t was clear from the very beginning that theHarmonix X-DC Studio Master Million Maestro power
cable was a highly limited product, so it wasintended for a small group of customers. Its price only thissealed this exclusivity. I envy the lucky ones who have it intheir systems - it is the best power cable, I have ever heard.
In addition, it perfectly fitted in my understanding of sound it was not only good, but also synergistic with my system.

In a kind of a "letter" customer receives with his new cable,
Mr. Kiuchi makes a clear statement: the Hijiri 聖 SMT'Takumi' Maestro is intended for experienced music lovers
who missed a chance to own X-DC Studio Master Million
Maestro. And then - it costs half as much, but the sound it
offers does not differ much from that of the "Million". It was
prepared according to the (if I understand correctly)
Harmonix Tuning Maestro rules, through the use of carefully
selected, tested materials, such as custom-made copper
conductors. Each cable is hand-made.
The copper conductor is directional. The cables feature
cotton braid and are terminated with custom-made plugs byUS company WattGate. This custom-make involves, amongothers, applying wooden barrels on plug's ending thatdampen vibration. The wooden element is placed also overthe cable along its run. The plugs look very nice - it's 390i
Rh model on one side and the 350i Rh on the other, bothfeature rhodium-plated contacts. The cables are available inof 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5 and 3 m lengths. The cable comes in abeautiful, hand-carved box.

One thing you can say about it right away, isrelated to sound's liquidity. It is a feature of allMr Kiuchi's cables, but here it is simplyphenomenal. The sound is deep, dense, withpitch black background. It presents instruments and vocals
in a very natural way, without emphasizing the elementsthat "tune up" the sound. These are cool, usually very
likable, but ultimately it is about as high fidelity towards therecorded material as possible, right? With that Takumi has
no trouble being in this respect better than the Acoustic
Revive Power Reference Triple-C and at least as good as
Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500, if not better.

In terms of tone and three-dimensionality it comes close toother Combak Corporation cables, especially to
X-DC350M2R-Improved Version and "Million". So there is
this naturally soft attack and smoothness. You can not hear
any harshness, because there is none, neither can you
point out any signs of coloration, because again, there isnone. From the first to the last album I listened to, Iwitnessed an extremely well balanced sound. Moreover, thecable beautifully presents the differences in tone, ininstruments placement, as well as dynamic range. In thisrespect it is superior to Harmonix X-DC350M2R and theAcoustic Revive. And from Hijiri Nagomi X-DCH, too.
In the Nirvana's Rape Me track first comes a guitar andvoice, relatively little compressed, and immediately after
them enter the drums and bass, that are withdrawn
compared to the voice and highly compressed, the reviewed
cable delivers it very clearly. It does not try to hide anything.
But it is, however, still Mr. Kiuchi's cable and as such, itThe nature of power cables prevents user fromhead-to-head comparisons as one needs a longer or shorter
interval to switch cables. It requires turning the device one
uses it with down, unplugging the chord, plugging inanother one and then still waiting a moment until the device
parameters have stabilized, which is particularly importantin the case of tube devices. So in this case listening tolonger album fragments, or even entire discs becomes theway to go about such test.
The Hijiri 聖 cable was used with four devices: Ancient AIR
V-edition CD Player with a tube output, Audionet Planck CD
player with solid-state output, transistor power amplifier
Soulution 710 and vacuum tube headphone amplifier Ayon
Audio HA-3.
I compared it with three cables I use permanently in myAcrolink
Mexcel
7N-PC9500,Harmonix
system:X-DC350M2R Improved-Version and Acoustic Revive Power
Reference Triple C. It was plugged into Acoustic Revive
RTP-4EU power distributor, and the latter featured 2,5m
Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500 power cable plugged into
dedicated power line via Furutech outlet with rhodiumplated contacts (all cables and power sockets used in thetest featured rhodium-plated contacts).

Recordings used for the test (a selection):
Estampies & Dances Royales, wyk. Hesperion XXI,
dyr. Jordi Savall, Alia Vox AV 9857, SACD/CD (2008)
JohnColtrane,Coltrane.
DeluxeEdition,Impulse!/Verve 589 567-2, 2 x CD (1962/2002)
Laurie Anderson, Homeland, Nonesuch 524055-2, CD+ DVD (2010);
Nirvana, In Utero, Geffen GED 24536, CD (1993)
Paula Cole, Courage, Decca B0008292-02, CD (2007)
Rosemary Clooney, Rosemary Clooney sings Ballads,
Concord/Stereo Sound SSCDR-007, „Flat Transfer
Series”, CD-R (1985/2016)

Japanese issues available atMr. Kiuchi's new cable is the result of a reflection on thereproduced sound. Trivial? - A little bit, yes, but it is also thekey to understanding what this man is seeking and fromwhich side he climbs an audiophile Mount Everest. I've
heard this before with Harmonix and Hijiri 聖 power cables,
so this is not a surprise for me. I also experienced what
Kiuchi-san is capable of achieving when making cost-noobject product and having sufficient time for a project – theresult is so unique cable, as the X-DC Studio Master Million
Maestro. This is an approach, in which the most important isthe experience, not the technological advancement of theproduct. This is more of a "listen first, measure later"
approach. If the measurements seem off but the sound isright, well to hell with measurements (this comes from me,not Mr Kiuchi).

avoids being literal. In this respect, Acoustic Revive seems
to render everything using thicker lines, it emphasizes treble
bit more and delivers slightly tighter bass. Takumi focuses
bit lower in the middle of the band and this range isincredibly natural, very three-dimensional, it's even better inthis regard than my reference, Acrolink. Only “Million” dideven more in this respect, adding even more saturation anddelivering even more palpable "body" of the sound. In thiscomparison the reviewed cable appears to be slightly softer,
but not much – the yellow-black X-DC350M2R is evensmoother.
What I find especially convincing about this cable is acombination of natural sound and differentiation, that has
already been mentioned. Only handful of cables copes sowell in this regard, primarily Million, but also Acrolink. Thelatter is darker, offers less treble, so that it appears morevivid. In fact it is not, but the impression remains. Only after
longer listening Acrolink turns out to be not so illuminatedinternally, is also not so dynamic as Takumi.
The new cable offered vividness, fluidity, saturation anddifferentiation - a deadly combination. After such a
performance one does even want to listen to other cables.
Acrolink still has some features that make it one of the best
proposals in the market - for example – an absolutesmoothness, that with Takumi is not quite as fabulous,better defined lower bass, which at the same time goeseven deeper; Takumi stops a little higher. As far as one
listens to acoustic music, such as jazz and classical, it has
no meaning. One can hear it only when listening toelectronic music.
I have to say, however, that knowing all this about thiscable, it didn't bother me at all. It worked perfectly
especially with my CD player, and before that its also
brilliantly supported the Audionet Planck, and what it did
with the power amplifier Soulution 710 was also of a very
high level, even though it replaced there the Acrolink cable,that tempered this amplifier's tonal balance, moving it
slightly down the band.
Ultimately it counts how the component sounds during long
listening sessions, without direct comparisons. And here
Takumi is hard to beat, as it is a fantastic match for a variety
of devices and music genres. It does not try to improverecordings, as I heard it with Acoustic Revive on one hand,that added more power to the attack and changed tonalbalance emphasizing both range extremes, pushing themforward, nor smoothed treble up as the Acrolink did. It
delivers music in a very honest way, never forgetting about
its emotional layer.
Summary“Not forgetting” is an understatement – emotions are in its
performance, the most important element of music and
TAKUMI seems to specialize in conveying them. It's a
combination that is very versatile. It is a cable that will
improve nothing in the system, neither will it degrade
anything. It will allow recordings to sound in an emotional,
naturally soft, full-bodied way. Even in those, that were not“tuned-up” during remastering, it finds lots of music andshows listener why analog master tapes are so amazing.

Just listen to a special edition of the Rosemary ClooneySings Ballads album of the Flat Transfer Series. It's a copyof the master tape copied without any sort of interferencedirectly to a CD-R, which was commissioned by theJapanese magazine "Stereo Sound" (in Japan). The album
contains only two songs. Takumi delivered a credible
presentation with proper internal drama intensity. It was abeautiful experience and so I know what Santa will bring me
this year :) And the cable itself, right now, receives the RED
Fingerprint.

Dystrybucja w Polsce:
MOJE AUDIO

The power cable under review had even more difficult task.
On the one hand it had to be better than - very successful 聖HIJIRI Nagomi X-DCH, on the other hand it had topreserve as much sound quality as possible of the limited"Million" cable.

ul. Sudecka 152
53-129 Wrocław | Polska
www.mojeaudio.pl

HighFidelity.pl

ANALOG SOURCES- Turntable: AVID HIFIAcutus SP [Custom Version]- Cartridges: Miyajima
Laboratory KANSUI, review
HERE | Miyajima Laboratory
SHILABE, review HERE |Miyajima Laboratory ZERO(mono) | Denon DL-103SA,review HERE- Phono stage: RCM Audio
Sensor Prelude IC, review
HERE
DIGITAL- Compact Disc Player:
Ancient Audio AIR V-edition,
review HEREHEADPHONES- Integrated
Amplifier/Headphone
amplifier: Leben CS300XS
Custom Version, review
HERE- Headphones: HIFIMAN
HE-6, review HERE |HIFIMAN HE-500, review
HERE | HIFIMAN HE-300,review HERE | Sennheiser
HD800 | AKG K701, review(in Polish) HERE | Ultrasone
PROLine 2500,
Beyerdynamic DT-990 Pro,
version 600 - reviews (inPolish): HERE, HERE,
HERE- Headphone Stands: Klutz

CABLES
System I- Interconnects: Acrolink
Mexcel 7N-DA6300, review
HERE | preamplifier-power
amplifier: Acrolink
8N-A2080III Evo, review
HERE- Loudspeaker Cables:
Tara Labs Omega Onyx,review (in Polish) HERE
System II- Interconnects: Acoustic
Revive RCA-1.0PA |XLR-1.0PA II- Loudspeaker Cables:
Acoustic Revive SPC-PA
POWER

ANTIVIBRATIONACCESSORIES- Stolik: SolidBase IV
Custom, read HERE/allsystem- Anti-vibration Platforms:
Acoustic Revive RAF-48H,
review HERE/digital sources| Pro Audio Bono [CustomVersion]/headphone
amplifier/integratedamplifier, review HERE |Acoustic Revive
RST-38H/loudspeakers
under review/stands forloudspeakers under review- Anti-vibration Feets:
Franc Audio Accessories
Ceramic Disc/ CD

AMPLIFICATION- Line Preamplifier: Polaris
III [Custom Version] + ACRegenerator, regular version
review (in Polish) HERE
- Power amplifier:Soulution 710- Integrated Amplifier:Leben CS300XS Custom
Version, review HERELOUDSPEAKERS- Stand mount
Loudspeakers: Harbeth
M40.1 Domestic, review
HERE- Stands for Harbeths:
Acoustic Revive Custom
Series Loudspeaker Stands- Real-Sound Processor:
SPEC RSP-101/GL

Design CanCans (x 3),review (in Polish) HERE
- Headphone Cables:
Entreq Konstantin
2010/Sennheiser
HD800/HIFIMAN HE-500,review HERECOMPUTER AUDIO- Portable Player: HIFIMAN
HM-801- USB Cables: Acoustic
Revive USB-1.0SP (1 m) |Acoustic Revive USB-5.0PL(5 m), review HERE
- LAN Cables: Acoustic
Revive LAN-1.0 PA (kable ) |RLI-1 (filtry), review HERE
- Router: Liksys WAG320N- NAS: Synology DS410j/8
TB

System I- Power Cables: Acrolink
Mexcel 7N-PC9300, allsystem, review HERE
- Power Distributor:
Acoustic Revive RTP-4eu
Ultimate, review HERE
- Power Line: power cable
Oyaide Tunami Nigo (6m);wall sockets 3 x Furutech
FT-SWS (R)
System II- Power Cables: Harmonix
X-DC350M2R ImprovedVersion, review (in Polish)
HERE | Oyaide GPX-R (x 4), review HERE
- Power Distributor: Oyaide
MTS-4e, review HERE

Player/Ayon Polaris II Power
Supply /products underreview, review HERE | Finite
Elemente CeraPuc/
products under review,review HERE | Audio Replas
OPT-30HG-SC/PL HR
Quartz, review HERE
- Anti-vibration accsories:
Audio Replas
CNS-7000SZ/power cable,review HERE
- Quartz Isolators: Acoustic
Revive RIQ-5010/CP-4
PURE PLEASURE- FM Radio: Tivoli Audio
Model One