he TELLURIUM Q company is different. Different from other audio cables manufacturers. Its goals are different, and it has a completely different way of dividing its products into groups. Here is what they have written about the company's objectives in the product brochure:

When Tellurium Q® was set up the focus was primarily on phase distortion and minimizing this problem inherent in all cabling, whoever makes them and where ever and however they are made. The reason it is a problem is simple, all materials (not just cables) in the path of a signal will act as an electronic filter […], whether you want it to or not. This is undeniable.

Our focus in: Tellurium Q. Find out how your music can really sound, p. 2

In the same publication we will find a practical guide to the Tellurium Q lineup. And it is very useful, maybe even necessary, because it is prepared in a different way than are accustomed to. Other cable companies build their offer with the so-called: "price shelves". They propose several thresholds, separating the individual series. The quality of the sound is indicated by the price.

A brief glimpse at the diagram in this brochure on page 4 in the section entitled How to Read the Colors of Tellurium Q allows you to understand that this company assigned their products to particular series based first of all on sound character and only within those "families" they differentiate cables using pricing. There are three color families: Blue, Black and Silver, and three cable model within each of them.

Usually the Blue series would be at the bottom of the price list, then the Black, and Silver on top. Actually, the cheapest Tellurium Q cables are Blue and Ultra Blue cables, but than comes Black, Silver and then Blue Diamond and so on. As we can read in company's materials, the idea was to propose different types of sound at the consecutive price levels, though with all of them fitting within the company's sound signature and using solutions that minimize phase distortion.

BLACK II

In the beginning there was ... Black. This is the first cable Geoff Merrigan prepared for their company, Tellurium Q. Although it did not look as an expensive product, it did not attract customer with fancy, expensive connectors, it quickly found a lot of fans, which encouraged Geoff to continue their work. The cable looked inconspicuous because it was a rather thin ribbon with two not shielded runs of copper twins in a "eight" system, popularized by Linn, Naim and DNM Reason.

The Black II cable (280 PLN / m) that we review this time is the new version of the original Black. It looks almost identically, apart from the Roman two that accompanies its name. So I asked at the source about differences, and here is what Mr. Geoff Merrigan told me.

Geoff Merrigan
CEO, designer

WOJCIECH PACUŁA: What did you change in new version?
GEOFF MERRIGAN: We changed just a couple of months ago  but had been working on it since the Silver Diamond as that gave us the ideas to be able to make the improvements we wanted to in the Black speaker cable. It is not one change. Although the cables look identical there are tiny changes that together amount to more than you would expect which means that our process tolerances during manufacture have become even more critical than ever.

Why? What was your goal?
We want our customers and business partners to know that they are getting the best that we can give them so when we understood that it was possible to have a better Black then there was no other choice but to develop it. We wanted a tighter "more responsive" bass and better detail. The bass especially we were keen to improve. In fact after the discoveries from working on the Silver Diamond speaker cable it would have been embarrassing not to improve the Black. We are really pleased with the new performance on the Black II.

Is this something you can add to other cables from Black line?
I think it would be difficult and we have no plans to do any development on the Ultra Black or Black Diamond.

The cables arrive in a small, neat box. Their outer sleeving is black. Although they have an "eight" structure they are quite flexible. They are terminated with gold-plated BFA plugs that work great wherever bananas are required. The price given at the beginning of the test, the 280 PLN per meter, includes the installed connectors. The latter are made at the Tellurium Q factory in the UK. One can order any length of cable.

The Black II speaker cable was compared to Acoustic Revive SPC-2.5 Triple C-FM (14 900 PLN/2,5 m) and the original Black. It was the A/B/A comparison with A and B known. My reference cables were the “A”, and Tellurium Q were the “B”. I used 2 minutes track fragments. Cables connected outputs of my Soulution 710 power amplifier with Harbeth M40.1 loudspeakers – I wanted to hear their real sound signature and not modified by some other, colored accompanying components.

The sound of the new Tellurium Q cables can be described as well balanced and well thought out. Their main feature is the dense, fluid midrange that catches the attention of a listener and makes him look for recordings that would similarly treat this part of the range, i.e. slightly emphasize it. Like on the Master CD-R with Nat 'King' Cole, or Cat's Dream by Rafał Sarnecki. Highlighting vocals, electric guitars, electronic instruments - all of this is performed in a very "sensitive" way – that's exactly the word that comes to mind. It works in music's favor, it makes it sound better not worse. Even if it means - objectively – moving away from absolute neutrality.

I do not think, however, that retrieving every the last bit of information was the gold of Mr Geoff Merrigan.

The designers have to work within some targeted budget, balancing between the different aspects of the sound, choosing the ones that best realize their vision. And for the Black II, I assume, they planned a bit dark but also very smooth sound, with a nice, rich bass.

If that was actually their goal, it worked out well. The smoothness of this cable's performance is unique. By rounding off the attack and saturating it with the harmonics we get a presentation offering a lot of information about both the recording and the performers, but seen from their better side. We will never be surprised by harshness of the sound (never!), its hardness or any other artifacts, that we had learned to live with, because after all, not all the recording are of audiophile quality, but which we'd rather not hear.

Compared to the top Tellurium Q cables, the Black II sounds darker and denser. Its treble is rather withdrawn in relation to lower midrange. Since it is part of a larger whole, which also includes, already mentioned, smoothness and richness, it is easy to assume that it was exactly the intention of its designers, and not an accidental result. But when we realize what price level this cable represents, we might think of it differently because we can't really find such smoothness, fluidity and so beautifully presented colors in other, similarly priced cables. The closest in this respect are products of the Japanese company Mogami NI-2497 + NI-2477.

Even compared to these cables, Tellurium Q still may be favored because they present recordings in a way that truly attracts listeners' attention. Although they are not particularly resolving nor selective, they do offer a large and complete musical picture that may remind you of an "analog" sound. This is on orderly. Particularly coherent presentation. Listening to the music with this cable does not spur listener to analyze performance of the system but rather to immerse himself in it.

The thing that distinguishes Black II most from the more expensive cables of this manufacturer as well as the reference cables, i.e. Acoustic Revive Triple-C series is the definition. The British cable does not go in the direction of control as they do. It is primarily about the way of the low tones presentation. There is as much bass as needed, it is rich and juicy, but not that well controlled. I would say that the older version of this cable seemed better in this respect, but only because it did not deliver that much extension in the lower region as Black II does, so it did not have to control the lowest tones.

With most vocals, classics, jazz, etc., it will not matter, because these music genres are gaining most from this tonal balance. With electronic music featuring with lowest, electronically generated sounds, one can hear that their definition is simplified. Sounds are quickly extinguished, never over-extended, so we do not have to worry about "boomy" bass.

I could hear that very well when listening to the recordings that I brought this summer from my holiday, with music composed and recorded by my friend Robert Kowalski - DJ, sound engineer and composer. Robert has a very nice audio system, and he also builds loudspeakers for concert halls. He knows what a very low, well-controlled bass is, and at the same time a great, dense and sweet treble. Black II beautifully emphasized these advantages of his recordings but did not go as low as Acoustic Revive cables. It did not offer equally good definition either. The big price difference between these cables was obvious.

Black vs Black II

Looking at both cables, not knowing that you need to look for a Roman “double” on a black outer jacket, we would say that they are the same cables. But let’s listen to them with a few songs, it does not take much time to come to the conclusion that really big changes took place between the new and the old version.”

The original Black's performance seems more attractive. It has a better developed treble, is slightly more dynamic, and above all the attack is stronger. Compared to it the Black II sounds darker, denser and more "analogue". I intentionally refer to this stereotype, because compared to it the Black I is more chaotic, with a poorly structured sound (in comparison). Everything with it is clearer, stronger, but all elements are presented in a more separate way. The Black II brings everything together, makes the presentation more cohesive.

Don't get me wrong, the original Black was not a bad cable. I think it is a very good one actually, with a nice drive, nice colors and good selectivity. It's a good proposal for the money for anyone who wants to have a little bit of this and that. The new Black is, however, a better thought-through proposal, i.e. designers clearly had a target sound they wanted to achieve and managed to realize their vision. Slight emphasis in the midrange, better extended, more powerful bass - Black I sounds clearly “lighter” - resulted in a focused, saturated sound that the vinyl fans should really love.

For a moment the Black II may seem less pronounced in such a comparison. It's not true. It is much more communicative and reliable than the older cable. The original version creates an impression of a better pronounced, clearer presentation, but it is actually more dull, less focused. Let me repeat one more time - it is a very good cable, but the new version is clearly better. Even more so, as the Black I will emphasize leanness of the system - if it is there - and the Black II will enrich the sound fixing the problem.

Summary

The Black II is a completely different cable from original Black. I assume that the changes in the design were not that big, after all, both versions look almost identical (apart from the name). Still, the sound is so different that I it is more of a completely new model rather than a new version of the same one. Those who want to upgrade their Black cable should first listen to II version, because it sounds different. But if you just want a great cable at friendly price, that will appeal to your "analog" side of the brain - buy the Black II.

Only those who appreciate highly resolving and selective sound, as well as those who have large collections of electronic music should first try it out in their systems first to determine if its character fits into their system. I believe, however, that many of them will also keep it – this is an extremely versatile cable with beautiful tone. Highly recommended! RED Fingerprint.