I've just gone through an upgrade burst and one of the biggies was cables. I ran Acoustic Zen for a few years. Before that it was Analysis Plus, Synergistic Research, Transparent, some I can't remember - right back to good old Monster Cable.

This time round I hooked into a few new names like Luminous Audio, Bogdan and Pure Note. I tried them all and liked them lots. I was particularly taken by the latest Pure Notes, which revealed a clarity and timbral accuracy that was breathtaking.

Then I saw Ridge Street cables being compared favourably to Pure Note. So I contacted Robert.

Now Robert is an interesting chap. I didn't know what to make of him at first. One of the things he wanted to know was whether I wanted a male connector at one end of the balanced cable and a female connector at the other. I thought to myself that if he didn't know what connector went where then things didn't look too promising. But when I queried him about whether he had made a balanced cable before he thought it was a huge joke.

Then he made the mistake of mentioning the Poiema cables. I swooped on it immediately - when were they coming, could I upgrade, how much would the upgrade cost? I think to shut me up (and especially because Robert doesn't know how to write a short email) he said he would make me a set of Poiema by hand.

Well they finally arrived. And I have to say they were (and still are) revelatory. I sent Robert a gushy email and told him that he should have called them 'The Masterpiece', which he also thought was funny because he said that is what 'poiema' means.

Anyway these little babies have hummed and sung and roared and soared their little heads off to the point where I no longer think of them as interconnects and speaker cables but as conduits of the inner reservoirs of the musical experience. They are that good.

Whenever I think I may have found a weak point it always turns out to be something else. Every newly introduced improvement is laid bare and the Poiema's just carry on singing. The Poeima's ain't no limiting factor.

How much better are they than the Midnights? I have no idea. I have never heard the Midnights. All I can say is that the Poiema's are way out in front of everything else I have tried - and that includes some serious contenders.

One other thing - try his speaker cable lifters. They are seriously better than the jobbies that run low to the floor.

Associated gear:
Forsell Air Reference Turntable
Crown Jewel Cartridge
American Hybrid Technology Phono Stage
Lindemann SACD Player
Brinkmann Marconi Preamplifier
Brinkmann Mono Amplifiers
Audiophysic Avanti 3 speakers
Omega Mikro Power cords
Pure Note power cords
Walker Velocitor
Finite Elemente stands
Neuance platforms
Cereballs and BDR cones

Michael Hawkins
New Zealand

"Robert,
I have finished my audition of the MSE IC pair that I bought from you. My initial impressions, as you will remember, were that the cable did everything right from the mid-bass and up and I was expecting the lower bass registers to “flesh-out” a bit. Well, they certainly have. These cables provide a deep, tight, COHERENT bass response after about 100 hours. What impresses me most is the clarity of the bass. I sometimes have a hard time coming up with adjectives to describe sound that really put into words what I hear, but this bass, along with every other part of the sound spectrum, is just so damned clear – and coming from a “MIDNIGHT” black background!

I am picky about bass. This bass is so well defined and delivered with a visceral emotion, for lack of a better term. I would guess that someone who thrives on “throbbing” bass, of the sort that harkens one’s mind to a misused subwoofer, would be disappointed. But, if one wants to capture the resonance and decay of an upright bass string or hear, for example, how Chris Squire bends the notes on his bass guitar, these cables are the ticket.

Now I can say that these cables provide a very fast, balanced presentation, no emphasis or de-emphasis on anything. That being said there are several cables I’ve tried that do the same thing. On the other hand, I still have not heard any that not only provide this balance, but also provide the air and imaging of these – a very nice presentation of music that seems both alive and accurate. Further, I will have to admit to being drawn into some music that I would not generally select to play, but which sound so darn good sonically using these cables. There is zero fatigue factor with these cables. Well done, indeed.

As a sidebar, I always have my wife listen to all cables and components because she has a great ear for HF extension. As I told you, I had been waiting on the return of my Herron linestage, which since arrived. BEFORE reintroducing the Herron, my wife heard the MSE’s running directly to my tuner and she commented that the Herron sounded a lot better after the upgrade. Oooops, no Herron, dear!"

David Finnegan
Saratoga, California

"Hello Bob.
...I'm ready to give you my conclusions, at long last. In a word: marvelously musical. In more than a word: your ICs have all the delicacy that comes with silver, in general, plus a startlingly "alive" strength of tone without any harshness whatsoever. Delicacy plus boldness. Almost perfect timbral accuracy (to my ears, the only more "accurate" sound would come from the instrument itself), running the whole gamut from strings, piano, harpsichord, brass to vocals. Tons of detail. The greatest clarity I've heard so far in my LP chain. Lots of openness, air, bloom. Congratulations on having a fine ear, and the building talent to accompany such an ear!! If I "needed" other cables right now, I would definitely order some more from you.

End of mini-review. I also believe that I can now hear a certain slight weakness in my equipment (which is most probably my Glider cartridge), that was previously covered up. I'd rather have it this way, though. Returning to my prior interconnects would really be going backward. I plan to keep the MSEs, and they stay right where they started.

I recently spent an overnight in another part of the state, and visited w/ an audiophile buddy whom I "met" online. I'd taken along your MSEs for him to handle and plug into his own system, especially after he'd informed me in an e-mail that "silver just won't work in my set-up." You should have seen his jaw drop. He had a bunch of other interconnects rented from the Cable Company, so we did a lot of comparisons that night. Without a doubt, the MSEs trounced the Acoustic Zen Silver Ref II, which was incredibly muddy and reticent against your IC. (I'd not before heard any AZ cables, and had always been very curious to do so. My curiosity evaporated quite quickly.) Both he and I also thought the MSE held up quite well against Nordost's Quattro Fil (which I wasn't all that much taken with either). So there's the news of the little shoot-out, and your victory over the competition.

Enjoy the holiday. Peace.

Joyce S. Rutledge
Education Section, NC Dept of Justice

"....Well I must say I am very impressed with the Midnight's. Are you sure they are silver? They definitely do not sound like silver is "supposed" to sound. Just goes to show you what impact quality design and quality materials can have on sonics.

Know how I mentioned that when demoing another silver cable that some of my best recording became unlistenable? Not a problem with the Midnights. Yeeaahh! Just a very exceptional cable all-around, absolutely no hint of harshness or glare. Just smooth, detailed and very musical! So...I have already put my JPS SC2's up for sale."

Daniel Smith
Pittsfield, MA

"Robert,
I have had my Midnight silver Balanced I/C's in mysystem now for 3 weeks and they are a complete knockout.

As I continue to listen to different CD's more detail comes out on each disc and naturally more enjoyment for me. I have spent this Saturday morning listening to my favorite Allison Krauss and then some Bernstein doing Beethoven. My goodness over 4 hours flew by as I enjoyed being surrounded by musicians in my listening room.

I have invested close to $20,000 in my system but it has now come alive with your fine Midnight silver interconnects. Thanks for providing a great audio product at a very realistic price."

Bob Heinatz
Dallas, Oregon

"...The Midnight Silver Edition interconnects and speaker cables are fantastic sounding products. If I had not heard them for myself, I never would have believed that they could have sounded better than my reference interconnects and speaker cables that I was very happy with!

...There is a wider and more dimensional soundstage with a deep fast bass, sweeter mids and extended silky highs with a timbre to kill for. There is a very black background that reveals the detail in a very positive manner, even when listening at very quiet levels."

Larry Kiraly
Perrysburg, Ohio

For Full Review, Click HERE

"...Healthy skepticism is the rule of order around here, as it should be. I too have had the opportunity to audition Ridge Street interconnects. You can take my opinion with as many grains of salt as you want, but I preferred the Ridge Streets' to my AQ anacondas in my all solid state system. The Ridge Streets' sound more detailed, bigger soundstage, equally as smooth. In comparison the AQ sounded "closed-in."

Jason Lapinski
Saint James, NY

...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 the 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.

...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....

Charlie Arachy
Massachusetts

For Full Review, Click HERE

The Symphonia Masters'....are by far the best interconnecting cables I have used, they blow away the Kimber KCAG. The sound is grain free, low level detail is impressive and these cables put the sound mix in proper perspective. Huge soundstage. The lows are quick and tight, the mids and the highs are clear and not confused. A killer cable with no apparent weaknesses and an excellent value for the money.

Angelo Valle
Canada

For Full Review, Click HERE

The RSA Reference MkII........With my accoustic recordings it's like I'm there....This is COOL! I really don't know what else to say except what you mentioned about chasing the cable rabbit. The biggest kudos I can give to you is to say I'm done chasing. Thanks!

Bo Orsbrook
Indiana

For Full Review, Click HERE