Overall balance, quite zippy

Lack of ultimate clarity and detail

Very good, with a nice balance but not that revealing. Also it makes my amplifier run warmer than usual. It does cause high distortion at high volumes. Gives a very zippy sound with zippy music. Soudstage is well focused, but it does lack width.

Similar Products Used:

Cable Talk 3.1

This is a simple copper cable with 315 tiny copper strands wrapped in flashy pink transparent PVC jacket. It is rather chunky but very flexible. At 2 pounds per metre in the UK, it is sold exclusively by Richer Sounds.
My system comprises of a Roksan Caspian Integrated amplifier, Arcam Alpha 7 CD player, Sony JE510 Minidisc player (both connected using SonicLink Silver Pink interconnects) and a pair of excellent Acoustic Energy Aegis One speakers. Initially I was using the QED basic Qudos cables which was provided by the dealer and I wasn't happy with the 'restrained', slightly warm sound. I didn't want to spend too much on cables and so I bought the Gale after reading some reviews in HiFi Choice magazine.

Wow! What a difference this cable made to my system's sound. I wasn't expecting much from this cheap cable but I was impressed. The soundstaging significantly improved and the music comes to life with more detail, clean and open treble, good image depth and strong presence. The bass suffers slightly and wasn't as extended as I wanted and the high frequencies can be harsh at times but I never expected it make everything perfect. Comparing with similarly priced cables like the QED Qudos and CableTalk 3.1 that I have tried, this is definitely more musical and detail at the expense of deep (uncontrolled) bass. I suspect that I'll go for something better like the Van den Hul CS-122 when I upgrade my speakers.

A great cable for the money and definitely a 5 stars product at this crazy price but for the overall sound, a solid 4 star. Try it, and you'll be surprised what this little money can do to make your music come to life.

Good clear, detailed sound.

Slightly lightweight bass, and extreme high frequencies can be a bit harsh.

I've used the biwire version of this cable and it produces a nicely detailed sound that can sometimes be a bit harsh in the extreme high frequencies. The bass is a bit light compared to the other two cables I've used but if you don't listen to music that requires plenty of bass then this cable is fine. I prefer the Cambridge Audio Linea 8.4 for the bass issue and also because the overall sound is more focused.
I would recommend the XL-315 cable to anyone who isn't too fussy about bass, but to everyone else it's worth checking out other cables first.

Used with an Arcam Alpha 8R amp, Cambridge Audio CD4SE cd player, and Tannoy Revolution R2 speakers.

Similar Products Used:

Cambridge Audio Linea 4.2 and 8.4 (from Richer Sounds, UK)

Bouncy Bouncy Bouncy cable, Sooooooooooo rhythmical...

Imaging is touch weak...

This is the first "Proper" speaker cable I bought. I read a review on hifichoice.com and decided it sounded cool. And it does. The bass is a touch on the lean side, but oh so tight. This is a cable with loads of punch and bounces through all my music from Wagner to Nine Inch Nails. The only problem I'd actually call a problem is that the imaging is a little undecisive...
Bass is where it should be, Treble is spot on and is definitely the best "cheapo" cable I could find.

I got:
Technics SL-PG360A CD Player
Musical Fidelity B1 Amp
Sherwood Turntable with Audio Technica Cartridge