CableFi® is a new UK registered trademarked brand founded by myself, Phil Francis, in early 2024. I’m a City & Guilds qualified electrical / electronics engineer and ex-pro musician. CableFi was formed after I started looking into buying new speaker and power cables for my modest HiFi system but was left completely confused and disillusioned by the amount of audiophoolery and snake oil out there.
I took on-board what others were saying but ultimately decided to go my own way by applying my years of knowledge and experience, plus hours of research into building my own high-end cables. I am now sharing this journey with you, making the cable buying experience simple and stress free – And without the nonsensical technobabble and exorbitant pricing often found elsewhere.
CableFi operates with the assistance of my supportive wife who helps with cable preparation and admin.
CableFi offers very high-specification hand built speaker cables, musical instrument and power cables built to the highest standards that will rival almost anything on the market today.
CableFi Mogami 3104 / CMC connected to my Wharfedale EVO’s
Well, yes I guess I am to some extent. I like to enjoy music – whether I make it or listen to it. I’m also partial to a good movie soundtrack too. And I like my music to sound the best it can within a monetary budget that I try to keep. You can see my system above, its nothing really fancy but it sounds great to my ears. The Arcam / Wharfedale / SVT combo works really well but I was always conscious that the speaker cables were the weakest link. My speaker cables were cheapish budget ones and the connectors were Amazon Basics I think, but they worked! I was dubious at first about spending too much money on replacement cables in case I didn’t hear any difference, but like most things in life ‘You get what you pay for’. So I spent sensible money on well renowned professional components without being sucked into the boutique or esoteric brands by typically over-enthusiastic and probably highly commissioned influencers.
My Mogami 3104 Speaker Cable Review
After some deliberation, I decided on Mogami 3104 star quad speaker cable and some very nice CMC locking banana plugs. I figured, if Mogami is good for practically every major recording studio in the world, then its good enough for me! Next I spent some time putting it all together. The Mogami 3104 is a monstrous cable but remarkably flexible for its size. The good thing about the CMC locking bananas is that A: they were big enough to accommodate the huge and quite heavy cables and B: I could solder (And) screw the cables into them meaning a maintenance free future with no chance of oxidisation while still providing the perfect mechanical joint. During the build, I added some TechFlex snake sleeve and some heat shrink to keep everything in place and they looked pretty good to me.
Next was the sound test. I removed my old cables and replaced them with the Mogami’s, and with some trepidation I turned the system on. Firstly I played some Earth Wind and Fire then Primus (The bass player in me coming out) followed by some Sub Focus and the first thing that struck me was an immediate small but not insignificant increase in volume which I couldn’t explain. Now, I’ve read how some people can apparently hear distinct differences between alternate cables, they say “The soundstage was wider” “The highs are more open and pronounced” “The vocals were clearer” etc, etc. The scientist in me puts all that down to placebo but I swear I could hear a big improvement in sound. Audio Science Review would be telling me that without measurements, my rambles are pointless but I maintain I could hear a difference. As the weeks went on with more listening, I didn’t really hear any ‘burn in’ effect or did I?? My brain told me I did, but my gut told me otherwise. Nevertheless I am extremely happy with my new cables, they sound amazing, look great, and I feel my money was more than well spent.
Meet The CableFi Team
We are a small team of dedicated professionals, ready to do whatever it takes to make your music euphonious.
Just a few of my guitars used for testing.
My 20 Year Old Warwick Thumb Bass
My Warwick is my go-to bass out of the 5 that I own. She has a very distinct growl and has always been paired with Mogami or Canare instrument cables. The cables have withstood life on the road which is a must for a working musician. I’ve tried cheap cables and soon realised they have a built in short term failure rate, but a good quality cable, if wound and stored properly can last a lifetime. Every guitar cable I make is tested with this bass or my 1985 Gibson SG or whatever takes my fancy on the day.
Where The Magic Happens
The CableFi workshop is equipped with enough tools and soldering stations to create cable assemblies of all different sizes.
