My shit hole

It isn't every day you get to test high-end cable, what more a friend surprise you with a high-end cable at your door front, with a grin. Nobody home? The temptation proved too strong. A Chinese proverb says to get tigress cub, you must get close to her, no risk, no gain. High-end cable is really my uncharted waters, it's an expensive endeavour. Everyone in my group is singing "we..... are in this together", you go buy first when comes to doubtful purchases. They jump to encourage everything and anything with audio, less with other matters. @#$%&*+ What kind of friends are these?

Long story short, Argento FMR power cord from Denmark is today's highlight. A flagship product from the Scans, you know it will not be cheap. The thickness of the cord resembles Voodoo cables, already spells high price, comes with immaculate finishing. FMR makes my cord collection looks like junk, my expectation on FMR rose. Deep down, the happy ending would be it's a very good cord but it's not for me. I gladly return the cord back to the rightful owner and I get to keep my money. Nobody lose.

Stiff cords errr...., I don't have the luxury of space to accommodate them, that's a real big problem of small room. Me and my cord ritual, nor over bending, no anti-clock wise twisting, no stepping, assist resonance support, I'm good to go. Believe or not, these steps give better sound.

Corresponding to its thickness, FMR isn't that stiff, still, you can't make small roll. Thank god it's 2-meter length, a great allowance for flexibility. The shielding and resonance control account for the cord thickness I suppose. Both ends housed in aluminum can which is said to reduce EMI interference. When comes to sound, use the right tool; the hearing, the sight stops there as far as I concern. Let hear what FMR has installed.

Without delay, I hooked FMR to my preamp, if there is any changes, it will be apparent. And my pre consumes little current, generally believed as the guardian of tonal balance. Well, it wasn't an instant revelation, I wasn't impressed. The sound was veiled and muddy. Absolutely doesn't live up to the asking price, FMR needs time, more time. While no scavenge online review to avoid developing preferential bias, very scarce information on their website but the usual cable luring. USD6200 isn't inexpensive but there are many cost more, the value proposition begs to sing louder.

Gosh..., I was told FMR was left idle for two weeks though it is a broken in cord. The old saying “good things come to those who wait", it miraculously happened. Take 50 hours to discern a change in sound and another 50 more to stabilize. A confident sound, if you know what it means. Bold, composed, detail and quiet. Quite extraordinary, the addition of FMR in my system is a TKO, it is everything I ever wanted in my system. It complimented my system, bringing out the best of my system.

From blur to clear

Where to start? The fluidity of FMR glued me to my seat, it isn't like listening to stereo but a live music experience. A buzzing bee, hard to get pass the electro-signal carries that fuzziness. It is a brand new experience to me, and rare too. No single frequency spectrum was emphasised, except there is a slight hint of warmth in the lower midrange. Put in a perspective, the music is intact like from the same cloth through FMR. I must say it is most apparent on digital playback where the harsh digital artifact is in included in a package. So, in a way, FMR smooths thing a bit but still very much keep the detail intact.

FMR uses silver alloy as conductor is the only information available on their official website. The sound of alloy is unpredictable. Same with Echole cables with silver, gold and palladium alloy, Yter in a similar regard, as far as the metallurgy is a concern.

Because classical music is my sonic diet, I inclined to a balanced sound. FMR cleverly gets out of the music to conserve the steady flow of music. Yes, the slight warmth at the lower midrange does render a fuller sound. The energies extended all the way to the bottom, the mids is seductive, sweet but not overly so. Silky highs, the use of silver alloy did make a presence in the treble department, a tad more highs extension and a touch of lightness too, audibly. This cord combines the benefits of silver and copper, extended highs and weighty bottom, a Godsend for nonactive sub speakers.

Moving on to the pace, neither fast nor slow. An indication of balance, too fast suggests lightweight-ness, too slow indicates a drag. The owner told me his findings, partially contrastive description. My continued rolling of power cord confirmed that FMR amplifies the sonic character of the upper link.


My audio budget this year is yet recorded the highest ever, o... blame me. I'm not going to bore you with tuning and soundstage expanding techniques, this is more for the ears than to the eyes. Like a wise man says, an audio system is for the ears only. So, what is the story now? Argento FMR cord could be the missing puzzle of my system. I have dug myself a shit hole and jumped into it, heavy-hearted to return the cord. FMR is an abbreviation of Flow Master Reference, it seems me and the manufacturer do agree upon something, the flow thing. They used to tell me that the speaker is the weakest link but I would disagree now, cables are. If you couldn't discern the sound of different cables, good for you, you have one less avenue to spend your money on. For now, I'm thinking how to get myself out of this shit hole.