⌈ LUNA CABLES is a small French-speaking company from Quebec run by Mr. DANNY LABRECQUE. Their cables are made in a nineteenth-century, beautifully renovated and adapted barn. One of the basic assumptions of this company is harmony with the surrounding nature. ⌋

ET’S START WITH THE BASICS. There are several types of companies among cable manufacturers. Their spectrum ranges from engineering companies, with their operations based on self-developed solutions and technologies, to those that do everything “by ear” and use components prepared by other companies, often custom made; when I say "components" I mean conductors, dielectrics and plugs. Between these two extremes stretches an ocean of possibilities.

The Quebec cables we test seem closer to the latter group. This company orders the production of conductors, buys plugs, and makes the dielectrics on its own and manually "assembles" the cables according to the original topology. This was the case with the cables from the LUNA ORANGE series, and LUNA MAUVE, that we tested as the first magazine in Poland, and it is no different with the LUNA ROGUE series we tested this time - the RCA interconnects and speaker cables, to be specific.

▌ LUNA ROGUE

WE EMPHASIZE THIS IN EVERY TEST: Luna Cables is one of the companies that rely on natural materials, doing their part in conservation of the natural environment, also in the micro dimension. But there is a reason for us repeating it: the cable industry is extremely energy-hungry, exhausting fossil resources, and is also very "dirty" in the sense that a lot of chemical agents are used to prepare conductors and dielectrics. Each initiative aimed at minimizing its impact on the environment is therefore worth mentioning and emphasizing each and every time.

This sensitivity to the environment can be seen both in the way Luna Cables products are made and in their packaging. For example, cables are placed in re-usable cotton bags made in Quebec. A small gesture, and yet an important one. After the madness of the pandemic turmoil in supply chains and the horror of the war in Ukraine, it's high time to admit that local production and cooperation must be developed, because this is not the last such case - there will probably be more problems of this type in the future.

You probably already know this company's cables, so their appearance should not be surprising. They are unequivocally and without a shadow of a doubt a great example of a handicraft. The lineup of Luna Cables includes five series of cables and two step up transformers for MC cartridges. Each series is distinguished by the color of the outer sleeve; Rogue (meaning "red") is the second series from the top.

In all cables from this company, the conductor is made of tinned copper in the form of a twisted pair, and the individual models differ mainly in terms of the total cross-section of the conductors. This is how their cables were designed in the 1930s by Bell Labs laboratories, from which Western Electric cables were produced. Nowadays, such projects can be found, for example, in the products of the Swedish company Supra and Luna Cables.

Apart from the basic Gray series, all Orange cables, both the interconnect and speaker cables, are shielded, because the manufacturer is committed to reducing electromagnetic interference as much as possible. As I said, the cables are made of tin-plated copper wires. The wires have different diameters and are twisted together, which also helps to eliminate HF interference.

⸜ INTERCONNECT The interconnects are made of two types of wire. Four are 22 gauge (0.643 mm) in diameter, and six are 0.404 mm (26 gauge) in diameter. This type of procedure is used because wires of different cross-sections transmit high and low tones differently - at least this is the belief common in our industry. Its supporters argue that the signal does not run uniformly throughout the wire, but along its surface. The higher the frequency of the signal, the thinner the layer is and - the other way around - the lower it is, the thicker it is.

The cables are not thick, so they are light and are easy to manage in the system. It is also helped by the fact that cotton soaked in beeswax was used to insulate the runs. The manufacturer calls this procedure Luna Cables Neo-Vintage (LCNV), which refers us directly to the already mentioned Western Electric cables, for example the WE16GA model, which Mr. Shirokazu Yazaki from SPEC Corporation once sent me and which I have been using for many years. In any case, a separate insulating layer was also placed between the conductors and a braided shield made - again - of tinned copper.

The outer cable jackets are also made in their own way. As Mr. Fortier once wrote to us, cotton is unprocessed, i.e. it is not chemically treated, therefore it is 100% recyclable. Their production takes place near the workshop, which saves fuel. Interconnects are available in unbalanced RCA and DIN and balanced XLR versions.

In the photos posted by the manufacturer on his website, we see Luna Rogue interconnects with very nice plugs - I do not recognize the RCAs, but the XLRs look like great Oyaide plugs. In the cables that I have dealt with so far, also in this series, the interconnects are terminated differently - with solid, but quite simple plugs from the American company Switchcraft.

The company was founded in 1946 and offered plugs, sockets and switches, mainly for the communications industry. After being purchased by Raytheon Corporation, Switchcraft began producing connectors for particularly demanding applications in difficult conditions. In 2011, the company was acquired by HEICO Corporation and became part of its Electronic Technologies Group. Switchcraft today is one of the largest US manufacturers of connectors for industry and professional audio, as well as the broadcasting industry.

⸜ SPEAKER CABLE The speaker cables have a much larger diameter, but they also are quite flexible. Similarly to interconnects, also they are made of wires of two different diameters. These are six braided wires with a cross section of 1.024 mm each, and two that are interwoven with the others - the latter have a cross section of 0.643 mm each. So we have eight wires for positive and negative runs.

Also here the dielectric is cotton soaked in beeswax (Luna Cables Neo-Vintage: LCNV). The cables prepared in this way, in an outer jackets made of dyed cotton, have quite a large cross-section. In the place where the positive and negative runs come out of one cable, there is a very nice connector made of aluminum and hand-milled. It has both aesthetic and technical functions - cable vibration is minimized and it limits EMI. The manufacturer informs us that the Luna Rogue are terminated with rhodium-plated plugs, but the test unit came with a version with gold-plated BFA plugs.

Luna Cables offers cables in which you can see the heart of the manufacturer. They are handcrafted in such a way as to harm the planet as little as possible, but at the same time they make them so that they sound as good as possible. Their design was developed in the 1930s, but it still works.

▌ SOUND

⸤ HOW WE LISTENED Luna Rogue cables were tested in the "High Fidelity" reference system. The interconnect connected the RCA output of the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player with the Spheris III preamplifier of the same company and was compared to the Siltech Triple Crown cable and the classic Belden 8402. The speaker cables connected the output of the Soulution 710 amplifier and the input of the Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers. They were compared to SILTECH TRIPLE CROWN and Western Electric WE16GA cables.

Recordings used for the test | a selection

⸜ THE WEEKND, Starboy, XO | Republic 5727592, CD (2016).
⸜ KRAFTWERK, Minimum-Maximum, Kling-Klang Produkt/EMI 3349962, 2 x SACD/CD (2005).
⸜ ROGER WATERS, Amused To Death, Columbia/Analogue Productions 88765478842, SACD/CD (1992/2015).
⸜ OLEŚ BROTHERS & DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI, Koptycus, Audio Cave ACD-001-2022, CD (2022).
⸜ THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET, Plastic Dreams, Atlantic/Warner Bros. Japan 8122-71068-2, “Jazz Best Collection 1000 | Nr 6”, CD (1971/2013).
⸜ Music For A While. Improvisations on Purcell, wyk. Christina Pluhar, L’Arpeggiata, Erato 4636203, CD + DVD (2014).

»«

THE LATEST ALBUM BY THE ARTIST KNOWN AS THE WEEKND received mixed reviews. I like it, but not as much as the previous one, After Hours. Still, I keep coming back to the Starboy from 2016 because it's the essence of what this man can do with beats. Canadian cables allowed this music to expand spatially. Already in the first title track, recorded with the Daft Punk duo, I "saw" an excellent holography. The sounds came from behind my back, from the sides, and the reverb had a long "tail" that went deep into the soundstage.

At the same time, it was also possible to identify the main elements that build timbre. Luna Rogue offer a big sound, focused on the lower midrange. The low bass is slightly rounded, not as dense as in the reference cables. Its mid-range, however, has beautiful power, color and natural softness. The treble is delivered in a warm, a bit "tube-like" way. The presentation, however, was open and lively. There was no question of it being closed it or extinguished.

The cables are not very selective, that is, they do not indicate exactly the locations, the edges of the instruments. They are really resolving, though. Despite the lack of such a "drawing" or "skeleton" on which the "body", i.e. filling, is applied, they organize the sound very well. It is a fluid and "pouring" sound. As in Autobahn, the opening track on the KRAFTWERK’s live album Minimum-Maximum.

Recorded in Berlin at the Autodrom on March 25th 2004, eighteen years ago exactly as of the date, it has low bass, and its foreground is shown close to the listener. Luna Rogue softened a bit the aggressive sound of the motor that opens this piece, because these are the cables that sound - pleasant and a bit delicate. The internal resolution, however, provided something more than just "pleasure". The sound was interesting, changing, pulsating, multi-dimensional. So despite the calming down of the presentation, it was still interesting and engaging.

These are cables with which music is a big event, never a little "something" that just happened. The space we get with them is huge and with albums on which it is an important element of artistic creation, such ROGER WATERS’ Amused To Death, in the 2015 remix, in the SACD version, we will be absolutely delighted with the density of the sound’s sphere in which we find ourselves. It will be exactly what we expect from this album. The voices located on the sides will be far to the side, and the sounds coming from behind us will come from far behind us.

The Luna Rogue cables are therefore fantastically pleasant to listen to, dense, slightly soft and warm. The space they propose is insane in its scale and panache. At the same time, however, we know very well, we know all the time, that these cables are intended for playing music in a relaxing rather than energizing way. In the sense that fluidity, i.e. what is common to subsequent sounds, is the most important in this presentation. Perhaps I got into such an amazing mood while listening to the Koptycus album by OLEŚ BROTHERS & DOMINIK STRYCHARSKI. As if the cables emphasized its meditative aspect, as if they reached deeper into its immensity.

Interestingly, the Canadian cables deliver a great rhythm. I noticed it already when listening to the Weeknd, and then with Waters, but it turned out even better with the THE MODERN JAZZ QUARTET’s Plastic Dreams, recorded in one day, on May 25th 1971, which was presented in a fresh, rhythmic way. The edges, the attack of Milt Jackson's vibraphone were softened and sweetened - that's how these cables sound like. But the whole thing was beautifully saturated with colors.

The sound was colorful and extremely pleasant - whatever that means to you. For me, it meant that I was sitting relaxed, comfortably on the couch, without the pressure that I sometimes feel knowing that I had “so many” albums still to listen to. It was not here - Luna Rogue allowed me for long listening sessions in which they took off a few kilograms of that pressure of me.

▌ SUMMARY

IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR CABLES that offer a beautiful, even tonality, incredible space, but also a clear own character that allows for long, relaxed listening sessions, the Luna Cables Rogue will be the perfect choice. The upper treble and lower bass are slightly withdrawn with them, and the most important is the midrange, especially its the lower part with upper bass. While it sounds like a contradiction to what I said about tonal balance, it is not.

I am talking about resolving cables that shape the sound in the way I have described, but still do it in such a way that they do not change the structure of the recordings. I will say more - they support presentation by saturating it with harmonics and making the sound more vivid. It’s a great set of cables for systems where "we don't have to do anything" but only "want to". ■