Blog #11 - level 3 cable shoot out!
AN - ISIS (copper) vs AN -V (silver)
Audio Note (UK) ISIS level 3 top of the line copper cable (RRP £815 current as of July 2026). I own 2 of these, between CD - amplifier and step up transformer - amplifier.
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Audio Note (UK) AN - V level 3 entry silver cable (RRP £790 current as of July 2026). I have 2 of these kindly on loan for this review from Audio Note (UK).
But why? Aren't you happy with your current system?
Excellent point, well made! The answer is a categorical yes. If you've read the previous blogs you'll be well aware my mainly level 2 Audio Note (UK) system sings to me like a happy canary with all types of music and has provided me with 8 months of aural delight every single day. Happy? Indeed. Recommend the system? Definitely.
However.......
This blog is entitled "My Audio Note Journey", indicating some form of travelling/investigating further which perfectly suits my personality/enquiring nature and a couple of things were niggling away in my mental background, I'll explain:
Audio Note (UK) CD 3.1x/ii
Nice, a picture of the CD3.1x/ii instruction manual, what am I supposed to see here?
I like instruction manuals. Some do, some don't, I do. I read them from cover to cover quite a few times, which is why my attention alighted on a particular paragraph, which in turn sowed a "WHAT IF?" in my mind. Spotted it yet? I'll help you out.
Audio Note ARM 2 tonearm
In addition to the above CD "what if?" my wonderful TT2 turntable sports a lovely satin black ARM 2 tonearm, and an additional "what if?" filtered into my brain, see below, and if you are getting close to understanding my brain, yet you'll see where I'm going here.
From the Audio Note (UK) current product page for the ARM 2:
"Silver inside and out
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The Arm Two/II uses our own high purity silver Litz wire inside the arm tube, and our own AN-V silver cable from the arm base to the phono plugs."
CD 3.1x/ii Instruction manual + above pictures = begging bowl
That, to me, is a red rag to a bull. If Audio Note (UK) R&D engineer / designer Darko Greguras (who will appear later) more than likely had a hand in creating said instruction manual, then am I selling this wonderful CD player short by using copper ISIS rather than the recommended silver AN V? Also, continuing the same theme further, if I have a tonearm wired with silver AN V it makes sense to continue this on to the SILVER Signature amplifier. I am by now FULLY aware of the impact and synergy of all Audio Note (UK) components within an audio system. Surely there must be something in it? What if? These thoughts percolated in my brain and finally the begging bowl emerged and fortunately, Micky Seaton the exceptionally hospitable but long suffering UK sales representative, arranged the loan of 2 AN V 1 metre interconnect cables for me to review.
The cables themselves:
Firstly ISIS with AN P plugs
ISIS copper cable unterminated
AN P premium silver plated cable plugs
ISIS - Audio Note "ISIS" Reference Copper Interconnect cable RRP £815 - Its configuration is exactly the same as the reference SOOTTO silver cables, the only difference is high purity copper is used rather than silver. It offers beautiful sonic quality and musicality at a small fraction of the price of SOOTTO. Constructed from only the finest materials, beneath the silver-coloured skin is a Twisted Hex configuration with a total of 120 individual high purity copper strands. This is a true Litz, shielded design.
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The cable had an external diameter of 8 mm. Beneath the outer grey insulation you have a screened portion, then more insulation and then 6 conductors, 3 are red insulated and 3 are white insulated arranged in a circular path with a centrally located fibre filler. For each conductor, the external diameter is 1.7mm. If you look closely at the internal picture, link below, you will see that each set of 3 conductors is made up of different sizes of internal wire strands. This configuration offers outstanding performance.
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The AN-P is our premium RCA connector and is used to terminate our finest cables up to and including the AN-SOGON and AN-SOOTTO interconnects.
The ISIS cable is to thick to fit the alternative GP - AG plugs, hence the AN P fitment.
Secondly AN V
AN V silver cable unterminated
AN GP - AG silver plated cable plugs
AN V Silver/grey outer sleeving. Symmetrical 99.99% silver Litz co-axial 19 strands 0.1 mm diameter cable. Outer dimensions are 5mm in diameter. RCA plug with an entry hole above 5.5mm diameter is required. Each conductor comprises a red and white inner-sleeved wire with an outer screened copper mesh.
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The AN-GP-AG is our most affordable RCA connector and is regularly used on many of our cables up to and including the AN-Vx interconnects.
Confused?...
Yes, a bit. I thought doing a "cable top trumps" would give me a good idea of which cable would be superior. ISIS: 120 copper strands, configured as per level 5 SOOTO cable, topped off by premium AN P cable. AN V: 19 silver strands, topped off with the affordable AN GP-AG cable plugs. Plus, the ISIS I know and love has 565 hours so far of burning in. AN V are fresh from Partridge Green, Brighton, zero hours.
Go on, nearly the same price, same level 3, they must sound pretty much the same then.......
Aaaaah.... NO. (bold emphasis deliberate).
Dixie Chicks (since 2020 renamed The Chicks) CD from 1998 "Wide Open Spaces".
This is a tremendous, dynamic recording, plus it's not an expensive buy these days.
First off, track 1 "I can love you better" with the ISIS was very familiar, sledgehammer drums, bass and lead singer Natalie Maines' soaring vocals. I sat captivated, it was so good, oddly I felt slightly piqued that I had to stop and change interconnects. I considered postponing the comparison to another day and just shutting my eyes and enjoying the album all the way through. I knew I'd feel like that the next day too, so slightly reluctantly unfastened those meaty, meaty gnurled ISIS AN P plugs and fastened on the smooth, streamlined AN V GP-AG plugs. Pressed play, track 1.
​Ahhhh.
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You know if you're deep asleep and someone rudely shakes you awake. For the first few seconds upon waking, you're disoriented, trying to make sense of what the hell is going on.
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That's kind of what I'm talking about here. Same track, 2 playings, less than a minute apart. The AN V immediately had an amazing lightness of touch, and Natalie's singing simply SOARED to the ceiling. The instruments were all precisely placed with oodles of space around each one. The soundstage was now noticeably HUGE.
Despite my opinions of a couple of minutes before that it was not possible to improve on the crispness of each note, I now noted I was dead wrong. The system sporting the AN V absolutely stripped away layers I hadn't noticed previously. As the track ended and I pressed stop, I sat with my notebook for a little while just assimilating what had just occurred. Slightly dazed.
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I then recalled snippets from Reddit, Facebook, YouTube comments from Audio Note (UK) aficionados, which I had kind of retained in my cloud memory over the last year or so, just waiting until called upon. That moment was NOW.
The comments all said the same thing. I'll try my best to combine them into one.
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"Just wait until you add silver components to your system, then the cat's out of the bag."​​​
I replaced the AN V with ISIS, replayed the same track. The soundstage became smaller, instruments and voices closer together. I could clearly hear a rounding of the leading edges of notes compared to the silver AN V. HOWEVER..... the ISIS really propelled the music along, big and bold, especially the bass and drums simply thundered.
I replicated those cable changes with more tracks on this album and started to see that both cables are truly excellent. The AN V offered greater bandwidth, space, breath and cutting edge "bite", The ISIS offered greater drive, bounce and bass.
Both provided wonderfully enjoyable renditions of the music just presented in a slightly different way.
Hit the metal!
Fascinated, I decided to hit the metal as the previous Sunday I'd seen METALLICA live and my aural memory of that experience was still strong. PLUS...the cat had gone into the garden for a wander...no time like the present!
Me and Toby my eldest son ready for an aural pummelling, Cardiff June 2026
Metallica (The black album) cd from 1991, such a great album
Volume up to half past 11. Press play; track number 2 "Holier than thou", is my favourite.
with the ISIS, it hit like a truck. All instruments projected in my face, the drums and bass underpinning the entire experience. I was just in front of the speakers at the gig. All the while I was comparing it to Sunday's live concert. Pretty damn close. This is one impressive set-up, absolutely no doubt.
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AN V on. As per The Chicks' CD the soundstage was taller, more projected. What was apparent was that James Hetfield's voice and each instrument were INDIVIDUALLY SEPARATED in the wall of sound rather than being instruments IN the wall of sound. This extra space around each instrument and overall lightness and lift gave the AN V a more live feel than the ISIS, however, the ISIS delivered a more heavy hitting experience. You could say "focused" between and around the speakers. I could "see" with the AN V the soundstage was consistently at least 12 inches taller and wider, over all music played so far.
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Both excellent, really really close to matching my aural memory of the concert, just delivering sonic fireworks in a different way. I was seeing a pattern now and very much enjoying the experience!
My old favourite, which I'd recorded 27 years ago. You'd be forgiven for considering it appalling and only landfill fodder. Ohhhh noooo far from it.
Now out came the big guns. I must have played this CD-R literally hundreds of times, for some reason I cannot explain, it sounds truly MAGNIFICENT. Track 1 Pablo De Sarasate - Zigeunerweisen is a piece of music I absolutely adore. Shut your eyes, and you can peer into and around the solo violin (which makes up a majority of the music), watch the plucking of the strings and see the fingers slide. In addition, it flips from this highly emotional, detailed rendition to LOUD, VERY LOUD. Then back to very quiet. It's brilliant.
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I've tried to explain this feeling before in my limited way in a previous blog, but fortunately, I recently read a review of an Audio Note (UK) component where the reviewer for me hit the nail on the head. They stated Darko Greguras calls this phenomenon "dynamic transfer". In a nutshell, the dynamic gradations of music from soft to loud add artistic and emotive content to music. Loud dynamic hits in music are what make you jump in your listening seat. If any piece of music will reveal the characters of the ISIS and AN V then this is it. This has all the elements of "dynamic transfer" in bucketloads, spilling over the sides!
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As they say in storybooks, "and so it came to pass...."
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ISIS first up, beautiful portrayal, and when the crescendo hit....literally scared me half to death as I'd been concentrating of the oh so quiet violin, watching the fingers moving on the strings. Once again, as always, the ISIS was a fully satisfying listen, which makes me ask the same question, it can get better? how?
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Then the AN V slipped between the CD and amplifier, press play, track 1.
Oh yes, I see. The penny dropped.
Where the ISIS kept the majority of the rendition to the plane of the speakers and 12 inches above, the AN V stole another couple of feet reaching the ceiling. Violin perfectly hanging mid air, each note etched separately from each other. The music also REACHED OUT towards me. I was forensically examining from all angles and very much enjoying it. The LOUD section hit and scared me but in a different way. Rather than bludgeoning me as per the ISIS, I was pummelled by and could see the separate instruments in the mix.
Sat, notebook on lap, thinking, once again slightly stunned, but now certainly more aware of what these 2 cables bring to the party.
And now time for something completely different...
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Now finishing off with a beautiful MONO LP consisting of 3 groups, The Barney Bigard Trio, Eddie Hayward and his Orchestra and The Eddie Hayward Trio, recorded in 1944.
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I have played this extensively with the ISIS and it's not well recorded, the musicians are regressed back towards the speakers, piano and drums receded further back, with the occasional clarinet or saxophone projecting beyond the plane of the speakers.
HOWEVER, and it's a big however, it's just so foot tapping, the musicians' enjoyment is so infectious, you concentrate hard like you were at the back of the venue and time flies. It does feel like you're in that smoky jazz club. Cheap on eBay, highly recommended.
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Now let's see how the AN V fares. As I by now expected, on side 2, track 3, "night and day" the alto saxophone soared higher, piano slightly less muted and sitting in its own space, I had moved forward a dozen seats in the audience BUT, the musicality of the ISIS rendition was fuller and more fleshed out compared with the airier and leaner AN V.
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Changed back, and again, and again, then the whole side, change...you get the picture.
The ISIS was fabulous, yes the instruments weren't as separated, I was further back, but the rhythm was full and driving, really foot tapping stuff. The AN V had more space, bandwidth and air but the addictive flow was preferable with the ISIS.
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I would add a caveat: the ISIS was well run in, the AN V still under 50 hours at time of writing. I don't think I'd be wrong in expecting a fuller, more spacious sound from the AN V with an extra 500 hours under its belt, so I am bearing that fact in mind in my summing up.
Conclusion.. what a great experiment
Says it all really! Really most enjoyable, what's not to like about comparing an £815 cable against a £790 cable?! Most audiophiles dream bucket-list inclusion, well certainly mine!
Firstly, the build quality, packaging and ownership experience is top drawer for both cables, the plugs and cable feel handcrafted and very desirable.
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Secondly, they both work extremely well in my all Audio Note (UK) system. I suspect this is a "biggie". This holistic all Audio Note (UK) approach maximises their potential as Peter Qvortrup alluded to on The Occasional podcast, minimising the amount of "gates" the musical signal has to pass through from source to exiting the loudspeaker. There's no doubt to my ears they're not the "blocker" to letting the sound through from the expensive LP/CD front ends. Despite the different plugs, I believe it's the cable which is much more important, the plugs being the icing on the cake. Also, to my ears, my findings were the same with both sources, turntable or CD.
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I own the ISIS and am very happy with their performance, they make me WANT to go to my listening room and just enjoy music. They really have a focus, completeness and pulse which is addictive.
The AN V clearly have more air, bandwidth, soundstage and resolution however are certainly, to my ears in my system, a tad leaner than the ISIS. Still highly enjoyable, just in a slightly divergent way.
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I would consider both cables like tone controls, your system will be different to mine and respond individually. On my system, I personally can hear the differences and would be very happy with either. My listening room is not a bright sounding room as it's an odd shape so I'd personally slightly favour the presentation of the AN V however the room next door is a perfect rectangle with little furnishings, so I'd suspect the ISIS would shine if my system were moved there.
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​As an aside, I have read on forums that users do exactly this. One contributor stated they have a high level Audio Note (UK) system, all or mostly silver components. They were recommended by their Audio Note (UK) dealer to try ISIS copper cables, and in their particular case, after extensive listening the ISIS was preferred by them to the silver options.
I fully recommend you listen to both first, you won't be disappointed, I'm just very happy I got to hear it myself!
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Now I wonder how the level 4 AN Vx 31 strand silver twisted pair would sound? 12 extra silver strands, shouldn't make a difference, should it?......
What's in blog # 12?
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Here's a clue......
​You remember that begging bowl......?
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As satisfied as I am with the performance of my level 2 S2 step up transformer, this foray into all things silver once again got my inquisitive nature twitching. I read about Jeff Days experiences with the fabled level 4 S4 silver wired step up transformer (read about it here) on Positive Feedback. Be rude to ask wouldn't it.....?
I hopefully enquired with Micky, who agreed to my proposal and the ever so helpful Lily had it sent ASAP, arriving only a couple of days after I'd had the idea.
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So.... picture above taken with the 2 contenders, both S2 and S4 are well, well run in, I haven't even plugged it in......... yet.
I'm looking forward to it, hope you are too, see you then and Happy Listening!