PhilGT
Member of the Trade: Cosmic Ears
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- Sep 15, 2012
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I recently sent in my MA2 (aka micro BA2) to be updated with the new cable. Just received it the other day, and all I can say is WOW! This cable is superb. Tiny, almost invisible at times, but very strong. Phil also added a Cosmic Ears logo to the faceplates, in a sort of brushed aluminum look. Very cool.
I'll need to grab more shots but this is something to get started with - you can see the new system Cosmic Ears has chosen for connecting the shell to the cable. Now, I don't know the plans, but I assume Phil will continue offering the standard "Westone style" two-pin cable system as an option. Or maybe that will remain standard, and this new plug will be the option. I don't know. But either way, this is potentially a ground breaking new way of connecting a CIEM to a cable.
Why? Testing shows these things are far more robust than the MMCX style favored by some other brands. Testing for durability, this new style loses 30% of its mating strength after about 1000 insertion/removals. Contrast that with MMCX which loses 30% at around 15 insertion/removals. That's a significant reliability issue in my opinion, and I've had first hand experience with MMCX failing on my LiveWires CIEMs. So it's nice to know this new design will last a lot longer.
Anyway, the first picture, with more to follow when I find the time:
BTW project, is that connector recessed in your MA2?
I can't quite tell from the pic.
Yep, it goes in almost completely flush with the faceplate.
I'm guessing from you comment that the new T2 connector doesn't suffer from 'rotating' off the top of your ear when used over the ear?
If so, that makes it even better!
Very nice. Must get round to sending my ma1's in some time. I prefer that style of cable routing as where the strain relief was on the original ma, the right wouldn't seal properly all the time.
I've been testing the Estron Linum BaX cables as well, but in MMCX and 2-pin format; I'm quite impressed with these tiny little cables!
They weigh less to nothing, ultra-flexible, and are way stronger than they look.
No loss in SQ to stock cables either, since the BaX version has low resistance (compared to the music and vocal variants), so damping effects due to cables are minimized.
I can see why not only Cosmic Ears, but also Westone and others are considering adopting this cable.
No experience with the new T2 connector, however. It's impressive how it gets that many pulls with no failure, though --- definitely a way better alternative to MMCX.
I firmly believe MMCX is a scourge for earphones, but unfortunately, it cannot be stopped.
To pick up on a few of the comments on the cable here. Cosmic Ears will never use MMCX, this type of connector, IMHO, is not designed for IEM or CIEMs, they are designed primarily for RF solutions that have fewer disconnects. From my personal use I do not like the way the MMCX turns when used on a monitor and I have noticed it can have intermittent connections.
For now we will focus on the standard 2-Pin design and the new T2 connector.