I seem to have stirred up a hornet's nest at Harmonic Technology with my review of their Magic Two interconnects. I noted how much better the Magic Link Two single-ended cables sounded than their predecessors, but heard only a 10 percent improvement with the new balanced cables. When Jim Wang went back to listen, he found that the copper connectors were the problem. Changing to silver connectors changed things dramatically. The new connectors take the balanced Magic Two to a super-high-value plateau, and one that I find extremely compelling.

What do you get for twice the money? Does it really matter if you aren't going to spend at least $1500 per meter? The balanced Magic Two, at $890 per meter, compete with my ultra-expensive balanced reference cables in three key areas: (1) They are very quiet, (2) Imaging is rock solid and realistic, with superb definition, and (3) Frequency response, from the lowest lows to the highest highs is even and smooth.

At the price, no cables I know of can touch the performance of the Magic Two. They are the best interconnects under $1000 per meter on the market, single-ended or balanced. I'd stake my ears on this! Harmonic Technology has closed most of the gap between the Magic Two and the balanced Cyberlights, particularly in the midband. The bass of the Cyberlights has never been equaled by metal cable, but the Magic Two' high band is very close. The Magics have more sparkle, while the Cyberlights have more elegance and sophistication. This is a close call, folks. The Magic Two give major bang for the buck. You can listen to them for hours on end, and forget about any other cables, at any price.

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