Effect Audio Lionheart
Disclaimer
I would like to thank Eric from Effect Audio for providing me with Lionheart in exchange for my honest opinion. No incentive was given for a favourable review.
Effect Audio Lionheart
- Gauge: 26 AWG
- Geometry : 7 Multi-Bundled
- Materials: EA Gold Plated Copper/EA Silver Plated Copper
- Insulation : EA UltraFlexi
- Carbon Fibre termination and mini Y-split
- Connector type: 2-pin/CIEM
- Termination type: PSquared 2.5mm TRRS (balanced)
- Price: US$499.90
Links:
http://www.effectaudio.com/
https://www.facebook.com/effectaudiosg/
Preamble
Effect Audio is a boutique cable company based in Singapore that has made a name for itself with cables ranging from their excellent value, entry-level Ares II, to their eye-wateringly expensive flagship Horus, topped off with virtually unlimited bespoke options that will cater to the needs of even the most discerning "cablephile". I have really enjoyed getting to know their products by reviewing the copper Ares II (
Link) and the silver/copper hybrid Eros II (
Link), both part of Effect Audio's Premium Series. Before writing my Eros II review I spoke with Eric Chong, Effect Audio's Marketing Manager and all-round nice guy, to learn more about the company and aftermarket cables in general. Eric explained to me Effect Audio's line up, which consists of their Premium Series, the Heritage Series and the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame was brought into existence for their most ambitious cable to date, Horus, as well as to create a place for their local limited edition cables. What peaked my interest the most though was the difference between the Premium and the Heritage Series. Where the Premium Series offers genuinely premium cables, even the entry level Ares II is a clear testament to that, the Heritage Series builds on that with more experimental R&D. Heritage Series cables, Eric explained, focus more on secondary elements such as dynamics, imaging and tonality. As I explained in the introduction to my Eros II review, I feel these elements are very important for classical music where the emotion of a piece is presented through the tonality of instruments, their position within the image and how well they harmonise. Much of my motivation as an audiophile stems from trying to find the right balance and the right presentation for classical music. So when Eric offered me the opportunity to review another one of their cables, the choice was easy... It had to be Lionheart. If the Heritage Series could truly do as Eric claimed, then I wanted to put that to the test. Then I wanted to be swept away by Beethoven, feel the alluring clarity of Elin Manahan-Thomas singing Hildegard and loose myself in the delicate twinkles of the Nutcracker. That was my challenge to Eric and being a great sport, he agreed. For this review I did not just want to rely on my Custom Art Ei.3, so I brought in a heavyweight, the Vision Ears VE5, to help me see just what Effect Audio have achieved with Lionheart.
Packaging
Usually I am not very concerned with the packaging that an item comes in. I have poor impulse control and just like that unwrapping Christmas presents is a high-throughput affair for me (no re-using
that wrapping paper!), so too do I want to get to the good bit ASAP when I get new gear in. I give my greatest compliments to everyone at Effect Audio who was involved in creating the packaging for Lionheart because you have managed a presentation that actually stopped me in my tracks to admire it. Granted, it lasted only a minute or so because... well... Lionheart, but that is a very impressive achievement!
Lionheart comes in an elegant black box that is accessed by removing the sleeve and opening a flap to reveal a card with details on the PSquared plug (more on that later) and a very nice black leather pouch that has embossed on it in Golden letters 'Lionheart' and the number of the cable. The presentation states in no uncertain terms that this is a luxury product and that this particular cable was made just for you. It is the essence of
boutique. So captivated was I by the opening up of this elegant box, that it took me nearly a week to realise that there was an interesting bit of background story about Lionheart on the back of the sleeve. Poor impulse control indeed!
Build quality
At its core Lionheart is a copper cable, but Effect Audio like to think out-of-the-box for their Heritage Series cables and so this particular copper was especially selected for Lionheart. Some of the individual strands that make up each wire were plated with the same silver used for Leonidas, while others were plated with the gold used for Mars. The effect this creates is very pretty to look at, something that is further enhanced with the familiar quality components used by Effect Audio. One component though is less familiar, as for the termination Effect Audio teamed up with Oyaide to create a Palladium/Platinum plug called PSquared, to push performance even further.
Of course it is great to make a good-looking cable, and Lionheart looks like a piece of jewellery, but that is useless if the end product is flimsy or an ergonomic nightmare. Happily neither is the case here. Lionheart has the same excellent built quality I have come to know from other Effect Audio cables and the ergonomics are even slightly improved. It was one of the first things I asked Eric about after receiving Lionheart because it felt slightly different and a little more supple, something that Eric explained was due to a different internal structure.
My only minor nit-pick was that the slider was too loose. It seems the sliders are quite variable because the Ares II and Eros II I reviewed were great, my own Ares II is a little too tight and this one is a little too loose. This might be something Effect Audio can look at, and in my experience they probably will. When Effect Audio noticed some confusion due to the absence of left and right markers on the connectors, they clearly took that feedback to heart because this Lionheart (and all other cables) now has clear "L" and "R" markers on the inside of the connectors.
Overall I feel that with Lionheart Effect Audio have created a beautiful cable that will stand up well to intensive use and is very comfortable even after several hours of continuous listening.
Source
All listening was done from the balanced out of my AK70 with the Custom Art Ei.3 and Vision Ears VE5.
Presentation
So if Eric was right about the Heritage Series performing especially well in secondary elements, then this section should be the most important one, as those elements determine the overall presentation. Does Lionheart perform well here? The smile on my face when I first listened to Lionheart said it all. Yes, yes it does perform very well.
Lionheart has a warm, very natural and clear tonality, which with my Ei.3 results in an incredibly well balanced signature. With the VE5 Lionheart adds a bit of warmth and again results in a wonderfully balanced and natural sound. In fact, 'natural' is what Lionheart seems to excel at, as even with the Rhapsodio Saturn, where the pairing with Lionheart did not work very well in my opinion, it still resulted in a strikingly natural tone. The clarity and ability to resolve detail and texture that Lionheart brings is nothing to be sniffed at either. I had no idea my Ei.3 could perform this well, and it is oh so very smooth. Effect Audio does this type of smoothness well in general, but Lionheart again excels at it. I have described Ares II as turning my Ei.3 from a woolly smoothness to a honey-like smoothness and Lionheart takes this a step further to flow smooth like a crystal clear, summer-warm stream. Notes flow through the image, rather than sit in it.
This is a point where Lionheart does something very special and that I have come across a few times as being described by the term "liquid". The way notes harmonise is incredible. When listening to Beethoven's Missa Solemnis I was struck by how well the voices harmonised and how the piece flowed from one voice to another. The image is very stable and positional information comes through clearly, but it is uncanny how with Lionheart emphasis is always there where it needs to be and how naturally a solo voice or instrument rises above the rest. Lionheart is thoroughly musical.
Bass
While Lionheart is a warm cable, the bass is very well controlled. The bass section in classical music is placed pretty much how I would ideally like to see it, which is perhaps fractionally more forward than strictly neutral to add a little bit of warmth. It is, again, very natural sounding and the decay seems a little longer in the way you would expect a bass note from, say, a double bass to have that nice thick resonance. When not needed the bass gets out of the way nearly completely and adds just a hint of sweetness to the overall signature. I particularly enjoyed the pairing with my Ei.3 for jazz by Caro Emerald, where the double bass sat perfectly in the image of the acoustic version of "liquid lunch" and had a lovely texture to it. With the VE5 the added warmth really helped those to become more musical, as I will illustrate later with a section about Beethoven's 5th symphony.
Switching to my favourite down-tempo EDM, the more neutral balance gives the bass a bit more air and detail. It sounds lighter and more agile, although sub-bass impact is still there. The bass, compared to my Ares II, is more dynamic and ebbs and flows along with the music, the mid/upper-bass darkening the stage when needed and getting out of the way when emphasis is higher up. It works very well for this type of EDM and makes it livelier. Rather than providing a brain massage with a deep and dark bass, it brightens my mood with its dynamics.
Mids
This is where Lionheart really shines. I love vocals and my Ei.3 are quite good there, whereas the VE5 are of course renowned for their outstanding vocal performance. Pair either with Lionheart and vocals become alluring, in the case of the VE5 even absolutely stunning. Listening to soprano Elin Manahan-Thomas sing Hildegard of Bingen is a real treat with the VE5 and Lionheart adds a certain sweetness to that crystal clear voice and defines it more clearly against the background. The result, as I said, is absolutely stunning. With larger choral pieces such as Missa Solemnis I get a real sense of the width of the stage and how the choir is positioned. From the bass vocals on the right, to the sopranos on the left, the transition from one to the other is rendered with authority. It is clear, well defined and in perfect harmony.
For instruments the air and clarity added by Lionheart, and its ability to retrieve detail and texture makes a big difference in distinguishing between different interpretations of the same symphony. I have several versions of Beethoven's 3rd, Eroica, and the difference between modern and period instruments is now more clearly heard. Period instruments provide a more organic and layered sound, whereas modern instruments sound more defined, there is strength there that is fast flowing and precise. In both cases it is incredibly engaging and musical thanks to the cohesion of Lionheart.
It is of course not just about classical music, with my Ei.3 everything else sounds natural, detailed and musical, whether it is rock, jazz, blues or EDM. With the VE5 the pairing is more complex because of those being quite specialist IEMs and I will address that in more detail in my upcoming VE5 review.
Treble
The treble with Lionheart is very much to my liking. It is more extended and has a slight lift to add air, clarity and sparkle, but there is a hint of sweetness there that results in a wonderfully delicate tone. In the Nutcracker's "dance of the sugar plum fairy" the celeste, a type of keyboard instrument that makes this tune so instantly recognisable, sounds wonderfully delicate and sparkly. In fact, the Nutcracker as a whole is presented with the strongest emotions I have heard so far and the treble is absolutely key in creating those.
There is also a great amount of detail in the treble. My Ei.3 have always struggled with violins, especially at the higher notes, but with Lionheart the strings are more clearly defined, they have improved texture and the playing techniques come through much better. However, Lionheart manages this while staying as smooth as I have ever heard it. Even when I go to those sections of my music where sibilance can occur naturally, such as a soprano pushing for the high note, it falls well short of any sharpness or harshness. It is both the most exciting and the most comfortable treble I have heard to date.
Beethoven's 5th
To get a sense of the improvement Lionheart brings to the overall image, I went to one of Beethoven's most popular pieces, his 5th symphony with that instantly recognisable opening... Ta-da-da-dummm... Okay, that probably does not work writing it down, but Google it and you will certainly know. I selected John Eliot Gardiner's interpretation because it is fast, 108 bpm, and uses period instruments to add more layers and emotion to the piece, which is highly appropriate for a piece reflecting Beethoven's revolutionary ideas.
Starting with my Ei.3 and Ares II (my daily drivers) I am treated to the familiar intimate, warm-natural sound that is just a little too smooth. As a consequence lighter sections reflecting the positive sides of the revolution, such as hope and brotherhood, are not presented with the same emotion as Beethoven's powerful statement of his ideals (those key opening four notes). Switching to Lionheart opens up the stage, the bass section is pushed back and there is much better balance. Instruments get a wonderful tonality and the harmony between them is rather special. The emphasis always seems to be on exactly the right instrument at the right time. So now when the revolution marches, the brass instruments come through powerfully and the violins can rise above the rest to add tempo through quick techniques. Hope and brotherhood are expressed as clearly as the ideals. It creates a wonderful sense of anticipation and drama as the third movement, the march into revolutionary battle, transitions into the fourth where there is an outburst of emotion...
"la liberté!" Freedom has been achieved!
Turning to the VE5 I was very curious to see how these would present the piece. I knew from a previous demo that the VE5 have a presentation that balances between analytical and musical. There is no excess or drama with the VE5. They do emotion (very well!), but not exuberance. To my ears they have a slightly brighter than natural tonality, offer lost of detail in string sections and the bass section is placed further back although still capable. By comparison with the Ei.3 and Lionheart there is some loss of drama with the VE5 and the revolution appears to have become a "matter of fact" rather than fiercely emotional. Switching to Lionheart adds this emotion while maintaining the VE5's character. If the VE5 were slightly towards the analytical, then Lionheart pushes them squarely into the musical. The VE5 become warmer, instruments get a great natural tonality, the overall balance seems spot on for my taste and that outstanding harmony is once again there. Now the revolution is emotional! The ideals are set with authority in those key opening notes, there is finesse as Beethoven expresses faith in humanity, you can feel the unified sense of purpose and the explosion of exuberance to celebrate freedom. It is all there in the music and is expressed beautifully by the instruments. Eric, I think you have met my challenge comfortably!
Conclusions
So did Lionheart live up to expectation? The answer is a resounding "yes". Lionheart is a warm and very natural sounding cable with great clarity, detail and the ability to present music with a special kind of harmony between instruments and vocals. At a time that TOTL cables have gone beyond the $1,500 mark, I feel that Lionheart offers TOTL performance at a fraction of the price. It is still an expensive upgrade, but if you have TOTL IEMs, it is certainly worth considering pairing them with Lionheart.
