Zonotone has a reputation in Japan that borders on the cultish, and a catalogue so deep it can be hard to know where to start. The answer, for most systems, is the middle of it. The Granster and Meister families sit between the entry wire and the four figure flagships, and they are where the brand's philosophy, obsessive metallurgy married to old fashioned common sense, delivers the most music per dollar.
The five on test
The 6NSP-Granster 2200a is the gateway: a hybrid conductor of 6N copper, HiFC, PCUHD and OFC in a single run. The 6NSP-Granster 5500a is the same idea scaled to 11AWG with 6N purity at its core. The Meister line takes a different route: SP-440 and SP-1700 are single wire designs using Zonotone's tin coated and OFC hybrid strands, and the AVSP-1200Q Meister is a four conductor cable that opens the door to bi-wiring from a single run.
Listening
What unites these cables is a tonal generosity that flatters real world systems. The 2200a on Melody Gardot's "Baby I'm a Fool" gave the double bass a woody, rounded warmth that more analytical cables file off, and it did so without smothering the brushed snare. It is the cable we suggest for taming bright bookshelf speakers, a job it performs better than any amount of toe-in.
The 5500a is the all rounder of the group. On the Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio's "Midnight Sugar" it delivered the piano with proper weight behind each chord and a top end that stayed sweet at levels where the 2200a began to sound slightly constricted. This is the Zonotone we sell most, and the one we would hand a friend who asked for "a proper cable" without specifying further.
The Meisters lean more neutral. The SP-1700 impressed us with its midrange openness on Jennifer Warnes' "Bird on a Wire", while the AVSP-1200Q's party trick is practical as much as sonic: one cable run to a bi-wireable speaker, four conductors at the far end, and the improvement in treble air that bi-wiring brings when it is done properly. For older amplifiers with a single set of outputs feeding bi-wireable speakers, it solves a real problem elegantly.
Verdict
Bright system on a budget, 2200a. The safe recommendation for almost anything, 5500a. Bi-wiring without the double cable run, AVSP-1200Q. And if your speakers have single terminals and a neutral balance, the Meister singles are quietly excellent. All are terminated in our workshop with your choice of connectors, cut to the length your room actually needs.