EU Cables Tour - Impressions
Apologies if there's a better place to put this; I'll move it if required.
First of all, thanks to
@mvvRAZ and
@Eric Chong from Eletech for allowing these units out on a European Tour.
My position at the moment is that, after being on the Thummim tour, I had to pull out all the stops to snag me a pair! I succeeded but at the cost of having to sell some other gear and also the Plato cable that comes as stock! So, I am effectively at status 'in between' DAP and cable. My IEM setup is thus currently Thummim -> EA AresII -> Lotoo PAW S1. Simple but more than effective whilst I rebuild!
So, using the EA AresII as a baseline (with the Thummim), I find it very mid forward, detailed, fairly narrow/shallow staging and imaging and depth. It can become a bit fatiguing in the set up used for testing. It's by no means bad (it would have to be to seriously hobble the Thummim), in fact it's a solid upgrade vs many stock cables.
Right then.....
Fortitude
Build - light, soft rubbery feel, quality hardware. I think this is perhaps pitched more at the level of EA ErosII rather than AresII. Regardless, off the bat, this is a step forward from the AresII. Warmer, richer with more detail and wider staging. More W shaped sig; nice sub bass quantity, lacking detail but not one note. Treble is just right. This makes the Thummim start to sound, well..... Thummim like!
Prudence
For what is $50 price increase, the Prudence, to my ears, is a big step up from Fortitude and it's the first of the Electech range that starts to help the Thummim cut loose of any shackles that lesser cables might impose. It's nicely balanced, tonality wise. As the Thummim review unit I had only had Prudence available, this was my first introduction to both MMR and Eletech. It was enough for me to take the leap into being a Thummim owner! I'm a fan of this one.
Socrates
This has more in common with the Fortitude, more mid forward (especially uppers), so it can sound a bit shouty. Whilst it improves on the technicalities of the Fortitude, it seems a slight mistep backward (for me), unless you're a mids mega fan. I'm not a big fan of the black, stiff rubberised coating below and above the splitter. I'd sum this one up as Fortitude on steroids.
Plato.
Now as the stock Thummim cable I was super keen to hear this one! As the cable chosen to be stock with the Thummim, you'd expect there to be good synergy and there certainly is (and for the price point we're dealing with here, you'd hope so!). The tonality introduced with the Prudence is built on here with more bells, whistles and yes, steroids. Lots of steroids! This is level full Thummim 5. It's the technicalities here that really cut loose, imaging and depth open up before you (and all around you for that matter). Detailing takes a leap forward, taking separation and layering along for the ride. Build quality again is a step up; feel and pliability are a pleasure
Iliad
This may come as no surprise but guess what.....yup, the Iliad is another step up. It inherits all the characteristics of its monocrystal silver predecessor (Plato), throws in palladium plating and a splash of gold-silver alloy and knocks it out of the park! If this cable was a friend, you'd be having a safely distanced chat (for fear of a 'roid rage' induced mauling), about maybe, just maybe thinking about cutting down on the 'roids! It's an expensive power up this one but you'd be in for the long haul with it so think of it as an investment!
If I were to rank these cables based on my own preferences, I'd go for (in reverse order):
- Fortitude
- Socrates
I'm going to pair these together as Copper based kin. If you have an upper 'budget' or mid tier IEM you'd like to beef up with a little more warmth, detailed mids and slightly better technicalities. Something that's all wrapped up in a solid build, then you could do worse than try the Fortitude. Same scenario but where you may want that same tonality but are seeking to eek out more technical performance from your IEMs, then the Socrates could be for you. Hand on heart, the build, aesthetics and cost of the Socrates means its just not for me.
Next up
- Prudence
Prudence stands on it's own to me; it takes the plus points of the above cables and, as the first in the range to feature silver in it's construct (it's an SPC build), to my ears it takes a noticeable leap forward. It's a real sweetspot in the range for me, equally at home in helping you get the most out of your 'every day carry' as it is ensuring you get the most out of your 'at home only' IEMs! It's a great bridging point between the copper based and silver based cables in the Eletech Range.
Finally:
- Plato
- Iliad
First things first, if you're not a big believer in cables, save your money. If you can though, give these two cables a demo. As part of that demo, obviously where possible, use your own setup and same reference sections of the same reference tracks and I'd genuinely be surprised if you didn't quite quickly start to pick up on the performance upgrade that these cables provide. Whether it's worth enough to you to warrant the expense, only you can decide. Plato, to me is an exceptional cable, Iliad is just ridiculous!
