Topic: Review : WBT-0101 RCA plugs with WBT-2016 cable / WBT-0125 RCA plugs with WBT-20

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The German connection

By JOSEPH LOH

Model: WBT-0101 RCA plugswith WBT-2016 cable / WBT-0125 RCA plugs with WBT-2020 cable

Price: RM120 each, RM120 per metre (RM720 as tested) / RM110 each, RM40 per metre (RM520 as tested)

Distributed by WISMA AUDIO CENTER (Tel: 04-890-1366), 118-1-11 Island Plaza, Jalan Tanjong Tokong, 10470 Penang. Also available at ZEST AUDIO (Tel: 03-2162-8034), Lot F120, F122, F123, F125, City Square Centre, 182 Jalan Tun Razak, 50400 Kuala Lumpur.

WUNDERBAR! Well, that’s the extent of my knowledge of the German language. Fortunately, my encounters with hi-fi products from this nation exceed my knowledge of the language (I personally own a Restek Fable integrated amplifier).

But the exclamation is warranted as the subject of review this week is none other than a couple of German-made WBT interconnects. The Germans have always had a reputation for precise and clinical engineering. Think Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen and you pretty much get the idea.

So when it comes down to hi-fi, precision is of utmost importance in every link of the reproduction chain, and one of the most overlooked facets of this is usually the links that tie the system. I’m not talking about speaker cables and interconnects, but specifically, those metal appendages found on the ends of said wires – the banana plugs, the spades, the RCAs etc.
UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL … with the WBT-0101 RCA plugs …

Every audiophile worth his salt will know that wires play an influential role in the system, though most of the time they have no control over the type of terminations used at the end of these signal carriers.

Most cables come pre-terminated with plugs of the manufacturer’s choice and there has been many a time where I’ve seen plugs that seem to undo all benefits that the wires may have – I have encountered some that fit so loosely over the RCA sockets that they come off with just a gentle tug.

Get a grip
… and the WBT-0125.

Here’s where the WBTs excel. The company’s tagline is “the art of connection,’’ and they have indeed gained a reputation amongst audiophiles as the best connectors available on the market, a point I find hard to disagree with. All of its RCA plugs have a locking mechanism that allows you to clamp hard on the output posts of your equipment. The way the locking mechanism works is simple – a few twists of the metal casing will cause the inner diameter of the RCA plugs to shrink, thus creating a tight grip on the equipment’s RCA output sockets.

The construction is pretty straightforward. The plugs have high copper content with a 24-karat gold plating. The dark-coloured metal casing can be removed and reveals a centre pin with a slot that goes right through which allows it to flex to fit snugly into any RCA socket. Similarly, there are slits around the outer conductor and this is the part that “grips” the female RCA socket on your equipment.

The first interconnect to come under the microscope is the heftier of the two and it features the top-of-the-line WBT-0101 as RCA connectors, with the WBT-2016 as base cable. The 2016 is a mother-of-pearl coloured cable that has a slick exterior (Teflon?), which has the added benefit of not being able to soil easily – dirt or scuff marks simply wipe off.

The smaller WBT-0125 plugs, also gold plated, have the WBT-2020 as base cable. Having a substantially smaller diameter, the 2020’s outer jacket is matte grey with a touch of blue, but does not have the 2016’s dirt-repelling characteristics.

Unfortunately, though, I was not able to tell what the constitution of the cables was. Removing the outer casing from the plugs didn’t help – the solder joint obscures the type of wire used. A web search took me to the German website (not much use to me, remember?) and the US site, which didn’t say much about the cable makeup, other than the fact that it was in WBT’s catalogue.
Through thick and thin

Both interconnects were used between my heavily modified Marantz CD63 KI Signature and Restek Fable amplifier. I also had on hand my old Cable Talk Monitor 2 cables and some DIY stuff for direct comparison.

The first pair of cables to be called into service were the larger diameter 2016s. I found the cable to have a rather expansive soundstage but the sonic image was thrown slightly further back than what I was used to. It images well enough though, and it was very easy to pick out the different instruments and place them within the soundstage. Furthermore, the separation of instruments was well handled. Complex, congested music doesn’t come across as a wall of sound but rather as a coherent collection of musicians.

Treble extension was decent and I found that it had the distinct advantage of being able to calm harsh and bright-sounding systems. It was not a fantastically detailed cable, and I could detect that it had a tendency to smooth over micro details. It doesn’t sound dull, but it does remove some of the excitement of hard-hitting rock numbers.

And as always, there has to be an Achilles heel somewhere, and unfortunately it’s in the bass department. Bass notes remain taut and fast but doesn’t make its presence felt. At times it felt as if the bass control knob (if my amp had one) was sitting slightly off-centre to the left.

As for the 2020 cable, being in a lower price category, one would expect the pricier 2016 cable to thread all over it. This wasn’t the case. Where the 2020 cable actually bettered its senior was in the bass. There was simply more of it, weightier, no doubt, though it did lose out marginally in control. In fact I found that to be true across the entire spectrum, not just in the bass department – for example there was just the hint of tizz on hi-hats and cymbals.

It did, however, acquit itself in the imaging and soundstaging areas, where it actually matched the 2016 in this regard, but it did have less air around instruments. The soundstage was comparatively closer to the listener but had less depth to it.
The final word

The WBT RCA plugs are the best I’ve had the privilege of working with, and I don’t think they’ll come better than this. The design principle behind them is simple but it works. In fact, if I had a choice, I would have WBT terminations on ALL my cables, speaker cables or otherwise.

As for the 2020 and 2016 cables, I feel that they are best suited to systems that lean towards the bright side and tend to have over-exuberant bass. To their credit, they are able performers, and given the relatively modest price, should be able to hold their own against like-priced competitors. The base cables may not be better then the competition, but one thing for sure, the plugs will be.

Pros: Perfect union between plug and socket; doesn’t come better than this.

Cons: Base cables don’t do the plugs justice; plugs alone costs more than the cables do.

Source : http://202.186.86.35/audio/story.asp?file=/2001/10/25/audiofile/25wbt