Aristotle and Euclid
Well was able to finally put some quality time with the Aristotle and Euclid and do some back-to-back listening with these 2 cables, the Plussound Coaxial Copper+ and Hybrid+ (don't own the Silver+) and Eletech's Ode To Laura (OTL) and Sonnet of Adam (SoA)
Apologies up front for the length of this write up but wanted to be complete as I could.
For those who want just the summary, yes I think they are a worthy addition to anyone's collection of cables and could be their daily drivers.
Better than OTL or SoA - For that you have to read on.....
I showed the unboxing pics earlier so will just summarize that unboxing both Euclid and Aristotle (both School of Athens series) was just as enjoyable and oozed quality that I got from unboxing the OTL and SoA (Parnassus Series cables)
We've come to expect the experience from a Parnassus Series cable from Eric/Eletech, it's nice to see that same level of quality and thought has gone into the School of Athens series cables.
The cables themselves are presented with the same type of cases as the Parnassus and sold as options like the Calvary case. The colors match the theme of each cable.
TOP NOTCH experience! Kudo's Eletech team!
both cables are a departure from the past cables Eletech has created, not only in its wire size (18 AWG) but in its construction internally (A coaxial/triaxial design)
Though large in diameter the cables were still very supple, but you do become aware of them hanging from your ears if you move your head quickly, as while they will settle in nicely behind your ear the size if you move your head too quickly will tend to let them drag down and off. But this is a nit-pic as it was better than when I've tried larger diameter cables from others like Plussound (their new XL line) or ones another head-fier let me try from Effect Audio (their Code series) but even these were not bad, they are all just "different" than what we have become accustomed to with smaller diameter braided wire presentations.
The Euclid and Aristotle have a nice pre shaped ear hook bend without any wires or hard plastic molding which helped with the comfort, and definitely helped to keep the cables where they should be.
At the risk of launching the war of burn-in or not, I do belive in it, as my own ears (not brain burn in) has told me it makes a difference as I don't sneak listens as they go through the burn in process. I use the same equipment I use for intiial listen with the same tracks that I'm really familar with, so no its not brain burn in, as I know what I should be hearing and its different out of the box vs. some time on the cables.
Both received just over 100 hrs of burn in before I even picked them up again to listen and evaluate, and I think the Euclid could use another 20-40 hours of burn in to be honest.
When I purchased my Eletech Inferno from the Dante Series, for a good copper cable it needed more than the std 50-75 hour burn in I was use to giving a copper based cable. It was happier with 100+ hours.
When I purchased my Eletech Purgatorio, Eric himself suggested more than 100 hours. They came into their own right around the 140hr- 150hr. mark. Given the larger diameter of the Euclid, I'm thinking it needs another 20-30 hours of burn in which I will do this weekend to see if there are additional changes.
Even with the larger diameter cable the Aristotle seems to be fine with the 100 hours and the additional time I've put on them for listening I have not heard dramatic changes. On the other hand the Euclid is continuing to evolve as I put more time on them with the listening I did, reenforcing my thought it needs more time.
And while I do own a number of Eletech's cables now. I guess I've become a collector of Eletech cables. Not because I've become a fan boy, but mostly because they give me sound signatures I seek from my audio gear, give me the soundstage width and depth I seek, and have destroyed my previous accepted norms of 8 wire cables are better than 4 wire, and use of materials to get the sound I want. (OTL and Inferno being examples of what a good copper cable can do vs. more expensive/exotic materials without the engineering behind them - all IMO but right now the Eletech cables give me that sound I seek, so sticking with them for now)
I used the same (and to me very under rated/underappreciated) Plussound Allegro IEM's (A tribrid 12 driver IEM using dual 10mm Dynamic Drivers for lows, 6 BA's in dual configs for the low mids, mids and high mids, and quad 2nd gen EST drivers with energizers for the highs and ultra highs all fed via a 6 way cross-over and all wired internally with UP-OCC copper 6n internal wiring from Plussound)
No these are NOT the IEM's most use to evaluate HW and cables, but to date the Allegro's to me are great in that they are VERY clear, offer a wide stage but more importantly a very neutral platform that highlights the changes to any part of the audio chain brings to the game. Be it a different DAP setting (A or AB Amp, SS or Tube Timbre, low or high power settings) to Source Material (Different bit rate/depth media files) to yes cable builds and materials. making a change becomes quickly and uniquely apparent with these IEM's and until I can find another that does the same, or offers me more clarity, or even more FUN, these will stay in my arsenal, as it is about the sound for me, and these allow me to change things to see what they will do for me. (Emphasis there on ME. We are ALL different in the sound signature we are chasing, and we ALL hear differently and what sounds great for some might not for others. I like to state no one is right, and no one is wrong, as we are all individuals and what is great about this hobby is it accommodates those differences!, So I normally wait to say all I write is IMO and YMMV as my summary line, but will do it here as it seems an opportune time to do so).
All of the critical listening was done via both a Cayin N30LE Amber Pearl (my daily driver dap) and a Cayin N7 (since its available to all as the N30LE's were limited and I was damn lucky I was able to get one)
A mix of different bit rate/bit depth 16 and 24 bit FLAC files and high bit rate MP3 files were used and the same files were used on both daps. I'm starting to listen to the same IEM/Cable combo's through my desktop tube amp, but those thoughts are NOT in this write up, for simplicity and consistency's sake
Ok so how do the School of Athens cables sound?
Aristotle
The steps I went through was start with the Plussound Copper+, then put on the Aristotle, then move to OTL, using the same play list from each player sequentially, take notes then rinse and repeat for the other player, then compare notes.
I think I was the first person to let Eric listen to the Plussound Copper+ at CanJam 2 years ago. The gentleman Eric is, he immediately had good things to say about the cable, that he heard some very clear and accurate highs, and a good bass note.
And yes this is what I hear from the Copper Plus. but even with Tube Timbre from the N30LE, it has more of a SS state timbe to it, very clear accurate and precise
Switching to the Aristotle, I was immediately met with a much fuller sound/stage, and wider stage than the Copper+. Where the Copper Plus might have had an edge (and a slight one) in accuracy, it was at the expense of musicality. The Aristotle was much more engaging. Much more fun to listen to, and it had accuracy when you stopped to listen for it, but it this is one of those times you forget about using music to listen to your gear (IE listening for the small items you want to hear) and just stop and use the gear you have to listen to music. VERY wide and deep stage. Lots of space around the instruments and vocalists, and it all just meshed together in the most pleasing way. Warm and inviting and as many expect from a copper cable, lots of bass. the bass reached down with lots of sub bas rumble. The mids came forward with Aristotle, which probably gave that grand full stage. They were never in your face but was the most forward of the 3 copper cables. The highs had a nice sound, never to bright, and very balanced, but I'd give Copper+ and OTL the nod here for highs. Compared to the Euclid, this was as expected the warmer of the 2 cables, but I expected it to have a much slower relaxed pace. While it wasn't the Euclid's pace, it was definitely pacier than the Copper+, and to me even OTL. This is a different cable for Eletech as it even is much different than Socrates/Soc 8 from memory, which to me was a surprisingly good cable, I just no longer own one (someone I knew had to have it and got me to sell them mine)
Then it was listen to OTL. Here I was VERY surprised. OTL is NO slouch of a cable, It brings a new level of clarity to copper, extends the highs and adds sparkle while delivering what copper is known for in the bass/mid bass. It also has good pace to it. When I tried it with a friends VE10's it was the best pairing I heard, better than the stock cable or even SoA.
But for this test the Aristotle seemed to be fuller, and pacier than OTL. It took really listening to hear that OTL was much more accurate, more layered and you got to hear/feel the air around individual instruments or hear the breaths of vocalists. Not that Aristotle didn't do this, OTL just did it better.
But Artistotle IMO bested OTL in sub bass reach and rumble ad the quantity of the bass. It also had more upfront mids, which gave it the feel of being a pacier cable but in the end, their pace was the same. I think the more forward mids of Aristotle gave that impression on pace.
Each cable was good in its own right, but the Aristotle was more FUN to listen to and as I mentioned it made me stop analyzing and just listen to the music which forced me to go back and relisten to be critical of what I was hearing. It was just a FUN cable to use.
Euclid
I did not have the abilty to try 3 silver only cables here but had to use what I had on hand which has silver as a base to evaluate the Euclid, but I've had people ask how does it stack up to Sonnet of Adam, so I guess its a valid excersice.
I went through similar steps like Aristotle, but as I did not have the Silver+ from Plussound, I used the Hybrid Plus (half Plussound's Silver+ and half its Copper+ in its build) but it is again a coaxial cable in design, then moved to the Euclid and ended with Sonnet of Adam (SoA)
The Hybrid+ added what silver will do, tighten/clean up the bass and extend the highs. This is what I heard vs the Copper+. While the highs with Copper+ were more clear/accurate, the Silver+ part of the cables seemed to extend the highs more, and added a little sparkle without being sibilant. It did add more pace to the cable, but it did not do much to bring the mids forward vs the Copper+. It is a good cable though
Switching to the Euclid, I was half expecting that large stage the Aristotle immediately presented and was surprised it did not. (though as I put time on the Euclid, it seemed to present better but nothing close to the Aristotle)
What it did do though was increase the clarity, tightened the bass and it was clear clean and did add some additional sub bass rumble vs the Hybrid+, but it did not dig down as deep as the Aristotle did. (again surprising but this too is starting to show with more time on the cable). It did bring the mids more forward but not as much as the Aristotle. It presented a VERY wide and deep stage to me, and now it provided more air around the instruments, and I could start pin pointing where on the stage each sound was coming from. Accuracy and clarity are the words I would give Euclid. It extended the highs much more than Aristotle, and as I mentioned with the initial listen it bordered on sibilant. With the 100 hours it never went there. It was clear clean accurate and never fatiguing. I usually expect more pace out of a silver cable and this did present more pace than the Hybrid+ from Plussound, but and the Suprise to me, Aristotle seemed to have more pace, but I'm coming to the conclusion this is because of the fuller stage of sound giving it that impression. The Euclid has a nice stage, but it claim to fame is it is a much more accurate and resolving cable. As mentioned earlier the Aritotle I stopped using Music to listen to my gear, and used the gear to listen to the music. With Euclid I started again using the music to listen for changes, to what I was hearing , and then had to go back and just listen to the music. Opposite of what I found I did with the Aristotle
This is why I responded to someone asking if there is room for both cables in your collection with A "YES" as they really do different things and are complementary to each other
But as I started off saying above, the Euclid shows signs with some more burn in time, it might become that cable that will make me listen to the music not my gear.
Then I changed to Sonnet of Adam (SoA). Sorry to those who hoped it might, but NO the Euclid is NOT going to displace the SoA
To my ears Sonnet of Adam adds pace, air, stage, clarity but more importantly musicality to the IEM's I've put this cable on. It has a very wide stage, has accuracy, if I want to stop and dissect the music into what I'm hearing where and when I can, but it lulls one into just listening and enjoying Music the same way Aristotle did but with a LOT more clarity and accuracy and smoothness. I know its NOT a fair comparison due to the materials and make up of SoA vs. Euclid, but it highlighted the Euclid is a worthy cable no matter the price, and a nice cable for someone who does NOT want to step into the SoA price category.
Just be warned Euclid will need a long burn in and may continue to evolve into the 200hr mark for some. If you get this cable, patience will be the order of the day, as there is just no rushing it to be the great cable it can be.
Both cables did NOT need to have a lot of power pushed through them to sound good. For the N30LE where I have the P+ power range I did not use it
I actually preferred both cables with med gain also. But I think what power and gain you use will be IEM dependent and they seem to both be flexible enough to not show any bad traits regardless of power or gain setting
The Aristotle was the surprise here for me, as while I enjoy good copper cables, I seem to enjoy silver cables more, and before listening was sure it would be the Euclid I'd be reaching for.
Perhaps this is why it surprised me of the 6 cables used, SoA was my first choice, but the surprise for me is Aristotle edged out OTL for the 2nd spot, and OTL was a close 3rd. IF I were looking for accuracy or clarity though it would be OTL 2nd. Euclid the way it is now, is a close 4th (you could throw a blanket over the 2nd, 3rd and 4th choices, it was VERY Close.)
As I write this I've got the Aristotle on the Allegro's and while not the SoA in the way it sounds, it is very pleasing to listen to, and is bringing a smile to my face, and every so often I just stop typing and listen. That says a lot about the cable and really about the entire School of Athens line with the Euclid starting to show promise there also as more hours are put on it.
I've mentioned this above, but I got the saying from another Head-Fier's signature, where he had written: "Audiophile, a person who uses music to listen to his audio gear..."
Both of these cables break that mold, (yes even Euclid got me to do this) and I think Eletech has a great winning base to build on for future School of Athens and maybe even next gen Parnassus cables from. But Eletech since the orignial Illiad has continued to surprise us in this hobby and can't wait to see what else Eric will release this 5th year of Eletech!
IF you've made it this far, THANK YOU for reading, and as I always like to close all the above is IMO and YMMV
I'm tired.
And usually, you will find the same keyboard warriors who don't care or don't believe in cables, making their sarcastic remarks. Nothing has changed in years, it always has been like that. If you want to get real impressions from real users, you come to dedicated threads like this one where you can have a more civilized discussion.
