Testimonials
With kind permission from Stereonet : https://www.stereo.net.au/forums/topic/264137-lenehan-audio-foil-flex-interconnects/
Mike,
Gave the Interconnects an extended workout with all types of music on CD , SACD and a few UHQCD's I have bought recently. The following notes are worth relaying to you.
1: The FOIL FLEX interconnects are very well constructed and are very flexible (much more so than the xxxx I currently own). The XLR connectors are excellent.
2: The FOIL FLEX interconnects "unveiled" much more detail in the music. On one disc by the Tord Gustavsen Trio the female vocalist sounded quite uncanny and things like her breathing came out very clearly.
3: The FOIL FLEX interconnects made me think I had the volume too high. The Esoteric F-05 volume control was set in its normal position and I had to turn it down. Very dynamic.
I'll keep them plugged in as you suggest. The new grilles are very classy looking and photos sent to my wife working in Christchurch met with strong approval. Great job.
I think your FOIL FLEX Interconnects are a wonderful connection. Here is a list of my past Interconnects that the FOIL FLEX are superior to: (3 other brands mentioned). The vibrancy (not brashness!) of the FOIL FLEX XLR is my most immediate impression. For something I had never heard and bought blind they are proving quite exceptional.
Regards
Mick
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The FOIL FLEX XLR cables have done the hours. They sound fabulous. Enormous detail; great bass. Vocals both male and female are "in the room" and as good as I have heard in my listening area. Mike is currently putting together a 3 metre pair of FOIL FLEX Speaker cables for me. Replacing my xxxx Cables will be interesting.
Cheers
Mick
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I was so pleased with the SQ improvement on inclusion of the Foilflex RCA - RCA interconnect between the phono stage and amplifier- to complement the Foilflex speaker cable- that I took the plunge and asked Mike to construct a 1.5mt Din to RCA interconnect for my Naim CDS3 to Amplifier. Just superb! Hard to find the words to describe the presentation, but the sheer musicality, subtlety of detail, transparency and precise imaging was astounding. The emotionally and soul of the music was really engaging.
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The Foilflex 1.5mt RCA interconnects have now had about 45 hrs of use between the moving coil phono stage of a VTL Ultimate preamp and Audion 300B PSE Silver Anniversary Mono Blocks.
The Foilflex speaker cables are connected to a pair of Quad ESL 2057s (“modernised” 57s) - One of the four that John Hall built. These have an extended bass and treble frequency response, wider treble dispersion and can be used with higher power amps and played louder.
The set up in the room with acoustic treatment gave a good balanced and dynamic response and good imaging with the previous cables -xxxx SC’s and xxxx line ICs with WBT Nextgen connectors.
The source used so far has been vinyl. The Foilflex combination lowered the noise floor and expanded the sound stage- width and depth. The lower details and timbre of instruments were exquisite, especially with classical music and opera. The ambience and placement of instruments in the orchestra front to back was amazing. High frequency detail was presented without any “tizz”, edge or harshness. Very natural.
The other noticeable feature was the spaciousness and ease of the presentation, particularly of complex and dynamic components of the music. Very musical. And The PRAT was there too!😃
Vocals/ voice across a range from -voice and guitar, to opera - just sounded superb.
It seems like the cables have gotten out of the way of the system! Very pleased with results and really enjoying the music.
Vivianbl
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Hi Mike,
Thank you for the update. Having just bought your FoilFlex speaker cables, I knew I had to have the interconnects as well. I was simply astounded when I hooked the speaker cables to a old pair of Spendor BC1's that I purchased in 1976. They always had a wonderful midrange but I had never heard them sound this good before - astonishing!
Fabulous products, Mike, bravo!
Regards,
John
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Hi all. I have previously bought Mike's FoilFlex speaker cables and in the last few months replaced my rca and xlrs with his FoilFlex range as well.
Without a doubt these purchases have been the best bang for buck purchase I have ever made in audio.
Aside from speakers themselves in my opinion cables can make the most difference in sound.
Everytime I added a new FoilFlex in the chain there was distinct improvements. It's strange as I find his cables impact the music by making songs more relaxed and open but at the same time way more detailed and analytical.
If you buy FoilFlex you can be assured that there isn't much better you can get for reasonable pricing. I am happy that the FoilFlex at $1500 or so rrp has beaten the xxxx cables with a $10k rrp and even competes with the $50k cables. At the end of the day, I would never spend $50k on cables so this as far as I am concerned is end game territory and I have no itch to upgrade my cables which is a good feeling.
For anyone looking to spend anything on a cable upgrade I would strongly encourage you give Mike a call. He offers a free in home trial because he knows once you have added them to your system you won't be taking them back!
Sandrews888
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Interesting how much time it takes to "run-in" cables in general and the Foil Flex cables in particular. Their initial performance out of the box is really good but now after 30 hours roughly performance has jumped to a new level. The portrayal of micro detail like background clapping and instrument noises (piano pedals and acoustic guitar noise) is really prominent now and a major feature for me with the Foil Flex cables. For the money the performance level delivered is exceptional.
Cheers
075Congo
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I recently connected my Foil Flex speaker cables and interconnects up to my old speakers [Sonus Faber Toy Towers, which I might sell on SN one day], just to see if I could hear any sound improvement in comparison to when I used to use them with xxxx cables and interconnects. Not expecting to hear much difference, I was just blown away. I couldn't believe the detail and the clarity. I had never heard my Toy Towers sound so good. I'm now seriously thinking about keeping the Towers for a possible second system and getting some more FF from Mike. The value for money that these cables make to the sound quality of a system is astounding. It really is a no brainer. Do they natch other speakers brands, instead of just Lenehan speakers? IMHO, bloody oath, they do.
Warwick Robson
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Hi, as new Foilflex RCA owner, I agree wholeheartedly with these comments.
I compared them with xxxx and xxxx Silver /Copper RCA's (both of which I also own) and found that the Foilflex just made the music make sense; they have very strong dynamic ability which means that when there is a solo (guitar / sax / etc) you can hear the notes the instrument is playing as it starts the solo and also the notes at the end of the solo after it finishes - these are the notes that are normally buried under other instruments. It makes the music sound very real and is not a hi fi style of delivery.
They have a very natural delivery of detail - it is all there but is delivered in a way that just sounds right - just the way a real instrument sounds.
I now have two pairs and I am sure that more will follow. they make it very difficult to use anything else.
Vivianbl, I am keen to hear how you get on with the Foilflex as a tonearm cable, as I am now figuring if I can do the same with my Origin Live Conqueror Mk2. I saw your initial thoughts, how is the tonearm cable settling in?
One thing that is very important with the Foilflex is running in - the difference between a stone cold Foilflex new out of the box (which sound very good) and a run in cable with 60plus hours on it (which sound amazing) is considerable in my experience. The increase in resolution through the mid and top is significant.
These cables just make you want to listen to music - which is what this is all about - a strong a recommendation as you can get.
cheers
Cammyboy
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