The real surprise of our visit of course was Roald Mikkelsen whose cables I'd not encountered before. With earlier models now in MkII guise and two new statement models above, all Renaissance Audio cables use mirror-polished Norwegian silver drawn to Roald's specifications in Norway which then is configured as solid-core conductor braids encased in oil—tinted blue to mimic glacier ice— and terminated with Furutech or WBT connectors at the customer's discretion.



Exceptionally attractive and seriously labor-intensive—Roald does all the crafting himself which includes the obvious braiding but also crimp terminations to avoid solder —our informal auditions suggested very good performance which a formal review will detail out in the new year. The oil acts as a physical damper for the Teflon-encased silver conductors and shielding is deliberately omitted for sonic reasons. At present the line includes interconnects and speaker cables while power cord design approaches finalization to go into anticipated production by 2010. These cables enjoyed a fantastic reception during 'Phase One' prior to Roald's accident and given refinements since, one should suspect superior results of the 'Phase Two' versions.

The musical highlight of our mini trip to Bergen was the concert of the Tord Gustavsen Ensemble in the old sardine factory on the fjord. Announcing the new album Restored, Returned [ECM 2107] which is due out next month, we encountered Tord's trio expanded to a quintet with the addition of Tore Brunborg on tenor and soprano saxophones and ace vocalist Kristin Asbjørnsen who became famous with the group Krøyt. Long out of print, an attendee of the concert and Roald's gathering was kind enough to burn me a copy of her Krøyt days Body Electric which spun as I wrote this. It's simply fantastic to have friends in high places who manage concert tickets on a two-hour notice and own great rare music they're willing to share!


Tord's new CD is an absolute must if you've loved his first two releases on the German label. A proper review of Restored, Returned—named as though specially christened for this article—will appear in our music review pages in due course. Besides obtaining a signed copy, we met the ensemble again at our First Marin Hotel* later the same evening. We clapped out loud in the hotel reception when Kristin walked in.


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* This hotel deserves special mention not only for its first-class amenities but being catty-corner from Indian and Chinese restaurants as well as a Sushi bar and steak house. The Maharaja in particular was most excellent and hours from 15:00 - 24:00 ensure that you'll never be caught stuck hungry between 'official' lunch or dinner times.

With a heartfelt thanks to our hosts Roald and his girlfriend Brith—and to my better half who continues to accompany me on these audiophile trips even should the destination be famously rainy and cold—our visit to Bergen became confirmation once again that love of music and fine audio attracts, besides a fair contingent of neurotics and geeks, an equally fair share of highly interesting folks who live very passionate lives filled with real magic. Skål to that and more Norwegian adventures to come...
Renaissance Audio website
Roald Mikkelsen email