Brise Audio Yatono Ultimate 8W

Something I always look out for in this hobby is praise coming from multiple people with varying tastes. It is generally a very good indicator that a product has something special about it. The Brise Audio Yatono Ultimate 8W certainly fits into that category. After speaking to a number of people who all returned glowing impressions of the cable, I was intrigued to find out what the buzz was about, so I picked one up from MusicTeck a few weeks back and have been putting it through its paces since.

I think it’s pretty clear just by looking at this behemoth of a cable that it will not be for everyone. This is a cable that Brise Audio have designed with sound quality being the number one priority and due to the fact insulation layers play such an important role in their design and the fact this is an 8-wire cable, its size, weight and stiffness are at the upper end of what I have encountered before for an IEM cable.

So it probably won’t be the cable you will grab when you want to go for a walk, but it is not intended to be either. Sitting at a desk or in a nice comfortable chair where ergonomics don’t come into it is where this cable comes into its own and where it can be really enjoyed.
As always, what follows below are just my opinions, and they are, of course, completely subjective. Take them as such.

Cable Design​

This isn’t going to be the most extended section of the review by any means, as Brise keep their cards close to their chest when it comes to sharing details about what exactly goes into making the cable.

According to Brise, “It is the highest sound quality cable in the history of Brise Audio, which has put in all of its current know-how and pursued high sound quality to an excessive degree as an earphone re-cable”.

There might be a little lost in translation there, but the sense you get from reading about the cable on their website (which you can do here) is that they have tried to put everything they know into this cable to make it sound excellent.



As you can see in the image above, there are many layers of shielding and insulation used in the cable’s construction which is why it ends ups being a quite heavy.

The pure copper used in the cable is of Brise’s own design, and the wires are made by spinning 200 strands together.

The whole cable is handmade, and it has a very high-quality feel in hand. It also feels quite durable and like it will stand the test of time as you would hope for a cable in the price range ($2499).



The ear hooks retain their shape, and while you may be able to bend them as they are made of a titanium wire, I didn’t personally go that far.

The cable comes with a 4.4mm jack, and I have the 2-pin version. This hardware and the chin slider are nicely finished in the traditional Brise colour.

Overall I am very happy with the workmanship and the quality of the materials used in the cable.

Packaging​

The packaging is straightforward and of good quality. The cable comes with an ID card and certificate showing its serial number, a Brise brochure and a bottle of “cable smoother” spray. There aren’t any instructions for use of this spray, but I guess it does what it says on the bottle!

How it sounds with IEMs​

I am sharing my impressions below of how I found the cable with two of the higher-end IEMs I own, but I have tried it with many sets from various different price tiers over the last few weeks and the improvements it provides are pretty universal. It hasn’t been the case of trying to find the correct synergy with certain IEMs, more a case of connecting something and seeing which aspects improve.

Nobel Audio Ragnar​

Listen to Burning Sun by Monolink on a MacBook>Gustard R26> Topping A90D

I recently completed a review of Ragnar, and in that review, I mentioned about how, with the cables I had available to me at that time, I found none to offer significant improvements over the stock cable. After trying Ragnar with Yatono, I am going to have to revisit that review.

At a very basic level, Ragnar is a better IEM when paired with Yatono. It improves its technical ability, adds a slight warmth and takes genres that may have been on the fringe of what you would listen to with Ragnar and makes them completely accessible.

When listening to Burning Sun and swapping between the two cables, there are clear differences to my ears. This track has some sort of double-tracking vocals effect going on, and it also pans sounds from left to right so it is ideal for seeing how good a set is at building a 3D soundstage and how it deals with complex layering.

Immediately when swapping from the stock cable to Yatono, you can notice a jump in clarity, details and an expansion of the soundstage.

The effect in use on the vocals becomes more pronounced, and you have a sense of being surrounded by the vocals. Vocals also sound fuller and warmer but are still very detailed.

While the vocals take your attention and have that sense of encompassing you, the other instruments and sounds in the track come and go in a 3D space around your head. I often hear people question what a 3D soundstage is. For me, it is the ability of a set to create a sphere around your head and the sense of sounds being able to come from anywhere within that sphere. The better sets can stretch the dimensions of that sphere further out, they can have many clearly defined layers within the space and produce the surround sound type effect as sound travels through the space.

Often you will find sets that have a wide left-to-right stage but very little sense of depth or height, and their limitations draw your attention as something feels off about the presentation.

Yatono, paired with Ragnar, creates an effortless and immersive experience. There are incredible levels of detail produced, and almost any genre is handled with ease. It is a superb pairing and one I highly recommend trying for yourself if you get the opportunity.

Fir Audio XE6​

Listening to Tibet by Artbat on a MacBook>Gustard R26> Topping A90D

If I were to try and show someone who was undecided about upgrade cables what difference they can make over a stock cable, I would use this setup. While some may fairly argue the ergonomics of the stock cable that comes with XE6 would make it preferable for them, there is absolutely no contest for me when it comes to sound.

XE6 is known for being able to create a huge sound, that sense of being in a club with a wall of speakers in front of you, but when I compare the stock cable to Yatono, everything feels a little closed in and restrained.

Similarly to Ragnar, there is quite a jump in clarity and resolution with Yatono but somewhere this really surfaces is in the bass. The control and texture that Yatono adds to the mid-bass of XE6 is something special. Every aspect of the bass is improved. More rumble, more visceral impact but above all, a level of clarity, detail and control that just makes the insane amount of bass on offer work with just about any track.

Listening to Tibet using Yatono, during the intro, the kick drum beat is fast and impactful and as the track builds towards the first drop there is a nice sense of intensity building. When the drop hits, the heavy bass line is clear and accompanied by the kinetic bass effect and sub-bass rumble.

Swapping back to the stock cable, some of the sounds in the intro come across a little sharper, and that kick drum beat sounds more restrained. The track feels more congested, and as the drop hits, it is more like a wall of sound that is hitting you in a narrower space, so it had me reaching to turn the volume down a little. There’s still nice sub-bass with the stock cable, but with Yatono, every sound is crystal clear and effortlessly presented. Everything is on point, and you can enjoy the intensity of the track without ever getting overwhelmed.

How does it compare against other cables?​

I’m going to stick to comparing the effects on sound here as there are clearly going to big differences in ergo, and it will be up to you what your requirements are there.

I listened to a track called Dance With Me by Kevin de Vries using my XE6, a Cayin N7 and Astell & Kern AKPA10 amp to compare each cable to Yatono.

Liquid Links Venom​

Vocals are similarly clear and detailed with both cables. The immediate difference that surfaces is that the bass is much looser with Venom and just sounds much less controlled. It is tight and fast with Yatono.

With Venom, there is a noticeably smaller soundstage and much less of a sense of depth back to front. It makes the track sound somewhat flatter, and some of the smaller details are just not as clearly defined as they are with Yatono. When I swap back to listen with Yatono, the whole track opens up into a larger space, and the difference in details and layering are clear.

Kinera Orlog​

This has been one of my favourite pairings to date with XE6, and I have been a big fan of the Orlog due to its performance vs price proposition, so I have been looking forward to comparing these two cables to get a better window into diminishing returns.

Orlog does a better job of keeping the bass tight and in control versus Venom. The overall sound is very clear and detailed, and there is a good sense of space between everything. Considering its price, Orlog does a great job here. Everything is clearly defined, and there is nothing drawing your attention as a negative. Where it comes up short against Yatono is in that it feels somewhat safe or restrained when compared directly.

There’s a richness to the sound with Yatono that is missing with Orlog. There is more treble sparkle and a more ethereal sense to it as the sounds appear to travel further in the soundstage. There is just that sense of something more special about the overall presentation with Yatono that feels lacking in Orlog when you compare back to back but considering the price difference, you would be disappointed if there wasn’t.

Khanyayo Cardas Clear​

This is another cable that is incredibly hard to beat when it comes to price vs performance. Vocals sit a touch further back with this cable and, as a result, don’t come across as clearly defined as they do with Orlog or Yatono. When it comes to bass though, the Cardas Clear cable is much closer to Yatono than the other two. There is good control and texture to the heavier beats but at times, it isn’t as effortless as with Yatono and feels like it is on the edge a little.

Back to back, the major difference in these cables is the sense of space and air that Yatono creates. It is immediately noticeable. The Cardas Clear cable is technically very good. It has more magic to it compared to Orlog but at the cost of control at times. Yatono has the best of both though, with none of their weaknesses, more details and with a larger soundstage in every direction.

Conclusion​

The ergonomics of this cable have to be considered if you are planning on buying one. It is not a “one and done” type cable in the sense that it is most definitely suited to use sitting at a desk or in a comfortable chair, but I think anyone who is considering it will have taken that into account already. This cable is all about the sound and sound only.

The improvements it makes are undoubted. It helps IEMs create a rich and detailed sound in a soundstage that seems to stretch for miles in every direction. What has been really impressive about it is that it has improved every IEM I have tried with it, and once you hear the improvements it makes, it is hard to go back to using other cables.

The Brise Audio Yatono Ultimate 8W is a beast of a cable in many senses of the word. If it fits your use case and you have a listening environment where its ergonomics aren’t an issue, then it is highly worth checking out.