Achievum Live Mk 1 High Performance Cable

Achievum Cables - Live Mk 1 audio interconnect cable

The Live Mk 1 was an excellent upgrade into high-end hi-fi.

I had the opportunity to test quite a few of the popular cost-no-limit interconnect cables at home. I unfortunately was not very impressed with Nordost Valhalla or the Analysis plus silver oval interconnects. Finally I was also able to add a pair of MIT demo cables the Live Mk 1 interconnect cable (they have a great 30 days try at home offer at http://www.achievum.eu/index.html) to the test.

After having all cables installed back and forth over extended period of time, I found that Live Mk 1 gave by far the best stereo image in my system [McIntosh MC252, Audio Research CD5 and CP-8571]. They rendered an overall holistic depth and a breathtaking placement and intimacy of instruments and vocals, which was not to be found in the other cables.

When taking the price (450 USD) in consideration I find them to be exceptional value for money.

Achievum Cables - Live Mk 1 audio interconnect cable

The Live Mk 1 was an excellent upgrade into high-end hi-fi. I had the opportunity to test quite a few of the popular cost-no-limit interconnect cables at home.

I was unfortunately not so impressed with Nordost Valhalla or the Analysis plus silver oval interconnects. Finally I was also able to add a pair of MIT demo cables and the Live Mk 1 interconnect cable (they have a great 30 days try at home offer at http://www.achievum.eu/index.html) to the test.

After having all cables installed back and forth over extended period of time, I found that Live Mk 1 gave by far the best stereo image in my system [McIntosh MC252, Audio Research CD5 and CP-8571]. They rendered in an overall depth and a breathtaking placement and intimacy of instruments and vocals, which was not to be found in the other cables.

When taking the price (450 USD) in consideration I find them to be exceptional value for money.

Achievum Cables - Live Mk 1

I have previously tested Analysis plus (Silver oval), MIT (CVT), Nordost (Valhalla) which all have their pros and cons, however I knew my system was capable of more. I was recommended to try the Achievum Cables - Live Mk 1. Compared to the other cables the sound stage opened up and gave the stereo image more overall depth and a breathtaking placement and intimacy of instruments and vocals.

In my setup (Audio Research CD5, Class Cap 2100 and B&W Nautilus 802) it felt as if the amp got a more distinct and accurate grip on the B&W speakers. Before I sometimes wondered if perhaps the Class had too little power for the challenging speakers, but after the Live Mk 1 cable upgrade this is defiantly not an issue any longer.

Looks and finish of these cables are great and they fits nicely in the system physically as well as visually, with great connectors of cupper and tellurium.

I saw these achievum live mk1 cables at a hifi show and was told that they where a new cable brand from a rather small company in Europe that catered to the high-end segment. I like my current system set-up (Dynaudio Contour 3.4, Primare I30 and Audio Research CD3) and did not want to change any of those components, but was curious for some new tweaking. So I decided to try the Live Mk 1 speaker cables.

I have Analysis plus cables since before and had some Nordost at hand so I was very curious to see how they would perform.

I found them to provide a new level of intimacy in vocals and instruments. After running them in my system for a little while I gave them a good listen and was surprised at the clear highs and midrange. It is difficult to describe but vocals seems more neutral and conveying. Also, plain instruments like guitars etc came across as amazingly rich compared with what I have normally heard when reproduced (I am a big fan of "acoustic" as well as the good old fender guitar sound). As for the bass I had to listen for a while and compare back and forth before making my conclusion. At first I thought is was not so well extended, however a more in-depth listen showed it to be just as extended but more taut and nuanced than before.

I find that the company's tagline "closer to the live performance" is quite spot-on

Pros: I really like them and I will keep them although there is a 30 day test and return policy.

Con: Not very much at this time, the packing and wrapping was not very fancy