The SuperSwitch and RakuStream cable are clearly cut from the same musical and sonic cloth. That makes them complementary in performance, the pair easily outperforming either on its own. Compared directly, I found that the SuperSwitch instilled a greater sense of temporal security, fluidity, overall shape and structure to the music. The cable is more about body, colour and dimensionality. Forced to choose just one, I’d opt for the SuperSwitch as my first priority, but (and it’s a significant ‘but’) your system circumstances and musical preferences might opt the other way. You might need or prefer what the cable brings or you might already have a switch that you really like. Your existing cables may be good enough to work well with the quiet switch, either long or short term. Either way, you are not going to be short-changed. Entering the Reiki Audio world, with its ‘pre streaming’ thinking, offers a fundamental change in performance from streamed or locally stored files. While it’s difficult to be too prescriptive about this, my listening suggests that step one should be a SuperSwitch Plus with the iFi power supply: step two should be a RakuStream cable to run from SuperSwitch to streamer and step three should be adding the Pro linear power supply to the SuperSwitch.
Of course, the other obvious questions are what happens if you ground the V2 cable at one end only, or simply use a more cost effective option like the Melco lead. I shall be investigating, but right now, you’ll find it somewhere between difficult and impossible to persuade me to remove the RakuStream+ cables from my streaming systems. If the SuperSwitch and Optical Bridge were a performance slam-dunk, the addition of the cable just demonstrates that Reiki Audio is fast becoming the ‘pre-streamer’ equivalent of Michael Jordan. Your experience may vary in detail, but one thing’s for sure. Once you’ve heard what the RakuStream+ brings to an audio network, it’s awfully hard to go back to what you were using before – whether you’ve already got a Reiki SuperSwitch or not.
Prices and Contact Information
(All prices excluding sales tax)
RakuStream+ Network cable
0.5m – £1,100
1.0m – £1,350
1.5m – £1,500
2.0m – £1,85
Reiki Audio Ltd
Leicestershire
England
