[sonickarma]

It was a pleasant  surprise to stumble across their desk at UK CanJam 2015 where I met Creevy Yu (Brimar Owner/Founder).

 

There is not much exposure of Brimar Audio Labs outside of China and Japan so I thought I would start this thread to share my experience and impressions.
 
 

At his display desk he had a beautifully arranged assortment of various very attractive enticing cables.

 

 

 

 

 
 
He was very knowledgeable and passionate about his products and seemed to cover nearly all combinations of terminations and adaptors, including many Sony Wm-Port Interconnects.
 

 
I will try and review all the Brimar cables I own in due course but will start today with the Monarch Supreme Reference IEM 2 pin cable.
 
Review: Monarch Supreme Reference 4 braid IEM Cable
 
Packaging/Build Quality:
The cable comes in a black hard box with Brimar Name embossed in Gold in the centre of the top cover. The box has internal padding and a silk-type material which provides a simple elegant presentation and ensures the cable is well protected for transport.
 
Initial visual impact of the cable is impressive and with the high gold content (7%) it does make it feel more like a precious piece of jewellery.
 

 
 

 
 
 



 
Along with the cable there is a 'Serial number card' and a 'Certificate of Quality and Authenticity' with 6 Months Guarantee.
 

 

Handling the cable I was impressed at how flexible it was with no memory effect. The high quality of workmanship is obvious and to be expected for a high end cable at this price range/level. The 4 braids are nicely packed and not too tight as to impede cable flexibility. The Y Split uses a Brimar branded strong metal sleeve which provides a nice weight to pull the cables into a natural position when worn. The 2 Pin IEM connector is silver coloured and suits the design/style nicely. The pins fit well with the IEMs I have tried so far. The 3.5mm plug is solid and provides a tight fit with all the DAPs I tried so far.  There is a transparent chin slider which works as expected. When used there are hardly any microphonics transmitted at all
In terms of accessories it would have been nice to see a Peli case or other hardcase for transporting daily.
 
I am happy with build quality/ergonomics/tactile feel, it's one of the best I have seen in my audio travels so far.
 
Sound Signature/Improvements:
 
I used a selection of IEMs and Daps that I personally rate to test the sound changes using the Brimar cable.
 
Gear used IEMs: Noble K10U. Rhapsodio Solar, UM Mentor, Ref Too

 

 


 


 
Gear used Daps - Altman Tera Player, Chord MoJo, AK380AMP'd, Esther M1
 

 

 
 
 
So how does it sound... 

Micro detail is lifted which makes everything more clear and precise without moving into clinical territory. Instrument separation is more apparent and everything seems to be more dynamic and engaging. Bass quantity is greatly improved and did not stray beyond the low to mid range. The bass is a strong element of this cable, in a good way. The mids are slightly more forward and a little thicker making tracks sound much fuller in combination with the fuller bass aspects. In the highs the instrument separation details are more apparent especially for classical. My only criticism is there is a little brightness on treble but really it is not a dominant characteristic of the cable.
 
I am really impressed with this cable and it gives a large amount depth and fullness without compromising the precision and detail. It is easy to get lost in tracks you have listened to many times before as they now have a new dimension and are much more immersive. It is currently my preferred IEM cable.
 
Manufacturer Specification/Info/Pricing:
Info below is verbatim from the manufacturer
 
Brimar Monarch Supreme SGA Reference is made of 7N OCC Silver + 24 Karat 99.99% Gold alloy, with 24 Karat Gold filling on the alloy surface. This cable contains gold 7% in total amount. This is different from traditional gold plating which wears and oxidizes quickly. Our Proprietary Metallurgical Technology injects a sheet of gold mechanically applied over the surface of Silver Gold alloy. As a result, there are more than 100 times of gold deployed and they are much more evenly distributed on the conductor itself. The gold filling does not even prevent the alloy from easily oxidation but also keeps the electrical & audio signals constant with optimal performances as well as reducing micro-distortion during signal transmission. We have given this special prestige conductor named the "CROWN" conductor.

Each "CROWN" conductor is mono-crystal in structure meaning that there is virtually no space between the alloy atoms. As a result, the internal resistance to signal transmission is negligible and distortion becomes minimal.

Each Brimar Monarch cable is composed of Quadruple conductors with extremely special soft Teflon insulation and each conductor comprises 42 strands of the "CROWN" conductors. This construction significantly reduces the "skin effect" in contrast to those common headphone replacement cables which appeared to be in single core. The Quadruple conductors are twisted by BRIMAR proprietary helical twisting technique which compares to the market handmade braiding, machine twisting have a constant and stable skeletal construction allowing the distortion coased by outgoing and incoming signal to be exactly cancelled out each other. Moreover, the tension from braiding is more evenly distributed over the cable which the unnecessary stress exerted by handmade cannot be compared.
7N S-OCC Silver + 24 Karat 99.99% alloy (93% Ag, 7% Au)
- 36 hours Quantum treatment with Telos QBT cable machine*
- Demagnetisation treatment with HiFi-tuning demagnetiser
- Mundorf Silver Gold Supreme Solder
- Cryogenic treatment**
- Available in 3.5mm, 6.3mm or 3, 4 pins XLR plugs, mini 4 pin XLR (RSA), mini balance (AK240) 
- Length 1.2 m
 
MSRP: USD1200 (4 braid) - US1999 (8 Braid)
 
Manufacturer Stock Pictures:
 

 

 

 

 
If you mention this Headfi/sonickarma thread - Brimar might provide a discount to the loyal headfi crowd if you ask nicely
 
Best channel to contact Brimar is his facebook page from my experience
www.facebook.com/brimar.net

 

[FidelityCastro]

That looks great. Nice review and pics as well.
I also have the Solars, and a couple of others, and am keen to have a few top quality balanced cables to use with my Onkyo DP-X1 and / or ALO CDM.
I've dropped him a note on FB as you recommended.

 

[sonickarma]

That looks great. Nice review and pics as well.
I also have the Solars, and a couple of others, and am keen to have a few top quality balanced cables to use with my Onkyo DP-X1 and / or ALO CDM.
I've dropped him a note on FB as you recommended.

Cool should be nice with the Onkyo DP-X1 and ALO CDM. I have CDM and have DP-X1 on route also as transport for the MoJo.
 
TBH - I'm thinking of getting the 8 braid for my Layla

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

I had a great initial back and forth with this guy then nothing. No response to FB message or anything...
Thankfully FORZA is hooking me up (i am paying of course)
BRIMAR stuff looks good too. Too bad that evaporated..?? I dunno?
 
Cables and stuff is a hurry up and wait thing but communication...kinda basic.

 

[FidelityCastro]

I had a great initial back and forth with this guy then nothing. No response to FB message or anything...
Thankfully FORZA is hooking me up (i am paying of course)
BRIMAR stuff looks good too. Too bad that evaporated..?? I dunno?

Cables and stuff is a hurry up and wait thing but communication...kinda basic.

Same for me: v quick reply at first, then nothing. I'm sure there's a good reason, but seemed a bit odd.

 

[sonickarma]

  I had a great initial back and forth with this guy then nothing. No response to FB message or anything...
Thankfully FORZA is hooking me up (i am paying of course)
BRIMAR stuff looks good too. Too bad that evaporated..?? I dunno?
 
Cables and stuff is a hurry up and wait thing but communication...kinda basic.

 

Same for me: v quick reply at first, then nothing. I'm sure there's a good reason, but seemed a bit odd.

 
I will mail Creevy to see whats going on, I know he goes to a lot of shows - so maybe there is another preferred contact when he's travelling.
 
Will keep you posted

 

[FidelityCastro]

 
I had a great initial back and forth with this guy then nothing. No response to FB message or anything...
Thankfully FORZA is hooking me up (i am paying of course)
BRIMAR stuff looks good too. Too bad that evaporated..?? I dunno?

Cables and stuff is a hurry up and wait thing but communication...kinda basic.

Same for me: v quick reply at first, then nothing. I'm sure there's a good reason, but seemed a bit odd.

I will mail Creevy to see whats going on, I know he goes to a lot of shows - so maybe there is another preferred contact when he's travelling.

Will keep you posted

Very kind of you.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

   
 
I will mail Creevy to see whats going on, I know he goes to a lot of shows - so maybe there is another preferred contact when he's travelling.
 
Will keep you posted

 Thanks. He was very amiable and kind when we did chat but never heard anything again.  The cables look stunning.

 

[Hawaiibadboy]

So...
anyone here from this guy?
He didn't get sick or hit by a car I hope.

 

[sonickarma]

  So...
anyone here from this guy?
He didn't get sick or hit by a car I hope.

I have tried 3 different channels of contact but no reply also - lets hope he is ok - its very out of character.

 

[FidelityCastro]

 
So...
anyone here from this guy?
He didn't get sick or hit by a car I hope.

I have tried 3 different channels of contact but no reply also - lets hope he is ok - its very out of character.

Seconded. It's unusual when people are reaching out to buy one of their products - which aren't cheap - and get no response. Hope he is ok too.

 

[sonickarma]

Seconded. It's unusual when people are reaching out to buy one of their products - which aren't cheap - and get no response. Hope he is ok too.

Lets hope he's just on Holiday - seem to be a lot of national holidays - especially in Feb
 
http://www.timeanddate.com/holidays/china/

 

[sonickarma]

Creevy just got in touch, he had a family matter to deal with but should be back now - so get your Brimar orders in and enjoy.

 

 

[audionewbi]

I love to get a cable for the AKT8iE. I am stuck between the Brimar or the AKs own crystal cable. Only issue I have with AK cable is that it is 2.5 TRRS and I dont always want to use a balance out as not all my gears are balanced out.

Do you think Brimar can make a cable that could be modular?

 

[LoryWiv]

  I love to get a cable for the AKT8iE. I am stuck between the Brimar or the AKs own crystal cable. Only issue I have with AK cable is that it is 2.5 TRRS and I dont always want to use a balance out as not all my gears are balanced out.

Do you think Brimar can make a cable that could be modular?

Adapters are a bit pricey but add flexibility to use non-balanced source. One option is here that may work for you. I too am likely to go with Brimar, though. Initial emails with Creevy...he seems to be knowledgeable, responsive and fair.