I have now had a bit more time with the prototype cables and wanted to share some impressions so far.
It is funny how much I have enjoyed playing around with these prototypes. I have used a lot of high-end and TOTL cables, most recently of course I had the opportunity to borrow @EffectAudio’s very own Chiron (Thanks Nic! It was awesome!), and yet these prototypes do something special for me. I had a think about it and concluded that it must be that these bring me back to where this hobby started for me. Let me explain.
It started when I bought my first CIEMs. Those came with the ubiquitous plastic stock cable with memory wire and I hated it with a passion. That cable literally hurt my ears to the point where I would bend the memory wire straight up in a desperate effort to avoid them touching my ears. It needed to be replaced asap and what do you know… I was offered the opportunity to replace it with an Effect Audio prototype cable. That cable eventually became EA’s ‘Origin’ cable and I used the prototype until it broke, had it repaired by a friend and used it again until it broke. After that I moved on to Effect Audio’s iconic Ares II, which I bought as soon as I was able to get it in the UK (where I was living at the time). It was in fact the very first sold through EA’s UK distributor. I ended up with several Ares II, one balanced, one SE and one 8-wire, and it was always the first cable I would recommend people look at when searching for a premium aftermarket cable.
So now when trying these prototype cables, they remind me of that old prototype I started out with and the iconic nature of Effect Audio’s premium cables such as Ares II and Eros II. I am jumping to conclusions here a bit because I don’t really know the price point, but I suspect that prototypes 37 and 38 are spiritual successors to those cables.
Why did I reach that conclusion? First of all, prototype 38 feels in every way like an improved Ares II. I feel it is more balanced and more refined than Ares II, yet feels like it has the same qualities that made Ares II such a versatile cable. The 38 has an organic feel with a slight touch of warmth and a lovely bit of sparkle, while maintaining excellent clarity and airiness. I used the 38 with my Empire Ears Phantom, which came stock with Ares II, and it is a wonderful pairing. The 38 maintains everything I love about the Phantom, yet improves upon this with a larger stage, better clarity and a bit more air. There is still something enveloping about the Phantom/38 pairing and it gives a sense of intimacy with vocals quite close.
By comparison I found that the 37 feels slightly cooler with a touch leaner note size. The bass is tighter and seems to extend deeper, giving an articulate kick while leaving the midrange free to open up a bit more. Vocals sound less intimate, but there is at the same time something seductive about them. I honestly don’t know yet which I prefer, but I love both with my Phantom. However, I found that the 37 paired exceptionally well with the 64 Audio U18s (Apex = Mx). The 38 has a bit of sparkle and paired with the U18s you get a tiny hint of bite in the treble. Nothing offensive mind, but when switching to the 37 I found that while it is cooler compared to the 38 and has a bigger stage, more air and feels more revealing, the treble is superbly smooth. The 37 with the U18s results is such a high performing, yet utterly fatigue free pairing, that it has become my favourite for listening to at the moment. I suspect that only a cable as smooth as the Chiron could tempt me away from this pairing.
In all, I am very impressed with the prototypes 37 and 38. They offer excellent performance and their build quality is (as always) outstanding. I also love the ergonomics, despite both being a bit thicker than the Ares II, and the 37 a little thicker than the 38.
*All listening was done with the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch and Shanling M8.
It is funny how much I have enjoyed playing around with these prototypes. I have used a lot of high-end and TOTL cables, most recently of course I had the opportunity to borrow @EffectAudio’s very own Chiron (Thanks Nic! It was awesome!), and yet these prototypes do something special for me. I had a think about it and concluded that it must be that these bring me back to where this hobby started for me. Let me explain.
It started when I bought my first CIEMs. Those came with the ubiquitous plastic stock cable with memory wire and I hated it with a passion. That cable literally hurt my ears to the point where I would bend the memory wire straight up in a desperate effort to avoid them touching my ears. It needed to be replaced asap and what do you know… I was offered the opportunity to replace it with an Effect Audio prototype cable. That cable eventually became EA’s ‘Origin’ cable and I used the prototype until it broke, had it repaired by a friend and used it again until it broke. After that I moved on to Effect Audio’s iconic Ares II, which I bought as soon as I was able to get it in the UK (where I was living at the time). It was in fact the very first sold through EA’s UK distributor. I ended up with several Ares II, one balanced, one SE and one 8-wire, and it was always the first cable I would recommend people look at when searching for a premium aftermarket cable.
So now when trying these prototype cables, they remind me of that old prototype I started out with and the iconic nature of Effect Audio’s premium cables such as Ares II and Eros II. I am jumping to conclusions here a bit because I don’t really know the price point, but I suspect that prototypes 37 and 38 are spiritual successors to those cables.
Why did I reach that conclusion? First of all, prototype 38 feels in every way like an improved Ares II. I feel it is more balanced and more refined than Ares II, yet feels like it has the same qualities that made Ares II such a versatile cable. The 38 has an organic feel with a slight touch of warmth and a lovely bit of sparkle, while maintaining excellent clarity and airiness. I used the 38 with my Empire Ears Phantom, which came stock with Ares II, and it is a wonderful pairing. The 38 maintains everything I love about the Phantom, yet improves upon this with a larger stage, better clarity and a bit more air. There is still something enveloping about the Phantom/38 pairing and it gives a sense of intimacy with vocals quite close.
By comparison I found that the 37 feels slightly cooler with a touch leaner note size. The bass is tighter and seems to extend deeper, giving an articulate kick while leaving the midrange free to open up a bit more. Vocals sound less intimate, but there is at the same time something seductive about them. I honestly don’t know yet which I prefer, but I love both with my Phantom. However, I found that the 37 paired exceptionally well with the 64 Audio U18s (Apex = Mx). The 38 has a bit of sparkle and paired with the U18s you get a tiny hint of bite in the treble. Nothing offensive mind, but when switching to the 37 I found that while it is cooler compared to the 38 and has a bigger stage, more air and feels more revealing, the treble is superbly smooth. The 37 with the U18s results is such a high performing, yet utterly fatigue free pairing, that it has become my favourite for listening to at the moment. I suspect that only a cable as smooth as the Chiron could tempt me away from this pairing.
In all, I am very impressed with the prototypes 37 and 38. They offer excellent performance and their build quality is (as always) outstanding. I also love the ergonomics, despite both being a bit thicker than the Ares II, and the 37 a little thicker than the 38.
*All listening was done with the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch and Shanling M8.
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