Gekko Cables Silver Cloud and Silver Lining RCA cables

05.11.2021

Many of the best Hi-End audio brands are due to the enthusiasm of enthusiasts who, at a certain point in their lives, set about designing, building, producing and marketing their own products. The examples are many and there for all to see: Franco Serblin, founder of Sonus Faber, dental technician; William Conrad e Lewis Johnson, economists, owners of the conrad-johnson, whose brand is written in lower case; Joseph Grado, clockmaker, one-man-band Grado; or Mr Mark Levinson, already known as bassist and multi-instrumentalist, a "serial entrepreneur" – and also a womanizer – who founded and led the homonymous Mark Levinson, but also Cello and Red Rose. The motivations for these life paths are at least as numerous and varied: ranging from a change of life to market opportunities; from the desire cultivated in parallel to the main activity to the hobby that becomes the first job; from dissatisfaction with what is on the market to the desire to affirm a personal “vision” of what a very high performance and consequent quality loudspeaker or audio component should be. This is the case of the brand we will be dealing with today, in the forms that we will now precisely specify. 

 

Serbian Boban Djurdjevic, owner and designer of Gekko Cables, lives and works in London and is keen to point out that all of his production is Made in the UK. Musician and audiophile, he began in 2012 to offer cables set on more "audiophile" criteria to his musician friends, up to now having a complete catalogue of connections that you can find here. The offer includes cables for playing live music but is mainly aimed at audiophiles. These are four lines/levels of implementations, with each one RCA or XLR interconnect model and one power cable model. Separately we find the proposals for digital and power cables.
The typical life path I mentioned at the beginning of the article has led Boban to develop an activity that certainly gratifies him, because it satisfies his desire to achieve something he believes in.

Marchio Gekko Cables

 

Starting with the name and the corporate brand, which evidently derive from the gecko, an animal that inspires him a lot of sympathy. In short, does the gecko's tongue catch insects like the Gekko cable catches music? Who knows, what is certain is that geckos emit a sound – cit. Wikipedia here – and choosing them for the name of an audio cable it seems to me a characteristic that is both pertinent and spot on.

 

Simplicity and minimalism

And here we get to the point, that is Gekko's construction philosophy: high quality conductors protected by the best insulators - dielectric laws - for the best possible sound.

 

That's all. In theory. 

 

In practice this has led to the choice of exclusively British made 99.99% high purity annealed silver and UP-OCC 99.9999% copper and OFHC 99.99. The most varied conductors in silver, copper, brass, gold and various aluminium alloys were considered, but always and in any case only "listening": the only measuring tool used during the selection process were... the ears. The search for the best dielectric – read insulator – quickly led to cotton. It is the best dielectric, because the dielectric constant of air is 1.2, that of cotton is 1.3-1.4, that of Teflon - PTFE is 2.1-2.2, and that of nylon is 4.0- 4.5. Cotton also plays an important role as a vibration damper, reducing microphonics.

 

"Esploso" di un cavo Gekko Cables

 

The two signal conductors are lightly twisted around each other, at intervals of about 4 cm, as is recommended to cancel external electromagnetic interference. For this reason, moreover, the shielding, the "braid", is not considered necessary and is not used, at least in signal cables. The outer sheath is very inconspicuous, a deliberate thing, and always in cotton in the models taken into consideration by us.

The terminals proper, the RCA connectors, are the owners Gekko GAC1, patent pending model, Switchcraft and G&H. The XLR connectors are soldered with a high quality lead-free, 4% silver solder. All other connectors are not soldered but strongly crimped, as the solder has a conductivity of only 15/18% of that of copper. Last but not least, many manufacturers take ready-made cables, solder connectors and brand them, perhaps producing kilometres and kilometres of cables that have nothing really artisanal about them. For what it's worth, but it must be said, all Gekko cables are handmade, one by one.

For more info directly from the source, click on the summary PDF here.

 

Gekko Cables

 

But what do we do

In test we have the RCA interconnect models of the intermediate lines between the four of the current assortments:

  • Gekko Cables Silver Cloud, recognizable by the outer sheath in dark grey cotton
  • Gekko Cables Silver Lining, recognizable by the outer sheath in light grey cotton

There are many common characteristics, the cables are very similar from an aesthetic and constructive point of view. Here we place the emphasis on the exquisite workmanship of the RCA connectors, with the external part, the handle, in wood, again to use as many "natural" materials as possible. Here is a further and delightful “tasteful” detail. The connectors themselves appear to lack the classic Left/Black and Right/Red, left/black and right/red indicators. If you look better, however, one cable has all the wooden parts lighter than the other… An obvious difference once noticed. Therefore, dark wood for the cable of the left channel, lighter wood, actually tending towards reddish, for the right channel, at least that's how I proceeded, but nothing prevents you from doing otherwise, subject to consistency of use.

 

When I grew up, I wanted to be a cable charmer...

 

Gekko Cables in my system among other Omega Audio Concepts and Vermöuth Audio: when I grew up, I wanted to be a cable charmer...

 

The packaging, a small box similar to a flight case, the branded bag, the attached gecko-mascot in the form of a cute gadget, the "ductility" of the curves with which these cables are laid everything is gentle and familiar, precious but restrained, sober but elegant.

 

Gekko’s voice

Coming to listening and regarding the general characteristics, I confirm my first impressions: the Gekkos show an open sound, fresh in detail but without harshness, user friendly but revealing from the first listening. Theirs is a natural warmth, the one that allows long and articulated rehearsal sessions, without discomfort over time or listening fatigue. It has been written that they can be merciless, because they are very transparent, because they are "without mediation". I don't agree at all. I think they are open and transparent, as critics often say of silver cables, but absolutely not capable of being strident or annoying. On the contrary, in my opinion they are right on the "warm" side of silver, bright but never excessively bright and least of all rough, with uncompressed dynamics and immediacy.

 

The small, microscopic constructive and measured differences between the two models under test seem to me to go in the direction of a greater presence of subtle information, such as the focus and details of the soundstage, the ambient reverberations or the harmonics of the instruments. We are talking about differences of a couple of decimal points in measurements and small parts either plated or silver coated, but of several pounds total when purchased. But we also talk about differences that are worth considering when you have an adequate system, that is capable of highlighting them. Would I always know how to tell them apart? Well, when you know "where" or "what" to listen to, you're already on the right track... Just to give an example, with my 103 dBs sensitivity Cerwin-Vega V-152s the difference was indeed significant. With my Mantra Sound Daiko 96dB more nuanced. And I can't imagine what you'll hear with a speaker of, say, 84dB, but that's a problem reserved for… those with similar speakers!

 

Wide, deep and coherent sound stage, great overall musicality, softness and fluidity in detail are the strengths of Gekko Cables. Compared to the Audio Consultings, they seem more full-bodied and consistent and less "bubbly", that side little loved by the detractors of silver cables. Compared to my Omega Audio Concepts NANO Extra in silver-plated copper they are obviously more detailed, even if the OACs seem more neutral in the reproposition of frequencies, due to the well-known design philosophy of Renato Filippini. IMHO they are very reminiscent of the Duelunds, if I may broaden the comparisons. Shame we didn't get our homegrown LA Sound Olympia for further comparison…

 

In conclusion, I confess, I love silver. Since, decades ago, silver connectors or even the cheaper ones in silver-plated copper began to be marketed, I have jumped through hoops to equip myself with such connections. If you don't have any preconceptions, when you try silver wire in a quality, revealing and balanced system, it's like pulling the curtains from the speakers. The element in Nature with the highest electrical conductivity can offer a lot to Hi-End audio. Like the Gekko cables, which are authentic champions of an idea of natural, transparent and unforced sound.

 

 

Official technical specification

 

Silver Cloud

Conductors: 2x 0.40 high purity 99.99% annealed UK silver
Primary dielectric layer: cotton
Secondary dielectric layer: cotton
Lay: orbital twist, 40mm lay length
Capacitance: min 32pF/m inc connectors
Inductance: 2.8µH/m inc connectors
Resistance: 0.1ohm/m
Overall jacket: polypropylene
Overall diameter: 10.0mm

 

Silver Lining

Conductors: 2x 0.40 high purity 99.99% annealed UK silver
Primary dielectric layer: cotton
Secondary dielectric layer: cotton
Lay: orbital twist, 40mm lay length
Capacitance: min 30pF/m inc connectors
Inductance: 2.6µH/m inc connectors
Resistance: 0.1ohm/m
Overall jacket: polypropylene
Overall diameter: 10.0mm

 

Official dealers: to Gekko Cables website

Official current price: Silver Cloud RCA 1m 750,00 GBP; Silver Lining RCA 1m 1.399,00 GBP

Associated equipment: to my system

 


The Silver Clouds have a dark grey outer sheath.
The Silver Clouds have a dark grey outer sheath.
Silver Linings have a light grey outer sheath.
Silver Linings have a light grey outer sheath.
A small pendant in the shape of a gecko, the Gekko Cables mascot, is the gadget that accompanies each set of cables.
A small pendant in the shape of a gecko, the Gekko Cables mascot, is the gadget that accompanies each set of cables.
Giuseppe
Castelli 作家
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