Hemingway Audio Ultimate Signature cables

It was on the last day at the 2015 High End show, held in Munich, where I got to know Hemingway Audio; a company that hails from my home of South Korea. Sunday, the last day of this enormous show, I was busily making my rounds to make sure I hadn’t missed any exhibitors. While walking the main floor of the exhibition hall, I ran into Canadian importer Wynn Wong from Wynn Audio, (Toronto Canada). Wynn informed me that “I must give a listen” to Hemingway audio cables. I listened briefly, liked what I heard and then was introduced to Hemingway’s designer, Mr. Do Young Chung. Enjoying what I was hearing, I became very interested in these cables and wanted to know more about the company and its products. However, due to time constraints, I told Mr. Chung that I would love to review his products hopefully in the not-too-distant future. 

While reviewing the superlative EnKlein David Series cables sometime back in 2016, received an email from Mr. Chung. He wrote that he was sending his Creation cables for me to listen to and possible review. Excited, however, I wasn’t going to be able to review the cables right away because I was in the middle of reviewing the EnKlein David Series cables. Fortunately, I forwarded the cables to Clement Perry to give a listen. When CP got to listen to the Hemingway cables in his reference system he went absolutely bonkers. He called me up after a couple of days and said these have to be best cables he has ever heard in his system. Knowing CP as well as I do, the Creations must be really special because CP has listened to and reviewed a lot of cables over the years (and owns a really spectacular sounding system as well). His stellar review of the Hemingway Audio Creation cables and announcing them as his new reference. In his review, CP wrote of the Hemingway Creation as “the best ever!”    

In the summer of 2017, I received a call from Mr. Chung and he told me that he had made big improvements in the less expensive Hemingway Creation Ultimate series cables and that they were officially now called the Creation Ultimate Signature series (herein Creation US). I was sent these newer designs. I received a pair of Creation US speaker cables, a pair of XLR interconnects, and a single power cord. In terms of appearance, the Hemingway Audio cables are exceptionally well crafted and elegant. All are designed around Hemingway’s patented FMCF (Frequency Modulation Cavity Fundamentals) Technology. For detailed technical information please refer to their website. Surprisingly, now that I have the Creation Ultimate Signature series in my system, I don’t really miss the original Creations that CP fell in love with or the EnKlein David Series cables which are quite remarkable in their own way. The Creation Ultimate S series ladies and gentlemen, are that good.

I was so glad to discover that the Hemingway Cables don’t need a long time burn-in process as most cables do.  All it takes is about a week of playing time to the initial break-in, and afterwards they will improve as you log in more hours. I replaced my long time reference, Jorma design Unity cables with the Creation US. When I hit the play button on my CD player’s remote, I said “Wow!” From the very first notes, I knew that the Hemingway Creation US were special. No question, their performance took my system up a notch or two.     

Listening

The Creation US convey music in the most blissful manner. Voices and instruments sounded pure and palpable with fine timbre accuracy. The music, no matter the source or genre, flowed effortlessly and it was alive with tonal colors, scales and harmonics. The midrange was exemplary and the highs were extended and linear – very natural, detailed, and open. With the Creation US, one feels a very intense connection to the music. In fact, I was glued to my listening chair and spent time enjoying the music into the wee-hours of the morning. As good as my reference Jorma Unity cables are, they proved no match for the Hemingway Creation Ultimate Signatures in tonal balance, harmonic integrity and overall scale and dynamics.

One of my favorite musical delights is chamber music, and here the Creation US really delivered. I was listening to the box set recordings of Mozart’s string quintets performed by Le Quatuor Talich (CAL 3231.3). The Creation US played a fundamental role in bringing their wonderful performances to life. They did this by rendering the music with great transparency. They were masters at revealing layer upon layer of musical expression, creating an intense sense of involvement. The strings take on an intricate feel that creates a stunning realism. While the cables were very fast and detailed, they didn’t suffer from the slight thinness of sound or bleaching in the treble; also there was a total absence of glare, grain of and electronic haze. The Hemingway’s midrange is stunning in timbre, tone color, and liquidity.

Another great illustration is Bill Evans Trio’s “Sunday at the Village Vanguard” (JVCXR-0051-2). This 1961 live recording sounded more today and contemporary that I can remember. The Creation US had Bill Evans piano and space reproduced in a very natural and organic way. They rendered an extremely silent background with a truly holographic imaging of the instruments. Everything emerged from a more black and velvety backdrop. This cables ability to deliver both exceptional speed and resolution were nothing short of astounding. Listening to Bill Evans’ Trio in the same system minus the cables proved unforgettable. The overall differences were in the vividness, the reach out and touch level of tangibility, the surreal solidity of images and the overall weight. Poetry in motion. The Creation US own the uncanny ability to infuse the music with an unusual sense of natural speed and immediacy. I was so into the music that I didn’t even realize my toes were tapping. I must state for the record, that the Hemingway Creation Ultimate Signature are the only cables I have experienced that gave me this much enjoyment day in and day out (with the possible exception of the EnKlein David cables.). However, the Creation Ultimate US cost about half the price of the Enklein David, and incredibly the Creation US sound really as good as the David series. 

Conclusion

Living with the Hemingway Creation Ultimate S cables has been an invigorating experience. I really enjoyed my time listening to these cables. They produced a new sensation for me in that I had a very intense and uncommon connection to the music unlike before. The Creation US provided an acute directness and realism that conveyed as convincing an illusion of the live event as I have experienced. Finally, I now know what CP was talking about! These cables are truly special in their ability to simply get out of the way and allow the music through unfettered! The Hemingway Creation Ultimate Signature cables have received my vote as a Most Wanted Component in the here and hereafter.

key kim  

Specifications:

Hemingway Audio Creation Ultimate S cables

Price:
$14,000 per 3m speaker cables

$7,800 per 1.5m Interconnect (XLR)

$4,800 per 1.5m AC cord

Website: www.hemingwayaudio.com

E-mail: contact@hemingwayaudio.com

Address:

Sigma Wire Lab, Inc

Sigma Bldg. 224-21, Nonhyeon-dong,

Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea

Tel:82-2-508-4664

Fax:82-31-424-2649