Black Rhodium Rhythm review

One of Black Rhodium's most affordable cables, the Rhythm is a relatively thin and very flexible cable which, with its short-bodied plugs, is clearly a good choice for use in confined spaces.

It uses good-quality materials, including a fairly substantial inner core of silver-plated copper, with PTFE insulation and a silver-plated copper screen. It's not marked for directionality and is connected identically at both ends.

The PTFE is quite thin and a good bit of the cable's bulk is the soft outer jacket. Thin insulation gives it a relatively high capacitance, about three times that of the other cables in this group, but there's no obvious reason why that should upset any modern equipment in the slightest.

Black Rhodium claims that the PTFE has been processed in some way that, among other things, improves the 'beat' of the sound – a remarkably specific claim but, well, we assume they've tried it and that's what they heard!

What we heard was certainly rhythmic sound and it was also sound with a detectable tonal character of its own. We've commented on a 'dark' balance in BR cables in the past, but that's mostly the company's silicone-rubber-insulated models.

In this case, the sound seems to be just a fraction on the bright side, but in a good way, bringing a quite delightful sparkle to music of all kinds. There's good detail, not quite the kind one might find in cables in the £200-upwards range, but very good for one at this price and imaging is good, too.

The very lowest bass is just a little lacking in impact, we felt.

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