Review: Hijiri HCS-25

The second Hijiri came along with the first one and I could put them into one review, but I
didn’t want to mix them, because then searching is more difficult and the picture is less clear.
So now a separate text about the cheaper speaker cable from the fresh Hijiri brand, which
complicates the lives of audiophiles, because in fact it is the good old Harmonix that has been
turned into Hijiri due to some changes. It’s true, the changes are fundamental, and concern
both materials and technology, but if other companies changed their names on such occasion,then the audiophile market would be quite a mess.
If Combak Corporation wished to turn Harmonix into Hijiri, then it’s their problem topromote a new brand from scratch and to deprive a brand already well-known to the public ofcables, leaving it with just accessories. If you ask me, I don’t really care. The cables can becalled Hijiri, or they could be named the old way - Harmonix – it doesn’t really matter, thename doesn’t change anything. A cable with this or that name or totally nameless plays wellor not, it’s useful or not. The titular Hijiri HCS-25 is a speaker cable, offered in 2.5 meterversion (there are also 1.5 and 3.0 m versions) for PLN 8 690, so it is considerably more
expensive than the cheapest Harmonix, but the price increase is not as direct as it may seem. It
is because Harmonix had three price levels, and Hijiri has just two. So previously, there werecheap, medium and expensive cables, now there are cheaper and more expensive. So HCS-25
is somewhere between the previous cheapest and medium cable, and the price has been
calculated similarly. What’s not similar, and definitely not identical, is the conductor, also theinsulation is different, just like the sound characteristic, which is allegedly better. All we haveis general information, because as you already know, the old Harmonix and new Hijiri are notwilling to share technical details. They are not like Oyaide, Siltech or Acrolinik, who put theirtechnology in the spotlight. From the general information provided by Hijiri we can only learn
that the cable is made of PCOCC copper (Pure Cooper by Ohno Continuous Casting), that issingle crystal copper of highest purity, whose production process has been invented byprofessor Hideo Ohno, a world-famous specialist on material and communication technology,
currently the head of Spintronics Integrated Systems Center at Tohoku University. Therefore,
we are dealing with copper made by Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd. – famous factory producing
wires and other copper ware since 1884, because Furukawa is the only supplier of PCOCC
copper. What can be said about the copper itself, is that it guarantees conducting with thelowest possible signal distortion.
There is so little to add, that there’s no use writing a separate chapter with technical data.
Similar as is the case with the interconnect, the cable comes in an elegant box covered in thiscase with parchment dotted with tiny, blue-gray lumps, quite dark, decorated with stylized
dandelion clocks in gold color. The whole of course fits the Japanese style of beautiful objects– it is very pleasant to touch and look at. Inside, in parchment wrapping, there is a cable ofdefinitely blue color, but mat and quite dark. So there’s nothing gaudy, the colors are rather
calm, but characteristic. And again, on both cables there are bands with name and direction
arrows, which are again repeated on the heat shrinkable sleeves near the ends. The cable canhave different terminals, I got spades, rhodium plated, judging by the look. Apart from thecable, there is just a note saying that the quality at the price is considerably higher comparedto the competition, and emphasizing the PCOCC copper as technical perfection.
Unlike the interconnect, having round cross section, the speaker cable is visibly flattened, but
not tape-like. Analogically, the insulation is tough and rigid, with dense braid of synthetic
fiber, and the cable itself is much heavier. It also has some flexibility, but it shouldn’t be
problematic – it won’t try to push the amp off the shelf or force you to lay it on the ground ina wide arc.

AuditionIf the cable is advertised to be the best in
the world at the price level, then I have no
choice but to plug it into an expensive set
and check if it’s true. The lineup included
two other cables – a bit cheaper one andconsiderable more expensive one. Both
Polish, but one is already known, the othernot yet. The not yet known is Soyaton,
which according to estimations is
supposed to cost about five-six thousand
zlotys for 2 m size, and the more
expensive one is the already reviewed
Box marked with Japanese elegance.
Sulek 6×9 for eighteen thousand zlotys,
whose designer – let me remind you – hascome to a conclusion (definitive in his opinion) that speaker cables have to be at least four
meters long, otherwise they are not able to achieve their maximum sound potential, the music
will not properly develop in them.
Let me begin with the cheapest cable, so far a prototype, which after audition was sent back to
the designer with remarks about possible improvements. But with a general approval,
especially when it comes to trebles. Which in this case were beautifully smooth, very open
and at the same time, perfectly separated. Melodiousness, extension and clarity of imaging

were performed perfectly, turning into melodic poetry and satisfaction to the listener. Basedon this, the midrange was velvety-smooth, characterized by flexibility and charm, plus
variability, whereas the bass unfortunately showed power deficiency and was constricted. So
with popular music, the harp, flute, violin or viola, everything was all right, or even better – I
was full of admiration, but the cello, piano, organ, drums, timpani, etc. didn’t have the rightcharacter, and still require some improvement. Without it, it’s no use going to the market,
because a listener likes the bass and feels bad without it, and that’s something to avoid.
So let us move on to the reviewed Hijiri, and I will add a few words about Sulek’scontribution at the end.

The cable itself marked by Japanese quality.

To be honest, I’ve stumbled upon aproblem, because the speaker cable has
shown practically the same things as theinterconnect. The very same qualities inmusic reproduced the same way, however
I have to point out that this time Hijiriinterconnect wasn’t present in the set, justlike during the review of the interconnect,
the speaker cable wasn’t present, or rather
it was, but at the end, just to verify, and it
didn’t bring anything new to the previous
observations.

Let me begin by saying that Hijiri HCS25 offered strong essence, creating atmospheric, dimmed mood decorated with gloss based on
deep and saturated sound with finishing touches in the form of chiaroscuro andsubstantiveness. And somewhat contrary to that, something most important I guess – thefeeling of volume described in detail in the review of the interconnect, both when it comes tothe sources of sounds, and areas between them. Each sound was three-dimensional and had
appropriate weight, and between them was space, clearly noticeable as distance and at thesame time some volume, created by something you could describe as pressure distanceimaging, a cubic metrics. The pressure, pleasantly moderate, not one that would lay heavily
on your chest, but still perfectly noticeable, precisely as distance and volume, in a way that is
inescapable, impossible not to notice.
Perhaps someone who came across this Hijiri and who hasn’t read this review would call it
different, or wouldn’t name it at all, nevertheless the pleasure coming from space recreatedthis way will definitely be noticed, because it constitutes a true phenomenon that is notobserved with other cables. Of course distance will be felt – sometimes better sometimes
worse – but without this filling with pressure, without this active space. Or to put it
differently: with other cables, the acoustic space is not so imposing, it doesn’t reflect the size
as well. Saying that I mean cables from this and similar price levels, not all cables in general.
Because there are of course better speaker cables, and Hijiri itself has one, but at the pricebelow ten thousand zlotys, you won’t get space or scene (whatever you like to call thismusical area) reproduced so well with pressure volume.

Another important aspect is musicality.
The cable plays with thick, well saturated,
and at the same time floaty and melodic
sound. Spherically formed, without anyedges or sharpness other than of thesound itself. Therefore the saxophone has
the proper extension and “puffing”
liveliness, so that you get the feeling of areal instrument, not a fake one, including
its uniqueness, because it wasn’t just for
fun and not without spectacular effects
that Adolf Sax was designing it for so
Spades probably coated with rhodium.
many years. And the sole fact that the
saxophone is puffing so well, sends a message that the musicality is not limiting, focused onsmoothness, but it reproduces also the interior of sound, and penetrates its harmonic structure.
And with it, all gets much more interesting, because, let’s be frank – mediocre musicality isuseful, but boring. It protects your ears from hurting, but at the same time it kills all the fun.
Usually it can be repaired by adding a dynamic aspect, combining speakers or headphones
with a dynamic amplifier, but of course it is far more desirable when the sound is not only
deprived of unnatural hiss, but is also appropriately complex.
Hijiri offers both complexities – spatial and harmonic. The space is characterized by layeredsound planes and very noticeable distance between them, and the music itself not only hassmooth external form – external forming of sound according to musicality – but also
appropriate internal life, literally eradicating the external layer. This is exactly what makes the
saxophone so great, it is represented not by simplifying melodic line, but the whole rush of
puffed sound. A true whirlwind of sound, not some zephyr. In fact, the trumpet andsaxophone are the best measure of sound complexity, and they change the most depending on
the quality of imaging. It also applies to choirs, bells and piano, however, the latter is heard sooften from worthless equipment, that a listener not focusing on the quality of sound stops
noticing its musical lameness. I’ve experienced it myself many times when listening to a radioin the car. It is similar with vocals – we simply got used to their poor quality.

Audition continued
Another asset of Hijiri is the potential of
timbre. The cable depicts music not only
melodically, with depth and structure, but
it can also recreate its individual features,
reproduce the character of harmonic
spectra with great care. And it’s really
unbearable when music becomes uniform,
and thus monotonous. Because even when
dynamics is not lacking, the lack ofindividual tastes can spoil all the pleasure.
Especially when someone, like a reviewer,out of necessity, pays attention to it. Of
Internal construction is a secret, you can only
course this links to the previous
admire the look.
complexity of harmonies, neverthelessharmonic complexity itself is one thing and its individual character is something else. Many atime it happens that a system plays complex sound and the saxophone puffs pleasantly, andyet something is missing, the realism is not complete. Polyphony is present, sounds are
divided into overlapping layers, but the sounds are not captured accurately and thus thequality is lower. Hijiri doesn’t have that problem: it offers both complexity and accuracy.
Combined with the qualities of musicality and imaging, it results in a true show of artistry.
All this is accompanied by holography, supplementing the feeling of space with thementioned multidimensionality. It is not only readily audible and noticeably divided intoplanes, what also makes it successful is that the line of the horizon is drawn exactly before
your eyes, not too low, not too high. At the same time, the readability of background planes
turned out to be very good, however in this respect, the cheaper prototype cable was slightly
better. It was able to distinguish individual persons from a choir appearing far in the
background, whereas the overall picture was more delicate, less saturated and illuminatedwith brighter light.
Along with delicacy, we arrive at an important, yet often omitted problem of the force of theperformance, a factor deciding how dynamic, expressive and most of all high-pressured musica given cable is able to produce at a given volume level. At this point Sulek comes into thebattlefield along with massive columns. With Divialdi and Reference 3A speakers, somewhat
more difficult to feed, the differences were not very significant when it comes to saturationand dynamics, you’d have to look for them. However, with large four-way Audioform 304
loudspeakers (which BTW have lately undergone significant modifications, including
replacement of the wiring), the supremacy of the more expensive cable was clear. Sulek,
which puts more emphasis on the bass, was playing even darker, with even stronger saturationand greater thickness, and most of all with greater pressure of sound throughout the wholestage. Even at medium volume, it could easily make appropriate sounds crawl on your skinand bounce off your chest. It could mean only one thing: that it transferred more energy,
despite being twice as long. A thick beam of braided wires, according to the rule of physics
saying that a signal flows only on the surface of a conductor, had to offer it and it offered
exactly that.

On the other hand, this is what makes thecable twice as expensive, requiring morematerial and more work hours. Because I
haven’t mentioned it yet, but all threecables are manufactured by hand, and notmachine made. It is because cables, justlike clocks, should be manufactured byhand, or the result will not be so good.
It’s a precise work, requiring knowledge,
diligence and care. And although thefinal effect might not look like it (maybe
not in the case of Sulek), this is how it is.
But what is not a mystery? It is music and all
And so a longer cable, consisting of more
its connections.
wires will be more expensive, not only
because of the used material. In exchange, it will provide more power, it will transfer moreenergy. Which will not be that important in the case of “easy” speakers, but with “difficult”
ones, it will.

Luckily, the difficult ones are also expensive, so those looking for cheaper solutions will not
be particularly affected. With small or medium-size speakers, the power transferred by Hijiri
HCS-25 will be more than enough, although of course it is possible to combine such speakers
with more effective, and thus much more expensive cables in exchange for boost in loudness,pressure and dynamics. But in this case, you can simply use the potentiometer, whereas in thecase of big and difficult speakers, it won’t work. I cannot answer the question whether toinvest in better cables or speakers, however, one could rightly argue that a better cable will
get the best out of worse speakers, and a worse cable will spoil better speakers.

Summary
For the owners of speakers with mentioned
characteristics, or to be more general – allspeakers that are not particularly demanding,Hijiri speaker cable is a good bargain.
Admittedly, it is not cheap, but whencompared to other high-end products, it isdefinitely in plus, and let me again remind
you that it is not difficult to be great in somerespect or in many respects, when otherthings, unfortunately, spoil the overall
picture. When ether trebles are too muffledor the bass is too lean – then the sound is likea room without a roof. And the point is to make some things extraordinary, spectacular, while
the rest should be at least good not to spoil the effect. Hijiri HCS-25 offers thisextraordinariness, and what’s important, it is truly astonishing. Because let’s be honest – thegreatest “Wow!” factor is related to the way space is imagined. The sole word “stereophony”,
even though outdated and replaced with enigmatic, not very specific term “high-end”, makes
it all clear. High quality of sound, distinguishing the playback capabilities of the new type ofequipment, is based most of all on spatial imaging. On the ability to bring the audience to thesound sphere possibly closest to the real ting, so that they feel like they were actually in aconcert hall, and not just listened to music. And in this respect Hijiri is outstanding. It doesn’t
offer just stereophony and natural placement of sources, but it also provides very vivid imageof space. A space that is tangible, definite, filling, and magical in its delusion. And that marks
its presence in a way that is very rarely seen even in the most expensive systems. And because
the sound itself meets all the requirements of musicality and harmonic complexity, and theenergy of performance is enough to use the full power of average speakers, the achieved
satisfaction is far above average and at a fair price. This is what we call a good quality to
price ratio, in this case even very good. Therefore everything is as promised – the result is as
it was supposed to be. So again, let me just add that it is possible to get better results, but for
at least twice the price, so it is achievable only for few or for a true desperate.

Point by point summary:
Pros
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Amazingly realistic space.
Backed up with holography.
And most of all with a feeling of tangible volume.
Which is a quality in itself, making the cable stand out among competitors.
All this provides realism.
Turning into musical beauty.
A rare thing – vast space created without enhancing treble.
Highly melodic.
Beautiful timbre.
Crystal clarity.
Dark backgrounds and atmospheric light with a touch of chiaroscuro.
Great detailedness.
More than good dynamics.
Speed.
Expansion.
Astonishing reverb control.
Natural voices reproducing individual features.
Sweet and flexible voices.
No trace of sturdiness, edginess or brashness.
Well reproduced frequency response, somewhat tilted counter-clockwise.
Slight warmth creating pleasant atmosphere, but it doesn’t have much influence on
predisposition to create different moods.
Nicely defined bass with great volume.
The cable is easy to lay and not too heavy, it won’t pull the amp.
Simple, yet nice packaging.
Made in Japan.
Renown manufacturer.
Great quality to price ratio.

Cons and reservationsNot for those who prefer lower frequency and bass dominating over treble.
Not for the enthusiasts of fanciness.
More expensive (much more) cables are able to transmit more energy and convey
more micro details.
They also disperse sounds in space better and better reproduce background planes.

Prices:

2.0 m – PLN 7 190
2.5 m – PLN 8 690
3.0 m – PLN 10 190

System:

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Sources: Cairn Soft Fog V2, dCS Rossini.
Preamplifier: ASL Twin-Head.
Power amplifier: Croft Polestar1.
Columns: Audioform 304, Divaldi, Reference 3A.
Interconnects: Hijiri HCI-R10, Siltech Empress Crown, Sulek Audio & Sulek 6×9.
Speaker cable: Hijiri HCS-25, Soyaton, Sulek 6×9.
Power supply cables: Acoustic Zen Gargantua II, Acrolink MEXCEL 7N-PC9700,
Harmonix X-DC350M2R, Illuminati Power Reference One, Synergistic Research
Level 3 High current, Sulek Power.
Power strip: Power Base High End.
Stand: Rogoz Audio 6RP2/BBS.
Ground box: QAR-S15.
Anti-vibration feet: Avatar Audio Nr1.
Cable insulators: Acoustic Revive RCI-3H, Rogoz Audio 3T1/BBS.
Equipment base: Acoustic Revive RIQ-5010, Solid Texh „Disc of Silence”.