Effect Audio cables thread

[ranfan]

Sharing a few photos of my Ares II cables, they have just arrived recently this week. I'm very happy listening with them so far. The II+ in special has a great bass influence. I'll maybe post more impression later, can't wait to start listening with the Ares II model.

Spoiler: Photo

I can tell, Effect Audio is serious in setting their standard. They're well-made to say the least. And enjoyable to listen with.

 

[Deezel177]

Sharing a few photos of my Ares II cables, they have just arrived recently this week. I'm very happy listening with them so far. The II+ in special has a great bass influence. I'll maybe post more impression later, can't wait to start listening with the Ares II model.

Spoiler: Photo

I can tell, Effect Audio is serious in setting their standard. They're well-made to say the least. And enjoyable to listen with.

Good stuff! Don't forget to take into consideration the differences that lie between balanced and unbalanced connections, but your impressions are pretty spot on thus far Plus, I see you have your Prelude finally with you. Care to share your impressions?

 

[Wyville]

Please don't give me a glowing impression on the Horus + LCDi4 pairing....otherwise there's a serious chance I could be taking a plunge too!

You better start saving up buddy because I just heard Horus and it is very, very special! Let me put it like this. I made the mistake of listening to Horus first and Lionheart second and Lionheart sounded subdued in comparison. I needed a few minutes just to adjust to the qualities of Lionheart (and it is a really great cable!) after the energy and dynamics Horus brought. It is truly another level! ...and that is a demo at a noisy show as well.

I will try to write some impressions on the show tomorrow and will share more thoughts on Horus then.

 

[normie610]

You better start saving up buddy because I just heard Horus and it is very, very special! Let me put it like this. I made the mistake of listening to Horus first and Lionheart second and Lionheart sounded subdued in comparison. I needed a few minutes just to adjust to the qualities of Lionheart (and it is a really great cable!) after the energy and dynamics Horus brought. It is truly another level! ...and that is a demo at a noisy show as well.

I will try to write some impressions on the show tomorrow and will share more thoughts on Horus then.

Oh no...this is definitely not good for my wallet...and wow, sounds like a night & day difference vs Lionheart. Can’t wait to hear your full impressions buddy!

 

[ranfan]

Good stuff! Don't forget to take into consideration the differences that lie between balanced and unbalanced connections, but your impressions are pretty spot on thus far Plus, I see you have your Prelude finally with you. Care to share your impressions?

For sure! If you ever listened to a live acoustic performance in a small quiet cafe, or studio. The Ares II + Prelude combo sounds very close to that. It has a highly accurate timbre, beautiful tone, and clean presentation. I've never heard a better realistic portrayal of acoustic instrument, and vocals than with this pair. (More about Prelude's impression here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/warbler-audios-prelude-ciem-a-labour-of-love.845592/)

The Ares II cable seems to be THE perfect pair for Prelude. It adds that needed sparkle, and air that are missing with the stock cable. It helps control the low-frequency, and give more emphasis on the upper-mids. There is no more bass-bleed, or excessive warmth that is hindering the midrange to shine. The missing sweetness of female vocals from the stock cable is now restored, and highlighted better. Imaging of each note is clearer now, and released with such smoothness, that is never fatiguing. Note size is now leaner, and separation much improved. It's simply a great pair for warm IEMs IMO. Wearing it feels very comfortable as well, with or without glasses. The cable is well-made, supple, and pretty flexible to move around with.

Spoiler: Photo

 

[Deezel177]

For sure! If you ever listened to a live acoustic performance in a small quiet cafe, or studio. The Ares II + Prelude combo sounds very close to that. It has a highly accurate timbre, beautiful tone, and clean presentation. I've never heard a better realistic potrayal of acoustic instrument, and vocals than with this pair. (More about Prelude's impression here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/warbler-audios-prelude-ciem-a-labour-of-love.845592/)

The Ares II cable seems to be THE perfect pair for Prelude. It adds that needed sparkle, and air that are missing with the stock cable. It helps control the low-frequency, and give more emphasis on the upper-mids. There is no more bass-bleed, or excessive warmth that is hindering the midrange to shine. The missing sweetness of female vocals from the stock cable is now restored, and highlighted better. Imaging of each note is clearer now, and released with such smoothness, that is never fatiguing. Note size is now leaner, and separation much improved. It's simply the perfect pair for any warm IEMs IMO. Wearing it feels very comfortable as well, with or without glasses. The cable is well-made, supple, and pretty flexible to move around with.

Spoiler: Photo

Great impressions, dude! I'm definitely itching to try the Prelude + Eos combo when I get to Singapore in a week-and-a-half. Enjoy!

 

[Wyville]

Oh no...this is definitely not good for my wallet...and wow, sounds like a night & day difference vs Lionheart. Can’t wait to hear your full impressions buddy!

Well, not a night and day difference. I might call Lionheart refined, whereas Horus is both bold and refined. I will try to explain through some impression of the show, but do bear in mind that it was a short demo at a noisy show. My apologies to Eric (@EffectAudio) for the lack of pictures. I had packed my camera and had remembered to charge the battery, but forgot to take the battery out of the charger (Doh!), and the camera in my phone proved itself useless.

I met up with @Oscar-HiFi and Tony at the booth of HiFiHeadphones. Really great guys and I enjoyed spending some quality time at the booth! First up was of course Horus and it was a stunning cable that did things that seemed possible. Oscar and I came to the same conclusion here. With the 64 Audio U6 (M15 module) it has a bass presence that is astonishing and yet everything else is crystal clear and smooth with an amazingly natural tonality. The dynamics are unbelievable. Worth its eye-watering price tag? I am tempted to say 'yes', even with just that short demo. It really impresses straight away. With classical music such as Beethoven's no.3 the instruments just popped out really well when they needed to and even with the most layered pieces I could not sense any congestion, something the U6 have a hint of with my balanced Ares II and M15. Something faster and impactful such as Imagine Dragon's "Thunder", or acoustic vocal jazz such as Caro Emerald and it was just an absolute joy to listen to and incredibly engaging. Also surprisingly crystal clear in the busy show environment.

Lionheart on the other hand was also very impressive, but at a much more subtle level. I got the impression that it improved clarity while maintaining an organic tonality. One of those things where you would normally expect the two to oppose each other and yet Lionheart did it very well. I did suspect that the qualities of Lionheart did not come through well enough in the noisy environment. At least, I got the impression there were subtle qualities to its tonality there that were hard to pick up with all the noise around.

Will I buy Horus? Sadly no, too expensive, but Lionheart has now certainly shot up my wish list and I expect would pair amazingly well with the UE18+ Pro I demoed at the show. So that pairing is going on my "to buy" list for next year.

 

[Deezel177]

Well, not a night and day difference. I might call Lionheart refined, whereas Horus is both bold and refined. I will try to explain through some impression of the show, but do bear in mind that it was a short demo at a noisy show. My apologies to Eric (@EffectAudio) for the lack of pictures. I had packed my camera and had remembered to charge the battery, but forgot to take the battery out of the charger (Doh!), and the camera in my phone proved itself useless.

I met up with @Oscar-HiFi and Tony at the booth of HiFiHeadphones. Really great guys and I enjoyed spending some quality time at the booth! First up was of course Horus and it was a stunning cable that did things that seemed possible. Oscar and I came to the same conclusion here. With the 64 Audio U6 (M15 module) it has a bass presence that is astonishing and yet everything else is crystal clear and smooth with an amazingly natural tonality. The dynamics are unbelievable. Worth its eye-watering price tag? I am tempted to say 'yes', even with just that short demo. It really impresses straight away. With classical music such as Beethoven's no.3 the instruments just popped out really well when they needed to and even with the most layered pieces I could not sense any congestion, something the U6 have a hint of with my balanced Ares II and M15. Something faster and impactful such as Imagine Dragon's "Thunder", or acoustic vocal jazz such as Caro Emerald and it was just an absolute joy to listen to and incredibly engaging. Also surprisingly crystal clear in the busy show environment.

Lionheart on the other hand was also very impressive, but at a much more subtle level. I got the impression that it improved clarity while maintaining an organic tonality. One of those things where you would normally expect the two to oppose each other and yet Lionheart did it very well. I did suspect that the qualities of Lionheart did not come through well enough in the noisy environment. At least, I got the impression there were subtle qualities to its tonality there that were hard to pick up with all the noise around.

Will I buy Horus? Sadly no, too expensive, but Lionheart has now certainly shot up my wish list and I expect would pair amazingly well with the UE18+ Pro I demoed at the show. So that pairing is going on my "to buy" list for next year.

As much as I LOVE dynamics, if I were asked to choose between dynamics and tone, I'd likely take tone most of the time. This is because dynamic differences/impact withers as either your ears get fatigued, or your brain gets used to how hard things punch. Tonal accuracy, on the other hand, will always be on the back of your mind, regardless of how long you listen. I'm making it easy for you, man; the Lionheart awaits.

 

[Wyville]

As much as I LOVE dynamics, if I were asked to choose between dynamics and tone, I'd likely take tone most of the time. This is because dynamic differences/impact withers as either your ears get fatigued, or your brain gets used to how hard things punch. Tonal accuracy, on the other hand, will always be on the back of your mind, regardless of how long you listen. I'm making it easy for you, man; the Lionheart awaits.

Oh no, Horus is tonally very accurate and the dynamics are superbly smooth. It is very odd and seems impossible, but Horus is absolutely amazing in that regard. It is very natural, very accurate and yet has a clarity that would normally be fatiguing but isn't in any way. I can't explain it well enough based on the short demo, but I honestly can only dream of having the UE18+ Pro paired with Horus.

 

[Deezel177]

Oh no, Horus is tonally very accurate and the dynamics are superbly smooth. It is very odd and seems impossible, but Horus is absolutely amazing in that regard. It is very natural, very accurate and yet has a clarity that would normally be fatiguing but isn't in any way. I can't explain it well enough based on the short demo, but I honestly can only dream of having the UE18+ Pro paired with Horus.

Sounds like my experience with the SP1000; exactly the same impressions. Please don't get the wrong idea, I'm not implying the Horus wasn't tonally accurate or smooth; I gathered that from your write-up. What I meant to say was, in prolonged listening sessions, the difference in dynamics between the Horus and Lionheart will eventually reduce, and so you won't be missing too much (certainly not as much as the price difference suggests) by going with the Lionheart. Nevertheless, I have an audition of the Horus planned for Monday if my local Jaben doesn't manage to sell it off over the weekend, so I'll have my own impressions to share soon.

 

[Wyville]

Sounds like my experience with the SP1000; exactly the same impressions. Please don't get the wrong idea, I'm not implying the Horus wasn't tonally accurate or smooth; I gathered that from your write-up. What I meant to say was, in prolonged listening sessions, the difference in dynamics between the Horus and Lionheart will eventually reduce, and so you won't be missing too much (certainly not as much as the price difference suggests) by going with the Lionheart. Nevertheless, I have an audition of the Horus planned for Monday if my local Jaben doesn't manage to sell it off over the weekend, so I'll have my own impressions to share soon.

Of course my impressions are tentative. It was only a short demo and I do not have a lot of experience yet, so you best go and demo for yourself and find out! I look forward to hearing your impressions and think you will agree that it is a very special cable. Lieven said it in his video and Nic told me yesterday, Horus is a lovely, lovely cable.

 

[Fafner]

What are the dimensions of the Horus carrying case? Just trying to figure out if it would fit into my current all in one solution.

 

[Wyville]

What are the dimensions of the Horus carrying case? Just trying to figure out if it would fit into my current all in one solution.

Perhaps @Oscar-HiFi can give more exact measurements, but the carrying case was quite big. Plenty of room for the cable and the LCD-i4, I would say. If that gives you any sense of its size. (The T-section is loose so you can adjust the layout.)

 

[Fafner]

Perhaps @Oscar-HiFi can give more exact measurements, but the carrying case was quite big. Plenty of room for the cable and the LCD-i4, I would say. If that gives you any sense of its size. (The T-section is loose so you can adjust the layout.)

Cheers.
I'm currently using a Lowepro Portland 30 to carry my SP1000 and the LCDi4 wrapped around its support, pretty much an ideal fit, you can't go littler than that for these things. Thus the question was more oriented at: will the Horus case fit into this pouch together with the SP1000 (instead of the LCDi4 support, of course). Images around couldn't give me a real idea, mostly on the depth of the case. Width and height seem to be just a little higher than those of a Sony NW-WM1Z player, while depth...seems around 4cm?

 

[ostewart]

Lionheart is a bit of a favourite of mine, in my personal opinion the highlights of Effect's lineup are:

Ares II - budget and one to make people believe in cable differences, a stunning cable at the price.
Eros II - Subtle lift in resolution and soundstage whilst retaining natural tone and being a more neutral cable.
Lionheart - Full and dynamic yet with excellent detail retrieval and air.
Horus - Like a Lionheart on steroids, boosted dynamics, excellent tonality and superb layering, air and detail retrieval.