Sommer Cable Corona

I bought 4 metres of this on a whim and thought I'd give it a try. I soldered on a brace of Neutriks (silver solder), checked all parameters (resistances & capacitance) and used it directly between my quitar and amp.

Making statements without context is difficult so I A/B'ed it numerous times to an old reference cable I have, (very transparent, clear, almost like having a buffer on, 2 solid copper cores, stiff as a coat hanger and not made any more :) ).

As others, I too have found that in this application there is an apparent volume loss with the Corona (apt name but I guess chosen before C19 was a thing, otherwise it would've been negative advertising). It's not a huge loss but is very detectable to me. It appears that the lows and low-mids are less pronounced and defined perhaps leading to the effect that the highs and high-mids in comparison are put more into prominence. The highs are not shrill but seems quite sweet to my ears actually. I would not say that this cable gives the a guitar a "hifi" sound: in my imagination more treble response, perhaps tending towards shrill would be necessary for this adjective to hold.

I don't know if the loss of lows contributes to the apparent loss of volume. From a sonic point of view the Corona seems more controlled & restrained than the reference cable I'm comparing it to (Two Rock Crystal Clear), which in comparison sounds more dynamic, alive or uncontolled. (Forgive my use of adjectives - this is all very subjective of course).

There are many folks that might like this "sound" (ok, filter). It isn't bad to my ears but personally I am more happy with the more neutral responses of the LLX and XXL cables also from Sommer. I can't explain the reason for the EQ I think I'm hearing: the cable capacitance can't explain it. In a live situation I could see that this reduction of lows and low mids could help a lot in cutting through the mush but of course amp volume and tone controls can also be effectively used to EQ for this.

Anyway not a bad sounding cable, just not EQ'ed for my taste. I might try it post buffer as a patch cable wiring on a pedalboard and I will certainly use it with some RCA connectors in a couple if HiFi applications in the house where I believe it will (might) give sonic improvements.

The cable does look great but it is spendy compared to other Sommer cables that imho are more suitable to pre-buffer instrument applications.

I couldn't imagine use of this cable with a passive (non-active) bass but I bet there are those out there who have already & successfully proven me wrong :)

So my advice, in a line & delivered with a pinch of salt: Save your money & buy the XXL or LLX instead.

Bought it as alternative to famous japan brand,
and its prove it self as better sound cable!
Using it for RCA interconnects and the clarity is unbelievable,
I even replaced a pure solid silver cables with this CORONA cable, it gives a much natural sound with better bass.

Like it very much, and it's less the 5 euro per meter.
Works great with all RCA plugs available.

Sound
The sound of this cable is a little bit brighter than typical cable, but I wouldn't say it is better, it is simply different. Even though the sound is bright, it is kind of smooth compared to Sommer The Spirit or Klotz AC110, and it is kind of thick like LLX or tweed series.

Quality
The quality of materials seems to be the same as in other Sommer cables, which is medicore at best, so when you consider the price I would say it is bad. It is easy to melt the material which covers the hot wire, when you remove black screen sometimes it doesn't leave perfect white surface. For example Mogami is much cheaper and better built - no melting, very solid shielding.

It looks cool though ;)

Ich dachte zuerst, dies sei eine verteuerte Schlangenöl-Version des XXL. Aber nein, die Isolation ist prima und die Kapazität vergleichbar gering. Das ist für Gitarristen und Bassisten, die es brauchen (ich brauche es) sehr gut. Im Vergleich zum XXL ist dieses Kabel jedoch deutlich (!) flexibler und somit ist es sowohl als Instrumentenkabel geeignet als auch zur Verkabelung von Rack-Geräten oder in anderen Situationen, wo viele kurze Kabel in engen Schlaufen verstöpselt werden. Zudem sieht es mit seiner transparenten Ummantelung auch sehr schick aus. Ich finde es klasse und werde die alten Kabel sukzessive durch diese ersetzen. Über die Haltbarkeit kann ich noch nichts sagen. Ich kann bei diesem Kabel bisher keinen triboelektrischen Effekt beobachten, habe das aber bei den vorher von mir verwendeten XXLs nach längerem regelmäßigen Gebrauch gelegentlich festgestellt. Mal sehen. Vorbehaltlich der noch zu prüfenden Haltbarkeit kann ich das Kabel also bestens empfehlen.