Reposting from the Watercooler thread...
Hey, everyone! ‘Hope you’ve all had a happy and prosperous Chinese New Year. I just got home after celebrating with my in-laws, and I wanted to hop on the thread to introduce a local, Indonesian brand called
Verus Audio. They reached out for a mini-review of their IEM cable line-up, and I happily obliged. So, here are my impressions of their Vanilla, White Caviar and Truffle IEM cables.
First, ergonomically, all six of these cables are some of the most supple aftermarket ones I have
ever used. That is partly down to their fairly small wire gauges, so their conductors aren’t as heavy as most others I’ve tried. But, it’s also down to their silkier insulation. It’s reminiscent of Eletech’s Iliad in its suppleness and flexibility, if you’re familiar. It has none of that slippery, plasticky, PVC feel to it, and it drapes extremely softly and easily. Memory is virtually non-existent, so you won’t get any stubborn twists or turns. Then, microphonics are never an issue either. So, without even a listen, conductor quality they’ve got across the board is superb.
Build-wise, these cables are just as impressive. Whether it’s a 4-wire, an 8-wire or a 16-wire cable, they’ve been braided flawlessly. They genuinely looks machine-wound, and I wouldn’t be surprised if they were. They’re even braids with equal tension all round, and it honestly puts some of its pricier peers to shame. The hardware’s more of a mixed bag. I adore the machining and precision engraving that’s gone into them, but they’re quite a bit bulkier than necessary. I talked to Verus’s founder, and he said they needed the hardware to fit up to 16 wires, but he promised he’d work on better-fitting hardware for the 4-wire and 8-wire models. You can opt for Pentaconn or Furutech’s beautiful hardware too (as seen on some of the models here) on a request basis at an extra fee.
Vanilla 8 (28 AWG UP-OCC Silver-Plated Copper Litz) - 165 USD
The Vanilla 8 boosts contrast with a classic low-mid scoop. It tightens warmer, wetter overtones to heighten the interplay between a crackling snare drum and a thumping kick drum, or between the bright overdrive and low-end chug of rhythm guitars. It’s the kind of excitement you’d typically get from a v-shaped IEM, but in the form of slight nudges. One of those nudges exist in imaging too. The centre-image will inch a bit forward for a more engaging feel. Then, the low-mid dip has the side-effect of isolating the bass from the midrange too, so you’ll get tighter, more focused hits from your in-ear’s low-end. Finally, good treble extension means that that all happens without it becoming dull or fatiguing over time.
In terms of cons, I’d say the Vanilla’s dynamic range is average. When a new instrument enters the mix, they sort-of bump against everything else that’s already going on, rather than build on them. So, it’s not ideal with genres that rely on builds like jazz ensembles or classical. Its imaging is also comparable to cables from PW or Effect in its price range, but it won’t exceed them. So, the Vanilla 8 is a great entry-level cable if you don’t mind a low-mid dip, if it means getting a tighter kick, a more engaging lead instrument and a more bouncy vibe across the board.
Vanilla 16 (28 AWG UP-OCC Silver-Plated Copper Litz) - 330 USD
The Vanilla 16 largely maintains the low-mid-cut tonality of its 8-wire variant. But, it improves average headroom by quite a bit. Instruments are spaced further apart, and they have more space to breathe and decay, so builds can happen again. Small details between primary instruments come through a bit clearer too, and it results in technique that, I feel, punches above its price range. This is the type of fully-rounded sound I’d expect in the $500 tier. This is especially true in terms of extension, where I hear very little bottlenecking in either direction. It’s also true in image height, where you’ll hear a more cranial-filling image compared to the 8-braid version.
For me, the only con would be in timbre. Because everything’s spaced further apart (and notes don’t overlap as much as they did) on the Vanilla 8, the gaps the low-mid-cut leaves are a bit more obvious. You notice the absence of those wetter overtones filling in spaces and providing that natural resonance or reverb. So, if you’re a stickler for those organic traits, the Vanilla 16 may not be for you. But, I reckon it’s a great value if you want to tighten notes, heighten attack and space, and do so without compromises in either low- or high-end extension.
White Caviar 8 (28 AWG UP-OCC Silver Litz) - 515 USD
The White Caviar 8 is perhaps the most subtle, reverse-L-shaped cable I’ve heard. It cuts back on low-end bloom, and it lifts top-end clarity, but it does it in a way that doesn’t feel like a straight-up brightness filter. One of the ways it achieves this is by equally elevating the centre-mids. So, instruments aren’t just sharpened, but they’re almost pushed forward as a whole. On Snarky Puppy’s
Bet, for example, the Caviar’s heightened treble makes the shakers and chimes at your left and right sound crisper, but its the centre-mid push that gives them substance and body, which makes the aural illusion all the more real. This also increases note size, so instruments are allowed mingling and overlap, which creates a more engaging image overall.
Its main drawback would obviously be in low-end focus. If you want the bass to be the star, the Caviar is an easy skip. It won’t make in-ears sound anaemic or dry, but
thump is not its forte. Other than that, though, I think the Caviar 8 fills the
clarity niche really, really well. It achieves its resolution through technique (i.e. imaging, extension, speed, etc.) more than tonal trickery, and the tricks it does play are backed up cleverly. I feel it makes an excellent foil to a warmer cable like EA’s Ares S, and it could easily make its mark in its price range in a similar way.
White Caviar 16 (28 AWG UP-OCC Silver Litz) - 1065 USD
Going from the Caviar 8 to the Caviar 16 is an extremely noticeable leap in resolution. Without any notable tonal or spatial changes, you’ll hear notable improvements in precision and texture. Notes on the 8 seem like they have
Motion Blur turned on by comparison; a
tiny bit hazy. The Caviar 16 is detail-oriented in how it reveals and, to a degree, exposes instruments. But, just like the 8, its biggest feat is how acceptably analog it still sounds. I’m not getting those hard-edged, crispy, brittle symptoms of
digititis, nor am I losing any low-end-to-low-mid wetness or warmth. It’s a remarkable exercise in
highlighting detail, rather than
shoving everything else to the side to force detail, with its only con, again, being less
thump than a bass enthusiast may desire. Throw in the extension, wide stereo-imaging and open dynamics that the Caviar 8 had as well, and you have yourself a $1000 worth its weight in silver.
Truffle 4 ( 26 AWG UP-OCC Copper + Palladium-Plated Silver + Gold-Plated Silver) - 610 USD
Verus Audio’s Truffle 4 is a bit like the brand’s Eros II or Symbiote SP V3. It’s the do-all, all-rounder product that retains the majority of the in-ear’s inherent tonality, whilst adding detail and stage expansion along the way. With the VE PHoNIX, for example, the in-ear’s organic, natural body is almost-entirely maintained, but the cable allows the in-ear to carve detail a bit more sharply and precisely (compared to the stock cable, as well as other neutral-natural-leaning cables like the Effect Janus D).
For a cable of this price, I’d say its imaging is good, but it doesn’t quite beat the cream of this crop like DITA Audio’s OSLO. It’s a cable with textured notes and lots of clean air, but they aren’t sat as far apart. Because of its lack of colourations, it also doesn’t come off as vivid as, say, Eletech’s Socrates or Effect’s EVO 10. But, if you’re looking for a relaxed, uncolored, clean-sounding cable that gets out of the monitor’s way, the Truffle 4 is the one here that most closely fits the bill.
Truffle 8 ( 26 AWG UP-OCC Copper + Palladium-Plated Silver + Gold-Plated Silver) - 1250 USD
Like the Vanilla, I think the Truffle
really benefits from the conductor bump in dynamic range and imaging. Its stage spans further in all directions, but especially in height. And, the elements within are layered more holographically as well. There’s a three-dimensional space - depth - between instruments with clean air running through, which is then complemented by the blackest background of the whole Verus lot. This’s shown in the ease with which the Truffle 8 parses through crowded mixes. It’s easy to tell what’s going on in ensemble performances. And, they’re all now vivid in rise and fall too, so the ebbs and flows in an orchestral or jazz arrangement can
really come through.
In terms of tone, the Truffle 8 improves upon the 4 in low-end weight. I’m hearing a stronger, more tactile boom and verve from the cable, without introducing any dirt or a veil high up. And, treble extension is, again, the strongest of the lot, which is responsible for its superbly black background. Again, this is a less-colored, more relaxed-sounding cable, so it probably isn’t ideal for those after an extra kick. But, for the price, it’s an excellent option if all you want is a bit of finesse and ease, whilst keeping your in-ear’s identity intact.
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