NullAudio Enyo Custom Cable Review (Massive Pics!)

[MaoDi]

Hello,

My name is Felix, if you've been over at the Portable section of Headfi, you might've heard of me from my multiple reviews of earphones, and my upcoming ones on JH Audio Customs and Westone Customs.

Well, due to the fact i have my hands on a load of custom cables now, i decided to get the $69 Enyo cable from NullAudio to see how they stack up against the stock cables of JH Audio, and Westone. Null Audio was kind enough to send me a unit of them and here they are!

NullAudio Enyo Series Cable




NullAudio is a relatively new company founded last year 2008, their main focus in the beginning were to offer high quality replacement cables for Ultimate Ears Universal and Custom series. Later on in 2008 and 2009, they have taken their own very technology and applied it to many other cables including mini to mini interconnects, LODs, and even Headphone cables. The Enyo was their first creation, later followed by the $109 Lune Series (Custom Cable Price) and the $599 Crystalino cable (Custom Cable Price) that many have praised on here.


Specifications
Braid Style: Quad-Cable braid, Dual-Cable Y-Split
Soldering: Silver
Wiring: OFC Copper
Material: Chemical and Thermal Resistant
Length: 1.2m
Pins/Prongs: Anti-Oxidizing, Gold Plated
Connector: Neutrik or Pailiccs
Memory Wire: None, 2 inch Silicone over the Ear cable guides.


Packaging wise, not many things to say. They are packed in a rather, "easy to damage fashion" But being a cable, i don't think there's a problem. They are gently wrapped up, put in a simple plastic bag and shipped in a thin cardboard Null Audio box.


Build Quality
Build Quality wise, i've got nothing more to say than absolutely fantastic! the quad braiding, though done by hand looks and feels although it was done through a machine. The braiding is consistent and tight, unlike it's competitors from JH Audio and Westone, it's not just simply twisted together where you are able to unravel it and have them separate; Null Audio had rather braided it instead keeping everything together nice and neat. The Quad braiding terminates into two (left and right) dual cable wires, the thin cables in these two terminations are simply twisted together like any other Custom monitor cable, however it's twisted fairly tight and even at attempts to unravel the two thin cables, no success at all. Overall, the braiding and twisting of the cable is absolutely top-notch, durable, tight, anti-raveling, flexible, and near to no microphonics.

There are no strain reliefs on any part of the cable itself, only simple heat shrunk coverings. The Y-Split in the middle is just a simple heat shrunk covering for the termination of the wiring within. At the plug is also a small portion of heat shrunk covering, which in all keeps everything together very neatly and nice, however some strain reliefs would be nice.

The Memory wire is not present, what NullAudio does offer is a soft silicone ear guides which lead the cable behind your ears, but it's unlike the stock cables you get with Custom monitors where the first two inches of the monitors are able to mold to the back of your ears keeping them in place. The Enyo lacks this feature, and sometimes the cable tends to pop up away from the ear, i didn't find it to be a problem though some may find it to be irritanting.

The 3.5mm is a heavy duty, and beautiful Pailiccs connector (the one i received had a Pailiccs connector, neutrik is also available for no extra cost). It's rock solid, with a stiff and well built feel to it, a very great choice for using on the cable itself.

Pailiccs Connector



Quad-Braid



Pins and Silicone Guides



Y-Split



Connectors (Top Left, Clockwise. Enyo, JHA Silver/White, JHA Black, Westone)



Y-Splits (Top to Bottom, Westone, Enyo, JHA Silver/White, JHA Black)



Cable Management (Top to Bottom, Westone, Enyo, JHA Silver.White, JHA Black)





Sound Quality
NullAudio has incorporated OFC cables, silver soldering, and also the braiding to offer the maximum sound quality and lowest interference possible. They don't lie about this, even i who believe cables like these wouln't make a difference at all; i had to take back my words after listening to the Enyo.

Highs
Listening to my ES3X and 10X3 with the Enyo, the Enyo cable tends to open up the highs a bit. You get more detail with a crispier, and crystal clear ring to them when compared to the stock cables that come with the,. Cymbals especially are quicker, and more transparent. Decay overall for the highs has significantly improved the stock cable whether it was on the ES3X or the 10X3.

Mids
Mids on the other hand, rather than improved, the presentation was different. The mids are now more forward than before, whether it be the ES3X or the 10X3. Around the same amount of detail and depth, but the Enyo puts the Mid on a more forward layer than before.

Lows
Lows are deepers, quicker, and more powerful. The ES3X neutrality turns into a monster of dynamical presentation, similar to the Westone 3 but a far superior version. Lows on the 10X3 are now even faster, despite Jerry's super speed drivers, the lows are even faster, punchier, and have a deeper tone and depth to them. The lows jump to another level, compared to using the stock cable.

Soundstage
When using the Enyo, you will notice that the Soundstage widens a bit. Using it on the ES3X and the 10X3, the 10X3 benefits more from the cable itself, creating a wider and longer soundstage compared to using JH Audio's stock cable. The ES3X also widens up, but to less of an extent compared to the 10X3.

Other factors like instrumental separation, and stereo imaging stay around the same compared to the stock cables. But overall, the result turns the monitor in a beast of fun listening, Lows are quick and punchy now, mids are rather forward with the singer seemingly singing in your face, and the highs now have a twinkle ring to them.



Usability
The Enyo is made of slightly stiffer material compared to the stock JH Audio and Westone cables, therefore the Enyo are not as soft and flexible as the stock custom cables you receive with your monitors. However despite this, the microphonic levels are lower, and touching or moving the cable exerts less noise through your earphones compared to the JHA or Westone cable.

There is no memory wire though NullAudio states they do, the Enyo simply has a silicone ear guide shrunk onto the Pin's plug so they bend around your ear, there's no metal wire so the bend stays molded to the exterior of your ear. It's just as comfortable, but when you tend do sports or running when the cable moves the guides don't stay in place well enough so they move up and make your cable position feel like as if you didn't have the monitors on properly.

Bottom (Before Y-Split, Left to Right, Westone, Enyo, JHA Silver/White, JHA Black)



Top (After Y-Split, Left to Right, Westone, Enyo, JHA Silver/White, JHA Black)




Overall
In the End, costing $69 the Enyo is an rather impressive cable. Despite being the base model of Null Audios creations, they enhance the highs and lows significantly on a top-tier custom, and gives you a slightly different talk on the mids. Build quality is above any cable offered by JHA or Westone. The Quad braid and the twisted dual to your earpieces are extremely tightly braided/twisted making it near impossible to unravel the cable. The only downsides of the cable are the silicone ear guides, where a normal memory wire would do much better in performance and keeping the fit the user is needing, if the Enyo could be slightly more flexible and soft that would make this cable absolute perfection on the entry level upgradeable cables. Conclusion, i would recommend this cable to people looks for an improvement in build quality, and lows and highs presentation (or mid forwardness), as they really hit the spot in terms of sound quality for the price.

[Sayajin]

Nice review - good job
Mine shipped out today - exactly same. Now I have a better feeling what I will get. I pair it up with TF10.
Is it me or they raised price by 30 bucks?

[theory_87]

Originally Posted by Sayajin

Nice review - good job
Mine shipped out today - exactly same. Now I have a better feeling what I will get. I pair it up with TF10.
Is it me or they raised price by 30 bucks?

I only know the price is raise quite alot compare to when it 1st release. I got it for S$65 when it just release.

[MaoDi]

Originally Posted by Sayajin

Nice review - good job
Mine shipped out today - exactly same. Now I have a better feeling what I will get. I pair it up with TF10.
Is it me or they raised price by 30 bucks?

It all always been $69 =)

[Sayajin]

Originally Posted by MaoDi

It all always been $69 =)

Never mind. Found out I've had an issue with my browser.

[harmann]

Hey guys

I have the TF10. To those of you who have this cable, I would like your opinion comparing this to the stock cable sold by UE. Specifically:

1. How is the stiffness vs stock?

2. Can the cable return to being straight after it's bent (in a pocket or case)? My biggest gripe with the stock cable is that no matter how hard I try to straighten it, it won't look the same as new. I've owned another 'phone, the Shure E3C, for about 4 years and I like its cable a lot. Sure it's bent while in a pocket, but I only need to give it a quick massaging and it's pretty straight again. On the other hand, I even tried hanging a weight using the UE cable for a couple of days, and it was still wavy

3. How tight does the cable management silicon thing hold? I wear the cable behind my head and my back, so I don't want it to slide to the Y-splitter and loosen the fit when I move my head.

4. Any buyer's remorse? Do you think it was worth the money? 69USD for me is a LOT to spend on a simple cable. I'm still quite skeptical about this purchase. The materials probably cost about 1/3 of the price.

And a side question: Does anyone happen to know where to buy the 2-pin connectors used on these cables? (the ones that plug into the "speakers")? I'm looking into DIY but haven't found who sells them.

Thanks!

[MaoDi]

Originally Posted by harmann

Hey guys

I have the TF10. To those of you who have this cable, I would like your opinion comparing this to the stock cable sold by UE. Specifically:

1. How is the stiffness vs stock?

2. Can the cable return to being straight after it's bent (in a pocket or case)? My biggest gripe with the stock cable is that no matter how hard I try to straighten it, it won't look the same as new. I've owned another 'phone, the Shure E3C, for about 4 years and I like its cable a lot. Sure it's bent while in a pocket, but I only need to give it a quick massaging and it's pretty straight again. On the other hand, I even tried hanging a weight using the UE cable for a couple of days, and it was still wavy

3. How tight does the cable management silicon thing hold? I wear the cable behind my head and my back, so I don't want it to slide to the Y-splitter and loosen the fit when I move my head.

4. Any buyer's remorse? Do you think it was worth the money? 69USD for me is a LOT to spend on a simple cable. I'm still quite skeptical about this purchase. The materials probably cost about 1/3 of the price.

And a side question: Does anyone happen to know where to buy the 2-pin connectors used on these cables? (the ones that plug into the "speakers")? I'm looking into DIY but haven't found who sells them.

Thanks!

1. The cable is softer and smoother compared to stock, there's no kinks in it.

2.Not really straight, but much more manageable compared to stock UNI UE. It's always a little wavy, but it's never as wavy as the UE.

3. The cable being so smooth, the cable management doesn't hold super tight. When compared to Westone and Shure, the cable management is rather easy to move up and down the cable.

4.My opinion, worth the money. The quality of the cable, and the improvement in terms of sound quality is definitely worth the $69.

If you want a softer cable, you might want to look into the Lune Series. Though it is $109.

I've been trying too look to, as i want to get into making DIY custom cables. However, 3.5m Interconnects first, as i need that.

[Sceptre]

So which version should you order for JH13 use?

Is it the UE version?

Regards

Sceptre

[MaoDi]

Originally Posted by Sceptre

So which version should you order for JH13 use?

Is it the UE version?

Regards

Sceptre

Yes

[f_klo]

I'd like to know if these cables can be made for my UE10-pros because my stock UE custom cables have turned green and look really disgusting so i need a replacement

[MaoDi]

Originally Posted by f_klo

I'd like to know if these cables can be made for my UE10-pros because my stock UE custom cables have turned green and look really disgusting so i need a replacement

They work fine with them. I use them with my 10X3, no problems at all./

[Sayajin]

My enyo cable landed this Wednesday. I could not agree more in this review expect the sound which I still need to find out.
The insertion and remove is rather difficult because the grip power into the sockets is tighter than stock cable. Other than that this cable looks really nice. The cable is thinner than I expected but that just make it great.
Overall Null Audio seem did a really good job. Solid work.

At 69 $ it’s a pretty fair price tag for this cable. I don't find this huge spending. The silicone ear guides might be worse compare stock cable yeah. I could go snap them off if they get really annoying. Maybe it's possible to add some removal ear guides like those of my SoundMAGICs.

Paying 870 $ for Crystalino upgrade cable, then we talk.

[Bones13]

x2 on whether these fit the UE-10pro.

[immtbiker]

If it fits the JH-13, then it will fit the UE-10. I have been using my UE-10 cables on my JH-13's from the get go.
Just make sure to notice your polarities because the prongs aren't 2 different sizes.

[MaoDi]

Originally Posted by immtbiker

If it fits the JH-13, then it will fit the UE-10. I have been using my UE-10 cables on my JH-13's from the get go.
Just make sure to notice your polarities because the prongs aren't 2 different sizes.

That's not necessarily the case actually, UE uses a recessed socket which other cables don't fit on it. However, UE's cable does fit other Customs.