The Art of Making Cables with VIABLUE

"Building a system is all about building confidence that what you are hearing is correct. VIABLUE can help with that."

Last time we explored the art of cable making with Cardas Cables from Bandon, Oregon. Today, we’re still talking cables, but this time, we’re heading in a completely different direction—not just across the country, but across the pond to Germany, where VIABLUE cables bring their own approach to high-end audio.

VIABLUE is a high-end audio brand founded in 2001, specializing in precision-engineered cables and accessories. Using high-purity materials and precision engineering has become something we have come to expect from German-based companies, especially in HiFi. Located in Malsh, Germany, just outside of Stuttgart, and about 3 hours from our friends over at Clearaudio, VIABLUE find themselves in good company of a well-established audio community.

Built for those who appreciate transparency and detail, their designs focus on delivering pure, natural sound without coloration. VIABLUE strikes a balance between cutting-edge engineering and thoughtful craftsmanship—offering performance that stands up to far more expensive options. More room in the ole budget for gear and records!

VIABLUE cables have generated a lot of excitement at The Music Room’s HQ, but they seem to be under the radar in the American market. I've had the chance to test them in various setups over the past few months, and I can confidently say, If you're looking for new cables, VIABLUE should be on your short list. They offer exceptional detail and a fast, tight bass response that I've only experienced with much more expensive silver cables. I was not quite sure what to expect. I avoided any reviews that were already out there and went in blind, so you're in it with me. So with that, let's just get down to it.

First Impressions & Build Quality

Right out of the gate, I was taken aback by the weight of the box I received. Without even opening it, I thought maybe HQ sent some other stuff along with some XLR’s and speaker cables they said were on the way.

As I opened up the box and started to take them out, I realized how dense these guys were. The pair of speaker cables alone had some real heft and density. The box itself was the size of a stack of CD’s. However, the XLR’s were even bigger and heavier inside a 16” x 16” box. The difference comes in the series 6 having air tubes, making it necessary to have a larger packaging so as not to bend the tubing. These are some pretty sizable cables, a they feel stout. VIABLUE have designed these cables, to ensure you can bend them as needed to put them in place in your system without harming the cables, more on that below. I get right away why they design their cable lifters the way that they do. More on the Air Tubes and cable lifters later on.

"Unboxing the VIABLUE cables, as I opened the box and started to take them out, I realized how dense these guys are". 

 

If you are one of those audio guys that thinks heaviness means quality, your suspicions will be confirmed. From the choice of connections used to how they are executed, tip-to-tip, these cables say one thing: a lot of time and thought went into the design and engineering. There is not a stone left unturned. So far, I'm pretty impressed. They feel as solid as they look; connections all feel incredibly solid. Particularly the bananas, which can sometimes be a point of contention if you are using a heavier gauge cable.

The cables have a beautiful outside jacket, which either comes in black or cobra. I was able to see both and prefer the cobra. It seems to blend into its surroundings well. Imagine the pun here. In the design, they have also accounted for the stiffness in the cables by using a clever design to give you about 8” of runway before the cables are combined, to help ease placement concerns. These are some Pythons. Speaking of, the speaker cables came in the Cobra option. I'm usually not particular about coatings, but I have to say this looks and feels really nice, and almost camouflaged in my room, which was nice. 

Suffice it to say, these are not your average bear based on what I saw right out of the gate. My initial impressions were that they seemed to have some of the hallmarks I look for in high-end cables. Nice appearance, dense and heavy build, and incredibly good materials used. Let's see what those attributes deliver sonically.

 

System Testing, Setup, and Burn In

Admittedly, I love evaluating cables. I do get amped and excited to yak about them, so there is always that initial excitement. But there is also a burn-in period to consider before you can really tell what these cables are doing in your system. I also wanted to try them with different gear. I was particularly honed in on the speaker cables, and wanted to try them with a few different speakers to really get an idea of what they were doing in my system.

Burn In

First thing’s first: burn in. These are silver-coated cables, and typically this means an extensive burn in period. Silver tends to have a glare, or peakiness, that shows itself more during burn in. VIABLUE claims these cables need about 30 hours to break in. In my experience, this has only been the case for one cable over the years. Most take around 100 hours to start to settle in, give or take 20 hours.

With that said, the exception is typically silver, or silver-coated cables, which usually end up taking approximately all my patience before they break in, 150-250 hours or sometimes more. This is a sticking point for the following people: Tube guys, Millennials, and people that can't stand to wait in line anywhere, which is me and I would guess most Audiophiles.

Well, let me go ahead and put your mind at ease right now. 30-50 hours seemed about right. More on this later, but a lot of this has to do with the design choice—these cables are heavy but not fighting through a pile of dielectric materials to get a signal through. This helps speed up the burn in the process. In this case, I chose to leave both the speaker cables and XLR's on a loop, using an integrated amplifier and a pair of Magnepans during this process. But honestly, letting them play is just as good if you have patience. At the beginning, they had some bite in the upper frequencies. However, as these broke in more, they settled down quite a bit.

Setup

I split my time between using these with a pair of ATC SCM20p’s, and then evaluating them with two different planar speakers, the Diptyque DP115’s and the Magnepan .7’s. All speakers were driven with the Modwright 225 integrated amplifiers, using the PH9x phono stage, Rega P10 Turntable, PS Audio Direct Stream DAC, and Cambridge CXN V2 Streamer.

 

In using these cables, specifically the SC-4 Speaker cables, a couple things to consider came up. If you are using bookshelf speakers, or standmounts, keep in mind these are heavy cables. If they are going to hang, just make sure the speakers are well supported. Also, I tend to order short speaker cable runs. With the VIABLUE cables, I would say, more is appropriate, as a way to help with the weight and stiffness factors.

Now I'm all set up. I have the SC-4 speaker cable connecting my ATC’s to the Modwright, and the XLR’s connecting my PH9 to the Modwright. We are ready to rock. I have a pile of records freshly cleaned, and the wife is out of town. So, here we go. Here is what I listened to with the first test. All great music, some audiophile stuff in there as well. I'm starting off with “Circuital” from My Morning Jacket, and “Glassworks” from Philip Glass. If you are curious, you can see the full list of recordings I listened to below.

Performance & Sound Characteristics

In the first few hours of really listening, I was drawn to a couple things right away. They have really great pacing, timing, and grouping, specifically in the bass. This is a trait that held up with every change I made. The second hallmark was the high end. It was incredibly detailed. Peaky at first, but after a while, it mellowed into a very informative, well-presented experience.

I've heard my system sound this open before, but it was with 100% silver cables that cost 3-4 times the price. Not to mention I'm two months in and still jamming the VIABLUES, while the other silver cables I had in the past I sold because they were not listenable after an hour. Absolutely fatiguing, and even if they are not harsh, you walk away feeling worn out after a listening session.

The VIABLUE are a mixed propagation, and mixed metal cable I can get along with. Meaning, even with the implementation of silver in these cables in addition to the traditional copper only, I see all the good hallmarks of silver, but I'm not hearing the fatigue.

In front of me are all the hallmarks and clarity you would expect from a pure silver cable, the space, the texture, and the expansive sound. 5 hours later, at 2:30 in the morning, I’m still listening. Those who say nothing good happens after 2 AM have not had a really emotional experience with audio that keeps drawing you in. The VIABLUEs helped make that happen for me.

NF-S6 AIR Interconnect XLR Cables

Specifications:

• 2x 6 signal conductors consisting of each 19 silver-plated OFC copper strands
• 3 ALU-PET golden foil shields + 3 contra-rotating tinned OFC copper spiral shields
• VIABLUE™ Airpipe System with 24+1 airpipes

Let's talk about the NF-S6 Interconnects first. The implementation of Airtubes adds stiffness and girthiness and makes these absolute pythons. But, do they still have a bite? Well, in a sense yes. These cables are a little eager to give you some details, and this can come across as forward, or even peaky if not paired well. If your gear is already bright or peaky, these cables will accentuate that. Where I think this eagerness comes out well, outside of the high end, is in the lower mids, and bass regions.

This sense of urgency and well organized delivery helped my speakers deliver an energetic performance when called for. You really get a sense of energy in the room, almost like the bass is breathing easier. If your system is bloated, this could actually help to level that out. Thinking of using these between an extremely revealing DAC and a tube amplifier for example.

I found with the XLRs that the sense of airiness and open high end absolutely translates well with different gear, but I loved this with my tube phono stage. The PH9, is not a “tubey” or “romantic”  sounding phono stage. Rather it focuses on truth in tone, soundstages incredibly well, and has great detail. The VIABLUES helped to deliver this effortlessly. And I mean effortlessly. There was space where there was supposed to be space. No noise, no blurred lines.

This helps support one of the strengths of these cables— instrument separation. Placing instruments in the overall image, both in depth as well as width is something these cables can portray incredibly well. In fact, this strength only seems to be limited by the abilities of the gear you are using. With all of the detail and space, no coloration was added whatsoever. It was like you took the Lincoln Tunnel and replaced it with something 5 times the size; traffic is the same, but it just felt effortless.

This was most evident when listening to vocals and live recordings. However when listening to “Circuital” from My Morning Jacket, it was obvious that this expanse was not limited to the high end frequencies. It's all the way down to the depths of low frequency as well. On this album, Jim James and crew reach down to the depths heard from the opening gong strike, to the last notes of the album. You hear the room, you hear the mistakes, you hear the raw emotion of this album in all of its ups and downs. But the point is you hear it. Nothing added, and certainly nothing lost. That sounds like a small thing, but let's be honest, something that helps build trust in what you are hearing is something that adds to your system. Building a system is all about building trust that what you are hearing is correct.

"VIABLUE gave me the ability to hear the room. Hear the mistakes. Hear the raw emotion of the Circuital album from Morning Jacket in all of its ups and downs. Nothing added, and certainly nothing lost." 

Where the bite comes into play, is with attack and decay. These are two areas to be careful with when pairing. These cables showcase a breathtaking ability to retrieve detail. When listening to something that has a room full of instruments, you will absolutely be able to separate them out and identify them in their own space. When there are quiet spaces in the music, you can hear symbols ringing out, and strings continuing to vibrate both the wood they are attached to, and the echoes form the room they were recorded in. This is only limited by your gear and its ability to differentiate the details, and resolve what you are hearing. Now, these details and expansive high end, will become “bite” real quick. It will come across as shrill or harsh if you have a pair of speakers or amplifiers, source gear, or even material that is unable to resolve at a fairly high level.

Want to see more VIABLUE cables? Explore them here.

SC-4 Speaker Cables

Specifications:

• 4 conductors: 2 high frequency, 2 low frequency
• 896 single strands assembled to 4x 7 wrapped bundles combined to 4 single conductors
• Silvered high frequency conductors
• Tinned low frequency conductors Tinned OFC copper strands for powerful and vibrant basses

 

I used the VIABLUE speaker cables with several speakers, most of my time being spent with the ATC SCM20p's. The ATC’s sound stellar, but I wanted to explore the sound-staging abilities with different speakers to see if it was just the speakers I was using. I really wanted to see what kind of imaging these cables can support so I spent some time listening to the SC-4 Speaker Cables with a pair of Magnepan .7’s as well as the Diptyque DP 115’s. Both of these speakers really shine with detail retrieval, and imaging. Soundstage is a priority for me, and these speakers really excel in those areas. With that said, the SC-4’s performed surprisingly well with my ATC’s. Now it was time to see if that translated.

I heard incredible, and similar results with both speakers. The SC-4’s have all the same hallmarks of the image placement and detail that the NF S6 XLRs did. What I hear coming through very well using the SC-4 speaker cables through the planars is placement, timing, and pace. This was most evident on live classical recordings where there is not an incredible amount of overproduction. In many live classical recordings, one or possibly three mics are used, therefore you are really relying on the room to help tell the story.

On a good pair of speakers, with a good amplifier, you should be able tell these groups of players apart and locate them on the stage in front of you as though you were viewing the performance from a chair in the audience. With speed, accuracy, and what I would call an effortless sense of energy, these cables deliver recording after recording.

If you’ve never listened to Philip Glass’s masterpiece, Glassworks, you're missing out. It's fantastic music, well recorded, and endlessly fun to listen to on a well put together system-as loud as you can stand it. This recording starts with a beautifully played solo piano with a lot of haste. There is a river of notes flowing right from play, almost like instead of trying to paint a detailed portrait, the pianist is trying to steer your ear and emotions by painting an impressionist visual-scape.

"VIABLUE relays the information with a sense of urgency. You hear every instrument all operating in their own space. Adding to the delivery of the whole movement. It's breathtaking."

This pianist has a lot to say, and its building. By the time you get to the end of side one, for those vinyl lovers out there, you are wide eyed and catching your breath from the onslaught of instruments that were just thrown at you as from one piano builds an orchestra, from that river of notes comes an ocean wave of sound, and it's a lot to take in. On some systems, with cables that have added flavor, too much warmth, or don't have the pace and timing that these cables have, this recording will still sound ok, and pleasant, much like a recording through a TV. However when the gear can resolve the details, and the cables relay that information with a sense of urgency, you hear every single one of the two flutes, two soprano saxes, two tenor saxes, violas, cellos, piano, electric organ, and bass synthesizer. All operating in their own space, adding to the delivery of the whole movement. It's breathtaking.

Needless to say, these cables are pretty impressive. Well thought out build, great detail retrieval, energy, and no coloration. I was liking these cables a lot, and then I saw what they actually cost. I was shocked. For what I was thinking the speaker cables would cost, compared to a lot of brands, you can get the interconnects and maybe even a power cable to go with.  When you compare what materials these use, along with sound quality, the price point puts these cables in a really nice place in the grand scheme of cables in today's market.

Want to see more from VIABLUE? Explore all speaker cables here.

 

Practical Considerations

These cables are a bit stiff at first, but rest assured you can bent them for placement without causing any harm to their performance. That was thought of in the design.They have done numerous things in design to make sure these are not so taxing on your gear, but I would make sure that these cables are all supported at the point of contact with your gear, to make sure there is no undue stress being put on the connection.

Something else VIABLUE has in their line up are cable lifters. These can be a great way to ensure you are relieving stress on the connections, I would heavily consider cable lifters when using any cables, not just to get them off the ground but to help guide them where needed. It can be a little tricky guiding some cables, and keeping them in place. All that to say, keep in mind the stiffness and weight when considering placement. Use cable supports or lifters where possible. I would highly consider the VIABLUE lifters. These are well designed, simple, and reasonably priced.

The Rocket Lifters for Interconnects and smaller speaker cables.

The Rocket XL for larger interconnects, speaker cables, and power cables.

The UFO Lifter Dome as a bridge between the guides, or standalone supporters.

The UFO Absorber for gear. Incredible design, supports up to 660 LBS depending on the model.

   

Is VIABLUE right for you?

VIABLUE cables are designed for those who prioritize transparency, detail, and accuracy in their system. These are truly no-nonsense cables, delivering precision without coloration and revealing every detail with honesty. However, like all high-end components, system synergy is key. 

If you are looking for an exceptionally well crafted cable that delivers precision and balance, whether you're refining an already high-end system or stepping into the world of premium audio cables, VIABLUE is a fantastic option. With rock-solid build quality and performance that exceeds expectations, especially at its price point, you can buy with confidence knowing you are getting a seriously well-made cable that enhances your system without the the typical price tag of today. 

For those seeking to shape their system's sound-whether by adding warmth or emphasizing specific frequencies-other cables may better suit that goal. 

That said, whether your system leans towards warmth and richness, or you have a highly resolving , neutral, and critical setup, VIABLUE cables can be an excellent match-bringing out finer details and enhancing clarity while preserving musicality. 

Final Thoughts

After my time with the VIABLUE Cables, I can honestly say they are a true no-nonsense cable—precision without coloration, revealing every detail with honesty. VIABLUE cables provide top-tier materials and German engineering, making a full loom attainable for the cost of a single high-end cable elsewhere. In fact, prices are reminiscent of 20 years ago.

Built for those who appreciate transparency and detail, their designs focus on delivering pure, natural sound without coloration. VIABLUE strikes a balance between cutting-edge engineering and thoughtful craftsmanship—offering performance that stands up to far more expensive options. More room in the ole budget for gear and records.

 

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As promised from earlier, here are some of the records I kept coming back to while using the VIABLUE cables. Partly because they had attributes that really shined with these cables, and partly because, well, I was in the mood for these jams.

“Flaming Pie” - Sir Paul McCartney

Incredibly fun album to listen to, great energy, and of course a fantastic recording. 

“Circuital” - My Morning Jacket

I love this whole album. It's a good recording, but not in the sense that you are splicing together perfection. More like the guys in the booth captured a snapshot in time of someone's headspace. You can hear it in the room, the emotion. Etc.

“Blue”-Third Eye Blind

This is an enduring favorite, for myself and quite a few others here at TMR. Great recording overall, and really captures the very last of the opulence the 90’s became towards the very end of the decade.

“Hymns from the 39th Parallel”- KD Lang

Beautifully performed, well recorded. Classic weekend morning, coffee chill album. 

“Who Are You Now” -Madison Cunningham

I love the vocals on this album, as well as the percussion.

“Glass Woks” - Philip Glass

Absolute masterpiece, and part of a period of work that continues to be incredibly influential with film score composers amongst other musicians, today.

“Kicking Television” - Wilco

This is Wilco. I don't even normally like live recordings of bands, but this is an experience. I would particularly highlight a few tracks: "Muzzle of Bees", "At Least That's What You Said" and "Via Chicago".