It is sometimes surprising to see where the products we test come from. In this case it is Liechtenstein, and that is a first for me.

Also another first is that these products are designed and handcrafted by a lady named Anna Robathin who is originally from Russia and I mean that, don't take this as a sexist remark, but rather as a ray of light for that Hi-Fi manufacturers should not always be male oriented and a great welcome for the design talent of the female persuasion. In 2000 Anna graduated with honours from Vilnius High TechnicalSchool as a telecommunications engineer (audio, video and high frequency signal transmission) and is fluent in 5 languages (English, French, German, Lithuanian, Polish) as well as Russian. In addition, she has a solid musical background. This gives her the ability to assess the quality of Hi-End products and audio quality. In 2008, she created the first line of acoustic cables under her own brand O2A and in parallel, loudspeakers and amplifiers were designed in collaboration with French engineers.

O2A also manufactures a complete range of analogue and digital cables.

MANUFACTURING
The first thing that struck me when I opened the package of these SUBLIME speaker cables was the quality of the workmanship. The attention to detail is incredible even though the exterior appearance is quite simple and minimal. By attention to detail, I mean that the connectors are made of very good quality copper. The heat shrink is cut and applied to perfection and the black mesh outer covering is a perfect fit. The outer diameter of the main cable is 12mm and is quite flexible, it then splits into two tails at each end - the first one is made of copper and the second one is made of stainless steel.
into two tails at each end - one for the positive connections and one for the negative. The actual manufacturing details escape me despite an internet search and the O2A website doesn't really have details either, but I understand that the conductors are copper and silver. I could have asked O2A to give me a more detailed answer to my questions, but my job is to let you know how the product sounds and in the light of day that is what counts against the money spent on the sound quality achieved, which is always the end result to consider.

SOUND QUALITY
The overall balance is very neutral and does not emphasise any audible frequency band. The bass is solid and articulate in correct balance and proportion to the other frequencies, so it was very easy to listen to.The treble is smooth and always slightly rolled off at the top end, so that less than perfect recordings have no sting and make long term listening without fatigue,
a joy in this respect. What this cable is particularly good at is scrutinising the micro-dynamics in recordings, with more than one 'not heard before' comment during listening sessions.
For example, listening to London Grammar's excellent 'If You Wait' album, there is a wealth of synthesised reverb effects and a deep, penetrating bass line underpinning the female vocals. The SUBLIM cable has depicted this track with the delicacy and power to make it an enjoyable and satisfying listen. The second track on the same album contains some very obvious and deliberate chimes on the guitarist's steel strings that come across as crisp, defined and incredibly real sounds. The whole album is imbued with an artificial atmosphere and SUBLIME cable has captured this perfectly.

Ginger Baker's epic drum solo on Cream's 'Wheels of Fire' has the drum kit close to the mic during the performance, which is ideal for testing transient capabilities. The snare drum and Tom Toms sounded tight and dynamic as they should and the cymbals had a polished refinement with no splash or tizz. The Kick Drum also had a solid 'roundness' that felt like it was hitting you in the gut as much as you heard it with your ears.
Moving on to DerrinNauendorf's "Live at the Boardwalk", which is a live acoustic recording with Derrin playing lead acoustic guitar and accompanied only by a basic drum kit, the tone of the guitar sound was realistically conveyed, full of natural resonance and timbre. Every pluck on the strings was heard with great clarity and detail, although I can't say that Derrin is the best singer, but a pleasant listen nonetheless.
The highs are therefore crisp and clear, and I was able to identify the smallest details and finest points, even when the music became hectic. The bass has depth and power, without overhang or delay, and is able to react to fast transients in a clearly defined way. Female voices were up there with the best of the competition. Play a simple acoustic recording in a concert hall and all the reverb and ambience effects in a room are delivered with solidity and competence. It was obvious when I played Finket's live album 'WheelsBeneathMyFeet' that I noticed that the stage ambiences for each track all sounded different because they were recorded at different locations on one of Fink's many European tours and in this respect the SUBLIME cable did not disappoint at all. In the track entitled 'Sort of Revolution', you can hear the drummer going deep with his Floor Tom hits which reverberate powerfully in my listening room and really show any slack or flaccid bass as soon as it occurs, but again the SUBLIME cables render it very well.
For me personally, the acid test is whether I play entire albums or just my favourite tracks from the albums and secondly, how long my listening sessions last, so every album is played from start to finish and every time I stay up very late without realising the time, is a sign of unqualified approval.

CONCLUSION
So how to sum up these cables? In appearance only, they are fairly nondescript and I have seen a plethora of beautifully dressed cable confections over the years that have had problems during listening sessions. The O2A Quintessence SUBLIME cables on the other hand are not podium contenders as far as appearance is concerned, but have not had any sonic problems as far as I can tell, and when for the price of £500 for a 2.5 metre pair the majority of the manufacturing cost seems to have been spent on the inside rather than the outside and that does not impress me.
Neutrality is the key word here and the whole frequency spectrum is in correct balance from top to bottom, so this is not a cable designed to impress with the intention of drawing fireworks. It's so easy to play track after track, album after album through these cables and you feel quite satiated at the end of your listening sessions. It must be a recommendation from me at this point and it's worth looking into auditioning it on your own system.

Pros: Neutral listening with even balance throughout the octave range from top to bottom. Ranks very well
among its peers in the market.
Cons: The appearance of this cable is very deceiving in its outward simplicity.