Arctic Cables Euphoria
Received the latest AC offering recently and decided to post first impressions. The Euphoria is evaluated with Audeze LCD-5 headphones against the stock cable. For reference I own or have owned the following aftermarket headphone cables in the past:- Arctic Cables Signum+ (T+A Solitaire P-SE)
- Lavricables Ultimate (Audio-Technica ATH-WP900)
- Arctic Cables Magnus S (Meze Liric)
- Norne Silvergarde S3 (Dan Clark Ether Flow)
- WyWires Platinum (Dan Clark Ether Flow)
- Forza Noir Hybrid (Shure SRH1540)
- Cardas Headphone Cable (Beyerdynamic DT-880)
Ergonomics
Euphoria is heavy, seriously heavy. AC has not skimped with the amount of silver here. This is not intended for even semi portable use. The braiding is impeccable as usual and the cable does not tangle. Longer lengths are heavy enough to drag headphones on your head downwards. You can work around the weight by resting the cable on your lap or attaching it to your clothes. Depending on your listening environment it might be recommended to order couple extra feet over your normally preferred length for more flexibility.Music & Sound
Tonality is balanced, nothing stands out in a wrong way. Nothing stands out especially in the right way either, usually a great sign for long term enjoyment. What this means is music gets the center stage. A sense of improved insight why, how and when something is played. Even modern studio recordings come alive revealing more of that elusive human factor behind music.Imaging is natural and effortless, you don't even think about it consciously. No matter how many instruments are playing at the same time, everything is easy to follow. At the same time wholesomeness of the performance stays coherent. Some audio equipment tend to separate every instrument individually and highlight the sound at the expense of musical flow. Euphoria avoids this pitfall admirably.
When things calm down you discover songs within a song. Those fleeting moments of beauty and awe audiophiles love to chase. Never before I truly understood what silence between the notes ment. Soundstage is neither forward nor laid back. When sounds are mixed close, they are practically on your skin. When sounds are mixed far in the soundstage, there is exceptional depth. Even at the edges of the stage instruments maintain their proper acoustic properties and reverbs decay naturally.
Conclusion
This is not a cable for shifting your system balance towards warmer or cooler. If you want more out of music and are happy with your current overall balance, I guarantee Euphoria won't bottleneck any headphone audio setup. However it's literal weight in silver is almost as heavy as the expense in gold. If you have the means and already found your favorite headphones, treat yourself. I certainly am happy that I did.headphones: Audeze LCD-5
source: JCAT USB Card XE with Plixir Elite BDC via Intona Ultimate (USB) to Audio-GD DI-20HE via Furutech Digiflux (AES/EBU) to T+A DAC 8 DSD
amp: via Acoustic Revive XLR-1.0TripleC-FM 1.4 x 1.8mm (XLR) to Audio-GD Master 19
power: Burmester 038 & Furutech FT-SWS-D NCF Box with Atlas EOS Superior LUXE, Ensemble Megaflux FSF, Furutech DPS-4.1, IsoTek Ascension, Plixir The Statement & Siltech SPX-800 power cables
accessories: Acoustic Revive RKI-5005 audio insulators, Quadraspire Q4 modular audio racks
audio sources: .wav & .m2ts audio/video files stored on an internal SSD played with JRiver Media Center
source: JCAT USB Card XE with Plixir Elite BDC via Intona Ultimate (USB) to Audio-GD DI-20HE via Furutech Digiflux (AES/EBU) to T+A DAC 8 DSD
amp: via Acoustic Revive XLR-1.0TripleC-FM 1.4 x 1.8mm (XLR) to Audio-GD Master 19
power: Burmester 038 & Furutech FT-SWS-D NCF Box with Atlas EOS Superior LUXE, Ensemble Megaflux FSF, Furutech DPS-4.1, IsoTek Ascension, Plixir The Statement & Siltech SPX-800 power cables
accessories: Acoustic Revive RKI-5005 audio insulators, Quadraspire Q4 modular audio racks
audio sources: .wav & .m2ts audio/video files stored on an internal SSD played with JRiver Media Center
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