Ricable Dedalus Signal DR2 RCA Interconnect Cable – Warmth And Love Enveloping Sound
Ricable Dedalus Signal DR2 is a 462 euro per 2 meter pair of cable, or $533 USD, although you can totally order a shorter or a longer variant of this DR2 Interconnect cable. This is a pair of semi balanced high fidelity cables for connecting an analog source to an amplifier, ideal for bringing out the acoustic performance of high quality equipment. DR2 uses MARC 7N Copper conductors and pure copper connectors to render the sound they deliver.
Introduction
Ricable has an entire line of high-end cables with their Dedalus Signal and DR2 is an RCA HIFI interconnect line of cables, with a thinner design than their Invictus line, and a more flexible design too. This is a fully customizable product, but I went with a 2 Meter length as I usually have my DAC and AMP in separate places.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3JrOnkE
Official Link – https://www.ricable.com/en/prodotto/ricable-dedalus-signal-cavo-audio-di-segnale-stereo-rca-high-end/
Build Quality – Design
Ricable designed the Dedalus Signal DR2 to be the ideal transparent cable, and they derived all of the characteristics directly from the Invictus Signal series. This cable stands out for neutrality, detail, and soundstage, and they use a 0.55mm2 conductor made of 7N MARC or Multicore Annealed Ricable conductor copper with strands 0.088mm smoother and more compactor surface allowing for 70% better audio transmission compared to OFC copper.
Connectors are made of Copper, RCA with a hot-pole expansion system that will keep them tightly locked. Those are 24K Gold plated with gold/copper electrolysis for playing, with a conductivity improvement of more than 30% over common brass connectors. Using a semi balanced geometry with roped insulation and connecting rod-crank detorsion to eliminate stress on conductors, Dedalus Signal DR2 uses insulation derived from the Ricable R-TEC technology with special polyethylenes and treated cotton.
To further improve the noise isolation, Ricable uses Triple Total Shielding with mixed Copper / Aluminium / Magnesium to cover all audio frequencies from EMI / RFI interference. The name DR2 stands for the 2 Meter variant of the cable, but you can order a pair from 0.5 meters or DR05 up to 3 meters long or DR3.
Ricable also offers 100 perfect safety with their cables, offering a Lifetime warranty, with a fully satisfied or money back guanratree. You can return your ricable cables within 60 days if you find you’re not happy with the quality, and those are all made in italy with the ability to customize length for those cables.
Sound Quality – Subjective Usage
Pairings – To test the Ricable Dedalus Signal DR2 I have paired it with a set of Topping B100 Monoblock Amplifiers, driven by a FiiO k17 used as a DAC, and driving a pair of Elispon XLS 7 Heritage Speakers. I have also used Pylon Audio Diamond 30 mkii speakers and other DACs including Rose technics RT-5000. Those cables are best purchased at least in the 1 meter variant as they are rather thick and not that flexible to bend easily for the half a meter version. That being said, they look beautiful and bring a little bit of color to my system. The AMPs used have been either a set of Topping B100 monoblock AMPs, or Keces S300+.
Overall Signature – Ricable Dedalus Signal DR2 is a smoother, but neutral sounding cable. Highly transparent and revealing details much better than most counterparts, it is highly transparent, creates a wide and holographic soundstage image and makes music interesting, dynamic, vivid and engaging.
I have received this question a lot, whether a good RCA cable can sound better than a much cheaper, affordable XLR cable, and to test this I put up the Dedalus Signal RCA against the ddHiFi BC30XLR XLR interconnect cable, and Dedalus Signal RCA sounds far smoother, more musical, richer and more organic, creating a more authentic, transparent sound. BC30XLR sounds a bit grainy, less detailed and does not have a lower noise floor in exactly the same setup, so both cables are a good option and a high-end cable is more important than whether you’re using RCA or XLR as a connection standard.
Tonality – Ricable Dedalus Signal is super transparent with no coloration applied to the sound. Such a highly transparent cable will be bright or too open if you’re coming from warm or bloomy sounding ones, but it is just pure true transparency. Compared to most cables, it achieves a very good transmittance with low coloration.
Dynamics / PRaT / Textures – Give an interconnect the chance to shine and it will present the textures and impulse response in a slightly different way, and Dedalus signal does so in a smoother way, rounded at the edges, with a more musical approach. This results in a highly organic, slightly lean, transparent and open way. Ricable Signal is a line of cables that takes the grain away, allows music to be richer and more organic and will be super detailed still, a very good compromise between weight and snappiness, punch and dynamics, and it is a downsized version of the pricier cables that Ricable makes, but an excellent choice nonetheless.
Soundstage – I love this about Ricable cables, but they always sound wide and holographic, revealing and fun. The stage that Ricable DR 2 reveals is wide, with a strong instrument separation. Can refine a system for improved details, it shows a higher difference between instruments, highlights layers and direction from which the sound is coming in a song. Simply outstanding transparency that makes music far more enjoyable in general.
Value and Conclusion
As with most high-end cables, you should put everything you have in a good system before upgrading the cables. This is the very last step you’re looking at, but it is an important step nonetheless and can make or break a system. I feel like Ricable Dedalus Signal DR 2 has the highest value out of all Ricable cables I’ve heard to date, it is more affordable, but has the same transparent, wide and holographic sound, basically the best deal you can get, although the pricier options are not that much pricier, so you should really consider what you need from the company. I would generally still recommend getting the XLR version if your system can use XLR cables.
At the end of the day, Ricable Dedalus signal RCA DR2 is a highly transparent, wide sounding cable with excellent instrument separation, it is a top choice if you want a clean sound, it is detailed but rich and musical, and in my book a top option, one of the best RCA cables that I’ve heard, much better than most super affordable options like ddHIFI RC20A.
PROs
- Outstanding detail and resolution
- Highly transparent and adds no coloration to the sound
- Rich and organic sound
- Wide, holographic and engaging
Cons
- Still a bit pricey for an interconnect cable
- Not the most flexible out there
- Better to go for XLR if your system allows, as most systems have less noise on the XLR input / output
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/3JrOnkE
Official Link – https://www.ricable.com/en/prodotto/ricable-dedalus-signal-cavo-audio-di-segnale-stereo-rca-high-end/
Technical Specifications
Capacity – 27 pF/m
Resistance – 50 Ω/km
Outer Diameter – Ø 10 mm
Conductor Section – 2 x 0.55 mm²
Conductor Structure – Twisted with each other and with the insulation with detorsion system
Diameter strand – 0.08 mm
Material Conductors – MARC Pure Copper 7N 99.99999%.
Geometry – Semi-balanced
Dielectric Insulator – Polymer with low dielectric constant
Internal Shielding – Mylar and Aluminum
External Shielding – OFC Copper Braid with High Coverage
External Protection – High-density sheathing with Polyethylene/Nylon braid
Connector Material – Copper
Contact – Hand-welded with special Sn/Ag/Cu eutectic alloy
Features Connectors – Increased 6-element Mass Rings, Body made entirely of 24 K Gold Plated Copper, Teflon Dielectric, Gold plated with specific Gold/Copper electrolysis technique, Central expansion pole, Amagnetic Shell, Anti-disturbance alloy shell
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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