MCRU No. 71 Mk2 RCA interconnects & No. 75 ethernet cable
Audiophile cable suppliers and manufacturers are two a penny, so when the time comes to add or replace an existing cable, customers are faced with a plethora of options. This can leave them confused and can lead to the purchase of a product that takes their system’s balance down a less optimal than path. This is where a dealer who understands your system is invaluable and can end up saving customers money in the long run.
MCRU is among a select few companies that are both dealers and manufacturers. Not only do they stock cables and products from some of The Ear’s most coveted brands, but they also manufacture a range to complement products from the established product lines they offer. This, in many cases, brings customers better value as they are cutting out distribution and marketing costs.
MCRU, for those new to the brand, stands for Mains Cables Are Us – see what they did there. The company was started by Yorkshireman David Brook and his wife Joanne in 2008. From humble beginnings as a producer of, you guessed it, mains cables and distribution blocks, MCRU has become one of the UK’s leading suppliers of all kinds of cables and mains products for hi-fi, including a popular range of linear power supply units built by Longdog Audio. Bricks and mortar, Brook Audio serves as a traditional hi-fi dealer, with comprehensive demonstration facilities, but also acts as a distributor for a number of boutique high-end audio manufacturers.
The No. 71 Mk2 interconnect
I will first talk about the No. 71 Mk2 analogue RCA interconnect, the 1m long review sample retails at £525. So a popular price-point and one that includes strong competition from the likes of Chord Co and Tellurium Q, to name but two.
My sample of this cable was built by MCRU’s master technician, Mike Brunskill, and there are certainly no complaints from me regarding its construction. The RCA connectors are Australian brand ETI Research’s top-of-the-range Coda plugs, which alone retail for £149 per pair. These plugs are an upgrade upon the brand’s popular Silver Link model, which has quite a following. Close inspection reveals plastic plug grip inserts, which are used to minimise RFI/EMI noise. Mike Brunskill explained that minimising the amount of metal used in a plug gives the added benefit of reducing resistance. In an effort to reduce bulk as much as possible, the wall of these plugs is just 0.6mm thick.
The cable itself is unscreened and built around a pure silver (UP-OCC) core, inside a carbon infused polysester braiding to block RFI. Unlike the screened, solid-core copper cable it replaced in my system, the No. 71 Mk2 cable is pretty flexible and slotted in easily behind my system. The heat shrinks include attractive lettering for branding and designation.
My resident Townshend F1 Fractal XLR interconnects were rested for a week prior to evaluation. During that time, I substituted them with the aforementioned solid-core copper cables, which were built for me by a well-respected cable brand. These cables retail for a whisker over £200. I have been using them for several years, and they have performed well against more expensive competition.
Initially, I placed the No. 71 Mk2 cables in my headphone setup, which comprises a Wiim Ultra Streamer, Denafrips Ares 12th and Iris 12th and the Heed Canalot III headphone amp. Here, the No. 71 Mk2 replaced an ageing but able Kimber cable – the improvements were not subtle. Music immediately sounded cleaner, more energetic and better defined. A brief Qobuz stream of Dave Brubeck’s Take 5 sounded considerably more airy and life-like. The 24/192 version of Don Henley’s The Boys Of Summer highlighted the additional transparency of this cable as well as its soundstage layering skills.
Once I was satisfied the cable was fully run in, I put it between my Moon 780D DAC and 600i integrated amplifier, where it remained for the rest of the review period. My only previous experience with a pure silver cable was not entirely positive. Whilst detailed, it proved somewhat lacking in weight and scale. Thankfully, these are not criticisms I can make of this cable. I consider the No. 71 Mk2 a transparent and neutral-sounding cable with a delightfully open, detailed, and spacious presentation. It sounds coherent across the frequency range, with fine instrumental separation. It maintains the scale of the program material and delivers impressive low-frequency punch.
Prior to the cable swap, I had been listening to Frank Zappa’s Hot Rats album (24/192 download). This album was recorded over fifty-five years ago, but it holds up well, albeit with obvious compression of the frequency extremes. I dropped off at track three, Little Umbrellas. The No. 71 Mk2 at once produced a more open and airy rendition of this all-time classic. The improved instrumental separation was obvious, the soundstage similarly benefited and was now both broader and deeper. Frank’s guitar now flowed better, and Max Bennett’s bass broke free from the rest of the band and moved towards the front of the soundstage. Compression caused by the limitations of the technology used in this recording is particularly evident in the high frequencies, which led to the cymbals sounding a little pinched via my usual cable. The No. 71 Mk2’s additional resolving powers made this less of an issue; it was still evident, but got out of the way of the music.
Moving on to the next track, The Gumbo Variations, I again enjoyed the improved bass definition, which helped the double bass sound more believable. The music sounded more organic, and the improvements in definition helped me appreciate the skills of this fine assembly of musicians. The cable’s superior levels of resolution did a better job of revealing the recorded acoustic compared to my control cable.
Moving over to something electronic, via Massive Attack’s often overlooked Heligoland and the No. 71 Mk2 delivered more texture, a wider soundstage, deeper bass and improved definition across the frequency range. The track Paradise Circus responded particularly well to the cable swap, with the lushness of the strings coming across in all their glory.
So, this is a good example of a silver cable done right, and it proves there are gains to be had by moving up from a good entry-level interconnect. It is more neutral than other cables I have sampled at its price point and gives nothing away in terms of detail, colour, or scale.
The No. 75 ethernet
I have tested more than my fair share of ethernet cables over the last couple of years. However, few claiming high-performance were priced as low as the £50 asked for a 1m sample of the No. 75 cable. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that this cable is terminated with highly regarded Telegartner RJ45 connectors, which is a rarity at this price point.
Obtaining optimum musical performance through an ethernet connection involves stopping extraneous noise from sources such as wi-fi, RFI and switched mode power supplies tagging along with the musical data. MCRU were not keen to share too much information about the construction of the cable, but I did get out of them that the conductors are copper-based and the cable is double-screened.
The ethernet No. 75 is neatly finished in a black acoustic braid and, similarly to the No. 71 Mk2, has its moniker near one plug, the MCRU logo close to the other. As the screens are connected to both ends of the cable it is non-directional. Despite the lack of fancy packaging, superficial first impressions are high.
This cable was tested in various setups, but I found a headphone setup with the ethernet between the router and my Chord 2Go/Hugo2 to be a simple and revealing method of sorting the wheat from the chaff, especially as it removed factors such as network switches and ethernet filters from the equation.
I have a reference starter cable from a well-renowned cable builder based on a silver-plated copper conductor. Although this cable is a prototype, I have previously compared it to the Supra Cat 8 ethernet cable, which MCRU themselves sell for £43 for the same 1m length as No. 75, as well as other entry-level cables from well-known brands, and it proved noticeably superior.
The ethernet No. 75 puts in an excellent performance, especially for its asking price, sounding cleaner, fuller and better defined than my reference cable. Music had superior energy and drive, but did so without unwanted exaggeration of the high frequencies, which is a trick lesser cables often play to win A/B comparisons, only to prove fatiguing over the long-term. This fullness extended to the low frequencies, which were deeper and easier to follow. In fact instrumental separation proved a highlight of this cable, which points towards effective rejection of noise. The densely mixed Tsunami Sea from Spiritbox proved a particularly revealing evaluation tool here, lifting the electronic xylophone out of the mud and laying bare the double-track vocals.
It’s something of a steal at £50 and a night and a day upgrade over freebie cables. The MCRU No. 75 ethernet cable is a great place to start for those curious as to whether upgraded network cables can benefit their system; I doubt MCRU will be troubled by returns from dissatisfied customers. Longer runs of ethernet cable are especially sensitive to noise, so I would recommend trying longer versions of this cable where appropriate, as indications are that noise rejection is a particular strength of this cable.
Conclusions
Many cables impose their character upon the music, but that is not a game either of these cables from MCRU play. The No. 71 Mk2 RCA interconnects impressed with their transparency, neutrality and refined, yet energetic presentation of music. These are one of the better options available at this price point. They are superbly constructed, and those ETI Coda RCA plugs are second to none. At £50 for 1m, the ethernet No. 75 is peerless and should be considered a no-brainer. The guys at MCRU are familiar with most products on the market and can give you invaluable advice about your next cable purchase and beyond. These Yorkshire-bred cables will help extract the best from your system and are highly recommended.