portrayed by classical recordings, since most are recorded using very few microphones, which translates to less manipulation of the final product.
To this end, one of the best albums is from a bunch of very anal sound engineers that record on the Tacet label.
How anal you ask?
- Side Two on the album Das Mikrofon Vol.II, contains 24 tracks, each track using a different microphone!
- Side One contains some nice Jazz
But it was Das Mikrofon Vol.I that I had selected to determine just how good the Pure®Harmony RCA Plug was at conveying some very large venues.
- Track One on Side Two is Toccata Terzza in A, one of my favourite pipe organ tracks that I also use to determine how just well bass frequencies are reproduced, since with pipe organ music there are extremely complex low frequency textures produced by those massive pipes.
- Not only did the KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug convey the cavernous nature of the venue, but they displayed extremely fine control across the entire range of pipes from the smallest high pitched pipes to the low frequency behemoths.
How many albums/tracks can I list where the KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug made me sit up and listen? Pretty much all of them.
There are a few tracks where the improvements were more subtle…
- such as the whispery textures of Diana Krall’s voice on her tribute to Nat King Cole album All For You.
- The distinctive sound of the slide of a bottleneck on guitar strings of Ry Cooder on his album Boomer’s Story
Then there were improvements that leapt off the vinyl - the all-out in your face dynamics on albums such as..
- the incredible percussion detailing and synth work on James Newton Howard & Friends - by James Newton Howard
- some really deep synth and piecing guitar work on Under the Joshua Tree by U2
- the explosive “rifle-crack” drums and excellent synth work on Back In The Highlife from Steve Winwood
- the crispness of the guitar work on the album But Seriously Folks from Joe Walsh
- And if you are a fan of Led Zepplin’s - Whole Lotta Love - you’ve never heard it like this - incredible!
Conclusions…
Well, as I said above, while waiting for the KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug I wondered just what improvements would they provide. Was it going to be a serious case of “diminishing returns”?
The improvements I witnessed between my identical interconnects, one set with the KLEI Silver®Harmony RCA Plug and the second with the Pure®Harmony RCA Plug was immediately noticeable. Improvements in dynamics, clarity, image and bass extension, with a new “fullness” to the reproduction and a new “reality” in the performance.
I’ve experimented with cables of several types over the years and used a variety of connectors, including the Eichmann Silver Bullet, which I had rated very highly.
Then Keith Louis Eichmann requested I try his new KLEI Copper®Harmony RCA Plug which performed even better. The KLEI Silver ®Harmony RCA Plug again proved to be a significant improvement over the Copper®Harmony, but the level of performance the KLEI Pure®Harmony RCA Plug has achieved is the new benchmark in RCA connector performance.
Achieving this level of performance simply with an RCA connector may sound unbelievable, almost “magical” and in my mind, makes the team at KLE Innovations…
“The Wizards of Aus”
If you like to dabble with making your own interconnect cables, then the KLEI Harmony®Plug range of products are designed to fit your budget and perform exceedingly well.
The one thing the KLEI Harmony®Plug range is not...
Pretentious!
There is no gold or rhodium plating, no carbon fibre casing, no cryo treatment
If you are after looks - select another product
But…
If you want a serious product capable of the ultimate in RCA performance….
KLEI Pure®Harmony : pure genius, pure performance, pure magic!
A highly recommended product!
ADDENDUM: especially for Turntable Enthusiasts - also see UPDATE: Pure®Harmony RCA Plug Review