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SPEAKER CABLE

VERICTUM
Flux iLLumi SP

Manufacturer: VERICTUM
Price (when reviewed): 52 800 PLN/2 x 2 m (+ VAT)

Contact:
VERICTUM
ul. Roździeńskiego 11
41-306 Dąbrowa Górnicza ⸜ POLSKA

VERICTUM.pl

» MADE IN POLAND

The tested product was supplied by: VERICTUM


Review

text WOJCIECH PACUŁA
translation Ewa Muszczynko
images “High Fidelity”, Verictum

No 252

May 1, 2025

˻ PREMIERE ˼

VERICTUM is a Polish company specializing in power supply voltage filtration and passive EMI/RFI filters. Since its first product, the X Bulk ground filter, which we tested in 2015, it has been offering refined products that are different from all their competitors. The company's name is made up of two Latin words: VERI + ICTUM, meaning 'true impact.' Today, the firm's product line also includes power cables, speaker cables and interconnects. We are testing the Flex Illumi SP speaker cable and this is its PREMIERE.

WITH ITS FLUX ILLUMI ICX INTERCONNECT, the Verictum company proved that high-end is its natural habitat; more → HERE ˻PL˺. The magnificent cable, belonging to the Flux Illumi series (the company styles the name as “Flux iLLumi”), is part of a yet-to-be-expanded cabling system, which also includes the tested speaker cable. Other models, such as an AC power, cable or digital cables, etc., will probably join it.

Verictum cables have a few distinguishing characteristics. The most important ones are probably: the overall approach to sound, the conductor material used and graphene. The latter is used for cable shielding. This development is based on nanotechnology and the manufacturer declares to have been first to use it in audio cables. Interestingly, the American company Synergistic Research has said exactly the same thing, as it also uses graphene for shielding purposes. So, perhaps it is the case that both companies came up with the idea at the same time.

As the manufacturer writes, its products are based on the H.S.P.T. (Harmonic Signal Preservation and Transmission) technology, focusing on “fine tuning of a cable's sound.” As the description implies, the idea is to ensure that the designs that are finally accepted do not have a lowered center of gravity and are not withdrawn in the upper range. Classical music listening is used to evaluate them, and this is the basis for accepting or rejecting specific solutions. This is the approach the company is to adopt in all its product series, including the Flux Illumi.

Flux Illumi SP

SIMILARLY TO the Flux Illumi ICX interconnect that we tested, also the Flux Illumi SP speaker cable comes in a round bag with the company's logo, which is quite popular among manufacturers. The cable has a fairly large cross-section, comparable to the Siltech Triple Crown cable, but it is flexible, so it can be easily arranged in a system.

It's surprising to see the silver color of the braid visible under the transparent outer sleeve, while the interconnect has a classic dark mesh. However, the resemblance is also immediately apparent, and that's because of the wooden elements at the cable ends. They perform several different functions: being an ornamental element, mechanically separating a single run of the whole cable and two ends and reducing vibrations. These “splitters” bear the company's logo and name. They indicate the direction of the cable connection. This is because, as the manufacturer says, the cable is directional; the directionality is a direct result of the manufacturing process.

In the more expensive Demiurg series, Verictum uses a solid-core silver conductor coated with gold. In the Flux Illumi series, the conductor is simply silver. The cables are made of silver wires of 5N purity (99.999%). The material has been cryogenized using the company's version of this thermal treatment. It causes changes in metal structure at the crystalline level. It also helps to play music for some time, which is called “annealing”.

The terminals are very nice gold-plated forks or banana plugs from Furutech, model FT-211 (G).They use pure copper plated directly with gold, and the body is made of a material called POM, also used for turntables. The plugs are cryogenized by the company in a process called Alpha, but Verictum cryogenizes them again, together with the conductor. The constructor himself will give you the details.

»«

| A few simple words with…

PAWEŁ CZUBRYT
owner, constructor

The FLUX ILLUMI CABLE LINE has been enriched with a speaker cable – an element representing the next step in this series, focused on uncompromising music transmission. It is a cable that allows you to unleash the musical potential of any audio system in the first place, providing it even in the most demanding ultra high-end configurations.

Kabel Flux iLLumi is hand-made, with attention to every detail, starting from “bare wire”. The silver conductor is subjected to polishing, which is reflected in the sound quality. The manufacturing process is extremely time-consuming and takes as many as five days, as we devote our utmost care to each step. Fully handmade production allows us to perfectly match all cable components to our rigorous quality standards.

The N.G.M. (Nanotechnology Graphene Matrix) technology used in the cable provides the basis in excellent EMI/RFI interference reduction, eliminating any unwanted effects on the audio signal. Thanks to this innovation, the sound is exceptionally clear, smooth and “quiet” in the background, allowing the listener to fully enjoy every note.

The Flux iLLumi is “tuned” using our proprietary H.S.P.T. (Harmonic Signal Preservation and Transmission) technology, which allows us to maintain full consistency in the musical message. Every aspect of tuning is taken care of here: metallurgy of the conductors, geometry, the optimal choice of insulation and the interactions of these elements with each other, which have a key impact on the music “flow”, timbre and dynamics. Thanks to these unique solutions, we achieve excellent tonal coherence that guarantees the listener's focus on the music, melody and natural timbre.

We strive to ensure that our cable faithfully captures the emotions and essence of music, just like the most outstanding composers do, whose intricately constructed sound layers build the narrative and tension. Rather than a sterile, impersonal presentation of details and sounds, our priority is always coherent tonal reproduction, preserving the natural expression, depth and musical structure, so that every piece of music you listen to tells you an engaging, emotional story contained in its essence. PCz

THE LISTENING SESSION

THE WAY WE LISTENED • The Verictum Flux Illumi SP speaker cable was tested in the “High Fidelity” reference system and compared to the Siltech Triple Crown cable. It connected the output of the Soulution 710 power amplifier and Harbeth M40.1 speakers. The Acoustic Revive RSP-AZ9EX filters were connected to the speakers. The cables were laid on the Acoustic Revive RCI-3 stands. The test was an AA/BB/A comparison with known A and B.

» ALBUMS USED IN THE TEST ⸜ a selection

Ken Ishiwata’s 30th Anniversary Recording, STS Digital | Marantz 6111100, SACD/CD ⸜ 2009.
The Stockfish DMM/SACD Vol. 2, Stockfisch Records SFR 357.5902.2, SACD/CD ⸜ 2015.
⸜ THE BEATLES, Let It Be, Apple Records /Universal Music Group International UICY-16030/1, 2 x SHM-CD ⸜ 1970/2021.
⸜ AMERICA, America, Warner Bros. Records/Tidal, FLAC 16/44,1 ⸜ 1971/1987.
⸜ AARON MAY, DAVID DLEY, Adolescence (Soundtrack from the Netflix Series), Netflix Music/Tidal, FLAC 24/48, ⸜ 2025.
⸜ FABRIZIO PATERINI, Attitude, Memory Recordings/Tidal, FLAC16/44,1 ⸜ 2025.
⸜ TOMMY CASH, Espresso Macciato, Tommy Cash/Tidal, SP, Dolby Atmos ⸜ 2024.

»«

READING IN THE COMPANY MATERIALS that during the design of the tested cable it was primarily about preserving the fullness of harmonics, also by not allowing withdrawal of the treble, something gently pricked at my heart. Was it all about bright sound? The use of silver plus this declaration might suggest something like that.

So, I took the bull by the horns and, to begin with, I listened to two CDs that I know are recorded with an enormous lot of information in the treble and that their tonal balance is a bit cranked up there, namely: Ken Ishiwata’s 30th Anniversary Recording and The Stockfish DMM/SACD Vol. 2. When released, these albums initially turned me off with their insistence and lack of midrange fill. And it wasn't until years later that I understood what they were all about.

As soon as the rich, powerful brass of the drums came in on the album prepared by the Marantz Ambassador, when the piano hit, with timbre also focused on the strong upper midrange, and when the vocals finally appeared, I already knew that the tested cable indeed doesn't warm or cover anything up.The bright color of this version of ˻ 1 ˺ Summertime by George Gershwin was kept unchanged. As soon as the bells opposite me on the right side of the stage rang out, moved by the drummer, it was clear that this is a very open cable.

But I also knew something else right away: that it sounds surprisingly seductive and “sweet”. The change in understanding the relationship between selectivity and resolution of sound opening and attack that we have witnessed in recent years is also part of the idea behind the Flex Illumi SP. In this case, not by darkening the treble, but by expressing it in a strong yet balanced way. If I'm talking about strong bass, more to the left of the vocals, I'm not talking about “ticking”, but the work of a big set, dense rhythm, mass of sound with a lot of energy going towards showing contours and details, not a bright sound attack.

Despite this, not for a moment did I feel – nomen omen – attacked by this message. I felt a bit like I was standing in front of a stage in a small club, with drums pounding away in the back left corner. That's a good thing, which is probably what the producer of this album, the irreverent Ken Ishiwata, had in mind. Anyway, when in ˻ 3 ˺ Autumn Leaves Katelijne Van Otterloo sings lower, then the sound also deepens. So, it's not that with the Verictum cable we just have open sound, but rather open yet differentiated sound.

The other aforementioned album has similar, even identical, tonal balance, even though it was prepared in a completely different way. A crazy one, you might say. For its purposes, a metal plate was cut from analog tapes using the DMM technique. However, instead of sending it to a pressing plant to make an LP disc, the Neumann notcher was treated like a turntable and the material was played back using an EMT tonearm and cartridge. The signal was recorded onto a DSD recorder, from which a SACD was created.

Madness, as I say, but we need such crazies. It's thanks to experiments like this that we know more. Here, we know that DMM is an incredibly precise way of preparing matrices for vinyl records, while in the later process the highs are corrected, sounding warmer and denser. Listened to straight from a DMM record, these recordings sound very, even incredibly resolving, but rather bright. The bass is phenomenal in its depth and timbre, but it also has a rather bright character.

Importantly, the Polish cable did not emphasize even a shadow of brightness, which was virtually pouring out of the speakers. As with the Ken Ishiwata album, I heard excellent dynamics and very well-preserved tonal balance here, too. Compared to the much more expensive Siltech cable, I could hear that the percussion plates and guitar strings had slightly less weight and depth, as did the bass. However, the differences were not as great as the price difference would indicate, even in a system as resolving and wideband as the one in which the cable was listened to.

While listening to THE BEATLES from the remixed version of Let It Be, and especially the last track, ˻ 12 ˺ Get Back, I also already knew that it is a cable that lightly pulls the sound towards the listener. It doesn't step out of the line connecting the speakers with it, but it is closer than with the Siltech, or the Crystal Cable da Vinci. It thus thickens the space and we have more information on the same surface, which gives us the impression of closeness. Perhaps not intimacy, as I say, as this is not a cable that colors the lower midrange. Still, we can talk about closeness.

Thus, Ringo Star’s percussion, especially the foot, excellently presented in this version, had its mass, weight and impact in ˻ 1 ˺ Two of Us . It was an open musical message, powerful in the treble, so that there was clarity, but it was also saturated and dense. On the other hand, the Flex Illumi tends to slightly contour events, in the sense that, although saturated and dense, they are also selective and strong in that selectivity. So, it was also a clear event, not something in the distance.

This is probably why A Horse with no Name, a song by AMERICA from the band’s debut album America (although not originally on it, but included later), was shown by the system with the Verictum cable in an energetic way, which was also selective yet saturated. Stage depth, on the other hand, was not particularly sophisticated. It's a cable that goes for width, giving the listener a panoramic presentation. In the recording discussed, where instruments are arranged across the channels, it was particularly striking.

Conclusions

THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE TESTED CABLE, as I see it, seems to be the resolution, however. It can be done better, but you'll have to pay a lot more than for the Flux Illumi. Thus, records sounding as if they were created via field recordings sounded extremely realistic. Such was the case with the cover of Sting's song Fragile performed by a children’s choir, used in the Netflix movie Adolescence (Jack Thorne, Stephen Graham). It was similar a moment later, when I was listening to a cover of Soundgarden’s Black Hole Sun, played on the piano by FABRIZIO PATERINI.

The thing is that both tracks have incredible naturalness and credibility “sewn in” by being recorded without any visible production or studio treatments. Those are there, of course, but precisely to emphasize the “adventurousness” of these recordings, unplanned to the end. The Verictum cable handles such things in an exceptionally successful way. It captures the spirit of the event, does not brighten anything up, slightly even sweetens the treble. However, the sound sources have clear contours and are “concrete”, if I may say so.

The front of the stage is quite close to us, and it's the foreground that is most important here. One listens to music with this cable in comfort, but also with a certain undercurrent of energization, making it necessary to focus on what one is listening to. Even with such a pop song, brilliant in its humorous evanescence, as Espresso Macciato by the Estonian rapper TOMMY CASH. Nota bene, the song will represent Estonia in this year's 69th Eurovision Song Contest. Even with this type of repertoire, the cable remained a very cool conveyer of emotions.

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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



Reference system 2025



1) Loudspeakers: HARBETH M40.1 |REVIEW|
2) Line preamplifier: AYON AUDIO Spheris III Linestage |REVIEW|
3) Super Audio CD Player: AYON AUDIO CD-35 HF Edition No. 01/50 |REVIEW|
4) Stands (loudspeakers): ACOUSTIC REVIVE (custom) |ABOUT|
5) Power amplifier: SOULUTION 710
6) Loudspeaker filter: SPEC REAL-SOUND PROCESSOR RSP-AZ9EX (prototype) |REVIEW|
7) Hi-Fi rack: Hi-Fi rack: finite elemente MASTER REFERENCE PAGODE EDITION Mk II, more → HERE

Cables

Analog interconnect SACD Player - Line preamplifier: SILTECH Triple Crown (1 m) |ABOUT|
» ANALOG INTERCONNECT Line preamplifier → Power amplifier: Siltech ROYAL SINLGE CROWN RCA; review → HERE
Speaker cable: SILTECH Triple Crown (2.5 m) |ABOUT|

AC Power

Power cable | Mains Power Distribution Block - SACD Player: SILTECH Triple Crown
Power (2 m) |ARTICLE|
» POWER CABLE Mains Power Distribution Block → Line preamplifier: Acoustic Revive ABSOLUTE-POWER CORD, review → HERE
» POWER CABLE Mains Power Distribution Block → Power amplifier: Acoustic Revive ABSOLUTE-POWER CORD, review → HERE
Power cable | Power Receptacle - Mains Power Distribution Block: ACROLINK Mexcel 7N-PC9500 (2 m) |ARTICLE|
Power Receptacle: Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu ULTIMATE |REVIEW|
» ANTI-VIBRATION PLATFORM under Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu ULTIMATE: Graphite Audio CLASSIC 100 ULTRA, review → HERE
Power Supply Conditioner: Acoustic Revive RPC-1 |REVIEW|
Power Supply Conditioner: Acoustic Revive RAS-14 Triple-C |REVIEW|
Passive filter EMI/RFI: VERICTUM Block |REVIEW|

Anti-vibration

Speaker stands: ACOUSTIC REVIVE (custom)
Hi-Fi rack: finite elemente MASTER REFERENCE PAGODE EDITION Mk II, more → HERE
Anti-vibration platforms: ACOUSTIC REVIVE RAF-48H |ARTICLE|

» ANTI-VIBRATIONAL FEET:
  • Divine Acoustics GALILEO: SACD player, review → HERE
  • Carbide Audio CARBIDE BASE: preamplifier & power supply, review → HERE
  • Pro Audio Bono PAB CERAMIC 70 UNI-FOOT: loudspeakers, review → HERE ˻ PL ˺

Analogue

Phono preamplifier: Phono cartridges: Tonearm (12"): Reed 3P |REVIEW|

Clamp: PATHE WINGS Titanium PW-Ti 770 | Limited Edition

Record mats:
  • HARMONIX TU-800EX
  • PATHE WINGS

Headphones

» HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER: Leben CS-600X, review → HERE

Headphones: Headphone Cables: Forza AudioWorks NOIR HYBRID HPC