Review: Snake River Audio Takshaka power cable

[AudioLibertarian]

I have ordered Takshaka power cable and speaker cables. Will update once receive and have more impression

Any updates on the Takshaka speaker cables? I have just ordered speaker cables myself, would have liked to hear your impressions in your set up. Thanks!

 

[thedudeabides]

I'm happy to do that but this is truly selective enforcement . This happens with the same dozen people in almost every single thread.
Do it for all or not at all.
Thanks

Absolutely true. Happens quite often. Certainly more so than not. I'm sure Tom does his best but I really don't understand the criteria and lack of consistency..

 

[Hobblecreek]

Any updates on the Takshaka speaker cables? I have just ordered speaker cables myself, would have liked to hear your impressions in your set up. Thanks!

I’ll apologize in advance for the length of this post, but I hope you’ll understand. I’m absolutely thrilled with the new Takshaka speaker cables I recently purchased from Jonny at Snake River Audio, and with the outstanding experience I’ve enjoyed while working with him.

Some background: about a year ago, I decided it was finally time to upgrade the last remaining “non-upgraded” component in my system – the cabling. I wasn’t unhappy with my existing setup, which consisted of a mix of solid, mid-level cables that have served me well for years. Still, I knew there was untapped sound quality potential in my system that better cables could reveal and determined that new / better cables might help me get there. I decided to begin with a search for speaker cables to replace my Thales Precision Speaker Cables (Thales is a Swiss Turntable manufacturer, who also makes good audio cables, but for me it was time for something different!)

Yes, I know many people recommend starting with power cables, but I already have some excellent ones in place — Stage III A.S.P. Reference Kraken and Vertere Pulse HB Mains. I’ll revisit those later if I decide to move toward a unified loom, which is a real option down the road.

Having heard Siltech cables many times at my local dealer, I thought they would be a great place to start. I love the sound these offer but I’ll admit, I wasn’t prepared for how steeply prices increase as you move upward in their range, but my dealer was kind enough to provide demo samples within my budget for in-home listening. I tried the Classic Legend 680L, the Classic Legend 880L, and the Royal Single Crown (this last one was over my budget, but I had to hear it for comparison’s sake).

After several weeks of careful listening, I decided on the 880Ls — they offered exactly the level of improvement I was hoping for – to my mind superior to the 680Ls and while still apart (not too distant) from the Royal Single Crowns, they were what I needed. I even wrote in a few Siltech threads that this was the direction I planned to go. But life, as it often does, right at that same time other priorities came up – helping grandchildren with college tuition and other commitments – and a year slipped by without me making the purchase.

In mid-summer I came across this thread about Snake River Audio and found myself returning to it frequently as new posts appeared. Then, in late August, Tom (@treitz3) mentioned that Snake River was having a Labor Day sale, and that caught my attention. I went straight to the Snake River website, read everything carefully (twice, actually), and decided to reach out.

When I called Jonny, he couldn’t have been more enjoyable to speak with – friendly, attentive, and genuinely focused on understanding my needs, what I was looking for. He spoke thoughtfully about his design philosophy, describing both how his products differ from others and where they share similarities. His clarity and passion for what he does were immediately apparent, and I came away fairly impressed.

So, even though I hadn’t arranged a demo (something I almost never skip, but Snake River does not have a demo program) I went ahead and placed an order for a set of Takshaka speaker cables. Normally, I prefer to hear a component in my own system before committing, but Jonny’s straightforward and generous return policy gave me complete confidence to proceed.

A couple of months later, I was still waiting for my order to be completed (though I knew I was in his build queue); apparently, his Labor Day sale drew lots of orders.) When the targeted delivery date came and went, Jonny reached out proactively to explain the situation, and as he quickly discovered, I’m a patient customer. He was completely transparent about the delays, detailing the difficulties he was having obtaining the essential required materials (spools of the precious metal wire strands he uses) from his supplier. Tariffs, supply chain issues, and related price pressures were affecting availability, but his honest disclosure was reassuring about the delay.

Knowing how eager I was to hear what his products could do, Jonny went above and beyond: he sent me the only returned set of speaker cables he had on hand (a pair of his Signature Series speaker cables) so that I could enjoy an immediate sonic upgrade while waiting for my Takshaka’s. That, in my book, is outstanding customer service. (To be fair, I need to state the only reason this set of speaker cables had been returned was because the customer had upgraded his entire loom from the Signature Series to Takshaka.)

It gets even better. Earlier this month Jonny called to let me know that my cables were nearly finished with their curing phase but wouldn’t be completed before he had to leave for this month’s Capital Audiofest. I told him that wasn’t a problem and I asked if he could extend the burn-in process on my Takshaka’s while he was away. He readily agreed, adding that by the time they arrived, they should be fully broken in and ready to perform at their absolute best.

He was right – when the cables arrived on Friday morning they sounded fantastic straight out of the box: open, clear, refined, full, and presented a natural soundstage, with no additional play-in required. And as good as the Signature Series sounds, the Takshaka’s are clearly a step above. A quick hour of letting them settle into place after shipping and I was ready for some serious listening enjoyment. Here are a few of my quick, specific impressions from roughly 20 hours of listening over the weekend:

• Effortless musical flow: whether from digital or analog sources, the sound flows with ease and naturalness – nothing feels forced or exaggerated. My digital playback has become more musical and engaging, while vinyl playback has reached an even higher level of realism and refinement.
• Low-frequency resolution: I’m hearing noticeably greater weight and authority in the bottom end, along with better accuracy, texture, and definition. Instruments simply have more body and presence.
• Mid-range warmth: the mid-range is as good as I think I can hear from my system, honestly! Clarity, detail, and natural tonal balance are spot-on and it seems there’s also more air and space in the soundstage. Both female and male voices are liquid, natural, warm (in the right way). Jazz combos sound marvelous and oh so smooth and real.
• And the highs: incredible transparency as to what the instruments actually sound like without any sense of overt brightness and also not fatiguing.
• Always a good test is low-volume listening: the detail retrieval and clarity at moderate or quiet levels are superb – perfectly complementing the exceptional resolution of my YG Haileys and better than what I had enjoyed previously.
• Lastly, I must come back to the Siltechs I had planned to buy. The 880Ls are very good speaker cables, but in comparison my listening opinion is that the sound quality improvement with the Takshaka’s is superior and I’ve been able to achieve this at a better price. They approach what I remember hearing from the Single Crowns, and that’s an all-in win for me.

I suppose I’ve gone on long enough, but in short, I couldn’t be happier. I’m absolutely delighted with my new Takshaka speaker cables and with the entire experience of working with Jonny and Snake River Audio.

I’ll definitely be returning to Jonny as I continue to refine my cabling setup in the future. Yes, I think some Takshaka XLR interconnects might be next.