[Deferenz]

Great thank you so much That would then leave the Ares S for the Andros, do you think that would be a good pairing?

I’ve never heard the Andros and so I can’t comment on that one I’m afraid.

 

[amirraouf7]

I’ve never heard the Andros and so I can’t comment on that one I’m afraid.

I understand thanks for your suggestions

 

[blotmouse]

If I order a cable with the ConX mmcx add on for $10, does that mean I will receive the default 2-pin and the mmcx? That's what I need. Not one or the other. Just needing some clarity b4 I press buy. Thanks.

 

[Ufanco]

Bought the Mest Indigo so looking forward to hearing how the Cleo II sounds with it.
Found for my system I enjoyed the Cadmus over the Ares II with the Mest mkii. This gives me high hopes the silver Cleo ii will sound great with both the Mest MKii and Mest Indigo. It sounds like Cleo ii retains the warmth of copper along with the more detailed effects that silver cables bring to the table.
Talked with Jordan and sounds like my prototype will ship in a couple of weeks. So be following others Member's impressions tell then.

 

[Deferenz]

Effect Audio asked me if I would like to participate in the upcoming launch of their new Cleopatra II cable from the Heritage series. They have sent me the cable in exchange for my honest thoughts and opinions.

So I’ve been having a little play around with the new Cleopatra II cable itself. The cable is 26 AWG and the one I have is 4 Wire. The wire content is UP-OCC Silver Litz. It is soft and supple, and it drapes well through my hands. The cable is silver in colour, to match the wire type, and the Y-split, termination and connector housing appear to be titanium. The offset of the silver and titanium grey is quite visually appealing. One interesting thing about this cable though is what happens either end of it. ConX and TermX.

Now, call me behind the times, but the concept of ConX and TermX had kind of passed me by. I think that because all of my IEMs are 2 pin, and most of my cables are 4.4mm, I’ve never really needed to know what other tech solutions were out there. If I wanted a new IEM then I wanted 2 pin, and a cable was always 4.4mm.

There are certain IEMs that have taken my interest, but because they were mmcx I’ve kind of bypassed them as I can’t easily use my own cables on them. Now I’m not saying that this is the overwhelming factor, but the fact that everything I have is 2 pin does play same small part in my overall decision making.

ConX then is quite interesting. Jumping in with both feet (as I’m a bit of a technophobe) I tentatively looked to see how it worked. It turns out it’s quite easy as you just unscrew the connector you have, in my case 2 pin, and then screw in your new chosen connector such as mmcx.

TermX really got my interest. As I said, my cables are 4.4mm. In more recent times I’ve actually started to listen to music on my iPhone using the Apple dongle. However, it’s a bit of a task getting the adapters connected because it looks like a right dog’s dinner. It would be really useful for me then if I could just pull out my cables 4.4mm jack and then connect a 3.5mm jack. Then it’s cable straight into dongle and job done. Luckily this is exactly what TermX allows you to do. It’s again very easy to detach the current jack and then add in the new jack you want.

I think it’s a pretty good idea for the Cleo II to come with both X’s, and I think this is going to be a standard feature of the cable. Some photos are below.

Now it’s time for me to start my listening with this cable and I’ll post up some impressions as soon as I can.

 

[lil BANE]

How do you swap the jack? Do you pull it off? I imagine the pins would prevent you from screwing the jack on.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Review of Effect Audio Signature Series Cables

I want to thank Effect Audio for providing me the opportunity to review the new cables in their Signature Series campaign. In my review package, these are the cables that I had the opportunity to review.

P37: Cadmus (Silver Plated Copper Litz)
P38: Ares S (Copper Litz)

As part of the review process, Effect Audio provided me free of charge with a Cadmus cable. For that, I am grateful because it is a very nice cable.


Cable Philosophy

Until recently, I have been a cable agnostic believing that cables do not do much to change the sound quality of an IEM or headphone. What this means is that traditionally I purchased cables primarily for their look and feel. More recently, I have found some cables that truly do make a material difference to the sound, so I now do A/B testing for sound quality. Here are the criteria I use to evaluate them. I still lean heavily toward look and feel, but sound quality now does play a role:

1. Ergonomics: how comfortable and easy to use a cable is
2. Tactility: how the cable feels to the touch
3. Aesthetics: how good does the cable look
4. Sound: what subtle changes to sound does the cable make

Pairings

I decided to A/B/C/D test 4 different copper cables with a Unique Melody MEXT and 4 different silver cables with a 64 Audio Nio with the intention of making a permanent pairing for each IEM from these choices. This is pretty much how I decide which cables to pair with each of the IEMs in my collection. I use whatever cables I have available at the time and I look for the combination that best fits among all of these categories with the IEM in question. The only other criteria I use is a price cap. I usually limit the price to less than 33% of the original cost of the IEM where possible. This is so that I do not over invest in an aspect of the chain that makes only subtle changes to sound quality. The DAP I used in this evaluation is the Shanling M9.


Unique Melody MEXT with the Copper Cables

Cables from upper left to right: Ares S, Genesis, Ares 2. Cable paired with MEXT: PWA Anniversary no. 5 (8 wire).


Effect Audio Ares S MSRP: $179

• Ergonomics: Nice tight weave. 4.4mm is not high quality
• Tactility: Best cable to the touch
• Aesthetics: Cable is very attractive
• Sound Quality: Very balanced sound. No overemphasis in any frequency. Micro details are not as easily discernible.

PWA Genesis. MSRP: $399

• Ergonomics: Unwieldy. 4.4mm Pentaconn is fantastic.
• Tactility: Very stiff to the touch. Least pleasant to the touch of all cables
• Aesthetics: Cable is a bit stiff and maintains memory
• Sound Quality: Subbass emphasis. Not revealing in the treble.

PWA Anniversary No. 5 (8-wire): MSRP: $354

• Ergonomics: Thicker cable, More relaxed. 4.4mm Pentaconn is fantastic
• Tactility: Very nice to the touch. Not as tight a weave as the Ares S
• Aesthetics: Very attractive cable and thickness
• Sound Quality: Balanced sound that is both revealing and enabling of sub bass. Micro details are present.

Effect Audio Ares 2. MSRP: $179

• Ergonomics: Not premium build quality.
• Tactility: Not as premium feel as the Ares S
• Aesthetics: Cable is a bit stiff and maintains memory
• Sound Quality: Subbass emphasis. A little bit less smooth and revealing in the treble

Ranking of cables:

1. PWA Anniversary No. 5 (8-wire). The overall thickness of the cable provides a very revealing listen, really enabling the sub bass of the MEXT. Combine this with the attractive look and feel of the cable and superior Pentaconn termination and this is the best cable of the bunch. This cable wins the final pairing for MEXT
2. EA Ares S. The tight weave gives this budget cable a premium look and feel that is very nice to the touch. This is the best value cable of the bunch. This cable emphasizes balanced sound from the MEXT.
3. PWA Genesis. This cable is the worst from a tactile point of view since it is so stiff. The cable is also unwieldy. It does emphasize the sub bass of the MEXT and is less revealing in the treble than the PWA No 5.
4. EA Ares 2. The Ares S is an upgrade in both look and feel and sound quality to the original Ares 2. It is a less revealing cable, but did a better job at enabling the sub bass of the MEXT. I think this may be due to a faulty termination.

Summary. The Effect Audio Ares S is a nice evolution from the original Ares 2 cable. It has a much more premium look and feel with a tight weave and balanced sound. At $179, this is one of the highest value cables on the market today. If I didn’t already have the PWA Anniversary No 5 cable, I would have paired the MEXT with the Ares S. Given that it is half the price, the Ares S is a tremendous value.



64 Audio Nio with M20 Module and Silver Cables

Cables from upper left to right: Leonidas 2, PWA Anniversary no 10, Iliad. Cable paired with Nio: Cadmus

Cadmus (MSRP: $199) cable comparisons

• Ergonomics: Better sized cable for the NIO given its small size as an IEM
• Tactility: Very soft to the touch
• Aesthetics: Very attractive cable. The weave looks like an Iliad. Only difference is in the lower quality hardware.
• Sound Quality: Brings balance to the sound. Softens the bass to a less elevated level

PWA Anniversary No 10 (8-wire): MSRP: $354

• Ergonomics: Thick cable, but too thick for these small IEMs
• Tactility: Soft, but not premium feel to the touch.
• Aesthetics: Looks good from a far due to its thickness.
• Sound Quality: Slight improvement over Cadmus in delivering bass response

Effect Audio Leonidas II: MSRP: $999

• Ergonomics: Worst cable in useability Very stiff and unwieldy
• Tactility: Feels like barb wire
• Aesthetics: Looks good except for the jankiness of the cable.
• Sound Quality: Second best quality. Really tightens up the sound nicely

Eletech Iliad. MSRP: $1799

• Ergonomics: Best overall cable in every dimension of what a cable should be. Soft to the touch. Very attractive hardware. Beautiful and great sound.
• Tactility: Very soft to the touch
• Aesthetics: Beautiful cable to look at
• Sound Quality: By far the best sound. Sweetness to the tone in addition to tightness of the bass and revealing nature of the cable in presenting detail.

Ranking of Cables

1. Iliad. This is by far the best cable of the lot with the best look and feel and sound quality. This is the cable that I had paired with the NIO, but the price of the cable is more than the price of the IEM, so there is a mismatch in price performance.
2. Cadmus. The Cadmus is the second best overall despite the fact that it does not have the best overall sound quality. That is because what it does to the sound of the NIO is to bring it more into balance. And it does this at the same time it looks like the cable that it replaces, but at a much lower price. Since the Iliad is mismatched to the NIO from a price-performance point of view, the Cadmus will be my new pairing with NIO.
3. PWA Anniversary No 10. From a sound perspective, this is slightly better than the Cadmus, but not in a way that I wanted for the NIO. Using the M20 module leaves the bass a little bit overwhelming and No. 10 increases the bass instead of bringing it under control. So, Cadmus does a better job of delivering what I need for this particular IEM. In addition, this cable is too thick for the Nio.
4. Leonidas II. This cable has a very nice sound to it. But, it does not work at all from an ergonomics, nor tactility point of view. A cable should not feel like barb wire when paired with an IEM.

Summary: The Cadmus cable is an outstanding value silver plated copper cable because it has a premium quality look and feel. And, at this price level, the amount of sound improvement a cable can offer is less important than its ergonomics. Since it excels in this area and it brings more balance to the sound of the Nio, I will be pairing the Nio with Cadmus as its permanent cable.

 

[jlemaster1957]

Review of Effect Audio Signature Series Cables

I want to thank Effect Audio for providing me the opportunity to review the new cables in their Signature Series campaign. In my review package, these are the cables that I had the opportunity to review.

P37: Cadmus (Silver Plated Copper Litz)
P38: Ares S (Copper Litz)

As part of the review process, Effect Audio provided me free of charge with a Cadmus cable. For that, I am grateful because it is a very nice cable.


Cable Philosophy

Until recently, I have been a cable agnostic believing that cables do not do much to change the sound quality of an IEM or headphone. What this means is that traditionally I purchased cables primarily for their look and feel. More recently, I have found some cables that truly do make a material difference to the sound, so I now do A/B testing for sound quality. Here are the criteria I use to evaluate them. I still lean heavily toward look and feel, but sound quality now does play a role:

1. Ergonomics: how comfortable and easy to use a cable is
2. Tactility: how the cable feels to the touch
3. Aesthetics: how good does the cable look
4. Sound: what subtle changes to sound does the cable make

Pairings

I decided to A/B/C/D test 4 different copper cables with a Unique Melody MEXT and 4 different silver cables with a 64 Audio Nio with the intention of making a permanent pairing for each IEM from these choices. This is pretty much how I decide which cables to pair with each of the IEMs in my collection. I use whatever cables I have available at the time and I look for the combination that best fits among all of these categories with the IEM in question. The only other criteria I use is a price cap. I usually limit the price to less than 33% of the original cost of the IEM where possible. This is so that I do not over invest in an aspect of the chain that makes only subtle changes to sound quality. The DAP I used in this evaluation is the Shanling M9.


Unique Melody MEXT with the Copper Cables

Cables from upper left to right: Ares S, Genesis, Ares 2. Cable paired with MEXT: PWA Anniversary no. 5 (8 wire).


Effect Audio Ares S MSRP: $179

• Ergonomics: Nice tight weave. 4.4mm is not high quality
• Tactility: Best cable to the touch
• Aesthetics: Cable is very attractive
• Sound Quality: Very balanced sound. No overemphasis in any frequency. Micro details are not as easily discernible.

PWA Genesis. MSRP: $399

• Ergonomics: Unwieldy. 4.4mm Pentaconn is fantastic.
• Tactility: Very stiff to the touch. Least pleasant to the touch of all cables
• Aesthetics: Cable is a bit stiff and maintains memory
• Sound Quality: Subbass emphasis. Not revealing in the treble.

PWA Anniversary No. 5 (8-wire): MSRP: $354

• Ergonomics: Thicker cable, More relaxed. 4.4mm Pentaconn is fantastic
• Tactility: Very nice to the touch. Not as tight a weave as the Ares S
• Aesthetics: Very attractive cable and thickness
• Sound Quality: Balanced sound that is both revealing and enabling of sub bass. Micro details are present.

Effect Audio Ares 2. MSRP: $179

• Ergonomics: Not premium build quality.
• Tactility: Not as premium feel as the Ares S
• Aesthetics: Cable is a bit stiff and maintains memory
• Sound Quality: Subbass emphasis. A little bit less smooth and revealing in the treble

Ranking of cables:

1. PWA Anniversary No. 5 (8-wire). The overall thickness of the cable provides a very revealing listen, really enabling the sub bass of the MEXT. Combine this with the attractive look and feel of the cable and superior Pentaconn termination and this is the best cable of the bunch. This cable wins the final pairing for MEXT
2. EA Ares S. The tight weave gives this budget cable a premium look and feel that is very nice to the touch. This is the best value cable of the bunch. This cable emphasizes balanced sound from the MEXT.
3. PWA Genesis. This cable is the worst from a tactile point of view since it is so stiff. The cable is also unwieldy. It does emphasize the sub bass of the MEXT and is less revealing in the treble than the PWA No 5.
4. EA Ares 2. The Ares S is an upgrade in both look and feel and sound quality to the original Ares 2. It is a less revealing cable, but did a better job at enabling the sub bass of the MEXT. I think this may be due to a faulty termination.

Summary. The Effect Audio Ares S is a nice evolution from the original Ares 2 cable. It has a much more premium look and feel with a tight weave and balanced sound. At $179, this is one of the highest value cables on the market today. If I didn’t already have the PWA Anniversary No 5 cable, I would have paired the MEXT with the Ares S. Given that it is half the price, the Ares S is a tremendous value.



64 Audio Nio with M20 Module and Silver Cables

Cables from upper left to right: Leonidas 2, PWA Anniversary no 10, Iliad. Cable paired with Nio: Cadmus

Cadmus (MSRP: $199) cable comparisons

• Ergonomics: Better sized cable for the NIO given its small size as an IEM
• Tactility: Very soft to the touch
• Aesthetics: Very attractive cable. The weave looks like an Iliad. Only difference is in the lower quality hardware.
• Sound Quality: Brings balance to the sound. Softens the bass to a less elevated level

PWA Anniversary No 10 (8-wire): MSRP: $354

• Ergonomics: Thick cable, but too thick for these small IEMs
• Tactility: Soft, but not premium feel to the touch.
• Aesthetics: Looks good from a far due to its thickness.
• Sound Quality: Slight improvement over Cadmus in delivering bass response

Effect Audio Leonidas II: MSRP: $999

• Ergonomics: Worst cable in useability Very stiff and unwieldy
• Tactility: Feels like barb wire
• Aesthetics: Looks good except for the jankiness of the cable.
• Sound Quality: Second best quality. Really tightens up the sound nicely

Eletech Iliad. MSRP: $1799

• Ergonomics: Best overall cable in every dimension of what a cable should be. Soft to the touch. Very attractive hardware. Beautiful and great sound.
• Tactility: Very soft to the touch
• Aesthetics: Beautiful cable to look at
• Sound Quality: By far the best sound. Sweetness to the tone in addition to tightness of the bass and revealing nature of the cable in presenting detail.

Ranking of Cables

1. Iliad. This is by far the best cable of the lot with the best look and feel and sound quality. This is the cable that I had paired with the NIO, but the price of the cable is more than the price of the IEM, so there is a mismatch in price performance.
2. Cadmus. The Cadmus is the second best overall despite the fact that it does not have the best overall sound quality. That is because what it does to the sound of the NIO is to bring it more into balance. And it does this at the same time it looks like the cable that it replaces, but at a much lower price. Since the Iliad is mismatched to the NIO from a price-performance point of view, the Cadmus will be my new pairing with NIO.
3. PWA Anniversary No 10. From a sound perspective, this is slightly better than the Cadmus, but not in a way that I wanted for the NIO. Using the M20 module leaves the bass a little bit overwhelming and No. 10 increases the bass instead of bringing it under control. So, Cadmus does a better job of delivering what I need for this particular IEM. In addition, this cable is too thick for the Nio.
4. Leonidas II. This cable has a very nice sound to it. But, it does not work at all from an ergonomics, nor tactility point of view. A cable should not feel like barb wire when paired with an IEM.

Summary: The Cadmus cable is an outstanding value silver plated copper cable because it has a premium quality look and feel. And, at this price level, the amount of sound improvement a cable can offer is less important than its ergonomics. Since it excels in this area and it brings more balance to the sound of the Nio, I will be pairing the Nio with Cadmus as its permanent cable.

Nice review, from a refreshing perspective. Of course the “price of cable vs price of IEM” ratio is an individually decided matter, but your approach seems sensible- for me, I’m willing to increase that to about 50% —though 30% is certainly preferred. Agree that going upside down (when cable price exceeds the price of the IEM) seems less sensible. Maybe better in that case to invest in a higher tier IEM that delivers what one is seeking from the cable pairing sound-wise? I have Cadmus en route from Singapore, as well as Eros S to pair with U12T, another 64 audio IEM. We shall see.

 

[Levanter]

Effect Audio Leonidas II: MSRP: $999

• Ergonomics: Worst cable in useability Very stiff and unwieldy
• Tactility: Feels like barb wire
• Aesthetics: Looks good except for the jankiness of the cable.
• Sound Quality: Second best quality. Really tightens up the sound nicely

I'm surprised on your unit's ergonomics. How old is the cable? Mine is over 2 years old now and is still very supple, flexible. Not even a hint of stiffness.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

I'm surprised on your unit's ergonomics. How old is the cable? Mine is over 2 years old now and is still very supple, flexible. Not even a hint of stiffness.

It is about 2 years old. I also have the Leonidas II Octa and that cable is fantastic. It is a great match for my Z1R.

 

[HiFiHawaii808]

Nice review, from a refreshing perspective. Of course the “price of cable vs price of IEM” ratio is an individually decided matter, but your approach seems sensible- for me, I’m willing to increase that to about 50% —though 30% is certainly preferred. Agree that going upside down (when cable price exceeds the price of the IEM) seems less sensible. Maybe better in that case to invest in a higher tier IEM that delivers what one is seeking from the cable pairing sound-wise? I have Cadmus en route from Singapore, as well as Eros S to pair with U12T, another 64 audio IEM. We shall see.

I did not get a chance to hear the Eros S. I like the build quality of the cables. I just wish the hardware was a little better. They can charge a bit more for the better hardware.

 

[Levanter]

It is about 2 years old. I also have the Leonidas II Octa and that cable is fantastic.

There shouldn't be any ergonomic difference vs the Octa except thickness though. Maybe yours was an unfortunate variance.

 

[klyzon]

I'm surprised on your unit's ergonomics. How old is the cable? Mine is over 2 years old now and is still very supple, flexible. Not even a hint of stiffness.

i think the earlier batch of cables at that period of time might have that issue. I have a lionheart that is ultra stiff, given another year, it might probably be able to stand upright on its own. Also have a Horus from that era that is similarly stiff

 

[justanut]

If I order a cable with the ConX mmcx add on for $10, does that mean I will receive the default 2-pin and the mmcx? That's what I need. Not one or the other. Just needing some clarity b4 I press buy. Thanks.

Yes mine came with default 2-pin as well as the Pentaconn Ear ConX top up

 

[Levanter]

i think the earlier batch of cables at that period of time might have that issue. I have a lionheart that is ultra stiff, given another year, it might probably be able to stand upright on its own. Also have a Horus from that era that is similarly stiff

Mine is older than his though, but can't rule out that his dealer's stock might be an older one at that time. Mine came with a plastic slider, but I requested to change to the metal slider when I sent mine in for the ConX termination.