⌈ THE DUTCH SILTECH COMPANY is one of the leading cable manufacturers. With its TRIPLE CROWN series, it has been setting high-end market standards for years, along with a handful of other manufacturers. In May 2024, however, it unveiled its new flagship MASTER CROWN series – twice as expensive. ⌋

THE INTERNATIONAL AUDIO HOLDING COMPANY, the owner of, among others, the Siltech brand, is one of the best specialists in the audio industry that I know. The company specialises in manufacturing cables, although its range also includes an amplifier (the SAGA series) and loudspeakers (Symphony). However, these serve more as a kind of baseline, a reference system, which Siltech’s boss, Edwin van der Kley Rynveld, must rely on when listening to successive cable prototypes.

Listening tests are, in fact, an extremely important tool, but just one of several options at his disposal. Conceptual research and modelling with the use of advanced systems are the basis, with COMSOL Multiphysics in the lead; more → HERE. The lab employs fascinating people, enthusiasts and PhD degree holders. For them, measurements are something modern cables simply cannot do without. However, measurements are merely a starting point for what matters most in the audiophile industry – evaluation through series of listening tests.

Companies of this kind rarely, or very rarely, update their flagship series. At the very top end, it is difficult to make significant adjustments to measurements and sound quality in a short time. Any such change costs a great deal of money, often millions of dollars. That is why every new series from Siltech, representing the very top of its range, is a major event for me personally. This was the case with the Triple Crown series, which had its premiere in Cracow in 2015 – more → HERE, and with the premiere presentation of Master Crown cables in 2024; more → HERE.

▓ Master Crown

In a PRESS RELEASE issued with the official launch of the new series, Siltech employees emphasised that the results they achieved had “exceeded their wildest expectations”. Thanks to a “revolutionary technology”, they managed to achieve something they could previously only dream of: “they have overcome the final barrier standing in the way of eliminating the impact of cables on sound quality”. This is obviously a hyperbole, but in the case of this company, it is justified by the quality of its products.

And more:

The Master Crown series uses Siltech’s finest conductor: S10+ monocrystalline silver, yet unlike the recent Royal Single Crown and Ruby Crown series, the complementary component here is gold, marking a return to solutions from years ago. This design is intended to be the "culmination of all research" into materials engineering, magnetic field behaviour and "groundbreaking internal audio cabling design".

▲ MASTER CABLE SUPPORT SYSTEM

Along with the MASTER CROWN series, Siltech has introduced cable supports for the first time. They can be used with any cable in the series, but the diameter of the cut-out is designed to accommodate the plugs of the power cable. In this way, the stands can also be used to decouple the given device in the IEC socket. It is worth noting that similar principles underpin Furutech’s NFC Booster cable supports.

As stated in the leaflet included with the two cable supports in the box, these are designed to lift cables off the floor, thereby minimising noise that is transmitted in this way. It should be noted that this noise is of both electromagnetic and mechanical origin; the latter is known as triboelectric noise..

The cables are in the form of a pylon with a wide base at the top, which can be unscrewed. This is achieved by using a fine-pitch thread, so the height can be precisely adjusted. The top part is secured with an M6 screw to prevent it from falling out – however, the screw can be removed using a wrench included in the set. The supports look really nice and their shapes echo the angles and dimensions of the cable components. They are also gold-plated. ●

THE CHANGES THAT THE MANUFACTURER implemented in the Master Crown series relate to the conductor, dielectrics and topology. In short, all the main components have been modified.

The new series uses cables made from S10+ silver. Viktor de Leeuw, head of production, says that the ‘+’ symbol means that ‘we have managed to further increase conductivity’ . The ACS is now 114 instead of 112, which seems a marginal difference, but, as the company assures us, “represents significant progress”. This change leads to a reduction in resistance, in the case of speaker cables by around 60% compared to the Triple Crown model, and in interconnects by around 20–30%.

As Viktor says, “multiple layers of insulation” have also been used, particularly in the IC cables, which comprise a total of nine layers of dielectric, including layers of natural silk – a technique reminiscent of Japanese manufacturers. The plugs are plasma-gold-plated, and silver-gold wires have been added to the power cable, which is intended to provide “additional refinement and a pleasant richness of sound”. Incidentally, thanks to new construction methods, the flexibility of the cables has been significantly improved.

The Master Crown series comprises XLR and RCA interconnects, a speaker cable and an AC power cable. All are handcrafted in the Netherlands and come in specially designed cases.

▒ RCA interconnect

The NEW Siltech cables are surprisingly flexible. Although they contain far more conductors than the Triple Crown series, they are much easier to bend and therefore more convenient to use.

The interconnects are constructed using four positive monocrystalline conductors with large cross-sections, complemented by a balanced negative pole – regardless of whether it is an XLR or RCA cable. Combined with a proprietary system of shielding and insulating materials, as well as S10+ silver plugs coated with gold using a plasma process and new RCA terminals, the Master Crown interconnect is designed to eliminate stray currents and distortion caused by signal passing through zero – and thus analogue jitter.

In addition to improving conductivity, a key consideration in the design of new cables is, as Edwin has repeatedly emphasised in conversations with me, minimising Magnetic Field Distortions. As he explains, these are distortions caused by internal magnetic fields arising between conductors and dielectrics. In the Master Crown series interconnects, these are to be reduced to “the lowest level ever measured”.

Another objective was to reduce the effects of Current Shielding Distortion. The aim was to minimise interference between external currents and the audio signal. The connectors through which the final stage of signal transfer takes place were also important. That is why all contacts are made from S10+ monocrystalline silver, gold-plated using a special direct plasma coating process. The clamping mechanism in the RCA connector has been improved to avoid the risk of eddy currents.

The large, gold-plated terminals on the vibration-damping sections feature – as in the Triple Crown series – the Superior Shielding Switch. It allows you to choose between directional grounding and complete disconnection of the shielding. The choice of the correct setting will depend on the specific system and environment. The manufacturer states that “these groundbreaking steps in the pursuit of ultimate system optimisation have led to the creation of the Master Crown interconnect, which is currently the quietest and most distortion-free cable in the world”.

▒ The speaker cable

In Master Crown SPEAKER CABLES, efforts have been made to reduce magnetic MFD interference. It also features shielding to eliminate interference introduced by CSD. This six-core cable with a symmetrical, hexagonal construction is designed to withstand up to 10 kW. Its resolution is measured in femtowatts, as it amounts to exactly 0.000000000000008 W. Therefore, phenomena in the field of microdynamics lag far behind, as they fall within a range that is exactly 2.5 times greater!

According to the manufacturer:

Since speaker cable terminals are just as important as the cable itself (I’ve seen computer simulations at Siltech’s headquarters), the S10+ silver monocrystal plugs in Master Crown speaker cables have been treated with the same level of care as plugs in interconnects. They are therefore gold-plated using the direct plasma plating method. One exception is the banana plugs, which are still silver and were located on the amplifier side of my system. It should be added that, apart from silk, the dielectrics are Kapton and Teflon.

And one more thing: Siltech cables are fitted with small bands. This is an attempt to combat counterfeits and products from the grey market. The bands contain microchips designed to verify the authenticity of the products using NFC technology. All products from this company come with NFC tags, which can be read using a specially developed Siltech app, available for Apple iOS and Android devices.

▓ SOUND

THE TEST PROCEDURE • The Siltech Master Crown cables were tested in the HIGH FIDELITY reference system. It was in the form of a listening session with AA/BB/AA and BB/AA/BB comparisons, with known A and B. The point of reference were my own Siltech Triple Crown cables that I have been using for ten years.

The interconnect linked the RCA output of the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player to the RCA line input of the Spheris Evo preamplifier from the same manufacturer; in both cases, these were rhodium-plated WBT Nextgen sockets.

The speaker cable connected the output of the Soulution 710 transistor amplifier to the input of the Harbeth M40.1 speakers. In the latter, equalizers designed to counteract back EMF operate in parallel with the input – SPEC RSP-W1EX; more about this system → HERE

» ALBUMS USED IN THE TEST ⸜ a selection

• SANTANA, Santana, Columbia/Sony Records Int'l SICP-10134, “7-inch paper sleeve”, SACD/CD ⸜ 1969/2020, more → HERE.
• MILES DAVIS, Kind of Blue, Columbia Records/AudioNautes Recordings AN 2405 KD, Crystal Disc CD ⸜ 1959/2023.
• BILLIE EILISH, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, Darkroom | Interscope Records/Universal International UICS-9161, 7” mini LP, CD ⸜ 2019, more → HERE.

• BLUR, Blur, EMI Records 7243 8 55562 2 7, CD ⸜ 1997, more → HERE.
• THE OSCAR PETERSON TRIO, We Get Request, Verve/Lasting Impression Music LIM K2HD 032, K2HD Mastering, 24 Gold Direct-from-Master Edition UDM, Master CD-R ⸜ 1964/2009.
• ARNE DOMNÉRUS, Jazz at the Pawnshop, Proprius/AudioNautes Recordings AN-2520-KD, MQA-CD Crystal Disc ⸜ 1977/2025, review → HERE.

• BILL EVANS TRIO, Waltz for Debby & Other Jazz Standards, Audiophile Classics AC105MQCD, Master Quality Gold CD | MQG-CD ⸜ 2019, review → HERE.
• FRANK SINATRA, Nice’n’Easy. 60th Anniversary Edition, Capitol Records/Universal Music LLC (Japan) UICY-15883, CD ⸜ 1960/2020.
• ART BLAKEY AND THE JAZZ MESSENGERS, First Flight To Tokyo: The Lost 1961 Recordings, Blue Note Records/Universal Music LLC (Japan) UCGQ-9028, SHM-SACD ⸜ 2021.

» You can find Japanese versions of the albums in the online store → CD JAPAN, where we also do our shopping.

I BEGAN MY REVIEW of Siltech’s MASTER CROWN cables in a ‘nice’n’easy’ mode, starting with Frank Sinatra’s album under the same title. Although I remembered the sensations and emotions that accompanied listening to Edwin van der Kley’s top-of-the-range cables during a Krakow Sonic Society meeting, hearing them in my own system and comparing them to my long-standing reference cables, which for many years were this manufacturer’s most expensive series, was a wonderful experience.

THE INTERCONNECT • A special feature of the RCA Master Crown interconnects, which was clearly visible already in ˻ 1 ˺ Nice’n’Easy, and which will accompany me throughout the rest of my listening sessions, is a combination of superb resolution with darkness and even softness. The Master Crown cables convey music with extraordinary vividness, rendering the nuances of tone, dynamics and holographic stereo imaging in a way I have never heard before.

The Triple Crown interconnect is excellent; I hadn’t heard a better cable of this type in my system until I listened to the Master Crown. I’ve had some fantastic cables – for example, the Stealth Audio Cables Śakra Gold (test → HERE ˻PL˺) or the Crystal Cable Da Vinci (test → HERE ˻PL˺). Compared to Siltech’s previous flagship, they demonstrated capabilities that the older model didn’t quite match. Rarely, but still. The Master Crown, however, sweeps that aside in one swift move, as if it didn’t need to bother with comparisons. There are cables, and then there’s the Master Crown, one might say.

The thing is, this interconnect sounds as though it brings together all the dreams, requirements and expectations I have of a line cable. When I listen to, let’s say, ˻ 2 ˺ Shades of Time from SANTANA’s debut album with my Triple Crown, I have everything I could ask for. The rapid transition of notes at the start is vivid, powerful and wide across the soundstage, while the vocals that follow are spread across the soundstage but remain clear.

When listened to with the Master Crown cable, the same track sounds deeper and more ‘mellow’. What I mean is that the energy is better balanced now. The Triple Crown is one of the darkest-sounding cable series that I know. If that is not the case, if it sounds bright somewhere, then, I assume, the system has major issues of its own. The Master Crown sounds more versatile, i.e., the energy is distributed evenly across the attack, sustain and decay. The older Siltech cable emphasises the midrange more clearly, which – in this comparison – made it seem more monotonous to me.

It is clear that almost all other cables I know are less nuanced in this respect, and that this is the issue of comparing them to the Master Crown. It is an interconnect that, on the one hand, makes the sound more layered – as the attack and its “core” are more clearly audible – and, on the other hand, makes it more focused. I can only explain this paradox by the higher resolution of the tested cables. When I get more information, everything ‘falls into place’ more easily, as intended by the album’s producers.

Edwin’s new cable has superbly balanced tone color. It is dark, low and dense, as if it was ‘packed’ with something soft. However, because the cable is incredibly fast, or rather ultra-fast, the sound reaches us instantly. Other cables will sound slow in comparison, as if they were only just getting ready to spring into action. And yet the last thing I would say about this interconnect is that it does not fill out sound. Its speed encompasses not just the attack, but sound as a whole, right through to the decay.

So, when MILES DAVIS’s trumpet in ˻ 2 ˺ Freddie Freeloader from the album Kind of Blue, released in an amazing way by Audionautes Recordings on a Crystal Disc, emerges from a soft, dark background, it does two things at once with the Master Crown: it becomes clear and retains a silky attack. Beneath this, the drums work intensely in the right channel, while the piano plays gently in the left one, until we reach Coltrane’s saxophone solo.

(a) It is a perfectly homogenous musical message. (b) It is a superbly varied musical message. Both “a” and “b” are true at the same time. The interconnect is also remarkably open to musical material, not only in terms of dynamics but also frequency response. Compared to the Triple Crown model, it sounds darker and lower. And yet, whether listening to Davis, BLUR, BILLIE EILISH or OSCAR PETERSON later on, it was clear that the high frequencies are more distinct, better defined and also more vivid. The bass, on the other hand, has greater weight and is also better defined.

THE SPEAKER CABLE • The Master Crown interconnect and the speaker cable from this series share many characteristics. This is quite obvious, given the similar design and the use of the same materials in their construction. These include a silky texture, speed, a wide frequency response and dynamic range. And yet, these cables interpret signal slightly differently.

The speaker cable clearly increases the sound volume compared to any other cable. It doesn’t overdo it, as the Triple Crown was already excellent in this respect, but we’re talking about a different level altogether, which I had to get used to. The increase in volume in this case involves building a deeper ‘body’ of instruments, vocals and reverberations. It is not a matter of inflating sound sources, as these actually gain in definition and density.

A top-of-the-range speaker cable can contribute even more to sound than an interconnect itself. This is a revelation to me, because, over the years, I’ve become accustomed to the idea that it’s low-level cables that define the musical message, which then simply has to be maintained by cables carrying signal to speakers. The Master Crown is different. It is as if it is only with this cable in the system that the sound finally gains scale, depth and intensity.

I say intensity, because it presents a strong foreground, which is pushed back slightly with the interconnect. Davis’s trumpet, which begins alongside Coltrane’s saxophone on the aforementioned Freddie Freeloader, came out more strongly towards me, so it felt more tangible. At the same time, it had more reverb behind it, and the saxophone was better differentiated. Sinatra’s vocals, too, were stripped of their slight patina and clearer.

I hadn’t felt anything was missing before. For me, this was the absolute best reproduction of this track, regardless of the format. After comparing it to what Master Crown does, however, I couldn’t pretend it was just ‘superb’ anymore. It was, sort of, almost more than ‘superb’. With the new top-of-the-range Siltech cables, though, it was freaking awesome. And when it's ‘freaking awesome’, even ‘superb’ pales in comparison, doesn’t it?

All this means that with the Master Crown speaker cable you want to listen to music louder than before. Even with the reference cables, I would start tests at level ‘24’ on the Ayon Audio preamp display, and finish at ‘20’. Now, with some albums I hit “18” and still felt I could go higher and louder. I thought that if the neighbours didn’t call the police, I’d be tempted to finally play those Hammonds in the second minute of Shades of Time by Santana, as if they were playing live in a large room.

And perhaps that is what these cables are about – they shape sound in a way we know from large cinema auditoriums with good sound systems and high-quality concerts. The delicate sounds of the lute on the Alia Vox albums would therefore seem to add nothing to this impression, but even with them I heard the same thing: the natural scale of the instrument and the hall in which it was played. As if, within the same timeframe, the cables allowed more energy and sound to be pumped into the room.

▒ Conclusions

What strikes me as MOST IMPORTANT here is the way it’s all presented. Siltech cables sound cohesive and smooth, yet at the same time dynamic. Their tone is dark and warm, and yet the sheer volume of sounds is incredible. The cables play ‘legato’ connecting everything together, yet are perfectly differentiated at the same time. I’ve never heard anything like this at my place before.

Both the tested interconnect and the speaker cable produce rich, full-bodied sound. However, when powerful percussion kicks in – whether live, jazz, classical, electronic or sampled – suddenly a million sounds at once come to life, and everything explodes before our eyes, unless it’s delicate brushes in a ballad, in which case thick carpets of sound spread out before us.

The Master Crown series is the jewel in the crown, if I may make such a corny reference to its name. It would do credit to any high-end brand on earth. These cables are the result of many years of work by a team of engineers, supported by the expertise and discerning ears of Gabi and Edwin. They are the best cables I know, in every respect. And, what’s more, they’re cables that sound in the most pleasant, most under my skin way – to borrow Sinatra’s words, in a rather corny manner again.

It’s simply the GOLD shimmering with all shades of 24-carat gold. ‖ WP

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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.

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