Eros II 8 Wire Review

Before I get to the review of the cable, I think it important to say thank you to @Eric and @EffectAudio for going above and beyond in making sure that my purchase experience with Effect Audio remained top notch. What many people don’t realize is the story behind my Eros II Bespoke cable. I had the privilege of jumping on the Bespoke Offer program several weeks back, which allowed me to upgrade my Thor Silver II cable to an 8-Wire Eros. What ended up happening is the cable I sent for the upgrade got lost in the mail somewhere between the USA and Singapore, and rather than put the blame on anyone or force me to wait indefinitely or make another purchase, Eric and Effect Audio honored my purchase and sent me a brand new cable. . . with expedited shipping. Everyone says the customer service of Effect Audio is top notch, and from this experience, Effect Audio’s reputation stands confirmed and true.

Preamble

Cables. . . ah what wonderful arguments they weave in the pages of forums for audiophiles and engineers alike! The debate rages on, and rather than involve myself in the webs they weave, I rather just allow my listening experience to dictate my decisions. The great sensei @Twister6 makes the foundational claim that what you hear through a cable is a synergy of multiple pieces, with the cable being the last piece, and I completely agree. I have recently started to get into the world of cable pairings, and it has slowly began to create within me an addiction to seeing just how different cables change the flavor of the listening experience, but like any addiction, one eventually begins to look forward to the next high.


About Effect Audio

Anyone who has operated in the audiophile online community long enough will eventually cross paths with information or products by the company known as Effect Audio. Based out of Singapore, and founded by Suyang in 2009, the company has grown to be one of the leading companies in high quality earphone cables. They have a steady growing populace of followers, and they pride themselves in being the forerunners in pushing the limit and experimenting. The cables fall in one of three categories. . . The Premium Series is the company’s tried, tested and true line of cables. The Heritage Series is the company’s venture to unexplored territory of material mixture and design, The Hall of Fame is the top of the line, no expense withheld series of cables. They also have a Bespoke service that through consultation allows you to create your own special blended cable. The customer service is excellent, and their presence is felt in the audiophile community around the world.


My Journey

I enjoy listening to music. I love picking out nuances in a song. I love being transported into rich, emotion filled productions, or just laying back and listening to music while reading a book or excercising or traveling. When I am in exploration mode and trying to discover new things in my listening experience, the one question that both pushes me to want to explore more, and at the same time leaves me amazed in my discoveries is:

“Can music sound any better than this?!”

Every piece of hardware I’ve owned in the past, or have listened to revolves around answering that one singular question. At times I’ll have a set that has me satisfied for a season. . . but after some time the itch returns and I begin to seek out what else is out there that can answer my driving question. Every review I do is founded on that singular focus.



Eros II Bespoke

The Eros is a cable in Effect Audio’s Premium Series. It consists of both Thor II and Ares II cables interwoven together into a tight four wire construction. With their Bespoke service, they are able to increase the wire count to 8 wires. Aesthetically speaking, the cable is beautiful to look at. In certain light it just sparkles beautifully, almost like a copper and silver piece of artwork. Effect Audio is able to terminate it with plenty of options, from 2.5mm all the way up to 4.4mm and 2-pin to JH specific connection on the IEM side. They also give you the choice between their Rhodium plated plug or their upgraded PSquared plug. With some educational instruction from Eric, I learned that the PSquared has a sort of matte finish, whereas the Rhodium has a chrome finish.

One of the areas that Effect Audio is known for is in the suppleness of the cable. They have one of the softest and most flexible cables, without sacrificing performance of design. This has a lot to do with their proprietary flexible insulation. The quality it top notch. The 8-wire is naturally slightly stiffer than the 4-wire, but I found that I actually preferred the 8-wire size to its smaller sibling. From the PSquared termination, you get a tightly woven 8-wire braid that extends up to the Y-split, where it leaves the Y split as two 4-wire variants that connect to the IEM. Despite its thickness, it is still soft and pliable, but it has just enough stiffness to prevent entanglement and to keep my CIEMs securely locked in my ear at my desk or on the road. There is no chin slider on the 8-wire, but to be honest I didn’t even notice that it wasn’t there. I’ve gotten used to the weight and don’t even notice it anymore. Microphonics have been evicted.


Sound Opinion

All of my listening was done using my 64 Audio A18T connected to my Hugo2 and music played through Audirvana. The reason I named the review the way I did has everything thing to do with the sound signature of this cable. It is an uncolored cable, and so it sort of disappears into the background. Its not a particularly “fun” cable as a result, but it still performs to give you a pleasurable listening experience that is reference in nature but not one that is boring. It is a cable that does it job without complaining.

I have owned the 4 wire version of both Thor II and Ares II. Individually, the Ares II is a warm cable with increased treble response from traditional copper based cables. Thor II, on the other end offers great treble and detail typical of silver cables, but was somehow able to still provide some low end thump. It was not a warm cable, but it did certain possess character that borrowed from warm cables, making it not your typical silver cable. With the Eros II 8-wire, what I seemed to notice is that they performed more like their stereotypical cable signatures, because of the breathability the other cable brought to the design. So the warmness of the Ares II portion of the cable was able to shine through more and the detail portion of the Thor II (without brightness) was able to shine out more. This led to a tug of war that ultimately left things balanced in delivery. Each cable ensured that the other didn’t overpower its signature. As such Eros II 8-wire operates sort of like a Ying-Yang cable.

What the 8-wire improved in comparison to the individual 4-wire variants (including its own 4-wire variant) is stage width and transparency. Musical renditions seemed more spaced out across the stage, but the stage wasn’t hugely WIDER. It was just wider and more holographic enough to notice a difference. For example, in Bebe Winan’s “This Song” I was able to pick up on some of the reverb more clearly, and got a better sense of being in a live performance of the song. Layering and transparency is wonderfully present, but relaxed at the same time, improving the delivery and giving a better sense of depth. Vocals sound a bit more forward in comparison to instrumentation but the presentation as a whole felt laid back. There is still a sense of a little congestion around voices, but they still come through with enough clarity and poise to give realness and intimacy to their presentation. Norah Jones, Celine Deion, Whitney Houston all still sound beautiful. One thing I did seem to notice is that good production music (and bad ones too) were much easier to pick up on with the Eros II 8-wire. I have a certain annoyance with music that is loud but not clean, and I felt I was able to pick up more on songs that possess this annoying characteristic with the Eros.


Bass

The linear characteristic of the Eros8 begins really with mid bass in my opinion. My sub bass test song is “On My Level” by Wiz Khalifa, and the cable just doesn’t reach for and present that sub bass too well. Not that it is not there, but it just doesn’t shine to a level that you feel it. However the mid bass on the cable has its presence known, and begins the linear delivery with control and body typical of a reference cable. There is a level of boominess in certain songs, but for the most part bass is clean in its delivery.

Mids

Because of the linearity of the cable, vocals in this category have a sense of natural warmth to them. You get the best of both worlds with the mids, in that it performs with both warmth and clarity. The voices in “Lea Halalela” come through and just sound. . . well they sound delightfully natural. As mentioned earlier, there is a slight bit of congestion, but nothing too noticeable.

Treble

This is not a bright sounding cable. Treble is rolled off well short of being bright. The tia drivers in the A18t have a tendency to cause signatures to be too bright if paired with the wrong cable, but the Eros8 does its tug of war dance very well and pulls back before tipping over to being bright. Treble is not overpowered, but not underpowered. It comes through balanced and smooth.



I really enjoy having my Eros8. Is it the best cable I have heard to date? No, that title as of now goes to the PW Audio 1950. But that cable is also about 3.5 times the price. But the Eros8 is better than the 4-wire Ares II, Thor II and Eros II cables. It improves stage width, clarity, transparency, and performance. The Eros8 is beautiful in design, in ergonomics, and in presentation. It is the stable girlfriend of cables. One that you may take for granted, but find yourself coming back to because it doesn’t stress you out and just supports your music. As such, the cable will pair well with just about any type of IEM or CIEM without causing problems. For the price and the performance you get from it, you get a great mid-level cable. It is balanced, and it fades into the background, allowing you to just enjoy the music you are listening to. It will be a contender in my cable comparisons going forward, since it provides a great starting reference point.


Happy Listening Folks!

LikeImThere

A Trip Back In Time...


Cable Review for PW AUDIO 1950, 1960, 1980 cables...


I would like to open up this review by giving honor to whom honor is due. These cables were provided as part of a tour kit organized by @Barra and @PWAUDIO. Without that, I don’t think I would ever have an opportunity to listen to, let alone write a review on these upper echelon products. For that I say a big THANK YOU!



Cables are a hot topic for endless rantings and scientific jargon as to the legitimacy of their purpose in the musical listening experience. Some swear cables make no difference in the chain, others consider it to be audibly distinct in character. From my limited experience in the HiFi world of greatness my vote goes for the latter...


The great sensei @twister6 once told me some time ago:


“Icing can only be added after a cake has been baked... but great icing placed on a bad cake... is still a bad cake...”


Okay so maybe he didn’t say those words exactly....


What he did say was cables are the last leg in a much bigger picture of synergy between musical parts... cables are the icing that is added only after you have put together a great sounding “cake”...


So before I set out on adding icing, I first learned about baking and putting together a great musical “cake”


A Little Bit About Me. . .

There are three things in this world that make me happy... sexy cars, soccer, and music...


I remember my first experience listening to Michael Jackson on some Sennheiser HD280 headphones on a FIIO X3... version 1...my mouth dropped... I never heard music like that before... and the question I asked myself is,


“Can music sound any better than this?!”


Such began my hifi journey to answer that one singular question. . . And it is still on going. I measure the music experience akin to “being there” (thus my review stage name)... if it’s a live performance, imagining being in the stadium or concert hall, and being able to pick up on the nuances of that live experience. If it’s a movie soundtrack, capturing the emotion of the character in the struggle or the celebration...and how that plays out in the song... a synergy of parts that can capture this realness and do it with emotion in my ears... that’s a synergy I constantly seek to push to higher levels....but the key word there... “my ears”... I’m just a church boy who enjoys music...


My review is based on my opinions through my 64 Audio A18t and Chord Hugo 2... a pairing that has taken me years to save up for and through gradual relationships with other items that have gradually increased my love for the music listening experience...songs were eclectic in selection, with a mixture of Tidal/Tidal MQA and personally owned DSD selections, played using Audirvana. Each piece of hardware is considered a TOTL in its own respective categories, but they operate together as quite a tasty “cake” giving music delivery a level of excellence hard to beat in a portable setting. Now for the icing...


On to the cables...


I can’t comment on the packaging, because they were a part of a cable tour, and so they were a part of a big selection of cables .


Ergonomics

I travel a lot for work, and take my music with me everywhere I go, listening as I walk to my gate, board a plane, or hop on a bus, or just to go out for a walk. As such the ergonomics of a cable are a big part of my listening experience. Microphonics and cable stiffness can make or break a cable for me in my everyday usage... As of now, the king of ergonomic excellence has been Effect Audio, and I use that as a base standard when comparing other cables. For each of the cables, I simulated what it would feel like when using it for my day to day activities. . . by taking it along on my day to day activities. All three cables have the same termination connections, the same 4-wire to 2-wire braiding, and the same heat shrink around their termination points. If I were a “looks” junkie, I’d expect cables that cost this much to have a bit of a luxurious look and feel to them, but these cables look sturdy, but not really expensive. Honestly if placed next to the Xerxes 8w or the Eros II 8 wire, those cables “look” much more luxurious and “expensive” . . . But the performance outshines the looks.


1980

Of the three cables, this cable is the stiffest and thickest in feel ... actually out of the entire PW Audio lineup this is probably the stiffest. Naturally when you consider its construction, it makes sense. According to PW, its constructions consists of black PVC (polyvinyl chloride) which serves as an insulator, but also makes the cable thicker and less supple. It made the most noise while running errands around town. Although it is considered a 4 wire cable, it did have a thickness very similar to my Eros II 8 wire cable.


1960

The cable is significantly more supple than the 1980 cable, and that has a lot to do with the sleeving that it comes in. It is OCC copper in material but has different gauge sizes in its positive and negative conductors. The positive conductor is FEP wrapped 26 AWG wires while the negative conductor is PVC 24 AWG. You can’t tell either because they are both sleeved in a carbon fiber, cloth-esque material, which helps in its pliability.


1950

This cable seems to fall between the other two in ergonomics. It is not quite as stiff as the 1980 cable, but feels stiffer in the hand than the 1960 cable. I did run into some memory wire when using the cable on my errands, and had to untangle it on more than one occasion. But microphonic were at a minimum throughout my usage. It is constructed of a gray PE (polyethylene) insulated high level copper.


Sound Impressions


I have a particular affinity for “clean” sound. . . I’m a church boy, and I cringe at music that is loud for the sake of being loud, and trying to give a perception that all the parts of a song are hitting your sonic acoustics. I enjoy appreciating the nuances and dynamics of a song, and get excited when I discover minute details in songs that I have listened to. . . I understand that there are signatures to certain musical listening devices, and in some cases these devices raise one aspect in comparison to another. . . but a synergy that drowns out one spectrum significantly is one that I will graciously pass on. The trip to the 19th century is a trip that I would take anytime, as all three cables have very different signatures, but still give excellent presentation to the music listened to. I have a set playlist that I use to test different aspects of the listening experience, and I will most likely reference several of them in my sound impressions with the cables.


My first stop on the time travel expedition brings me to 1980s . . . as I take a seat in my chair and disappear into the abyss of musical time travel, I am greeted with a black background. Lion King on Broadway’s (yes Lion King) opening song, “Circle of Life” pierces my ears. The first thing I notice is the vocal sweetness. Each harmony of the singers have a warmness to them and operate in their respective spheres with unison. As the instrumentation begins to come into play, the resolution is elevated, but the instrumentation is laid back and the treble is smooth in delivery, while the vocals still seem to be a bit more forward. Listening to other live songs solidifies this experience. . . Staging is wide and holographic in nature and the airiness around the singers gives the perception that I am sitting somewhere in the fifth row of the auditorium. Bass is the highest of the three cables and has some boominess to it, but is still textured and deep in presentation and gives the most body of the spectrum. In Hillsong’s Prince of Peace I feel the kick drums and the weight they bring to the song. Micro-detail in voices, instrumentation, and layering is more present, and overall a step up in musicality from lower tier cables.


As I travel further back in time, I am greeted by the 1960s cable. Its background is just as black as the 1980 cable. In its delivery, the cable balances out the music presentation more than the 1980 cable. Norah Jones sings “Don’t Know Why” to my ears with a natural suppleness that can convince me of her whatever she desires. With the 1960 cable, the micro details come out more and I can pick up on what I call the “vocal breathing” between her moments of pouring out her love in her voice. There is better transparency and resolution between instruments and voices without one sacrificing the other. The cable brings more sparkle to musics treble region, but rolls it off, and so it never comes out as harsh or bright. Bass is tight, with a focus centered more on mid-bass, and the overall delivery is cleaner than the bass in the 1980 cable. The stage is wider, and adds more depth to the singers, the instrumentation, and the spacing. It gives the better “likeimthere” performance, and puts me a little closer to the stage while still keeping things transparent and fun. Thats the word. . . fun. . . it is a more fun cable to listen to than the 1980. I would say this fun presentation stems from the mid bass and the vocal clarity and the rolled off treble.


The final stop at 1950s takes all that is good in the 1960s cable, balances it out more, and then raises the bar a level or two. The 1950 cables is the most neutral of the cable, and reminds me the most of my Eros II 8 wire cable in that is just disappears into the background. . .but it takes the listening dynamics, the micro-details, the transparency, the separation, and just every aspect of the music to an even higher level than any of the other cables I listened to. It has a linear presentation, and so every piece has its placement, and has the space and airiness around it to operate with naturalness and excitement. Bass reaches deep, is heavy, but operates in excellence without drowning out the treble. You hear and feel it just as clear as the treble and the vocals. Muddy Waters and Michael Jackson both attack musical instrumentation differently, and have some songs that have a lot of pieces operating at once, but the 1950 cable brings out their unique characteristics with clarity and finesse that makes you hit replay to try and pick out even more with each listen. Micro details, such as an extra tang in a guitar pluck or reverb in a cymbal clash come through with such an excellent level of layering and musicality that you feel like you are the only one in the audience with the ability to locate every instrument against the other. Ah but even the audience singing in Hillsong’s “Beautiful Name” comes through with clarity and poise against the lead singers voice and her back up singers’ voices. Every part can be heard with their own layer of delivery and work together to give you the most natural airiness and holographic presentation heard to date. Stage width is about the same as the 1960, but the depth goes further into the stage. Timbre is top notch, and the treble is sparkly with no hint of brightness. Music has more body, more emotion, more punch. The cable just seems to present everything right, and it is my clear favorite out of the entire bunch, and I can understand see why there is a price difference between it and the 1960. It is, in my opinion, on another level sonically. Its only downside is that it is not as supple in ergonomics. My Eros II, even in its 8 wire configuration, is preferred in the arena of ergonomics. But the performance (and price) is a clear step up from the Eros II.


As I return to the 21st century, I have a new found appreciation for what a cable can do in putting in the finishing touch on a listening experience. The cables were excellent performers in their respective characteristics. Each cable brought more to the table the farther back in time you went, with the pinnacle being a clear choice in the 1950 cable. But again this excellency pushes me back to my road of discovery and the question:


“Can music sound any better than this?”


The journey continues. . . but in the mean time. . . I’m graciously accepting donations for the 1950s cable. Or any cable that can dethrone it. . .


Happy Listening!


“LikeImThere”