Opinion 1

With fully conscious deceit, let me state at the very beginning, that regardless of whether cables for audio applications do sound or not, and this aspect is not debatable on our pages, the key issue is whether, and under which circumstances of nature, this means progress, and when it means regression of the sound of the system wired with them. In short, what influences the positive or negative effects of our, often spontaneous, and therefore not fully thought-out, changes in the audiophile bloodstream. Generally speaking, the problem lies in the unpredictability, and at the same time, the number of variables that a candidate aspiring to stay in our intricate puzzle has to face. That is why more and more bold manufacturers of cables, dedicated for the golden eared brotherhood, encourage people to listen, test and finally buy complete sets of effects of their creativity. The reason is, contrary to appearances, (un)obvious, and by no means based on economic aspects, but on … logic. It is about eliminating other cables, unknown to a given creator of the wire(s) and thus with unknown influence on new tens/hundreds of centimeters of copper or other ores in the system, because for as far as I know, none of them has a glass ball and does not possess any secret knowledge that would allow them to read, not even from coffee grounds or tea leaves, but from that part of the body where the back loses its noble name, to assume, and, as it were in advance, assume how the wiring they propose will harmonize with the competitive brand X or Y. And so, fully satisfying the needs of a given system with wires of all colors, but all coming from one stable, they are usually able to predict this impact on the final sound with greater or, sometimes lesser, accuracy. Of course, leaving the final assessment to the tester / buyer. Moreover, it is one of the most reasonable ways to work out a reasonable starting point as effectively as possible, when completing a new system, and if audiophilia nervosa activates once more, only then try to go a step or two further, drawing on the previously gained experience, and reach for a set from another company.
Therefore, although we have already had the opportunity to meet the power cord belonging to the tested series at the turn of 2022 and 2023, and in the meantime we did carefully review and interrogate the other offerings from the Plichtów based company, by a strange coincidence we have not yet had the opportunity to host the complete set of cables from this manufacturer in the editorial systems. Fortunately, this oversight can be considered non-existent, because if you are reading these words, it is a sign that such a set has reached us. In addition, Witek Kamiński – the ‘spiritus movens’ of the Polish WK Audio manufacture, put all the chips on one card and, in accordance with the company’s hierarchy, gave us the entry level of his joyful creativity in the form of a full WK Audio TheOne set, which included three “Power” power cords, XLR interconnects and “Speakers” speaker cables.

As the above photos show, the „Ones” against the background of the nobler cables from the TheRay and TheRed series look very modest, both when it comes to not very obliging cross-sections, as well as the black color of the outer protective braids. Nevertheless, we should appreciate the compliance with the native DNA and the use of aluminum splitter sleeves in the speaker cables, which could be successfully replaced with heat-shrink „pants” due to the „budget” nature of the tested line, and no one would blame the manufacturer for that. And here you are, not only are the appropriate barrels decorated with company logos and model markings, but also the confection, in the form of Furutech’s FP-201 (R) forks, does not give a pretext for even the slightest criticism. The same is true for the XLR interconnects, where Furutech FP-701M G / FP-702F G are used, and power cords, where the FI-E38R / FI-28R plugs were applied. Just a solid standard with no frills. Of course, you can do better and… more expensive, which is proven by higher series, but let us remember that TheOne’s are just an introduction to Plichtów portfolio, so choosing this, and not another garment, can be safely considered logical and common sense at the same time. Speaking of common sense, it is impossible not to mention the characteristic leather and metal key rings decorating the power cables, while in the case of interconnects, the use of a leather „loops” allowed to combine both cables together. Simple, effective and aesthetically pleasing. In addition, they are ecological, because they do not use plastic.
According to tradition, the technical aspect of the titular bunch is the lion’s share of the sweet secret of their creator, who only declares long years of arduous testing, original braids, an obsessive fight with vibrations, handiwork and relying on high purity oxygen-free copper. However, reading not so much between the lines, but with a slightly more erroneous eye than usual, it can be noted that the loudspeaker cables use conductors with a cross-section of 2 mm², while the power wires have 10AWG (6 mm²) each. Interconnects, on the other hand, contain an original composition of conductors made of silver, silver-plated copper and high-purity copper.

Having the tested bunch at my disposal I was able to apply them to my system without major problems (the most rigid/resilient is the Power, so you have to do a bit of bending with its arrangement), providing full wiring of both Vitus (SCD-025 Mk.II + RI-101 MkII), including power supply – the amplifier directly „from the wall” and the source through the „nothing-having” Furutech e-TP60ER. As a result of the above activities, the sound of the Danish duo connected with the AudioSolutions Figaro L2 has been noticeably concretized and hardened in the range of the lowest frequencies. However, this did not take place through “standard” slimming down and dropping some of the energy present so far, but rather by putting together and making the tissue of sound firmer, and defined by precisely drawn contours. Therefore, it was safe to talk about a slight shift of emphasis from mass and volume towards elasticity, pace and timing. You could hear that the whole thing was going in the direction set by my TheRay Speakers loudspeaker cables. Just to be clear – the direction was consistent, but the nuances served by TheOne and the resolution available with their help were inferior to their higher-ranked siblings. This does not mean any clear limitation or turning off the tap with the data stream, but only confirmation of the fact that if not always, then certainly in this case it can be done even better. That is why, I did not spend my time looking for a shortcoming or annoying myself or the tested bunch, I did forego of fratricidal or intercontinental (e.g. with Furutech Nanoflux Power NCF) clashes, focusing on TheOne. And these, after a few days of warming up and settling in my system, presented a highly satisfactory level of ear sensations. It was enough to place the silver disc „Ravel: Boléro – Tchaikovsky: 1812 Overture – Liszt: Les Préludes” performed by The Philadelphia Orchestra under the baton of Riccardo Muti in the player to see, or rather hear, with one’s own ears that practically no limitations of both informational and dynamic nature apply to our heroes. Jumps of dynamics were pressing into the seat, the stage went far beyond the framework determined by the spacing of the speakers, and the treble did not think to falling into a gold-dusted roundness, but when the score required it, to „shoot the ear” with the brass or string parts with the right impetus. Much of this is due to the interconnect, which offers extraordinary openness and truly crystalline purity of the highest frequencies, which perfectly correspond with the similar characteristics of the speaker cable. And as for the impetus, which is the main aspect the loudspeaker cables and power cords care about, changing the repertoire a bit and reaching for this year’s release „Rivers of Nihil” by the progressive death metal band Rivers of Nihil with the help of the Polish cabling is very painful, because you can see for yourself how brutal the variety of metal is, that the band from Pennsylvania dabbles in. If every now and then we are tortured by sounds reminiscent of an autopsy conducted in a suspicious dissecting room with the help of guitar riffs imitating the work of a circular saw and drum blasts supported by a double kick that replace the jackhammer, it is a sign that the Plichtów cabling does not intend to soften or tone of anything, but with disarming insolence shows its place in the ranks of a much more titled competition. For example, in a direct comparison compared to TheOne Power, the American Acoustic Zen Gargantua II sounded more powerful, which should not be surprising to those who know this cable, but at the same time with slightly thicker contours and slightly slowed motoric, giving way to the Polish power cable in this respect. However, it is in vain to look for any signs of artificial sharpening in the signature of the basic WK Audio, or granulation intensifying the „dirt” of the above-mentioned compositions, because in moments of respite, when the furious growl turns into a clear vocal and from the cacophonous threshing emerges a sweet and caramel alto saxophone (Patrick Corona), almost straight from the works of King Krimson, a viola shyly reminding of its existence (Grant McFarland), or even just a pure riff, everything is served with proper culture and maintaining a full timbre-structural consistency. The only thing that should be noted is the fact that TheOne does not heat up, saturate or weigh anything down by itself, so if the electronics connected with them do not have such qualities, then you should not expect miracles with them either. Fortunately, it is also impossible to attribute any tendencies to give the reproduced material too much crunchiness or anemic etherealness, so if only you are searching for a common-sense compromise, then those are cables that will allow you to awaken a slightly sluggish system with an injection of vitality and resolution, and at the same time make boredom and apathetic reverie turn into a state of fully deserved rest.

As you can see on the example above, after a few sets from the stable of ZenSati (like the Angel, #X, Razzmatazz), Van den Hul , or a bit more exotic – Balinese Vlad, the time has come for WK Audio The One, which, by eliminating the weakest (foreign) link from the sound path, take full responsibility for the final sound of the system they wired. And they are doing this job really exemplarily. Therefore, if you do not feel like composing your own „wire ikebana”, try out the Plichtów specialties, and as soon as the above-mentioned flavor notes of TheOne turn out to be worthy of your taste, I strongly encourage you to climb the next levels of the company’s portfolio.

Marcin Olszewski

System used in this test:
– CD/DAC: Vitus SCD-025mkII + 2 x Quantum Science Audio (QSA) Blue Fuse
– Network player: Lumïn U2 Mini + Farad Super3 + Omicron Magic Dream Classic; I-O Data Soundgenic HDL-RA4TB
– Turntable: Denon DP-3000NE + Denon DL-103R
– Phonostage: Tellurium Q Iridium MM/MC Phono Pre Amp
– Digital source selector: Audio Authority 1177
– Integrated amplifier: Vitus Audio RI-101 MkII + Quantum Science Audio (QSA) Violet fuse
– Loudspeakers: AudioSolutions Figaro L2 + Solid Tech Feet of Balance + ZenSati Angel jumpers
– IC RCA: Furutech FA-13S; phono NEO d+ RCA Class B Stereo + Ground (1m)
– IC XLR: Organic Audio; Vermöuth Audio Reference; Furutech DAS-4.1
– Digital IC: Fadel art DigiLitz; Harmonic Technology Cyberlink Copper; Apogee Wyde Eye; Monster Cable Interlink LightSpeed 200
– USB cables: Wireworld Starlight; Vermöuth Audio Reference USB; ZenSati Zorro
– Speaker cables: WK Audio TheRay Speakers + 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; Esprit Audio Alpha
– Power distribution board: Furutech e-TP60ER + Furutech FP-3TS762 / Fi-50 NCF(R) /FI-50M NCF(R)
– Wall power socket: Furutech FT-SWS(R)
– Switch: Quantum Science Audio (QSA) Red + Silent Angel S28 + Farad Super6 + Farad DC Level 2 copper cable
– Ethernet cables: In-akustik CAT6 Premium II; Audiomica Laboratory Anort Consequence, Artoc Ultra Reference, Arago Excellence; Furutech LAN-8 NCF; Next Level Tech NxLT Lan Flame
– Anti-vibration platform: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Slim Platform
– Table: Solid Tech Radius Duo 3
– Acoustic panels: Vicoustic Flat Panels VMT

Opinion 2

As you have surely noticed, testing cables is usually limited to one or two pieces or types (digital, analog) of a given series. This, of course, is completely understandable, because it is dictated by the desire of manufacturers to show the world the new products in their portfolio as soon as possible. Unfortunately, due to the multitude of types, from power, through analogue, loudspeaker, to digital wiring, such a process takes time and the most optimal option is to consistently present them in the order in which they were created. Fortunately, it also happens more and more often that constructors, after a series of single performances, offer us a sparring match with a complete package of cables from one product line. Does this approach to the subject make sense? Of course, because probably more than one of you has found out that the performance of a single cable is one thing, and colloquially speaking, of „the whole gang” is something completely different. And what is most interesting, the second option does not always bear the hallmarks of a positive one, because it can stretch the sound of the system too much in its own way, completely different from the expectations of a potential buyer. Therefore, being well aware of this fact, as in the case of today’s test, we are always happy to take such sets for evaluation. And it will be a set of power, signal and column cables from the Plichtów manufacturer WK Audio from the TheOne series, namely the Power, XLR and Speaker.

What do we know about the construction of our heroes? Unfortunately, the information is usually perfunctory. We know that the conductor in the power cords and speaker cables is high-quality, cryogenic copper, and in the interconnects silver, silver-plated copper and copper. Its weave, in addition to being a proprietary solution of multi-wire bundles, is in each case handmade out of care for the final products, and, what is very important, to achieve repeatable highest quality. Although this approach to the subject matter prolongs the production process, it gives measurable effects in the form of repeatability of production, and thus maintaining the highest sonic parameters. Of course, in the construction of this series of cables we can also find appropriate shielding, insulation and anti-vibration system, but these things are the company secret. One thing we know for sure, is the fact that in each case the company uses unquestionable, in terms of quality, although not from the top line, but still meeting the sound requirements for this series of cables, plugs from the Japanese Furutech. Finally, a nice nod to the customer is the packaging of each product in aesthetic, plywood, padded with profiled sponge, boxes.

How did the title „ones” fare in the set? On the one hand – as expected, and surprising – in a positive sense – on the other. In the first case, plugging in the set resulted in an accent of clear contouring of the virtual sources, which, as feedback, caused the sound to be brought together. This, in turn, due to its good weight, presented a strong impulse of energetic passages of the music listened to. However, very interesting in all this, was the fact that despite clearly marking the edges, the sound did not cross the thin line of exaggeration in this aspect. I like a sharp line visualizing stage events, and if it is not just a painful pursuit of increasing the speed of the signal, but rather serves to clearly show full information about a given music session, for me it is a very desirable feature. And this is how I received the products from Plichtów. In the good sense of the word, aggressive in the domain of directness of presenting even the smallest signals, but also offering the right mass, and thus the energy of the lower and middle registers. But what about the upper range? Fortunately, yes, fortunately, because the designers often temper it slightly when serving music in this way, it is open. Vibrating and shimmering with a million shades, but all the time aimed only at emphasizing the effects of lower frequencies, and not harmfully going their own way. This, of course, after a personal meeting, may be perceived by many music lovers as an overly expressive performance, but in the context of the whole presentation of the music it is completely understandable, and for me, at the moment of skillful eluding of the sound from tiresome exaggeration, it is not only acceptable, but even desirable. I simply buy it, because there is both drive and mass, and everything is served with the right joy. Of course, the higher models of this manufacturer do it with more culture, but this entails additional costs, and I assure you, the sound offered of the cheapest product line tested today is only slightly less mature compared to them, and absolutely not bad. However, this „less mature” is so nicely balanced, that the lively sound of the set was showing the music with the complete package of its multicolor, both in relation to the essentiality and the offered package of information. Without excursions towards too much muddiness or harshness, but in the service of providing the listener with music in the aesthetics of vitality. That is why all kinds of music were sounding really good. Jazz performed by the Polish band RGG on the album „Szymanowski”, focused on emotions related to enjoying silence interrupted by single notes of various instruments, and rock music from the last production of Metallica „72 Seasons” , serving the listeners a wall of artistic rebellion from kicking the base drum, through the displays of juicy guitars, ending with the screaming of the frontman. Both genres showed their best features without any problem, which made each album fly from beginning to end, and was not just a successful or unsuccessful attempt to look for the good sides of the presentation. If I were to describe both albums in a nutshell, in the case of jazz it was an excellent drawing of events, and in rock it was the aggression of presentation, so exactly what both of them are really about. For me, taking into account the starting position of the tested WK Audio TheOne, this is a very good result, which many of you may like.
Where would I place our test set? Without any problems wherever a potential buyer cares about drive and emotions related to the vitality of the music. The described set is in the good sense of the word the devil incarnate, who when necessary kicks a fully controlled wall of sound, and at other times serves an excellent black background for the quietest, but for a given musical interpretation, the most important note. Of course, everything in the aesthetics of complete freedom. And what about the eulogists of color and essence above all? It might be different here. But I would not be surprised when a representative of this type of presentation, after understanding what he or she is really losing – I am alluding to the joy of the music shown by WK Audio cables here – does not change his or hers mind from the very beginning, at least he or she will notice that music has more than one name. How effectively – time will show. As for me, I can easily understand the „name” in the version presented by the design from Plichtów, because I configured my system in a similar aesthetics of sound.

Jacek Pazio

System used in this test:
Source:
– CD Player/DAC: Gryphon Ethos
– streamer: Lumin U2 Mini + switch Quantum Science Audio (QSA) Red-Silver
– Preamplifier: Gryphon Audio Pandora
– Power amplifier: Gryphon Audio Apex Stereo
– Loudspeakers: Gauder Akustik Berlina RC-11 Black Edition
– Speaker cables: Furutech Nanoflux-NCF Speaker Cable
IC RCA: Hijiri Million „Kiwami”, Vermouth Audio Reference
IC XLR: Hijiri Milion „Kiwami”, Furutech DAS-4.1, Furutech Project V1
Digital IC: Furutech Project V1 D XLR
Ethernet cable: NxLT LAN FLAME
USB cable: ZenSati Silenzio
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, Synergistic Research Galileo SX AC
– Table: BASE AUDIO 2
Accessories: Quantum Science Audio Red fuse; QSA Silver fuse; Synergistic Research Orange fuse; antivibration platform by SOLID TECH; Harmonix AC Enacom Improved for 100-240V
– Power distribution board: POWER BASE HIGH END, Furutech NCF Power Vault-E
– Acoustic treatments by Artnovion
Analog stage:
– Drive: Clearaudio Concept
– Cartridge: Dynavector DV20X2H
– Phonostage: Sensor 2 mk II
– Eccentricity Detection Stabilizer: DS Audio ES-001
– Tape recorder: Studer A80

Manufacturer / Polish distributor: WK Audio
Prices (Europe & USA only)
WK Audio TheOne XLR: 1 800 € / 2 x 1,5m; + 360 € / 0,5m
WK Audio TheOne Speakers: 2 250 € / 2 x 2,5m; 850 € / 0,5m
WK Audio TheOne Power mkII: 2 000 € /1,5m; +400 € /0,5m