[guest1632]

Hi all,

Time for another review of some cables. This time we're looking at the cables from Koolcables.com. John Prator is the guy behind the scenes here. I asked him how he got in to the cable making business.

"Back around 1999-2000 I was building a home theater in our new house back in Oklahoma and really got on a cable kick, I was trying different cables from different mfg.'s and came to realize that I couldn't afford the "really good stuff"(think expensive here) so I thought that I would give it a try and see if I could built my own, maybe even equal or better some of the "Big Boys".

I started messing around with the usual, coaxial, copper, silver etc. I actually made some really good cables(and to be honest a few real dogs too). I wasn't an electrical engineer so I just built my idea and tried it out to see how it would sound. Couldn't help but notice that gold was used to coat plugs etc. and it seemed to impart it's own sound to the mix, a warm soothing sound that I liked.

This led me in the direction of gold cables so I decided I wanted to
try and build a set of gold interconnects. I started researching and
found some gold jewelry wire and built a set of cables out of it. They sounded pretty darn good, I really liked the smoothness that gold brought to the plate so I went from there.

I started trying different types of gold wire, different shapes, different vendors etc. One thing that I couldn't help but notice was that the more pure the gold the better the sound seemed to be towards my tastes. this eventually got me to the point of the Silkworms, pure gold, all the best sounding components used to assemble them. Keep in mind didn't(and still don't) use test equipment to get the sound I'm looking for in cables, I use the human ear. If I have an idea I build it and listen to how it sounds. If I see a plug I love the looks of but it sounds like crap then I don't use it.

Anyway, over time I built cables for my local audio buddies, family and friends, sometimes I sold a few on the internet, but really I made no effort to "go public".

In 2003 we moved down here to Austin and of course I searched out and found some local audio guys. Over time they started trying
this or that cable of mine and they were really impressed. Several of them loved my cables and started telling me I should sell them on audiogon. At first I was against it for several reasons, one being that I didn't think I could compete due to the high costs of the gold, secondly I didn't want to ruin the hobby I love by trying to turn it into a business. We've all heard the different sayings to the effect of "if you enjoy your hobby don't try and turn it into a business" and I believe that.

Finally I gave in to the pressure from my wife and friends and thought "what the hell, I'll give it a try". I wanted to not mass produce them like some cable vendors but rather just take my time in building them and offer them in a more limited quanity. I actually enjoy building cables and so far it has been fun and I've met some really cool people and I hope it continues along this path. I try and not worry about making to much money at it but rather just have fun. So far it seems to be working as I'm having a good time, meeting some pretty cool people and best of all, they love my cables! That's the best part about it, I can bring a smile to someones face and let them enjoy their system that much more. Very cool.
 
Well I hope that somewhat explains how I got into this Ray. Not really much to it, I just started experimenting and I guess it sort of took off from there."

With that, I have another two parter for you. First, it's the copper SoundBolts. I will be receiving shortly the Silver Soundbolts. The only difference between the two cables is the RCA Eichman plugs. One is copper and the other one is silver.

The soundbolts are the entry level cable costing $99 for the pair. The cable consists of a thin piece of coax. This coax has a copper braid, with a Teflon cover stranded center. The insulation over the braid is a Teflon coating. He then covers the cables with Tekflex. The cables are terminated with either Copper or Silver Eichman RCA plugs.

So what we are reviewing today is the Copper Soundbolts. What you are about to read. is a composite of the emails I sent John chronicling the break in experience.
------
Hooked the cables up between my amp and TVC last night and let them run in for about 12 hours or so. 

First impressions:

seem somehow not very dynamic, somehow compressed, but it hints at being so. I figure it is the breakin time will hopefully fix that. Mid bass a little flabby, but that too should go away in time.  tonal balance is great. don't notice any emphasis at the moment of any freqencies. This cable hints at being very fast. It's missing that snap on drums, but that's part of dynamics, and perhaps breakin too.  

Love how it protrays vocals. Detail is also there. Reminds me of the squeaky new shoes. It all fits, but it will need breakin to become comfortable. That's it so far. 
-------------
Day 2: 

Still somewhat compressed, but now I can stand them. heheh 

One thing I've noticed about coaxial cables in general, they can make for a good toe tapping cable. These, the soundbolts,  seem to have detail, but seem to bring out different components of the music being played. Maybe, it's the copper, but I'm hearing a kick drum that I've never noticed it before. The base seems well defined.  

I'm excited to see where these bolts are gonna go. The sound stage is starting to expand. Say, these aren't directional I hope? my wife didn't see any arrows or any writing on the cables.  
(Editor's note: There was a black dot put on the direction where he had them on the cooker for 24 hours. That was quickly resolved.)
------------
As I was listening to the bolts, I thought, hmmm, let's see how they perform at this time up against some other cables. I have a pair of anticables with neutric ends, some "ultimate cables" from a guy in Canada. The anticables while ok, sounded to me rather busy and a bit  forward. The Ultimates C4, were interesting enough similar in character to the bolts but also forward in the upper mids.  

I think the bolts, with the quiet background, gives at first glance no life. That too I hope or should change. These are starting to grow on me.  
(About that time, I had about 50 hours on the soundbolts,, not counting the 24 on John's cooker.)
----------
Haven't listened today yet. I've been playing the Bible at night and as well as during the day to break them in.  

Looks like they are opening up, but the dynamics are very much not there yet. It'll probably be one of the last things to open up. It's sorta a step backwards. But that's how the cables work sometimes. Now, the bass is definitely online. The mids are really nice to listen to. They are really starting to fill out. The highs are still a bit harsh, but that too should go away. 
--------
At this point in time, about 75 hours on the bolts, and the compression
Thank! God! is starting to go away. The bass has tightened up a lot, and the mids, are beginning to sound depending on what is played, yummy. The topend is also starting now to smooth out.
------
The snap of drums is now there. roughly, with your burn-in and mine, about 125 hours total now. It's almost like a shiffon veil is between me and the speakers on the bolts. That is rapidly disappearing. Anyway, the soundbolts are coming in to there own now.  

To be continued next message.

Ray Bronk

[guest1632]

Hi again,

Here's the last part of the review.

------
Well, ... the bolts have made a surprising opening in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, I noticed the snap of snare and other drums is there. It's sure interesting how cables seem to bring out the little details. These soundbolts have almost lost the veil, like almost gone. 

Yep, quieter background, ever so slight mids pulled back but I think they'll get there.  What I've noticed is the bass. It's tightened up, I think? I'll have to listen again some more later. They're getting that good.

I could be wrong, but I think the majority of the cable's aspects are done, and now the little stuff for dessert is coming up. Wasn't ready for the surprise I got from that opening up. 
(note: This was about 150 hours or so of breakin time.)
------
Another about 50 hours or so, Cables starting to really smooth out. Gained a lot of body over the last 50 to 75 hours or so. Snap and dynamics is not there now. That will come back. It is almost like the sound reaches a certain shelf, like being put through a limiter. Nothing as far as I know has changed. Bass is back. Body on voices are yummy. Got another hundred to go or so. Not discouraged. 
------
24 hours later:

Let's see, yesterday, where was the bass, now I'm wondering who turned on the sub? heheh. don't have one.

The snap isn't quite there yet, but the ceiling of compression that was there yesterday isn't there now. It's almost disconcerning how you can hear people breathe. Me thinks they are almost there. Female vocals ... sweet plenty of body Yesterday they were a bit forward, but today, balanced I think they have just a bit more to go. Nothing wrong with these cables. I'll run these in for a day or so.
------
I think those Soundbolts are about as good as they're gonna get. Close to 50 hours more:

Bass is not to promamant, but all there and well defined. A cut from Susan Ashton's first album Amazing Graceland tells the bass tale.

At the end of the song, the bass note that is held is a bit muddy and hard to know if that is the roughly 42 cycle or an octive above that. Seems like it's the octive above.
 
Attack isn't quite like it was a day or so ago, but I think it had reached its compromise. Sometimes attack can be over done, with a hint of distortion. My amp isn't real punchy, so it does tend to limit how the attack notes sound. That will change shortly. Increasing the drive current to the transistors will fix that. But what it does, I can certainly live with it.

Wehn voices are played, they are not thin or thick. Body seems about right. It depends on the material played. Wehn recorded well, female voices have a real richness to them, almost like having them in the room. 

It does unfortunately show the badness of the cheap DVD player. Sometimes Symbols sound like hisses rather than symbols. That's not the fault of the cable. 

to some up, bass is great, has balls. The mids in some cases could sound thin. I think that is a tribute to what's being played. Some stuff I played seemed to be defined just right. They would sound yummmy. The top in this last 50 hours or so, seems to have settled down and is in no way harsh at all.  It helped to round out the sound and makes voices sound real nice to listen to. These cables just let the music play. What you hear is what you get.

To be fair, I haven't heard a lot of cagles. But I'd honestly say these Copper Bolts for $100 are a good value and should be on everyone's short list. It's a bummer they take 250 or so hours to break in. That's the only negative. Like I said, the Copper SoundBolts just let the music play. 

Stay tuned for Part two.

Happy Listening,
Ray Bronk

[Steve]

Hi Ray,

     Nice write up. You really did a nice job with your notes. I could follow along quite easily, nice and concise.

Thanks Ray.
Steve

[guest1632]

Hi Ray,

     Nice write up. You really did a nice job with your notes. I could follow along quite easily, nice and concise.

Thanks Ray.
Steve

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the comments. The next (Part Two) won't focus so much on the cables, rather the differences that the Silver connectors make.

Ray

[pbrstreetgang]

Ray great write up. I have now had all of the KCI cables. I agree for the most part about the Soundbolts and those are my second favorite cable in his line. The others are good but these have a lot of the characteristics of the top level gold ones he has- Those are all in my system and the soundbolts on the subs. These cable- all of the KCIs are the weirdest cables to break in and I really dont listen till about 200 hours when they settle. They do what they want to till then. In a nutshell the soundbolts have a faster bass and attack than the silkworm gold cables and are similar in tone overall. The thing that separates the gold cables are a real organic feel with loads of fleshed out detail- think the generalities of SS and tubes here. Another thing is absolute absence of noise with a black, black background. The soundbolts are awesome or the price but that slight whitewashing is absolutely gone- best cables I have heard. smooth, smooth smooth. I had nordost, AQ, Grover, Linn, many diy and boutique cables sold on the 'gon.

[guest1632]

"The soundbolts are awesome or the price but that slight whitewashing is absolutely gone- best cables I have heard. smooth, smooth smooth."
Hi,

Are you saying the Silkworms are the best? The whitewashing for sound stuff, not sure I understand.

Ray
 

[pbrstreetgang]

Yes for sure better- but there is of course a price. I didnt notice the slight wash when comparing to other well regarded and popular cables but side by side with the silkworms its there.

[marvda1]

What were your feelings about the Mandarinas compared to the Soundbolts?

[pbrstreetgang]

Depends Marvin, I like the soundbolts better in my system and on my stat headphone rig. Personal thing really, I just feel the soundbolts are more related to the silkworms than the mandarinas. I feel they are more related to the silvers (forgot what they are called). I know it might not make sense but thats how I ranked them.

PS, Others have felt the mandarinas were a defininate step above the soundbolts, ymmv

[KCI-JohnP]

Hi Ray & all,

Not sure if I'm allowed to post in here(if not mods feel free to remove) but I just wanted to say thanks for the write up Ray! I'm glad you're enjoying the Soundbolts, they're a great cable IMO.

Best,
John

[brj]

Thanks for offering such a detailed write-up, Ray - much appreciated!  Could you expand a bit on your system, room, music selection, listening preferences, etc.?  This will help readers align your comments with their own audio goals and preferences.  Thanks!

Not sure if I'm allowed to post in here(if not mods feel free to remove) but I just wanted to say thanks for the write up Ray!

Per the Critic's Circle Guidelines:

We welcome comments from anyone on any review in the Critic's Circles, and this includes comments from the manufacturers, dealers or distributors of reviewed products.

The Critic's Circle isn't intended to be an advertising platform (other circles exist for that), but we welcome your explanations, input, guidance, etc..  Thanks!

[guest1632]

Hi Ray & all,

Not sure if I'm allowed to post in here(if not mods feel free to remove) but I just wanted to say thanks for the write up Ray! I'm glad you're enjoying the Soundbolts, they're a great cable IMO.

Best,
John

Hi John,

Yeah, you're allowed to post, just no commercials. You might want to stick around. A couple of people had some questions on the various cables.

Ray

[KCI-JohnP]

Hi Ray,
I'm here and if anyone has any questions please don't hesitate to ask. You can shoot me a pm or email me at: John@koolcables.com anytime!!

Sincerely,
John

[Wardsweb]

Wow, very nice and detailed writeup for Koolcables.com.  KCI-JohnP I think you should get some of your other cables in his hands so we can read about those too. I run silver now and wonder about the differences in the metals.

[KCI-JohnP]

Hi Wardsweb,

Ray has worked really hard on reviewing my entry level I/C's. I like his honesty and style so I have sent several more sets out there for him to review. He currently has the Soundbolts as well as the Soundbolts with the upgraded Silver Bullet plugs(looking forward to his thoughts on the improvement just plugs can present), my gold alloy cable the Mandarina and my pure silver cables, the Fireflys.

If you are running silver now what you'll most likely notice between the metals is that gold will be very, very smooth and seductive, copper will sound somewhat familar and silver, as you're probably well aware, being honest/revealing and fast. Silver is tough as you can easily end up with a grainy and/or screechy bright sounding cable, I've worked hard to avoid that sound, I can't stand bright sound. Anyway, if you have any questions please don't hesitate to contact me anytime.

Sincerely,
John

[martinr]

Hi again,

Here's the last part of the review.

------
Well, ... the bolts have made a surprising opening in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, I noticed the snap of snare and other drums is there. It's sure interesting how cables seem to bring out the little details. These soundbolts have almost lost the veil, like almost gone. 

Yep, quieter background, ever so slight mids pulled back but I think they'll get there.  What I've noticed is the bass. It's tightened up, I think? I'll have to listen again some more later. They're getting that good.

I could be wrong, but I think the majority of the cable's aspects are done, and now the little stuff for dessert is coming up. Wasn't ready for the surprise I got from that opening up. 
(note: This was about 150 hours or so of breakin time.)
------
Another about 50 hours or so, Cables starting to really smooth out. Gained a lot of body over the last 50 to 75 hours or so. Snap and dynamics is not there now. That will come back. It is almost like the sound reaches a certain shelf, like being put through a limiter. Nothing as far as I know has changed. Bass is back. Body on voices are yummy. Got another hundred to go or so. Not discouraged. 
------
24 hours later:

Let's see, yesterday, where was the bass, now I'm wondering who turned on the sub? heheh. don't have one.

The snap isn't quite there yet, but the ceiling of compression that was there yesterday isn't there now. It's almost disconcerning how you can hear people breathe. Me thinks they are almost there. Female vocals ... sweet plenty of body Yesterday they were a bit forward, but today, balanced I think they have just a bit more to go. Nothing wrong with these cables. I'll run these in for a day or so.
------
I think those Soundbolts are about as good as they're gonna get. Close to 50 hours more:

Bass is not to promamant, but all there and well defined. A cut from Susan Ashton's first album Amazing Graceland tells the bass tale.

At the end of the song, the bass note that is held is a bit muddy and hard to know if that is the roughly 42 cycle or an octive above that. Seems like it's the octive above.
 
Attack isn't quite like it was a day or so ago, but I think it had reached its compromise. Sometimes attack can be over done, with a hint of distortion. My amp isn't real punchy, so it does tend to limit how the attack notes sound. That will change shortly. Increasing the drive current to the transistors will fix that. But what it does, I can certainly live with it.

Wehn voices are played, they are not thin or thick. Body seems about right. It depends on the material played. Wehn recorded well, female voices have a real richness to them, almost like having them in the room. 

It does unfortunately show the badness of the cheap DVD player. Sometimes Symbols sound like hisses rather than symbols. That's not the fault of the cable. 

to some up, bass is great, has balls. The mids in some cases could sound thin. I think that is a tribute to what's being played. Some stuff I played seemed to be defined just right. They would sound yummmy. The top in this last 50 hours or so, seems to have settled down and is in no way harsh at all.  It helped to round out the sound and makes voices sound real nice to listen to. These cables just let the music play. What you hear is what you get.

To be fair, I haven't heard a lot of cagles. But I'd honestly say these Copper Bolts for $100 are a good value and should be on everyone's short list. It's a bummer they take 250 or so hours to break in. That's the only negative. Like I said, the Copper SoundBolts just let the music play. 

Stay tuned for Part two.

Happy Listening,
Ray Bronk

Hi Ray,
I appreciate you taking the time to give us an in depth write up on these cables.  The one question I have is, how would you compare these to the Grover white interconnects?  I realize the Grovers cost almost twice as much, just wondering how these stack up against the Grovers.

Thanks Again

Martin

[Danberg]

I also have a question.  With all that time for break in will the cables sonically change / revert backwards, if not used for several days or a week?  I don't listen to my system every day.

[pbrstreetgang]

Danberg I do notice some latency when the cables are not in use, but it is short maybe 20 min or so before they come back- weird cables for sure

[pbrstreetgang]

To the comparison with the other cables- lets just say i no longer own them

[marvda1]

i'll tell you one thing martin, the grovers do go well with my mandarinas.  i have the grovers between the preamp and amp with mandarinas from dac to preamp and talk about sweet.
marvin