I have been in this hobby for some 40 years and have witnessed many changes in the audio world and in my own systems. Along the way I’ve personally experienced some satisfying and some frustrating purchases. The three purchases I cover here; the Midnight Silver Edition, The Symphonia Master, and the RSA Reference MkII, have exceeded my expectations. I'm more than satisfied!

About a year ago I sold equipment I wasn't using and saved to purchase a pair of Kharma 1.0 loudspeakers that I had heard and fell madly in love with. Unfortunately they didn't sound quite as good in my system as I had expected. I couldn't listen for long periods of time without getting frustrated. I had narrowed down a good part of my problem to my interconnects, AudioTruth Lapis 3. I decided to try an upgrade with interconnects to get a start in a positive direction. I went online to see what was out there and low and behold all the stuff I would have loved to try was beyond what I was willing to pay. Being quite frustrated I figured I would at least try something new that was fairly inexpensive.

I spotted a new company called Ridge Street Audio which I had never heard of. They were running an auction on Audiogon for an interconnect called their Symphonia Master . I called and talked with the owner for quite awhile and was pleasantly pleased with what I heard and the cost was more than reasonable compared to everything else I had seen that made similar claims. I won the auction but didn’t really have too high expectations given the cost. Boy was I surprised!

My system consists of Kharma 1.0 loudspeakers,Thor T1000 line stage and Thor TPA 30 watt monos’ with a Meridian 508/24 CD Player. Wires are Discovery one meter power cords for the monos’ and Line stage. AudioTruth Argent+ one meter speaker cables, two one meter pairs of Audiotruth Lapis 3 interconnects from CD player to preamp and preamp to Amp. Power cord for CD player is an 8ft Zu Cable Mother. CD player and pre-amp are filtered through a Chang Lightspeed line conditioner. My system is set up in a cathedral ceiling type 24x24 great room. No room conditioning other than leather sofa, chair, ottoman, etc., normal living room stuff. My speakers are set up 6ft out into the room, about 4 ft away from the right wall, about 10 ft form the left wall. My listening position is about 8ft from the speakers which is how far apart the speakers are in the lateral plain. I listen to about 99% jazz of all types but prefer piano type jazz. Diane Krall, Pat Barber, Nat King Cole, are favorites.

I installed my Symphonia Master into my CD player /pre-amp connection and waited over night and the next day was totally shocked at how effortless and smooth this I/C sounded. These I/Cs really don’t need any break in time. It actually sounded like I had a high-end tube system for the first time.The bass was very punchy. The slightly warm midrange took on a spooky smoothness that I had never heard before. The highs just seemed to float silky smooth in the air and the soundstage was exceptionally wide and open. I tried many of my favorite CD s and yep, they all sounded much better in every way. If this one interconnect can do that much I had to try one more pair to see how much more performance I could squeeze out. I decided to put my two Lapis 3 interconnects up for sale. I sold them very quickly. Now I’m in the ballgame for 1 more interconnect. I called Robert at Ridge Street Audio and asked his opinion about the purchase of another pair of I/Cs and he mentioned he had just finished up a new interconnect called Midnight Silver Edition that was, in his opinion more refined and natural than the Symphonia Master. He also mentioned that I might want to consider the RSA Reference MkII also and would send one along with the Midnight Silver if I wished. When they arrived they looked very similar in make up and feel, only different colors . All three are very flexible, easy to work with and are very nice looking.

Once I had all three I/Cs in hand and had enough time on them, to put them through my torcher test, I found they all had very similar characteristics. The Midnight Silver Edition is just incredible. It’s even better than the Symphonia Master from my pre-amp to amp. More refined and revealing to my ears. A touch less warm, but the midrange and highs are spooky through my Kharmas'. Using RSA Reference into the CD player is the most neutral wire I have ever used there. All three of these I/Cs' are totally, right across the board, neutral. Now my biggest dilemma was to figure the best combo to use. After many hours of listening I finally settled for the Midnight Silver Edition from pre-amp to amp and RSA Reference Mk2 on my Meridian CD Player. I also like the Symphonia on my CD player with a touch more bass punch but with the RSA Reference on my CD player, I have the perfect blend of detail, warmth and musicality I’ve been looking for . These are all subtle differences, but if your like most of us nuts, you're looking for something specific in sound. With these wires in place, I am finally getting the sound from my equipment I expected but had been missing. Again, these wires are simply neutral. During this 6 month cable upgrade I have sent many e-mails and made many phone calls to Robert. I’ve always gotten helpful hints and pleasant conversations. Cable changes and upgrades are very time consuming and can be very frustrating even under the best conditions. This time I feel very satisfied having achieved my goal while spending a modest amount. I look forward to more products in the future from this fine company. Thanks Robert!

Charlie Arachy
Massachusetts
jazz4tunes@aol.com