Wireworld Equinox 7 Interconnect

WIREWORLD SERIES 7 EQUINOX AND ECLIPSE SPEAKER WIRE AND INTERCONNECT
Lucky Sevens | The Absolute Sound

Over the years numerous examples of Wireworld Audio speaker cables and interconnects have crisscrossed my listening room. So many in fact that a common theme has gradually emerged. On a tonal basis, Wireworld’s wires have been eerily consistent model to model—even to the point of predictability. Their character has always centered on the midrange first, eschewing frequency-extreme flashiness in favor of an overall neutral response. At times I’d characterize them as leaning slightly toward the darker side of the tonal spectrum, but that’s an impression I don’t want to exaggerate. It is more a reflection of the fact that Wireworld doesn’t hype the treble octaves like many other cables I’ve encountered. There is no false detail or transient etching.

Still, in retrospect, there seemed to be room for improvement in its mid-priced offerings, especially in spatiality and low-level resolving power. Thus, when I was afforded the opportunity to hear Wireworld’s popular Equinox and Eclipse wires in their new 20th Anniversary Series 7 configuration, I jumped at the chance.

These mid-priced wires are the heart of the Wireworld line— what I consider the two most popular upgrade price points. Both use Ohno Continuous Cast copper conductors (OCC), but Eclipse uses a heavier gauge, which results in thicker, stiffer products.

If my coverage of Equinox 7 is giving you a sense of déjà vu, it should. In Issue 236 TAS writer Ron Doering included Equinox in a survey of mid-priced cables. In that article RD pointed out its “pleasingly rounded and warm presentation,” a conclusion that I’d reached in an earlier go-round with Equinox. Even so, I wanted to contrast Equinox 7 with the uptown Eclipse 7 wires, bouncing them off one another to illustrate what enthusiasts can expect when contemplating an upgrade.

My impressions of Equinox 7 essentially mirror RD’s with the exception that compared with earlier Wireworld iterations, the Series 7 wires are a bit brighter and more open in the treble, and though they have a warm overall signature, low-level veiling has been reduced and the recovery of inner detail improved. The Equinox Series 7 is a more tonally neutral and open wire and bears a significant tonal resemblance to its pricier sibling, Eclipse 7. However as I listened to Rhapsody in Blue [St. Louis, Slatkin; Reference Mastercuts], the Equinox Series 7’s balance was clearly more midrange-y and just a little brasher and flintier on brass transients. Soundstage width and dimensionality were mid-pack for this range with a corresponding hint of congestion around neighboring orchestral images. On balance Equinox will be a tough competitor with the recent reviewed Nordost Purple Flare and WyWires Blue (Issue 236).

Turning to Eclipse 7, its larger-gauge OCC copper conductors seemed to embolden its sonics. Several differences are obvious. Though very good in this regard, the Equinox 7’s micro-dynamic energy can’t match the vitality of Eclipse—the perceived rhythm and pace of pianist Jeffrey Siegel playing during Rhapsody is a good example. Keyboard feel is crucial to communicating Gershwin’s music and Eclipse simply has more jump and immediacy that makes notes seem to spring from the keys. Likewise, Donald Fagen’s “I.G.Y.” from his Nightfly LP is a great example of how small shifts in soundstage geography are differently handled by these two wires. With Eclipse, Fagen drops back a step or two, and the stage widens, allowing the guitar fills on the left and the percussion licks on the right more elbowroom. Backup voices are more defined and layered and Fagen’s lead vocal seems to float on a raft of air. As I listened to BS&T’s “And When I Die” [Direct-Disk Labs] it was easy to hear that hard percussive transients, light hi-hat figures, and brass section bursts were generating more texture and complexity, particularly in sustain and decay. These are fine distinctions, yes, but if you ever wondered whether you get what you pay for, here is proof that you do.

Key, however, is how Eclipse 7 adds a finer and richer complexity to performances, particularly in the way it reproduces ambient space. During the Gershwin the sensation of the orchestra pressurizing the venue and launching a wave of sound outward into the audience became more palpable. As I listened to a bevy of orchestral vinyl like The Wasps Overture [RCA Red Seal], certain common traits with Wireworld’s flagship cable, Platinum Eclipse (review forthcoming), presented themselves. Foremost was the sense of layered depth that brings symphonic works alive in the listening room. String sections and the positioning of individual players became more finely resolved, each instrument revealing its own voice blending among many rather than being homogenized into a single melodic line. In essence, Eclipse reproduced the performance in a fashion that came much closer to the reality of many players performing together.

The obvious conclusion would be to proclaim Equinox as the bargain choice of these two models. But as good as Equinox is, (a genuine go-to wire in its class) it’s the pricier Eclipse 7 that steals that honor. Admittedly it’s roughly twice the Equinox’s price but its vivid performance draws closer to “statement”-quality wire (which includes my first impressions of Platinum Eclipse 7) than I would ever have imagined. If your upgrade plans include major system-wide renovations, this particular Eclipse is one you don’t want to miss.