One of my goals for Canjam Socal was trying out upgrade cables for my Empire Ear Phantoms, and I was not disappointed. Keep in mind that I’m new to high-end audio gear, only about a year, and this was only my second CanJam. It was great meeting Eric and discussing cables and learning quite a bit. I’ll be honest, I went in slightly skeptical about what high-end cables could do. With an engineering background I also realize that changing materials and wire gauge does have an effect on the overall resistance in a cable, and hence this could lead to small changes in sound. For my demo’s I tried Eros II+, Cleopatra, Cleopatra Octa, Leonidas II, and Janus D - Dynamic. I used my own Phantoms driven by an A&K SP1000M (blue) and the songs I used to test were:
Lunatic Fringe by Red Rider on As Far As Siam - paying attention on how well I hear “See you on the other side” at 23-24 seconds
Lily Was Here by Candy Dulfer on Live in Amsterdam - paying attention to the microphone stand movements and the coughing in the very beginning at 6 to 7 seconds
The Terminator (Main Title) by Brad Fiedel on The Terminator Soundtrack
In the Air Tonight (Live) by Phil Collins on Face Value (Deluxe)
More Than a Feeling by Boston on Boston
Unstatic by Manu Katché on Unstatic
Why so Serious? by Hans Zimmer on The Dark Knight Soundtrack - paying attention to the bass and rumble at 3:25 to 5:20, and then again at 8:30 to 9:14
Fascinating Rhythm by Dave Grusin on The Gershwin Connection
Duel of the Fates by London Symphony Orchestra on Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Soundtrack
Pour Some Sugar on Me (Live, Denver 1988) by Def Leppard on Hysteria (30th Anniversary Deluxe)
I noticed differences between the above EA cables and with my stock Empire Ears Phantom cable (the Effect Audio Ares II). For me, the best choices to pair with my gear is either the Eros II+, Leonidas II or the Janus D - Dynamic. All three offered slightly more bass and a touch more sparkle on the highs, along some some improved separation, and I’ll stress that the differences are slight. I ended up with the Eros II+ since I had some other items I needed, OK, wanted to purchase.
At the next CanJam it would be great to compare a Leonidas II Octa to the Janus D.
Now on to my impressions of the mysterious prototype cables:
Overall for all three cables, there are very light and flexible and like all the Effect Audio cables I tried, offered no microphonics. The ergonomics are top-notch for the cable and the connectors. The connectors are new and were a pleasure to use. The cable is slimmer than the upper-end cables I tried, barely the size of the Ares II, but much more easier to use. It seems the sheath cover is a big reason for that. All three cables offer a smooth and balanced sound that’s to be expected with high-end after market cables. My price recommendations are based on discussions with Eric and his emphasis that we would be very surprised by the price.
First, the all copper cable - an overall balanced sound with a slight warmth, and good separation. This could be a good general use cable for any IEM, dare I say it may be the future standard stock cable for Empire Ears. Price wise I would guess $150 (US).
Next the all silver cable - a notch above the all copper cable above. As one would expect, the treble has slightly more sparkle and the mids, especially vocals, are more present / forward. I noticed a slight bass increase, and better overall separation, with a little more soundstage. Price wise I would guess $350 (US).
Finally, the copper / silver combo cable - this was my favorite of the three. It had more sub-bass and with my Phantoms, I got a little more rumble that I’m use to with the current stock cable, and more that the other two prototypes. There was also more sparkle on the treble. For me, I would make the cable my everyday cable as it fits my audio gear and music choices. Price wise I would guess $250 (US).
I think all three cables will be a hit, just like the Origin was for Effect Audio. I think these are entry level high-end cables to get more people familiar with the brand and possibly look at more opportunities to be OEM cable suppliers for IEM manufacturers. It would be awesome if we had the opportunity to upgrade the cable selection when we order IEMs. Given the above info / impressions, I would gladly upgrade to the coper / silver combo instead of the standard all copper when ordering new IEMs.
Finally, the cable holders that Effect Audio were handing out are great, very useful. Thanks Effect Audio.
Just an interesting observation where in some threads people talk about buying/using $2k+ cables with their $2k-$3k+ IEMs, and usually nobody says "this is crazy". But when a manufacturer offers a bundle of a premium IEM/cable with a big price tag, it gets people triggered
