TELLURIUM Q STATEMENT 2 CABLES REVIEW

Tellurium Q is a British manufacturer of audio cables with a great reputation wherever we go in the world. In this review, Stuart will be taking a listen to their top-of-the-range Statement II (2) interconnects and loudspeaker cables.

There’s nothing more guaranteed to spark a minor audiophile fracas than a discussion around cables, to the point that I’ve written a comprehensive, though somewhat tongue-in-cheek piece around the whole cable war debate – you can read it here. Whichever side of the DMZ you find yourself on, the following review isn’t going to change your opinion and so if you are a cable believer I suggest you read on, but if you are a cable-sceptic then I suggest you stop right here, do not pass GO! and go pour yourself a nice glass of something you enjoy and listen to some tunes through your system and the wires it came with, though I pretty much guarantee very few will actually be using those cables if they are honest. Anyway, my views on cables are that they can and do have an effect on the sonic character of a system, and as such they are absolutely relevant to discuss and review.

If you are still reading this then I will assume you find yourself in the “cables make a difference” or “I’m as yet undecided but interested in the debate”. If you are still reading this and are in the “cables cannot and do not make a difference” battalion, then you have passed GO! despite having read the rules of engagement and you are welcome, but you will not be collecting your £/$200.

So, I find myself reviewing a product from a company that did make me sit down and actually listen to the cables in my system. Up until being sent a pair of Tellurium Q Ultra Blacks many years ago I was firmly ensconced in the “nice thick copper cables will work fine” trench. Those cables opened my eyes to the possibility that perhaps my previous unwillingness to bother listening to anything other than studio-quality copper cables was getting in the way of me getting the best (to my ears) out of my system. Some after-market cables I have used have had a positive effect sonically and some have had a detrimental effect on the sound. This last point is quite interesting as the cable-sceptics amongst us (still here?) will tell us that anything other than straightforward copper cable with ample girth and good dielectric can only have a detrimental effect on the final sound  – that is, they can only take away and not add to the details we hear in our system. I do get this argument and I was in complete agreement with it up until about ten years ago and the vignette described above with regards to the TQ Ultra Blacks.

Every review I have read of Tellurium Q cables makes mention of them giving no details away as to the make-up of their cables and so as convention dictates I need to mention that Geoff Merrigan and Tellurium Q gave no details as to how or what goes into the making of their cables. The instructions were, as always, “just listen”.

I ought to describe, or at least try to explain my logic behind my cable loom in our big reference system as this will give you a bit of an insight into my methodology when choosing which cables to use. No one manufacturer dominates and whilst I love the idea of a full loom of one manufacturer’s cables, I have found that some cables (irrespective of price) work better than others (irrespective of price) between certain bits of kit. So, I have some very expensive cables connecting some parts of the system and some less expensive connecting other parts. When a new product enters the reference system for the first time, I spend a silly amount of time swapping cables in and out to find the “best fit” for that product and the system as a whole – there’s no wonder I was such a hit with the opposite sex in my youth, is there?

Anyway, for the purposes of this review I got sent Tellurium Q Statement cables and Tellurium Q Statement 2  cables to compare against each other. Of course, I’m also going to refer to the system I have set as a reference and what each of these cables does to the sound. This latter point is a bit more difficult as our aural memory is not as great as some review folk would have you believe and comments and references we/they use to kit they heard days or weeks ago are, for the most part, pretty much pointless and little more than vague recollections of a feeling. However, I will be A/B ing the Statemt 2s with our current loom of cables. For the cable sceptics (Hello, again, fancy seeing you here) this should give them more confidence in the methodology of the review process. One exception to the A/B (Statement/Statement 2) methodology is going to be with the speaker cables and jumpers as I was sent Statement 2 jumpers but not Statement jumpers, and Statement 2 speaker cables and not Statement speaker cables. I will use our TQ Silver Diamond jumpers throughout, other than a comparison towards the end when I will insert the Statement 2 jumpers between the binding posts on the speakers. I will also be having (after the main comparison between the TQ cables is done) our own cables in and out of the system to compare to the Statement 2s

BUILD AND CONSTRUCTION

Both sets cables look pretty much the same to be honest and both look to be well put together. The Statement 2 speaker cables a very cool red lustre to them. The packaging is suitably luxurious but not over the top which might suggest that your hard-earned has been spent on fancy wrappers and not the product you bought. However, packaging is important at this level and I certainly got that Xmas morning rush as I opened the boxes. This is certainly a long way from when all the TQ cables came in modified  (reprinted) pizza boxes. Anyway, it’s all good and all very nicely presented. There’s not much else to say about the construction and you are as well looking at the product shots, to be perfectly honest other than the 2s have a little bump along their length that is covered in heatshrink – more on this later.

Flexibility on the interconnects from both Statement and Statement 2 is excellent and there’s no problems with routing them at all. The speaker cables are very stiff and thick.

Termination s are all branded Tellurium Q and the bananas on the speaker cables and the jumpers are of the locking variety.

THE SYSTEM

The System I’m using for this audio review is a system I know inside out, if not strictly intimately. It consists of a Stack Audio streamer, Lampizator Big7 (modified hugely by Lampizator to an unknown level) a Krell KST100, and a pair of Audiovector R6 speakers. Between the Lampizator and the  Pre I have the XLR version of the interconnects and between the pre and amp I have the RCA version. Speaker cables were connected in the conventional way between amplifier and speakers as to do otherwise would render the whole process somewhat noiseless.

SOUND OF THE CABLES

As I said, the way I’m going to do this is to run some tunes playing the Statement (mark 1) cables, make some notes on the sonics and then swap the cables out for the Statement 2 cables as quickly as possible. I’ll be going back and forth between these set ups during the not taking part of the review but I’m not going to detail every time I do this as you all have lives and other things to be getting on with!

STATEMENT CABLES

Keep in mind this is just Statement 1 other than the speaker cables and jumpers.

Overall this is a very well-sorted sound and gels well in this system. There’s detail throughout the frequency band and there is a feeling of an accuracy to the sound, with a sense of instruments in the mix sounding like they actually should. There is an immediacy to the sound that suits my preference for a fast and somewhat (but not overly) clinical presentation – detail and speed with an overly accentuated top end can become fatiguing. The Statement interconnects are (to my ears) a cable that will suit music lovers rather than those looking to over-analyse the sound they are hearing, and, to me, that is sort of why we spend so much dosh on our HiFi systems, otherwise, we become analysts of sound and not appreciators of music. Now, the job here (my job) is to be analytical, but the kit we listen to needs to tread that line between analytical and enjoyment and the Statement cables tread that line wonderfully. Anyway, there are, to my mind, too many systems and products out there that are pushed in certain frequencies to give the illusion of accuracy and analysis.

Yes, I can see into the mix with these cables in place and I’m aware that I’m actively listening to the mix, but by the same token I can also fall into the music. One of the tunes that was playing when I was listening (and I did listen very closely and for a good few hours) was Blondie’s Fade Away and Radiate and one of the aspects of the mix that did stand out was the naturalness of the bass, but I was also drawn to small details like the soaring guitars at around 2 minutes and 50 seconds.

So, in a few words I suppose I ought to sum up the sound of the Statements, and I’d go for detailed and fast but without being pushed in any of the frequencies, though I did think bass was a tad more pronounced than I’m used to in my own cable loom.

STATEMENT 2 CABLES

The major discernible physical difference between the Statement and Statement 2s is that there is a bit of heatshrink along the length of interconnects (both RCA and XLR and I have no idea what is under there) and that they are a slightly different colour. I also suspect the 2s may be a smidge thicker, but they are still very flexible and easy to route.

My first reaction to putting the Statement 2s in the system (we are now running a full Statement 2 loom from DAC to speakers and everything in-between) was that there was an immediate and pretty obvious increase in volume. Actually, I’d say that the difference between the 1 and 2s is immediate and obvious when listening to exactly the same tunes that we heard before. Both cables rendered a silent background, but the Statement 2s seem to allow you to hear a tad further back into the mix, as if the noise floor has, indeed, been lowered somehow. I don’t think you need to listen too hard to hear this difference and it was evident on every single track we heard. This is a good thing and the only way I can liken it to is when you play about with grounding devices at different points in your system. On this latter point, I’ve played with a few grounding devices and find that they don’t work in all areas of a system and you do need to experiment, the Statement 2s seem to do something similar but it’s “just there” rather than you having to fanny about experimenting where you put a grounding device. This does allow you to hear very small details in the mix, for sure.

There is still that sense of naturalness to the sound as with the Statement 1s, but even more so in some way…can something be “more natural”, I don’t know and perhaps my choice of words is not correct. Perhaps a better way of describing the sound is from a sensory/reactionary aspect and what I would say is that the Statement 2s allow you to fall into the musical performance more easily and more rapidly than with the 1s. There’s a sound at 1 minute 37 seconds on I’m Always Touched By Presence that was much more apparent with the  2s than it was with the 1s.

As with the Statement 1s there is a sense of rightness and it’s clear that the synergy of a full loom of 2 works well in this system. Again nothing is pushed to the fore in the sonic presentation and nothing is omitted. What I did enjoy, and maybe this is contradicting my immediately previous statement, is the bass presentation which does seem to be more noticeable but not louder or further forward than the rest of the music…an odd one to describe, but definitely apparent.

The handful of words I would use to describe the Statement 2 cables from Tellurium Q is more detailed than the originals but without that detail being pushed down your throat, but with the same speed and sense of rightness.

I did mess about with my own cables in and out of the system too and my findings were that the interconnects between the DAC and the pre were better than my current (P)reference in that they did that seemingly quieter background thing that allows more of the very fine detail to come through , but that with the speaker cables and jumpers, the Silver Diamonds we use as (P)reference just seemed to be a more natural sound. This finding with the speaker cables interests e and I think some of my findings are likely to be down to exposure to my preferred reference speaker cables and having gotten used to their sonic signature – that’s sort of what a reference is for, after all.

So I suppose the question I need to ask myself is would I go out and spend my hard-earned money on a full loom of Tellurium Q Statement 2 and my answer is that I probably wouldn’t. That statement needs to be clarified and related to a comment I made somewhere in the introduction to this review and my cable methodology of carefully choosing what cable I think sounds best between specific pieces of equipment in our system. Now, a better question would perhaps be “Would I buy individual bits of Statement 2?” and the answer to that question would be a definitive yes. Between the DAC and the pre, the synergy between the Lampizator DAC, the Statement 2 and the Music First Baby Reference pre is better than with the cable I use on a day-to-day basis, but personally, I prefer our current speaker cables in this system (Tellurium Q Silver Diamonds) to the Statement 2 speaker cables – perhaps that’s why they haven’t been changed in such a long time (this may well change in a week or so when a new amplifier arrives and I start the whole listening to what I consider to be the best fit again). So, my advice for you, if you are looking for a cable in this price range, is to most definitely audition the Statement 2s but to take your time to listen carefully and to have the opportunity and time to pull them in and out of a system with your current cables…this should be the case with all cable purchases and, I suppose, all significant HiFi purchases of any kind.

CONCLUSION

The Statement 2s are an excellent-sounding cable. They allow for an easy listening experience without ever feeling that you are being purposefully fed something in their sonic character to make them stand out as being “different/better”. They are a detailed cable that I believe present music in a way that is fast and focused.

The big takeaway for me with the Statement 2s was that there was somehow an ability for them to allow you to hear things hidden way back (volume-wise) in a mix and I’d put that down to something to do with noise-floor, though our system is apparently silent anyway….another odd observation, I know, but if you have been exploring the world of grounding systems then these cables (the interconnects, at least) appear to be doing something similar.

I do not believe the Statement 2s (or any cable for that matter) are a one size fits all solution and I personally think that some components benefit from their attributes more than others. On this point, I highly recommend that you get a home audition with your own specific kit and then play around with how and where they are used. You may find that Statement 2 is a perfect match from front to back in your system, or, as I found, that they work better in some situations than others.

The awards I am giving these cables need a bit of explaining. I am giving the interconnects our top Editor’s Choice award as in our reference system they performed better for me than our reference. The Statement II speaker cables I am awarding our 5 Hearts award as (in our system!) I preferred our current Tellurium Q Silver Diamond speakers, though the difference is far from night and day.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality:

Excellent build throughout

Excellent Xmas morning packaging

Interconnects are highly flexible to allow easy routing

Speaker cables are heavy and relatively inflexible

The hardware on all the cables is excellent

Sound Quality:

Apparent speed and cleanness to the sound

Nothing is over-pushed

The interconnects are akin to the effect of grounding systems in a system with relation to noisefloor

The interconnects performed the best in our system and outperformed our reference

The speaker cables sound excellent, but overall I prefer our current reference, though there’s not a lot in it

All the cables have an apparent naturalness to them

Value For Money:

I had no idea of the costs of these cables when reviewing but knew they would be more than the Silver Diamonds which we have as speaker cables. I think it’s important to know that as (whilst I knew they would be more expensive than our Silver Diamonds) I wouldn’t have the accusation of “more expensive is better” Overall these cables cannot be seen as anything but expensive, but then lots of things are expensive and we need to look at their price in relation to other products in the same market and their performance. In this respect I would say Statement II from Tellurium Q reflect what they are – the Statement of what the company feel they can achieve with regard to performance.

We Loved:

The interconnects are definitely doing something akin to properly implemented grounding products

An easy natural sound that is easy to fall into

We Didn’t Love So Much:

There is no getting away from the fact that these cables represent a significant financial outlay

Speaker cables are fairly inflexible

Elevator Pitch Review: Statement II by Tellurium Q represents the pinnacle of what this British Queen’s Award-winning company believes they can achieve with regard to the cables they make. They do represent a significant outlay financially and it is likely that they will find themselves in the upper-echelons with regard to system performance and so will be bought by those that see value in their perceived performance. In the HiFi PiG reference system, they (specifically the interconnects) offered up a clean and accurate sound that allowed you to hear into the depths of a mix with an apparent lowering of the noise floor.

Prices: 

Speaker Cables:

Interconnects:

1m pair (XLR) £4573 + VAT / £5487 inclusive in UK

Stuart Smith

SUPPLIED BY TELLURIUM Q