Connected-Fidelity Unity cables

REVIEW
Steve Dickinson
Apr 16, 2025

There’s no denying that cables can be a bit contentious. Schools of thought range from those who think paying more than the price of a round of drinks for a cable is a waste of money, through to those who think that spending the price of a new car on cables is the best way to ensure they enjoy the full performance of their audio components. Both ends of this continuum are well catered for, and their advocates seldom demur from their purchase decisions. However, things get more difficult in the middle ground, where a cable can be an upgrade from low cost designs, the stepping stone to something extraordinarily exotic, or – for many music lovers – the final destination.

UK based Connected-Fidelity fits squarely in that middle zone. A three metre pair of their Unity Two loudspeaker cables costs around £1,000, and a one metre pair of the Unity interconnect is around £600. What you’re getting for that money is high-quality componentry and top-notch construction quality. All Connected-Fidelity cables are also deep cryogenically treated, to optimise the benefits of the ultra pure copper used in the conductors. Connected-Fidelity is a relative newcomer, and doesn’t have the comfort factor of a familiar brand in its favour, so it’s fairly clear they’ve made a decision to let confidence-inspiring build and materials quality do the talking. The indigo coloured outer sheathing is attractive, and distinctively businesslike, so if we’re partly buying with our eyes, we’re definitely still interested, too.

Construction and materials

The Unity Two loudspeaker cable uses ultra-pure, oxygen free copper (UP-OFC) in a multi-strand layout using cores of different diameters to optimise signal transfer across a wide frequency range. There’s also an infill of natural fibre damping, to reduce any microphonic effects and the nicely-finished, gold-plated copper connectors seem very securely attached using ‘air tight’ termination (no soldering), and mate snugly with equipment terminals. The cores have a total cross-section area of 4mm² and are said to be able to cope with up to 800W output into an 8Ω load (the slightly cheaper Unity One has 2mm² core area in a similar construction, for applications where that level of power handling capability might be thought unnecessary).

The Unity interconnect ups the materials ante even further, using ultra-pure single crystal copper (UP-OCC) signal and ground wires, with two layers of RF shielding – both a foil, and UP-OCC braid wrapping the signal cores. Terminations use very secure ‘air tight’ connectors, this time silver-loaded solder connects to a silver plated signal, and gold plated ground, with a locking collar and again, the connections feel firm and secure in use.

Performance

The Unity Two loudspeaker cables are a fairly chunky 16mm in diameter and lay tidily when set up, no significant python-wrangling skills were required. The sound is similarly tidy; confidence-inspiring and communicative, the cables give a convincing account of the musical intent behind the recording. Shostakovich, ‘Waltz from Jazz Suite No. 1’ [HMV Classics] was as rhythmically neat and precise as it needs to be, tonal shading and orchestral shapes were convincingly set out and the whole experience conceded relatively little to my usual (significantly more expensive) loudspeaker cables. I’m a fan of silver-plated copper conductors, but the slightly warmer, richer and darker of the pure-copper Connected-Fidelity cables make a lot of sense. Perhaps more importantly, the Connected-Fidelity option was at no time compromising important musical features; it was more of a shift of tonal balance. It suits, for example, the slightly sombre, intimate, enveloping mood of Tonbruket’s ‘Sinkadus’ from Forevergreens [ACT], that sort of ‘Scandy Jazz meets Scandy Noir’ vibe. Keeping with the Scandinavian theme, Sir Charles Mackerras’ account of Sibelius’ Finlandia with the RPO [Tring] shows the orchestration to good effect, how Sibelius weaves the brass and strings together, or uses woodwind to contrast, and how the massed forces are mustered to create that majestic wall of sound at the close.

There’s a piece by Graham Fitkin, ‘Untitled II’ from Flak [Fitkin] that really hammers home the idea that the piano is, first and foremost, a percussion instrument. Scored for four pianists on two pianos, it is rhythmically and dynamically complex. It’s also, in the wrong system, or the wrong room, relentlessly strident. The way the Unity Twos deal with it is to show you more of the underlying rhythmic and tonal structure, dialling back on the forceful, upper-register punctuation. It shines a little bit of unfamiliar light on the piece, now there’s more ‘swing’, less ‘strike’, and those moments where two different rhythmic structures move together and coalesce at a cadence are telegraphed clearly, and very satisfyingly.

The Unity interconnects continue the speaker cable’s style; there’s more interest to be found in the tone and timbre – take Max Richter, ‘On the Nature of Daylight’ from The Blue Notebooks [DG] this slightly darker, moodier approach helps one to focus on the beautiful string tone he evokes. This will probably also appeal to those for whom the Fitkin’s relentless treble energy is more of an assault than an enlightenment. Again, this may be down to their copper-only construction, but it is all the more apparent now it’s at the upstream end of the system. In the Fitkin piece, there’s an agreeably impressionistic take on the proceedings and again, it puts the music in a slightly different light. The two pianos are clearly separated spatially, one off to one side and well behind the other; there’s a good sense of depth and physical separation of the two parts, and the piece consequently takes on more of the sense of a conversation. We hear two parties exchanging ideas, rather than us being invited to dissect the ideas themselves; the harmonic and structural elements suggest that those cadences where the rhythmic structures align, can be seen as the conversation finding a point of rare agreement. It’s a fresh take on an old favourite; sometimes, being invited to view the forest rather than looking at the trees can give one a new insight into a familiar landscape.

Note that the Unity cables are not simply ‘good with classical’ but when something works well, I find myself drawn to the classical end of the spectrum. But what’s described here applies equally to female vocal, rock and if I knew how to throw a few shapes, electronica and dance music!

In the grand scheme of things

I’m always wary of ‘giant-killer’ claims for reasonably-priced kit and I’m not about to make one here, but for all the right reasons. What usually turns out to be the reason for the ‘giant-killing’ stance is that the item in question has a particular strength, which may mask weaknesses in other areas. Abundant energy can all too easily lead to waywardness in the wrong circumstances, for example, so whether abundant energy is a good thing rather depends on the partnering components. That’s not what’s happening here. While there’s always a compromise to be had at even

the highest of high-end, there’s much to be said for a really good all-rounder. And this one covers both ‘comfort and joy’, with a sprinkling of ‘shock and awe.’ In the audio equivalent of ‘snog, marry, avoid’ that we reviewers often try to play, the wiser hands gravitate to ‘marry’ when long-term satisfaction is the aim. The Connected-Fidelity cables may not take you on the musical equivalent of bungee jumping off the Hoover Dam, but neither are they likely to get you into a fight on the high street on a Saturday night. There’s a lot to be said for that.

Technical Specifications

Unity Two loudspeaker cable

Type: Stereo pair loudspeaker cables, 4mm sq UP-OFC copper, natural fibre damping material, ‘air tight’ spade or banana terminals, deep cryogenic treatment

Price: Banana terminals

2.5m pair £849, $1,156, €856
3.0m pair £949, $1,296, €957
3.5m pair £1,049, $1,432, €1,058
4.0m pair £1,149, $1,568, €1,159
5.0m pair £1,349, $1,841, €1,360

For each additional 0.5m add £94 per set

For spade terminals, add £50 per set

Unity interconnect

Type: Stereo pair, pseudo balanced, multi strand interconnect using 0.82mm diameter UP-OCC copper, double-shielded aluminium foil/OCC copper, natural fibre damping, deep cryogenic treatment

Price: RCA-RCA pseudo balanced