·  Digital Cable: MGL-D10-HSE / 1.0m (RCA)  $555 (This cable was dropped from their lineup just as I was writing this review.)

·  Digital cable: Golden Dragon TSL-100D-GD / 1.0m (RCA)  $795 USD (This new model featuring solid silver conductor and Eichmann RCA connector was rushed to me before it was to be released in late summer.)

As luck would have it, the MGL-D10-HSE digital cable was discontinued as I was completing this review. This was a "good news/bad news" story, as I was very highly impressed with the discontinued cable, and it is typically expected that new/improved models are superior to the ones they replace. John was able to obtain a sample of the new replacement for the popular, but 10-year-old design. The new Golden Dragon TSL-100-GD is their new flagship digital cable. The "bad news" was that the review was delayed.

Here's what my system and cables looked like from source to loudspeaker:

Sony ES CD player (hot-rodded transport only) with an ArgentPur silver power cord, alternately with the Tiglon White Tiger power cord.

Tiglon Golden Dragon TSL-100GD silver digital cable

Lampizator Amber 4 DAC with Audience Front Row Reserve PowerChord, alternately with the Tiglon White Tiger power cord.

Tiglon TPL-2000X XLR interconnect

Backert Labs Rhumba Extreme 1.4 preamp w/Audience Front Row Reserve PowerChord

Synergistic Research Atmosphere SX Excite XLR interconnect

AGD Audio monoblocks with Synergistic Research Atmosphere SX Excite power cord

Tiglon TPL-2000SP speaker cables

Acora QRC-2 Loudspeaker

Under The Looking Glass
My time with the Tiglon cables overlapped with the review of the Bayz Time Corrector, which appeared in the June issue. My further experience in working with the Tiglon cables has reinforced my praise for the Time Corrector. At roughly $7,000, it is an extraordinary product that, combined with the limited selection of Tiglon cables, took my system to the highest level of resolution I've ever heard in my dedicated listening room. Together, they put my rig in the top echelon of rooms I hear at the four shows I attend each year. That's the good news.

The qualification comes when I remove the Bayz Time Corrector, which is a brand-new product that premiered in Vienna last month, so few audiophiles have any experience of its capability. On the one hand, when combined with the Bayz Time Corrector, the Tiglon cables can bring mid-level components up to the level of the finest components in the high end. On the other hand, without the Time Corrector, the Tiglon cables did not elevate my mid-range components into that exalted realm. Still, I found them to be very good relative to other cables I had to compare with them, some of which cost significantly more. The comparisons are relevant, regardless of whether or not you choose to invest in a Time Corrector. And I can only imagine what the combination of the Tiglon cables with the Time Corrector could do if you already own components in the ‘cost-no-object' league.

A Bases Loaded Home Run
I'll start with my overall impressions of using all four Tiglon cables in my system at the same time, along with the Bayz Time Corrector. Then I will break down my impressions of the individual cables. I'm speaking here of the system with the new Golden Dragon digital cable, not the original digital cable I received.

The first impression that stood out immediately was the ultra-high resolution of the music. I picked this up with the opening bars the first time I hit ‘play.' I use a compilation CD filled with numerous signifiers that present significant challenges for cables and components alike. A favorite one is an overdubbed refrain on Bruce Springsteen's "57 Channels." With the Tiglon cables, the overdub was not just fully comprehensible coming from the far left corner of the soundstage, but the ambient sound of that space was continuous with the ambient space of the main track. With inferior cables or components, I can't make out all the words, and it sounds like a recording made in a sound booth with a cheap recorder. If you knew the floor plan of my home, I would be pointing to the far corner of the family room adjacent to the listening room. This brings me to the second major impact of the Tiglon cables.

Springsteen's refrain is coming from a spot that is about 12 meters from the listening chair and on the other side of the left wall of the room. There is no vagueness about where he is standing in the refrain. The same is true of the instruments and singers throughout the recordings I sampled. Sounds and lyrics come from highly articulated places on the soundstage but, more importantly, they convey believable physical dimensions of the instruments and the people, along with the corresponding spaces between them. This is what I have achieved in my room, but I will suggest that it is the result of the high resolution of the Tiglon cables combined with the dimensions of the room, along with proper positioning of the speakers and listening position. I can't guarantee you will achieve this result simply by buying the cable. You still have to set up the room properly. I'll save the discussion of the psychoacoustics involved for a future article.

Another of my top priorities is transparency, and here the Tiglon cables were also very high performers. If increasing resolution is like putting your eyeglasses on, increasing transparency is like removing your sunglasses. The cables allowed perception of details throughout the soundstage, taking advantage of the extraordinary width and depth I have achieved with proper speaker placement and seating position. But just as important, the image of the recording venue not only stretches far behind the plane of the speaker, it also extends forward to the listening chair, conveying the impression that you are at least at the very edge of the venue, if not wholly inside the theater with the performers. More typically, the image of the recording venue begins at the plane of the speakers and only extends behind them, leaving the listener looking at the performance from a distance.

With the high resolution and transparency of the Tiglon cables come the additional benefits of macro and micro dynamics that reveal not just the sharp attack of rim shots but the subtle quivering of sustained notes of a slide guitar and the trailing decay. Likewise, with the shimmering decay of cymbals. All of this leads to increased attention to tonality, which has nowhere to hide and is accurately portrayed.

I won't say much about timbre because, along with the other cables I've used, it is well within what you might expect to hear in a live performance. In late June I attend the Rochester International Jazz Festival, where I typically attend 40-50 gigs spread out over nine venues during nine days. I sometimes hear the same performers with the same instruments (except piano, which differs from one venue to the next) in different venues on consecutive days. Due to the different venue (and different piano), they can sound quite different. Even the seating position can make a huge difference. So I won't say much about timbre as it's a fool's game that can cost you a lot of money if you chase perfect timbre. With an effortless leap of imagination, the Tiglon cables were all within the realm of live music.

The overall image is one of hyper-reality that is more completely portrayed than is possible in settings of live performances where the collective acoustic absorption of large audiences (along with their ancillary noises) masks the degree of accuracy that can be achieved with closely placed microphones—unless, perhaps, you are sitting in the first row. Likewise, with amplified performances, the house system may be inferior to your high end system, and the left and right channels will likely be blended somewhat so people on the right side of the audience can also hear instruments on the left side of the stage.

The high end goal of achieving a magnificent, pinpoint soundstage presentation at a particular seat in the room is antithetical to entertaining hundreds of people at a live performance in a large venue, or tens of thousands of people in a stadium. Tiglon targets the goals of high end audio and achieves remarkable results. The result is not pinpoint accuracy, but rather realistic positioning that also conveys the physicality and size of both performers and instruments. The ability to scale properly is also dependent upon speaker placement and listening position within the room. The volume control allows you to adjust your distance from the musicians, moving you closer or farther away, and the Tiglon cables deliver the appropriate shift in sound qualities when doing so.

Golden Dragon TSL-100D-GD Digital Cable
The new Golden Dragon digital cable with a solid silver conductor is the first Tiglon cable to utilize silver. It is triple-shielded with layers of pure magnesium, copper-foil mylar, and copper braid. My sample was fitted with the KLEI (Eichmann) "Silver Harmony" RCA with a hollow silver pin for continuity with the silver conductor. KLEI RCA connectors are made with synthetic, non-magnetic material rather than metal. It is also available with an Oyaide pure silver BNC connector at the same price. As I mentioned earlier, this is their new flagship digital cable, and it received the H.S.E. Grande treatment like all other Tiglon cables. In the photo below, note the candy cane magnesium stripe, seen just below the surface, intentionally does not provide 100% coverage.

I'll also mention that Tiglon offers an Ethernet cable in their entry-level Azure Dragon series, the MS-DR20L-AD, at $410 for 0.5 meter, $480 for 1 meter, and so on, $90 for each additional half meter. John tells me it is a particularly strong cable in that series. There is also an Ethernet cable in the new White Tiger flagship line, and a USB cable in their mid-level line. Since I'm just now getting into streaming, I requested their top digital cable, as I have more basis for comparison.

After replacing the original Tiglon digital cable with their new Golden Dragon model, it was immediately clear that it is a significant step up in resolution. I could tell that in the few seconds I was walking back to my listening chair. The H.S.E. Grande process helps a lot with cable break-in, and John put another three days of Japanese music through it to make it feel at home in North America before sending it on to me. The additional resolution of the Golden Dragon hones the edges of notes and syllables even further, allowing effortless cognition of lyrics of most of my music and bringing to light many of the obscure lyrics on recordings of early blues singers from the South. I can almost sing along with the Africans on Paul Simon's "Diamonds on the Soles of Her Shoes." But more importantly, the Golden Dragon largely tames the sibilance of Paul Simon's closely mic'd voice—something that I have been unable to accomplish until now. It's not completely erased, but it is now easy to ignore, more natural. When I took the liberty to remove the Bayz Time Corrector, the resolution took a drop and some of the sibilance returned, but the system with the Tiglon cables was still noticeably better than with my mid-level Synergistic Research cables without the Time Corrector.

Accompanying the increased resolution with the Golden Dragon was greater dynamics, especially noted with bass slam, rim shots, and cymbals. Transparency also improved a bit, perhaps because notes started and stopped quicker, revealing a somewhat blacker background.

White Tiger TPL-3000A-WT Power Cord
The White Tiger power cord was released in March, 2024, and it has received awards in Poland and the Far East. It uses a highly regarded Furutech FI-50 NCF (R) plug, and it is also available in a 20A version. It's their flagship power cord and looks very sharp with its white outer jacket. It's on the stiff side, like all Tiglon cables, but I had no trouble connecting it to the Sony CD player, which has been modded to accept an IEC connector, or the LampizatOr DAC in my rack. The Furutech plug snapped firmly into place in the Synergistic Research PowerCell 14 located on a separate rack.

I had several power cords to compare with the White Tiger:

ArgentPur PC15 (15Ga, 2m, $1200)

ArgentPur PC12 (12Ga, 2m, $1800)

Audience Front Row Reserve (34.7A capacity, 1.75m, $7750)

Synergistic Research Atmosphere Excite SX (12Ga, 5 feet, $2495)

I tried each of the power cords in both the transport and DAC. Surprisingly, while neither component draws much current, I found the ArgentPur PC 12 to be noticeably better than its smaller 15Ga model, which is identical in construction, except for the number of strands in each leg. They all outperformed the Synergistic Research power cords on these front-end components. A second Audience power cord remained in the preamp, and the same Synergistic Research power cords were used in the monoblocks.

The ArgentPur PC12, Audience Front Row Reserve, and Tiglon White Tiger were all in a narrow performance band. Without comparing them directly in the same listening session, I doubt I could tell the difference among them on any given day. In fact, I would sometimes resume listening a day or two later and forget which cable I was listening to, and I would have to look.

What surprised me most was the considerable improvement I experienced by using any of these three cables with the Sony transport. I have known from reviewing Synergistic fuses that it is always most beneficial to upgrade fuses in the source components, then work your way through the system to the power amps. But I was surprised to find that using a first-class power cord in the transport was as important as using one in the DAC. The best performance I achieved always had the Golden Dragon digital cable and two of the three top power cords in the transport and DAC.

In direct comparison, there were subtle differences among the power cords that may or may not mean much, except for your personal taste and the type of music you like. For example, when I removed the White Tiger and installed the ArgentPur PC12 (which uses pure silver conductors), I noticed slightly longer decay on cymbals, especially when notes faded into silence. When I removed the Audience cable from the DAC and installed the White Tiger, the live recording of James Taylor singing "Steamroller Blues" with a variety of instrumentation including sections of primarily solo piano and wild electric guitar shredding, the music was slightly more dynamic and transparent. (The Audience cable uses many fine strands of single-crystal copper and one tiny strand of silver.) When I reverted back to the Audience cable in the DAC, I noticed the music was slightly more relaxing. The White Tiger was slightly higher resolution with a slightly sharper attack, resulting in a little more of the "you are there" experience, which encourages you to pay attention and engage with the music.

TPL-2000X XLR interconnect
The 1m XLR interconnect was used exclusively between the LampizatOr DAC and the Backert Labs preamp, and it is priced the same as the RCA version. This interconnect comes with Neutrik XLR connectors with copper pins for continuity with the copper wire. This newer connector lacks the "locking window" on the male end, but a stamped "Neutrik" label facilitates both visual and tactile alignment of the connector when working in tight quarters. Much of the same technology, such as the patented magnesium shielding and suppression of vibration with a small magnesium filter at each end, and H.S.E. Grande electronic treatment, is consistent with their other cables.  A customized version (TPL-2000X-HK(XLR) with Cardas connectors is made for the Hong Kong market, but I suspect a version at the White Tiger level is being developed at a higher price. That said, the TPL-2000X has received several awards.

I compared the Tiglon interconnects (1m, dip-formed OFC copper, $1590) with two others I had on hand:

Synergistic Research Atmosphere SX Excite (1m, silver matrix and solid silver strands, $3195)

ArgentPur Amen XLR (1m,  w/RCA, 15Ga solid silver strands, $2500)

Leaving the Tiglon Golden Dragon digital cable in place, along with the White Tiger powering the DAC, and the Tiglon speaker cables in place, I swapped the balanced interconnects from the DAC to the preamp. The Synergistic cable was not as highly resolved as the other two, but it was very comfortable to listen to in every other regard. The Tiglon XLR cable was more resolved, with the music demanding more attention from this listener. With a very well-recorded piece for violin and cello from Music for a Glass Bead Game by John Marks, the violin was too strident to enjoy in my system, and would require careful balancing with a smoother DAC and speakers with a tolerant tweeter. With other types of music, even orchestral music where the strings are not as close-mic'd, this was not a problem. In fact, orchestral music was quite engaging with the sections of the orchestra clearly delineated and layered. Another possibility would be to switch out the AGD Class D amplifier, which is also very high resolution, for a tube amp if string quartet music is among your favorite genres. The same could be said about orchestral music in general, though I didn't feel this was necessary.

Moving on to the new ArgentPur Amen XLR interconnect (review forthcoming), the music was slightly more resolved than the Tiglon cable and presented the same string quartet in a more palpable manner. In all other regards, it was very close to the Tiglon interconnect.

TPL-2000SP Loudspeaker Cable
Finally, coming down to the speaker cable, like all the Tiglon cables, it has excellent construction and features all of the usual Tiglon technologies mentioned above including the magnesium foil wrap and magnesium filters at each end. The cable features two runs of dip-formed oxygen-free copper of approximately 10Ga. each. It was introduced in August, 2022 and has received a couple of awards. I requested spade terminations rather than bananas, and it was fitted with highly polished Furutech spades made from pure copper with a layer of 24K rhodium plating. While it is tightly bound and stiff, it lays flat on the floor and should do well with cable risers if you wish. The 2.5m pair is $2650. I had three other speaker cables on hand for comparison:

Synergistic Research Atmosphere SX Excite (8-foot pair,$3995)

Silversmith Audio Fidelium Fi (8-foot pair, $1395)

ArgentPur AgPur13 (13Ga, 2.5m pair, $3875)

Starting with the system fitted with all four Tiglon cables, after critical listening I installed the Synergistic speaker cables. There was a drop in resolution, especially in the treble where cymbals were noticeably brighter and more prominent, with a longer decay, seemingly due to the noise resulting from the decrease in resolution. The bass, too, was a bit softer and more prominent. The overall presentation was more dynamic and transparent. It was an enjoyable presentation with more PRAT (pace, rhythm and timing) resulting in more toe-tapping, perhaps because it was less well focused.

The Fidelium Fi ribbon cable from Silversmith Audio had better resolution than the Synergistic cable, but I had to boost the volume setting because it is a lighter gauge. The deep bass was not as strong, though it was tighter than the Synergistic. When adding a pair of subwoofers to the system, using the Fidelium on the Acora speakers and the Synergistic on the subs created a very nice presentation with deeper, tighter, and stronger bass.

Installing the ArgentPur speaker cables provided a greater increase in sound quality than the Fidelium, with tighter bass that did not roll off until it reached the 29Hz limit of the Acora speakers. The ArgentPur had more tonality and better resolution from top to bottom. The treble was especially smooth. It was very easy to listen to, very transparent, and provided a great "you are there" presentation.

Next, I reverted back to the Tiglon speaker cable and found it to be even better than the ArgentPur, perhaps because of the synergy with the other Tiglon cables in the rig. There was better resolution, more physicality, and a more defined soundstage with instruments taking up the proper amount of space while standing separate from each other. For example, this was the best presentation of the Chinese drummers. They were tight and accurate in timbre, but lacked some of the bass slam of the Synergistic cable. The treble was smooth, except with the string quartet mentioned above. With excellent transparency and a black background, it provided a very convincing "you are there" experience.

Who Are Tiglon Cables For?
Looking back, the recurring theme of this review is the excellent resolution of Tiglon cables. I've touched on other aspects of sound quality with each of the cables, but in general, they are all very good in most respects. It is the high resolution that has provided the "wow" factor. You need to pay attention here, because that may not be what you think you need. Some people like to listen to music for relaxation, to have music bathe them in pleasure without having to think about the music too much. Others like to listen with intent, seeking to be enthralled as if they were at a live performance of their favorite singer, band, or orchestra. Tiglon cables are for those who like to lean into their music as if each LP or CD was a live performance and every note is to be experienced and savored. They are less for the person who prefers to lean back into their listening chair and forget the stress of the day, although we all have days like that. The detail that helps create the "you are there" experience is welcome for the duration of the performance, whether it is a symphony or a rock concert, but it can be tiresome if it goes on endlessly. Consider your listening habits; do you lean into your music, or lay back from it?

Another vector to consider is whether you're in hot pursuit of perfect, absolute sound with some form of scientific truth, or a person who seeks to be emotionally moved by their music, whether that means tears rolling down your face or merely tapping your toe. The Tiglon cables, with their strong suit being their resolution, crossed over into the absolute side, though not so far that they couldn't be reeled back to the land of toe-tapping. I certainly found myself tapping my toe from time to time, but not as frequently as with systems having lower resolution. Judicious application may be the key here. You may not want a full loom of Tiglon, but one or a few might really bring your music to life. I often wondered how they would play if I had driven my Acora speakers with my Coincident or Manley Labs tube amps, but that would have required introducing another brand of single-ended cable to the mix.

I've been fortunate to make complete cable upgrades of my system on several occasions. Not everyone can do that. Most probably upgrade one or two cables at a time. As counterintuitive as it may seem, I cannot emphasize enough how important power cables are to achieving great sound. The Tiglon White Tiger is among the very best I've tried, though it is far from the most expensive. Likewise with the Golden Dragon digital cable—and it is an outstanding value. After your power cords, cabling for your front end components should be given very high priority. While the price of the Tiglon cables may seem expensive to newcomers to the high end, make no mistake, these are mid-level cables that are very high performers in their price class. And when combined with the Bayz Time Corrector, they easily step up to play in the big league with cables having five-figure price tags.

If you are concerned about whether the Tiglon cables will work for you in your system, Tiglon USA has a 30-day in-home trial period with a full refund minus the cost of shipping. No "restocking fee." With the H.S.E. Grande treatment giving you a head start on burning in the cable, this should be plenty of time to get comfortable with your cable. There is also a 2-year Manufacturer Warranty against manufacturing defects or failures available to the original purchaser. This makes purchasing a very low-risk proposition.

Hold The Presses!|

The results were very impressive and remind me of why I am basically a tube guy at heart. The 28 wpc of Class A triode power was plenty for the 92.5 dB efficient Acora speakers. Listening to the same songs I have been pouring over for the last month on my compilation CD, my toes began to tap immediately without thinking about it. The inner warmth and detail of the triode tubes sucked me in like butter on hot toast. While the 845 tubes do not deliver as tight bass as solid state amps, the treble was still finely resolved, and the midrange was to make life worth living for even the most pessimistic geopolitical watchdog in these troubled times. The close-mic'd string quartet piece that gave me pause with the AGD amp was sweet and emotionally moving with the SET tube amp.

Summary
Tiglon cables are presently sold direct from Tiglon-USA in the U.S. and through the dealer network of Charisma Audio in Canada. Their arrival in North America is preceded by more widespread distribution and critical acclaim globally. It is a young company, driven by technology, that deserves more attention. With the strength of the U.S. dollar and relative weakness of the Japanese Yen, they are a bargain.

While my months-long experience with the Tiglon cables with my AGD Class D amps warrants a very strong recommendation, the brief two hours I spent with my Coincident tube SET amp brought an emotional engagement that drives my recommendation deep into the realm of rave reviews. Finding a balance of intellectual or emotional response, or a combination of the two, is a significant aspect of the audiophile game. The reasonable prices of Tiglon cables should find a home with a broad range of enthusiasts willing to explore beyond the territory of the major cable brands, and the elite among us might be totally surprised that they can find such excellence for so little money.

If you're hungering to hear Going Back to New Orleans with Dr. John, and want to relish nearly every word and note that's played, Tiglon cables will take you down that road, and you'll be dancing in the streets.