I love unshielded cables, that is, wherever an unshielded cable can go (environment that isn't sensitive to noise), I seem to prefer unshielded. What's special about AN Isis is the holographic and focused soundstage. As to tonality, I understand why some call it "raw", I find it spot on, if without the lusciousness of tone that Audio Note or Kondo silver cables bring to the table. AN Isis is not a typically "audiophile" cable in the sense that it does not appear to do much to the sound compared to e.g. Furutech that to me sound like tone controls. Impressive tone controls, to be sure, had three different Furutech models here, including the DPS-4.1, couldn't get over the coloration, which I came to the conclusion may be helpful in some solid-state systems, but with tubes, something wide-band and fast works better. Compared to Furutech, Isis is lacking any extra fat or weight, it's more of a sprightly, lively and lifelike sound. It also seems to sound fractionally less loud in volume than those Furutech (or for that matter, Yarbo SP-1100PW). That brings me to tone: it's not as gorgeous as the aforementioned pure silver variants, nor even as "beautiful" as the less expensive DH Labs Power Plus (another unshielded copper litz cable, and best-buy in its category), but the DH Labs sounds comparatively forward and blurry in comparison (so if soundstage depth and imaging focus is the priority, the DH Labs isn't ideal). The Isis won't exactly strip tone of its beauty, it's just that it emphasizes a lean and fast sound, whereas there's something positively gorgeous about the DH Labs that one may be tempted to call natural and unforced, on the downside, it's slightly tame in comparison to the Isis, and again, soundstage depth and imaging focus is nowhere near (that is where Isis excels). I'm drawing this comparison because despite my preference for the open, unforced and natural sound of unshielded cables, I haven't yet found an affordable or even semi-affordable one that'll work in any system, and the DH Labs comes closer to a universal recommendation than the more unforgiving Isis (at the price, the DH Labs Power Plus is quite the entry-level no-brainer). The Isis can't be recommended to be used in bright systems (not because it emphasizes brightness, but because it won't hide any nasties). That brings me to the importance of and synergy with plugs: I use mine with Wattgate AG (phosphor bronze with silver plating), a recommended combination (alternatives include Oyaide C-037, phosphor bronze with silver/rhodium plating for even "perkier" transients, or Oyaide C-079, phosphor bronze with gold plating that's said to accommodate solid state as gold plating tends to make for a less revealing and more forgiving sound). I'd be curious to try a pure silver plug and IEC, but those tend to be disproportionally priced. AN Isis a relatively light, thin and flexible cable that may well be the easiest to DIY of any cable I've ever used. Note I can't stand the sound of rhodium, that metallic "ping" to the transient attacks may grab the attention of the listener at first, but gets fatiguing after a while. AN Isis sounds detailed and coherent, but neither warm nor thick nor smooth - a fine line that the choice of plug and IEC can easily make or break. It's amazing to me that power cables and plugs make any difference at all, but over the years I've come to the conclusion that it's rather difficult to find any that'll do no harm (e.g. while stock cords sound congested and harsh, shielded cables anywhere near the same price category tend to sound reigned in, and ones that sound similarly uncolored and dynamic tend to be expensive, not to mention ones that sound as coherent and better). All in all a relatively affordable power cable (that's well-made, but doesn't look expensive, certainly not like audiophile jewelry) to recommend for systems that tonally don't need help or makeup.
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
