Opinion 1

For as far as I can remember, despite authentic respect for the so called mainstream and honest desire to buy something from a first choice brand, I usually end up putting something more niche, or at least less obvious, in my purchase basket. To give you a bit broader perspective, let me mention watches, where, while I like for example Seiko and owning a few of their timepieces during last few dozen years, since a longer while I am concentrated on so called “micro-brands”, which only use said mechanisms. A similar thing happened to photography – starting from the analog era, through DSLR and finishing with mirrorless, after owning a few Canons and Nikons I finally found my peace and satisfaction with a Fuji in my hands. And there is also whisky, where instead of following classics Islay like the Ardbeg, Laphroaig or Bunnahabhain my eyes automatically jump to some independent bottled offered by Duncan Taylor (the Battlehill series) or more hellish inventions like Yeun Elez Jobic Armorika. However the biggest invention in finding some stranger things I did have, and people say I am still having, with regard to audiophile cabling. Of course I am not only reliant on listening alone, but I am using common sense, as I have cables from Acrolink or Furutech readily available as reference points, but my world is revolving around the lesser known brands. Let me quickly mention my shorter or longer romance with the loudspeaker cables Gabriel Gold Revelation mk I, Slinkylinks S1 and Signal Projects Hydra, interconnects Antipodes Audio Katipo and LessLoss Anchorwave or lately the discovery of the Bali brand Vermouth Audio. After reading all this you should not be surprised, that one or our “souvenirs” from Munich was the contact with a South Korean audiophile cable manufacturer, completely unknown on our market. I am talking about Hemingway Audio, which cannot really be called a manufacture, as it has a very solid technological back room. It employs sixty people, officially created in 2008, as a part of a company founded in 1993 by Mr. Doyoung Chung and operating in the telecommunication sector, Sigma Electronics Co., Ltd. (currently Indratec Corporation). You can clearly see, that this is rather not a garage company, but is much closer to the business model employed by, for example, Fidata or Silent Angel, where the knowledge gained within a corporation and big, based on strictly engineering knowledge R&D departments turned out to be very helpful in our, seemingly hobbyist and sidelined area, to please the exaggerated expectations of golden eared audiophiles. So if you are wondering, what came together from the combination of advanced technology and passion to achieve audiophile perfection in, according to company materials “the best audio cables made to date”, there is nothing else to do, than to invite you to an encounter with the highest series in the company portfolio, introduced in 2019 Z-core. And we will have a look at the power cord β(Beta) and interconnects and loudspeaker cables Σ(Sigma).

In the beginning of the description of the tested cables, I need to give you a small explanation. Now while the “commercial” supplies, that contain cables for purchasing, have the cables placed in very nicely looking proprietary boxes, covered with eco-leather and lined with velvet, giving a substantial feeling of luxury, the units we received were supplied only in textile bags and bubble wrap (please refer to the unboxing part). This was due to our desire to receive the cables for testing as soon as possible. It is true, that you have only once chance on a first impression, but in this case the main priority was to get something completely unknown in our region, and at that, something we could assess as worth listening to, while in Munich, as it was used to cable a Thrax system, which we, at least partially, hosted in our listening room and thus knew.
As this is a debut, it is worth mentioning, that the Korean catalog, besides the mentioned Z-core series, carries two more – one, which is almost on part in terms of pricing – the Creation S and the basic Indigo. In the first series we have also the subgroups Signature, Ultimate and Advance, and I and II in the latter, so using our needs, hearing, common sense or contents of our wallet, we can surely find something for us.
The eco-leather boxes aside, in contrast to many American, and some of the European cables, which aspire to the High-End, the Korean cables are manufactured just perfectly. Even doing the photo session I did not need to search for any specific item, to underline their design values. And in addition, also in contrast to the usual gargantuan sizes, the Hemingway cables do not intimidate with their diameter and give you no issues when installing. Just quite thin and yet elastic cables, placed inside a black, nylon sheath, which do not have any ambition to move the electronics, they are connected to, around. And this is a really nice touch. Another thing catching the eye, and at the same something that is often perceived as something not for the top products, is the, quite bold, but at the same time acting as a kind of anti-depressant, choice of colors. The Z-core β(Beta) has the plugs (which are great) and the proprietary module covered in blue-metallic varnish, for the Z-core Σ(Sigma) the manufacturer went all out and the mentioned plugs and modules are … candy pink.

The common denominator for the construction of the Z-core is based on a Hemingway patent, the FMCF (Frequency Modulation Cavity Fundamentals) technology, which is based on converting RFI and EMI interference into a magnetic field and harvesting its energy. In addition, due to perforated insulators, the company achieved significant reduction of resistance, and using a proprietary method of “multi-way transmission” (5-way in case of the Z-core), reduction of the influence of the transmitted frequencies on the level of distortion. According to the manufacturer, most part of the “magic”, or rather the physical phenomena, happens inside the modules, visible on the pictures, resembling a bit trumpet valves, with the company logo and the name of the series written on them. Hemingway is a company that likes to have full control about every stage of the production, so the plugs they are using are made to the meticulous specifications by a subcontractor. The manufacturer is placing the information about the recommended direction in which the cable is going to be used. The exception is the loudspeaker cable, which has those directions printed on the heat shrink sleeves. And although the probability of connecting a power cable or an XLR the wrong way is not very high, yet with RCA and loudspeaker cables it is much higher, so those directions become much more relevant, and it is advisable to take them into account when connecting. Also the copper contacts of the plugs are chrome, platinum and gold plated. Although the manufacturer is very hush hush about the details of production, we were able to get some information out of him. It turned out to be just some generic information about what we can find inside the cables, but this is at least something we can use. Now despite the not so big diameter of the cables and the already mentioned elasticity, we deal here with a multi-strand construction, and not a solid core. The strands are using a few dozen of copper conductors with five different cross-sections, which are the twisted in opposite direction, and where the amount of twists depends on the cable model. The company materials mention also alloys of silver and gold, six-layered shielding and using Teflon, rubber, urethane and nylon as insulators.

Beginning with the listening session I decided to take things slowly, and instead of changing the whole set of cables to the tested ones, to include the tested cables in my system one by one. The first cable I decided to use, of course after it has been burned-in, was the power cord β (Beta). The first notes of “Srdce z kamene” by Deloraine and … and we can talk about a classic jaw drop, if not about a positive shock. Fiery Czech folk, being kind of a combination of music served by Scandinavians from Wardruna and Mongols from The Hu, sounded brilliant, especially in terms of realism and authenticity. Even compared to my Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF you could notice better control, with deeper reach of the lowest elements, a better worked out space and increased precision of drawing of the virtual sources. This was a very interesting experience, as the Japanese cable was a class on its own in terms of stage depth, at least in my system. But it was not all beautiful, as in terms of juiciness and body of the midrange, the NCF turned out to be more organic and euphonic, so even on this level we have one thing exchanged for another. But when we talk about the definition of the sounds, the micro and macro dynamics, or more broadly, resolution and motoric, then the Beta does not need to be ashamed of anything, even compared to legends like the Siltech Triple Crown. It can even fit our taste better, because it sounds more vivid, more direct and is closer to live sound. It was as if it eliminated the step of “normalization” of the musical material before LP/CD pressing or publication in streaming services, giving us access to the “master” files. But I need to mention, that this is not artificial boost of dynamics and contours, or “extraction” of details – similar to a technique in photography, called HDR, but the removal of a semi-transparent, thin veil between the musicians and the listeners. So we do not have the acoustic Czech pagan-folk divert in the direction of much more brute achievements of the Polish Radogost (“Przeklęty”) or Percival Schuttenbach (“Reakcja Pogańska”), but rather the intensification of the esthetics of the old rites, and a climate, for which my personal master is the “Runaljod – Ragnarok” by Wardruna, which I could not miss to listen to. And this was when the might and full control over the lowest registers came to full fruition, when the Hemingway led them with an iron fist. Seemingly the Synergistic Research Galileo SX AC was even more spectacular in that aspect, and reached the absolute in its unrestricted scale, but the South Korean cable came very close. Two more aspects connected the Galileo and the Beta – blackness of the background and cleanness of the air filling the stage. All kinds of noise and parasitic artefacts remained outside of the system, which was finally able to reproduce that, what was recorded in the source material, without any superfluous luggage.

When time came for the RCA and XLR interconnects, from a product line placed in the price list one shelf higher, the Σ(Sigma), I had a thought in the back of my head, if I would not fall a victim of a classic oversaturation, and the signature of the Beta, which is fitting my taste so well, will not start to bother me with its intensity. Fortunately it turned out, that the cables put emphasis on refinement of the reproduced sound, and did not multiply the intensity of their influence. Due to that approach the vocals gained on palpability and attractiveness. Even on recordings, that did not aspire to be audiophile, like “Poetica” by Stranger Vision, where you can hear Zachary Stevens (I warmly recommend “Edge of Thorns” by Savatage recorded with his participation) and “My Darkness, Darkness” Beseech, rich in beautiful duet vocals from Angelina Sahlgren Soder / Klas Bohlin, where the “master tape” effect only got deeper. Interestingly, instead of bringing the first plane closer, what is a very popular effect, the changes pertained to something different. I am talking about the power of emission and cleanness of the human vocal. The singers stayed in their places, but their communicativeness got improved, as if they somehow increased their own vocal abilities, but also as if the studio provided them with much better microphones, in the likes of the gems made by Martin Kantola from Nordic Audio Labs. Native sparkling, juiciness and richness of articulation became a fact. But you only needed to reach out for some better recorder propositions like “Antonio Vivaldi” by Cecilia Bartoli with the Breton group Ensemble Matheus conducted by the violinist Jean-Christophe Spinosi to experience with your own ears, what those Korean cables are capable of doing, and most of all, what you system is able to achieve, and what you did not think was possible. Additionally, probably due to her age, instead of attacking the listeners with neck-breaking coloraturas, Bartoli concentrated on different aspects of artistic expression, exposing the beauty of lyric arias, where appropriately long breath and weighted phrases are more important than chasing sounds. This is no forced singing, but just typical Italian – natural and unforced, something that the late Pavarotti brought to perfection, and what was absolutely obvious with the Hemingway. The Sigma are not going in the direction of extreme performance, but following the example of the Synergistic, they free the native potential hidden in the reproduced music and in the systems playing it back. This means, that instead of enlarging and blowing things up, they just get rid of the bottlenecks and weakest links.

I left the loudspeaker Σ(Sigma) for desert, in a way of speaking, which turned out to be the most resolving part of the puzzle, when compared to their siblings. The amount and speed of the information provided by them can intimidate at first. Even more, when I moved over from my usual Signal Projects Hydra or the euphonic Vermöuth Reference, I initially caught myself trying to assess, if I like that wealth of experience, or if it will not become tiring on the long run. But this kind of dilemma happened only initially, as after playing a few pieces, it was absolutely clear, that I receive full information, and not only a smaller or bigger part of it. It was interesting, that this was especially clear on recordings, which seemingly did not carry too much content. Let us take “Cantate Domino – La Capella Sistina e la musica dei Papi” by Sistine Chapel Choir and Massimo Palombelli as an example, where suddenly the quite homogeneous and cohesive presented, monolithic choral parties were redefined – with a precise indication of each of the singers. True, the Synergistic Research Galileo SX SC went even further in terms of volume, sheer size of the sound stage and saturation, the Hemingway were on a stratospheric level there already. Absolute blackness of the background and smoothness combined with resolution make us perceive the true structure of each of the instruments. An important thing is, that this cleanness resulting from removal of all kinds of parasitic artefacts does not mean the sound became too antiseptic and artificial, it also did not lose any of the “audiophile plankton” which makes the recordings sound more live and authentic, rather than dull and sterile, as if it would be recorded in an anechoic chamber and all non-musical items were removed during post-production. So you do not experience any items created by the cabling, or any proprietary interpretation of the sound, but only a lossless transfer of information. The difference may not seem large, but it lies much closer to the definition of Hi-Fi and High-End themselves. The question is, if you want to uncover this truth, and really strive to do it, or rather prefer a different, alternative narrative.

It cannot be denied, that despite their quite sweet colors, and not overwhelming sizes, the Hemingway can easily be included in a very elite circle of extreme High-End. And while this is absolutely joyful in terms of sound, it also translates into what you need to pay at the register, as the manufacturer asks amounts adequate to the sonic aspects of the cables. However when looking at the prices of the Korean cables from the Z-core series through the prism of competition attacking the audiophile Olympus, you must agree, that they still have a very good price to performance ratio. And while having said that, it still is beyond our abilities, this is a completely different story. We just need to be happy, that we could spend the last month with them, and I wish, that you would have a similar experience, because I think, that once there is more hype about the Hemingway brand, and for sure this will happen sooner or later, the current pricing will become an unreal memory, that will call for the reflection, that cheap is no more an option.
And finally I would like to tackle the statement from the company materials, I mentioned in the introduction, that those are “the best audio cables made to date”. And? I have my doubts with regard to this being so categorical, as the sample was fairly small. Being direct – if you did not have a listen to everything, then you cannot talk with any certainty, but based on what we were able to hear in our systems for the last decade or so, I dare to claim, that the power cable Z-core as well as the signal and loudspeaker are, if not the best per se, then at least as good as the one or two cables that are my private, absolute top. The question, if it can be done better, of course remains open, based on my experience. But I just glance over it, especially taking into account, that the Korean manufacturer has the Ω (Omega) series in his catalog, also belonging to the Z-core line, and the used symbol might suggest something like that, as according to Wikipedia it often depicts the zenith of evolution, the natural ending of history, life or progress, the definitive end of any occurrence. But how is this in reality? Well I hope to be able to verify that with my own ears sometime in the future.

Marcin Olszewski

System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Ayon CD-35 (Preamp + Signature) + Finite Elemente Cerabase compact
– Network player: Lumin U1 Mini + I-O Data Soundgenic HDL-RA4TB
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Turntable: Kuzma Stabi S + Kuzma Stogi + Dynavector DV-10X5
– Phonostage: Tellurium Q Iridium MM/MC Phono Pre Amp
– Power amplifier: Bryston 4B³ + Graphite Audio IC-35 Isolation Cones
– Loudspeakers: Dynaudio Contour 30 + Brass Spike Receptacle Acoustic Revive SPU-8 + Base Audio Quartz platforms
– IC RCA: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond
– IC XLR: Organic Audio; Vermöuth Audio Reference; Acrolink 7N-A2070 Leggenda
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB cables: Wireworld Starlight; Goldenote Firenze Silver; Fidata HFU2; Vermöuth Audio Reference
– Speaker cables: Signal Projects Hydra; Vermöuth Audio Reference Loudspeaker Cable + SHUBI Custom Acoustic Stands MMS-1
– Power cables: Furutech FP-3TS762 / FI-28R / FI-E38R; Organic Audio Power + Furutech CF-080 Damping Ring; Acoustic Zen Gargantua II; Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF
– Power distribution board: Furutech e-TP60ER + Furutech FP-3TS762 / Fi-50 NCF(R) /FI-50M NCF(R)
– Wall power socket: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Anti-vibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Switch: Silent Angel Bonn N8 + Silent Angel S28 + Silent Angel Forester F1 + Luna Cables Gris DC
– Ethernet cables: Neyton CAT7+; Audiomica Anort Consequence + Artoc Ultra Reference + Arago Excellence; Furutech LAN-8 NCF
– Table: Solid Tech Radius Duo 3
– Acoustic panels: Vicoustic Flat Panels VMT

Opinion 2

I do not want to brag, but introducing you a bit to our “behind the curtains” actions regarding the items we are testing today, I am happy to announce, that having this high-end brand, and surely a novelty for everyone, appear in our listening room and on our pages, was a result of what happened in Munich, during the May show. It was not easy, but our arguments, that we have a lot of experience with the top offerings of world-class audio manufacturers did the trick, and we managed to bring things to a happy ending. And not a shabby one, as we received not one, modest component, that could only be a teaser of other things to come, but a full set of cables. And this was a good move on the manufacturer’s behalf, as this allowed us not only get a hint of what they are doing, but rather get an in-depth understanding of what kind of sound is presented by the company Hemingway from South Korea. Due to the fact, that the company does not have a local distributor, the mentioned set, in the form of a loudspeaker cable and RCA/XLR interconnects from the Z-core Sigma series, and the power cable from the one notch lower series Z-core Beta, did not come in fancy boxes, but in a transport enclosure.

Talking about the way the tested cables are put together, is a bit tricky, as there is not much to go off from, in terms of technical data. The only thing we were able to get, was the information, that the cables use bundles of conductors made of multiple dozen of copper wires, with five different cross-sections, wound together. After initial placement, those are twisted in opposite directions. The amount of twist is dependent on the model and purpose of a given cable. Teflon, rubber and urethane were used for insulation. Each cable has also special cylinders with button-like structures on top, which are, according to the manufacturer, used to eliminate RMI and RFI interference, as they are converted into energy using company patents. Interestingly, this energy is not removed as waste of the signal cleaning process, but injected into the signal, boosting its vitality. The cables are covered with a black braid, and to allow easier identification, they have differently colored plugs, of course with appropriate print on them. The final cable is packed in brown pouches, with velvet lining, and then in boxes, covered with eco-leather. And this concludes what we know about the Hemingway cables. You must admit, this is not a lot. But in my opinion this is better than nothing, as the most important thing is, how this translates into influence on the reproduced music.

Frankly speaking, while plugging this set of cables into my system, I did not know what to expect. I did have a listen during the presentation in Munich, but the random environment of the show did not allow to formulate even a very rough opinion. This is why I was very happy, that despite the very modest dimensions, especially compared to contemporary competition, they showed themselves from the best possible way. They emanated with fully controlled energy, drive and, most importantly, absolute freedom in reproducing the musical world. Already the initial swap of the loudspeaker cable showed, that the information provided by the manufacturer about the fight for the clarity of the signal with some added energy, was not wishful thinking, but something we can clearly hear. And when, based on my previous experience, I expected, that adding further cables would turn this in, at least, a slight overdose, things got into a different direction, very interesting and allowing to get engulfed in music very easily. Each added cable toned down the sound, but in a good meaning of this description. It means that it did not tame any expressiveness, but the cables did not accumulate the “wow” effect, they just increased the body of the sound. The whole time music pulsated with life and vigor, but never got to any exaggeration. This is important, as the tested set turned out to be a bit lighter, than the combination of cables from different brands I use on a daily basis. And it is known, that it is very easy to get from lightness to over interpretation of scenic events. Fortunately, the procedure of subsequent plugging of the cables showed clearly, that while Hemingway put some lightness in the DNA of their cables, they absolutely know, how to prevent them showing any signs of ADHD.
A very good example for that was electronic music from Yello – “Touch”. The material is not easy to manage, as almost every note on the disc is very expressive. Many systems can easily be fooled, and instead of a spectacle full of computer generated acrobatics enriched with modified vocals, we get a conglomerate of more or less undefined, and sometimes even painful, due to distortion, and garish sonic peaks. And in fact this is very nice music, very lively, but within the borders of well understood expression. With kick, energy and brilliant vitality – strong and deep reaching bass, juicy midrange and phenomenal, very transparent, treble. All this was shown by the Korean manufacturer clearly. Things got edgy, but not too much, and for this, the cables should receive a well-deserved applause.
But stronger genres are just a warm-up, as with the same, appropriately upped expression, jazz was played. However this time, the trademark was skillful showing of the edges of the sounds. Skillful, because this was clear and sharp, but never too frugal. The double bass, despite the strings being depicted more precise than with my set of cables, was still able to show their correlation with its body. The kick drum was perceived as being a little shorter, yet it was still reproduced with appropriate energy and the piano had the required mass and majesty, but a bit higher sonority. Those differences were seemingly small, but they resulted in a different perception. Still full of emotion, but now emphasizing more on shine than melancholy. In theory I crashed into a completely different world, but in practice, it did not differ from my expectations. Am I starting to talk rubbish? Not at all. I just want to tell you, that a “different” approach, when accompanied by things important for a given genre, does not always mean “bad”. And here I had a very good example of that. I prefer a denser sound, but the Korean cables were able to seduce me without any problems. They did not ruthlessly cut through the air between the loudspeakers, they did not dazzle with overly expressive artefacts, but preferring splendid transparency, skillfully underlined the shape of each of the virtual sources. To be able to do that, they never forgot about giving them appropriate mass and energy as well placing them properly on a virtual stage, a stage, that almost has no boundaries. The listener is not fed with a mist, that is only faking the plasticity of the sound, but shows clearly, with appropriate gradient of sharpness, the true sonic nature of each disc. Seemingly, like every other manufacturer, they want to bring a sonic primer to life, but when you have a closer look, not many of them is doing this on such a high level.

Does the laurel above mean, that the tested cables are unconditionally for the whole population of high quality music reproduction lovers? Although I would like to give a positive answer to this question, based on my experience I know, there is no chance for that. The first reason for that is, that many potential cable buyers are looking for something that would repair their badly configured systems. The second reason is the harmful chase for a seemingly very attractive, but in reality very distorting, musical sirup. Another can be brought down to people, who are searching for the “razor blades” flying through the listening room. And the Korean cables will not go for that. Yes, when the recording calls for that, you will get the sirup flowing from the speakers, or the enamel splitting on your teeth, but not when you like it, but when it is called upon by the artist recorded on the disc. There is no other option. There is only one thing you need to keep in mind. The system cannot touch extremes in its presentation. And I mean both ends of the spectrum – anorexia and obesity. If those are not present in your system, then the only option you have is to contact the manufacturer directly. Or maybe the distributor, if there will be one. But I must warn you, getting acquainted with what Hemingway offers may be very painful for your wallet, as after a listening session, the musical world can be completely different than before.

Jacek Pazio

System used in this test:
Source:
– transport: CEC TL 0 3.0
– streamer: Melco N1A/2EX + switch Silent Angel Bonn N8
– DAC: dCS Vivaldi DAC 2.0
– Master clock: Mutec REF 10 SE-120
– reclocker: Mutec MC-3+USB
– Shunyata Research Omega Clock
– Shunyata Sigma V2 NR
– Preamplifier: Gryphon Audio Pandora
– Power amplifier: Gryphon Audio APEX Stereo
– Loudspeakers: Gauder Akustik Berlina RC-11 Black Edition
– Speaker Cables: Synergistic Research Galileo SX SC
IC RCA: Hijiri Million „Kiwami”, Vermouth Audio Reference
IC XLR: Tellurium Q Silver Diamond, Hijiri Milion „Kiwami”, Siltech Classic Legend 880i
Digital IC: Hijiri HDG-X Milion
Power cables: Hijiri Takumi Maestro, Furutech Project-V1, Furutech NanoFlux NCF, Furutech DPS-4.1 + FI-E50 NCF(R)/ FI-50(R), Hijiri Nagomi, Vermouth Audio Reference Power Cord, Acrolink 8N-PC8100 Performante
– Table: SOLID BASE VI
– Accessories: Harmonix TU 505EX MK II, Stillpoints ULTRA SS, Stillpoints ULTRA MINI, antivibration platform by SOLID TECH, Harmonix AC Enacom Improved for 100-240V, Harmonix Room Tuning Mini Disk RFA-80i
– Power distribution board: POWER BASE HIGH END
– Acoustic treatments by Artnovion
Analog stage:
Drive: Clearaudio Concept
Cartridge: Essence MC
Step-up: Thrax Trajan
Phonostage: Sensor 2 mk II

Manufacturer: Hemingway Audio
Prices
Hemingway Z-core β(Beta) Power: 4 800$
Hemingway Z-core Σ(Sigma) XLR: 14 000$
Hemingway Z-core Σ(Sigma) RCA: 14 000$
Hemingway Z-core Σ(Sigma) Speaker: 28 000$