Kudos KS-1 Speaker Cable - HiFi Review

This is my HiFi Review of the Kudos KS-1 Speaker Cable, a new cable in the very much affordable bracket compared to some cables. Cable reviews are hard, subjective and require dedication. You really need a system capable of revealing subtle changes in performance

Design & Quality

The cable is constructed with simple high-quality materials.  The Kudos KS-1 conductors are 19 strands of silver-plated Oxygen-Free Copper (OFC) insulated with Fluorinated Ethylene Propylene (FEP) run with a slow twist and all surround by a hard PVC outer for protection. physical damping and simplicity of use.  Kudos says “FEP shares PTFE’s ideal low dielectric constant but is a little softer for improved mechanical damping. The choice of 19 strands is not random: there were multiple listening tests carried out to identify sonic differences from the number of strands changing while keeping the overall conductor diameter the same. Nineteen proved to be the ideal.”

Feel

The Kudos KS-1 feels soft and malleable to the touch.  It is quite a thin cable which is quite surprising really.  My first Hi-Fi experience was many years ago when nothing less than 79 strands was acceptable for my NAD 3020e so this is progress.  In all the terminations are solid and very confident and you get a good vibe from the cable, that is labelled to determine the direction.

Performance

Set-Up

I’m using a Naim NAC-N 272 powered by an XPS power supply into a Naim NAP 250 that is driving a beautiful pair of locked down Paradigm Persona 3Fs.  I’m using Atlas power leads and an Eos Modular power conditioner.   Normally, I use Atlas Mavros speaker cable (the old stuff that is not Grun, Grun is now standard for Mavros) which is obviously a premium speaker cable from Atlas.  It is not really a fair runoff if we are honest but a comparison is a comparison, notwithstanding the Mavros cable is several multipliers more expensive per meter than the Kudos KS-1.

I ran the Kudos KS-1 in using an Atlas cable burn-in disc for a week, just to be sure (I forgot about it if I’m honest!).  Helpfully the cable has been terminated for me with the Naim terminal blocks at the amplifier end (I did check the phase, just in case!) and some nice gold plated banana plugs at the other end.

Kudos KS-1 v Mavros

Basically, I ran a few pieces of music through with Mavros and immediately swapped the cables over and played them again, then swapped them back.  I used Post Malone’s Better Now and Nils Frahm’s Some mainly for the bass, low-end sound and the resolution, respectively.   Separately, I’ve had a spin with Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer on my Rega Planar RP3 for listening to dynamic performance.   I’m not quite comparing apples with oranges here but as long as we know that, we’re fine.  Here’s the playlist I made on Tidal.

The introduction of the Kudos KS-1 has been nothing short of remarkable compared to what it is replacing.  Save for a slight lightening of the bass, there is little to choose between the cables.  The resolution is fine and dynamically, I’m very really happy with the performance.

Letterly, after playing Peter Gabriel’s Sledgehammer, you inevitably end up listening to the next track Don’t Give Up.  What a beautiful piece of music on vinyl.  The Kudos cable articulates the Kate Bush vocal wonderfully and the vinyl version has so much more warmth than the Tidal track.

Overall Conclusions

the Kudos KS-1 cable is performing as an excellent mid to high-end cable at a very reasonable price….and my experience of this cable…is quite remarkable really

Cables can only take away from the quality of the music bring delivered to the speakers by the amplifier and so it follows, with a Mavros cable it is clearly more open and delivers the better reproduction.  But the Kudos KS-1 cable is performing as an excellent mid to high-end cable at a very reasonable price.  It is quite remarkable really.  Cable design is one of those subjects where science is important but it doesn’t take away from empirical trials.  My experience of this cable, at this price, is quite remarkable really.  At this price, it is an outstanding product.

If you’ve yet to invest in cables, this Kudos KS-1 cable is a great place to start.

Kudos KS-1 loudspeaker cable is available now and can be ordered in your chosen length and termination.  It is retailing near £30/m