DaveStarWalker
Headphoneus Supremus
Sound and more important, musical perfection:
Effect Audio cables thread
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Can anyone compare the expensive EA cables with the more affordable ones on aliexpress from $200 to $800?
Generally speaking, EA is a reliable brand with known customer service and cachet. So is Penon, whose lofi website belllies it's high Fi products. Then below that, you get NiceHCK, which is cheaper, and more hit or miss. For me, a lot more his than misses. I have cables from all and all are competent makers.
Thanks, but I was more interested in the comparison in terms of sound quality. For example, $200 silver compared to $1000-2000 EA silver? Or is the EA gold real and the Chinese cables fake gold that sounds worse?
GiullianSN
Headphoneus Supremus
I loved these! damn, they look really nice...even for people outside the hobby. I am patch guy, but these Pins are a fun touch.Hey there, I just received these badges a few minutes ago that I didn't know aboutand I always like surprises:
DaveStarWalker
Headphoneus Supremus
Frankly… I have had a lunashop pure gold plated silver cable (8 wires), a long time ago, 2 pins, for my late Kaiser Encore's
On paper it was great, but in reality it wasn't : no bass at all for instance...
Same "recipe" (Litz 6 ; not mentioned for the Lunashops abovementioned, if it was a litz structure) with a Plussound GPS to name it, and the results where... very different and... far more better : a smooth cable, with plenty of bass... And just perfect with the Encore's...
With my Aure Ringo's, the stock cable was a pure copper cable 4w... And a real crap. Mudded and muddled sound, bad in a word. A shame. It was obviously a "budget cable" (finition, feel and touch, etc ).
I have tried, fortuitously, an Ares S 8w, a few mouths ago : best cable so far I have listened to with my Ringo's... (And it wasn't "just" a story of "highest price" Vs a "cheaper priced cable" : a far more priced product for instance... an Effect Audio cable, like the 51, wasn't that good with the same earphones pair : you must think about synergies...).
I have had the opportunity to get an Ares S Founders Edition (rare and exotic version of the regular Ares S 8w): it became my endgame cable with these earphones.
Materials matter, yes. Real purity yes too, but more important type of impurities.
And far more important I think, the different types of wires geometry are the real key, to achieve the best sound results. It is not just to use a litz type 6 vs a type 4 wire construction or something, for instance. It is a far more complex question...
Experience is speaking here.
So, no general rules, but...
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DaveStarWalker
Headphoneus Supremus
This being said, Cema makes very good cables.
If the look and ergonomics don't makes you run, the Tianwaitian is an excellent choice for instance.
But by no means it is a Code 51 like, as I have read it.
No miracle out there...
As @emdeevee has already said, it is a matter and hit or miss products ... Hit. Miss. This is the rule.
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Agreed, no miracles! But there are some great cables available for less than a months rent!!This being said, Cema makes very good cables.
If the look and ergonomics don't makes you run, the Tianwaitian is an excellent choice for instance.
But by no means it is a Code 51 like, as I have read it.
No miracle out there...
As @emdeevee has already said, it is a matter and hit or miss products ... Hit. Miss. This is the rule.
Shawnb
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A lot more then sound quality goes into EA's price compared to some random Chinese cable maker.
dududuckling
100+ Head-Fier
If I'm on a budget and in need of a cable, but unsure of the synergies, I'd go with one or all of EA A.C.E series. You can even use it as baseline reference to find out which type works best for your IEMs before plunging in the deep end and risk sounding crappy.
I've been working with the Ares and Cadmus 8w versions for a few months now and both cables have found homes in my collection. They are similar in look and feel, except for color and Ares is a bit more stiff and difficult than Cadmus owing to all that copper. Remember that these are very thick cables and not what I'd consider extremely portable, at least compared to most other cables I have. I have not tried the 4w versions to compare, but I imagine they're great, too, maybe a little less weighty literally and figuratively, as 8w does bring a wall of sound.
They both also do pretty much what you'd expect. The Ares is an excellent copper cable bringing heavy note weight and plenty of bass (but not overwhelming) but giving an overall balanced, ungimicky sound. If your stock cable was copper as so many are, this is an interesting way to test against them to see if you buy the cable myth (I clearly do). Ares' thick note weight and high detail resolution can make certain pairings magical, and others not so much.
The Cadmus, a silver plated copper cable, is likely the more useful of the pair both for ergonomics (it's softer and more pliable than Ares) and ease of matching. It sounds great with almost everything in my collection. Cadmus note weight seems a bit thinner than Ares, but still very rich and full. A more pronounced midrange to my ears, more air and wider stage made Cadmus easier to roll and harder to figure out which it was best for since it sounded great on most.
I'm the end, I've got Ares on my AüR Neon Pro and Cadmus on my CA FIBAE 5 and the pairings are magical. NP (bass switch off) sounds beautifully natural with Ares across the FR, and certainly improves over the stock cable. Same with F5 and Cadmus, where F5 excelled in the widest stage with superb SQ.
While not exactly cheap, they're certainly among EAs lower priced but high end cables. Build quality is top notch: the hardware, plugs, all of it, are a great experience when treading into the world of aftermarket cables. You can also get these with all of the EA terminations, like con-X.
They may be most likely to stay home, but they are also staying in my collection!
Thanks to Jordon at EA for helping me choose these cables and making the buying experience so easy!
They both also do pretty much what you'd expect. The Ares is an excellent copper cable bringing heavy note weight and plenty of bass (but not overwhelming) but giving an overall balanced, ungimicky sound. If your stock cable was copper as so many are, this is an interesting way to test against them to see if you buy the cable myth (I clearly do). Ares' thick note weight and high detail resolution can make certain pairings magical, and others not so much.
The Cadmus, a silver plated copper cable, is likely the more useful of the pair both for ergonomics (it's softer and more pliable than Ares) and ease of matching. It sounds great with almost everything in my collection. Cadmus note weight seems a bit thinner than Ares, but still very rich and full. A more pronounced midrange to my ears, more air and wider stage made Cadmus easier to roll and harder to figure out which it was best for since it sounded great on most.
I'm the end, I've got Ares on my AüR Neon Pro and Cadmus on my CA FIBAE 5 and the pairings are magical. NP (bass switch off) sounds beautifully natural with Ares across the FR, and certainly improves over the stock cable. Same with F5 and Cadmus, where F5 excelled in the widest stage with superb SQ.
While not exactly cheap, they're certainly among EAs lower priced but high end cables. Build quality is top notch: the hardware, plugs, all of it, are a great experience when treading into the world of aftermarket cables. You can also get these with all of the EA terminations, like con-X.
They may be most likely to stay home, but they are also staying in my collection!
Thanks to Jordon at EA for helping me choose these cables and making the buying experience so easy!
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Hello friends! 
Effect Audio will be exhibiting at Tokyo PotaFes this weekend. If you guys happen to be around the area, do pop by and say Hi! We will be at booth B1-51 
On a side note, I think these 2 are meant to be together, don't you think? Should I hook them up together?
- Jordon
Effect Audio will be exhibiting at Tokyo PotaFes this weekend. If you guys happen to be around the area, do pop by and say Hi! We will be at booth B1-51 On a side note, I think these 2 are meant to be together, don't you think? Should I hook them up together?
- Jordon
Hello friends!
On a side note, I think these 2 are meant to be together, don't you think? Should I hook them up together?
- Jordon
Visually they're meant to be together, but Cleo II OCTA is *chef's kiss* with RN6
Now if there was a "Night Edition" Cleo II OCTA
GiullianSN
Headphoneus Supremus
Definitely made for each other, should promote bundle deals with dealers.Hello friends!
On a side note, I think these 2 are meant to be together, don't you think? Should I hook them up together?
- Jordon
Curious to see/read/hear how these two goes together. because by the looks, they couldn't match more.
But don't forget Cleo is the queen of all.
Booth B1-51...clearly a homage to Code 51
Have fun in the show there guys.
