Eletech Cables Official Impressions & Discussions Thread
- Thread starter Wyville
- Start date
Always loved reading your reviews @gLer , I agree mostly with your thoughts and Sonnet Of Adam has been growing on me more and more among my collection of cables! I think it's one of Eletech's most impressive one till date and reminds me a little of the Iliad of the past
Thanks for the beautiful piece of review! Loved the in-depth exploration and the amazing photography!
Heheh we did take some reference from Iliad's success, we've been egged on to explore a Iliad v2 and while we're still not there yet, the Sonnet Of Adam did have some of our thoughts of how the Iliad v2 would be
NJoyzAudio
100+ Head-Fier
Writing today as I purchased both the Eletech Purgatorio and Inferno cables for my Meze Elite over the ear headphones and wanted to share my impressions of both.
All I am about to write below is IMO, and as always YMMV
I’m not a paid reviewer, just someone who enjoys his audio, and like all of us here on Head-Fi is chasing their ideal sound signature from their audio gear (sources, cables, interconnects, DACs/DAPs, Amp, and monitors) and like you pay for my gear, and have to watch a budget. Just wanted to state this as recently someone suggested I was being paid for my write ups. Nope not the case.
I write because if it helps one person save a little and get to the sound signature they want, then I’m glad.
Can Jam So CA this past Sept was when I finally decided to pull the trigger and update my over the ear headphones and bought the Meze Elite. There were a lot of other “Over The Ear” headphones I was looking at and demo’ing this past year but kept coming back to the Meze’s and after having the ability to A/B demo all of my choices again at Can Jam pulled the trigger and bought the Elites
But similarly to when I look to buy IEM’s I was looking for a base sound I liked as I knew I could get the final sound I wanted via a cable change.
I know there are those here on Head-fi that do NOT believe a cable change will affect the overall sound and at the risk of reigniting the religious war cable discussions (and burn-in) create will just state I do believe there is a difference, but as other have stated here in Head-Fi I also believe a cable is NOT going to miraculously change an overly dark monitor to balanced or one that is shrill to calm, but if its close to what you want, it will change to a point it fine tunes the sound and might become the sound signature you want.
This is why I chose the Elites (along with overall comfort! – another discussion entirely)
Now which cable. I’ve always received great advice from people like Christian at Plussound and Eric at Eletech. As I already own a Inferno for another/older over the ear headphone and have had a great experience with it, and knowing Eric was showing the Purgatorio at Can Jam went and listened with my older over the ears, and liked what I heard and ordered one, as well as another Inferno as I thought (and found it to be true) there is room for both and a time and place both work their best, and my older inferno had a different connector keeping me from using it on the Elites.
This setup the ideal back to back test and the reason I’m writing today.
As from my initial listen when they arrived and taking some preliminary notes prior to running burn in (and not cheating by sneaking a listen during burn in as to eliminate brain burn in) and then listening again after burn in was completed, I’ve heard differences and can definitely state Eletech’s Inferno and Purgatorio are 2 cables that definitely benefit from lengthy burn in. They sound very different once the cable is burned in. IF you have either of these cables and are hearing something different than what I write and have less time on them, wait as with some time on the cable they will change.
Eric himself recommended for the Inferno at least 150 hours, and for my previous Inferno, found this to be true and on the previous cable, really heard changes up to the 170 hour mark. The new Inferno got 170hrs+ of burn in time.
The Purgatorio Eric suggested between 170 and if possible more. I put about 192 hours of time on it (8 days of constant music playing on it) and was probably the right amount of time, as having put another 30-40 hours of critical listening on the cable it has not changed from that time, but is quite a bit different than when it first arrived. Eric himself said he was looking at offering a burn in service and I saw many comment that they would definitely buy that service to any order, and I include myself in that group of commentors. The delay in posting this was a combination of getting the burn in time done, as well as the pesky thing called “my day job” that usually interferes with audio time.
So how do they sound? Where do they differ?
They both do some amazing things with the sound.
Both have a great balance of lows to the mids/highs Nothing seemed out of place.
Both have great sound stage left to right, very wide and clean. Both have great accuracy with instrument placement front to back is good also, but the Purgatorio has a slight advantage
For me, the Purgatorio has a slightly wider sound stage than the Inferno.
Both have excellent sound stage height and depth, but the Pergatorio seems to have a slight advantage over the Inferno here.
The Inferno as expected being all copper is a little warmer, a little more relaxed in its sound and an easy listen. Very inviting, clear clean, with good bass and sub bass and separation into the mid bass. Mids are where I hear this cable being a little more relaxed. They are not recessed just not upfront or in your face. The highs have a nice extension and clarity, and don’t leave anything wanting. For the highs, the Inferno does what the Ode To Laura does for IEM’s and brings a nice clarity and pop to the highs.
The Inferno with Jazz or Classical music seems to be right at home, but it is not shy to play faster rock, more modern club music or R&B.
It is a great cable, and with my desktop tube amp as well as my portable C9 amp it delivers a sound that is just relaxing to sit back and listen to.
The Purgatorio is NOT typically what people expect for an all silver cable, in that it offers a wide range of sound from lows to highs not emphasizing one over the other.
Unlike the stereotype for silver cables, It does NOT immediately head to sizzling highs that boarder on sibilant at the expense of the lows. Instead it is a very balanced sounding cable.
As with other properly built silver cables I own, it adds to and enhances the bass as much as it extends the treble/highs out (which the Purgatorio does well).
Where it really differs from the Inferno, is the cable is pacier/has faster pace. It will add some speed and additional accuracy to your music via how wide the soundstage is and the accurate sound placement. Where the Inferno is relaxed with good sound placement on stage, the Purgatorio is laser accurate. You know exactly where on the stage/recording room floor each instrument and vocalist is. Again while the Inferno offers good air around the instrument/vocalist, its not the pinpoint accuracy of the Purgatorio, which in turn makes the Inferno feel more relaxed, more blended. The Pugatorio with is wider stage and deeper stage and accuracy, offers more air around each performer and more clarity. You hear little nuances like pluck of stings on the guitar. Add the extension to the highs and great control of bass/sub bass and added clarity and you feel like the music has better pace to it. It is not a sterile cold cable either, but it is not the relaxing warmth of the Inferno.
Live performances, Rock, heavy club music or Electronic heavy R&B will be right at home on the Purgatorio, but Jazz (any type) and Large orchestra classical music will also benefit from the Purgatorio.
But because of this laser/pinpoint accuracy, the Purgatorio is less forgiving of poorer/lesser recordings, and is much more source sensitive. Example, I recently upgraded the Interconnects between my R2R standalone DAC and my desktop Tube amp from an older 5n silver single strand size woven IC technology to a newer multistrand size 6n silver IC. Before doing this I felt the Inferno was better sounding, but with the change the Purgatorio responded, and I now find myself putting the Purgatorio on the Elite’s were previously I preferred the Inferno. With the right chain of components, the Purgatorio will reward you with a very detailed, lush and all enveloping sound.
The Inferno as some describe NOS Mullard tubes in various AMP forums, is like putting on a nice jacket on a cold day. Warm, Inviting, comfortable and relaxed.
When I bought my Elites, Meze included the “upgrade” 8 wire OCC SPC braided cable with copper connectors
From my memory vs the old stock stranded OFC copper cable that use to ship with the Elites there was a quite a bit of sound improvement from the Meze Upgrade cable. For many this change alone will be enough, and will stop their journey there. So my comparison below is from the upgrade cable NOT the stock black plastic OFC copper cable.
The inferno was an order of magnitude better in overall sound quality than the Meze Upgrade SPC cable, and added a wider soundstage to the Elite’s already great soundstage width, but also added more depth and extension of the highs and more sub bass rumble and overall tigher bass over the Meze upgrade cable.
It is a noticeable and worthwhile upgrade IMO.
The Purgatorio totally destroys the Meze Upgrade SPC cable as to sound quality. It extends out the highs, tightens the base, adds more sub bass rumble, cleans up the mids, and adds to the overall enjoyment of the Meze Elite’s
At Can Jam I was able to listen to the Elite with the Brise Audio Shirogane cable attached at Musicteck’s table
While it too was a great upgrade vs. the stock Meze Cable, I do not know how much run time was on that cable which I find with Silver cables is the difference between OK sound and hearing the cables full potential so will have to refrain from passing judgment, but Andrew at Musicteck assured me the Meze with the Purgatorio would be a similar upgrade so will just say the 2 might be close, except the Shirogane is a much more expensive cable.
I’ve heard the Meze Elite with an upgraded Lavricable Ultimate cable installed (that the shop I listened to it at assured me it had over 100hours of run time on as recommended by Lavricable) and if memory serves me correctly it was a good upgrade, but not one that grabbed me and made me want to go and get that cable immediately. Unfortunately I have not been able to do an A/B directly so please take this with a grain of salt.
Apologies this is not the best A/B write up and I can only give you the reader an A/B comparison of the 2 Eletech cables against the Meze Upgrade cable, but I hope this information helps someone out there on the fence between the 2 cables.
I think Eric/Eletech’s cable design internally using the multisize stranding technology internally along with the Mesh copper or Mesh silver shielding and other parts of his builds in these cables is the source of the differences I’ve heard vs similarly priced cables.
I’ll just say you cannot go wrong with either cable, as both are an improvement over what I have listened to past and present on the Meze Elite
And as always what I wrote above is IMO, and YMMV
Thanks for reading!
Elite and Meze Upgrade SPC cable
Purgatorio and Inferno with 4.4mm and Mini 4 Pin XLR
Meze Elite with Inferno installed
Meze Elite with Purgatorio installed
All I am about to write below is IMO, and as always YMMV
I’m not a paid reviewer, just someone who enjoys his audio, and like all of us here on Head-Fi is chasing their ideal sound signature from their audio gear (sources, cables, interconnects, DACs/DAPs, Amp, and monitors) and like you pay for my gear, and have to watch a budget. Just wanted to state this as recently someone suggested I was being paid for my write ups. Nope not the case.
I write because if it helps one person save a little and get to the sound signature they want, then I’m glad.
Can Jam So CA this past Sept was when I finally decided to pull the trigger and update my over the ear headphones and bought the Meze Elite. There were a lot of other “Over The Ear” headphones I was looking at and demo’ing this past year but kept coming back to the Meze’s and after having the ability to A/B demo all of my choices again at Can Jam pulled the trigger and bought the Elites
But similarly to when I look to buy IEM’s I was looking for a base sound I liked as I knew I could get the final sound I wanted via a cable change.
I know there are those here on Head-fi that do NOT believe a cable change will affect the overall sound and at the risk of reigniting the religious war cable discussions (and burn-in) create will just state I do believe there is a difference, but as other have stated here in Head-Fi I also believe a cable is NOT going to miraculously change an overly dark monitor to balanced or one that is shrill to calm, but if its close to what you want, it will change to a point it fine tunes the sound and might become the sound signature you want.
This is why I chose the Elites (along with overall comfort! – another discussion entirely)
Now which cable. I’ve always received great advice from people like Christian at Plussound and Eric at Eletech. As I already own a Inferno for another/older over the ear headphone and have had a great experience with it, and knowing Eric was showing the Purgatorio at Can Jam went and listened with my older over the ears, and liked what I heard and ordered one, as well as another Inferno as I thought (and found it to be true) there is room for both and a time and place both work their best, and my older inferno had a different connector keeping me from using it on the Elites.
This setup the ideal back to back test and the reason I’m writing today.
As from my initial listen when they arrived and taking some preliminary notes prior to running burn in (and not cheating by sneaking a listen during burn in as to eliminate brain burn in) and then listening again after burn in was completed, I’ve heard differences and can definitely state Eletech’s Inferno and Purgatorio are 2 cables that definitely benefit from lengthy burn in. They sound very different once the cable is burned in. IF you have either of these cables and are hearing something different than what I write and have less time on them, wait as with some time on the cable they will change.
Eric himself recommended for the Inferno at least 150 hours, and for my previous Inferno, found this to be true and on the previous cable, really heard changes up to the 170 hour mark. The new Inferno got 170hrs+ of burn in time.
The Purgatorio Eric suggested between 170 and if possible more. I put about 192 hours of time on it (8 days of constant music playing on it) and was probably the right amount of time, as having put another 30-40 hours of critical listening on the cable it has not changed from that time, but is quite a bit different than when it first arrived. Eric himself said he was looking at offering a burn in service and I saw many comment that they would definitely buy that service to any order, and I include myself in that group of commentors. The delay in posting this was a combination of getting the burn in time done, as well as the pesky thing called “my day job” that usually interferes with audio time.
So how do they sound? Where do they differ?
They both do some amazing things with the sound.
Both have a great balance of lows to the mids/highs Nothing seemed out of place.
Both have great sound stage left to right, very wide and clean. Both have great accuracy with instrument placement front to back is good also, but the Purgatorio has a slight advantage
For me, the Purgatorio has a slightly wider sound stage than the Inferno.
Both have excellent sound stage height and depth, but the Pergatorio seems to have a slight advantage over the Inferno here.
The Inferno as expected being all copper is a little warmer, a little more relaxed in its sound and an easy listen. Very inviting, clear clean, with good bass and sub bass and separation into the mid bass. Mids are where I hear this cable being a little more relaxed. They are not recessed just not upfront or in your face. The highs have a nice extension and clarity, and don’t leave anything wanting. For the highs, the Inferno does what the Ode To Laura does for IEM’s and brings a nice clarity and pop to the highs.
The Inferno with Jazz or Classical music seems to be right at home, but it is not shy to play faster rock, more modern club music or R&B.
It is a great cable, and with my desktop tube amp as well as my portable C9 amp it delivers a sound that is just relaxing to sit back and listen to.
The Purgatorio is NOT typically what people expect for an all silver cable, in that it offers a wide range of sound from lows to highs not emphasizing one over the other.
Unlike the stereotype for silver cables, It does NOT immediately head to sizzling highs that boarder on sibilant at the expense of the lows. Instead it is a very balanced sounding cable.
As with other properly built silver cables I own, it adds to and enhances the bass as much as it extends the treble/highs out (which the Purgatorio does well).
Where it really differs from the Inferno, is the cable is pacier/has faster pace. It will add some speed and additional accuracy to your music via how wide the soundstage is and the accurate sound placement. Where the Inferno is relaxed with good sound placement on stage, the Purgatorio is laser accurate. You know exactly where on the stage/recording room floor each instrument and vocalist is. Again while the Inferno offers good air around the instrument/vocalist, its not the pinpoint accuracy of the Purgatorio, which in turn makes the Inferno feel more relaxed, more blended. The Pugatorio with is wider stage and deeper stage and accuracy, offers more air around each performer and more clarity. You hear little nuances like pluck of stings on the guitar. Add the extension to the highs and great control of bass/sub bass and added clarity and you feel like the music has better pace to it. It is not a sterile cold cable either, but it is not the relaxing warmth of the Inferno.
Live performances, Rock, heavy club music or Electronic heavy R&B will be right at home on the Purgatorio, but Jazz (any type) and Large orchestra classical music will also benefit from the Purgatorio.
But because of this laser/pinpoint accuracy, the Purgatorio is less forgiving of poorer/lesser recordings, and is much more source sensitive. Example, I recently upgraded the Interconnects between my R2R standalone DAC and my desktop Tube amp from an older 5n silver single strand size woven IC technology to a newer multistrand size 6n silver IC. Before doing this I felt the Inferno was better sounding, but with the change the Purgatorio responded, and I now find myself putting the Purgatorio on the Elite’s were previously I preferred the Inferno. With the right chain of components, the Purgatorio will reward you with a very detailed, lush and all enveloping sound.
The Inferno as some describe NOS Mullard tubes in various AMP forums, is like putting on a nice jacket on a cold day. Warm, Inviting, comfortable and relaxed.
When I bought my Elites, Meze included the “upgrade” 8 wire OCC SPC braided cable with copper connectors
From my memory vs the old stock stranded OFC copper cable that use to ship with the Elites there was a quite a bit of sound improvement from the Meze Upgrade cable. For many this change alone will be enough, and will stop their journey there. So my comparison below is from the upgrade cable NOT the stock black plastic OFC copper cable.
The inferno was an order of magnitude better in overall sound quality than the Meze Upgrade SPC cable, and added a wider soundstage to the Elite’s already great soundstage width, but also added more depth and extension of the highs and more sub bass rumble and overall tigher bass over the Meze upgrade cable.
It is a noticeable and worthwhile upgrade IMO.
The Purgatorio totally destroys the Meze Upgrade SPC cable as to sound quality. It extends out the highs, tightens the base, adds more sub bass rumble, cleans up the mids, and adds to the overall enjoyment of the Meze Elite’s
At Can Jam I was able to listen to the Elite with the Brise Audio Shirogane cable attached at Musicteck’s table
While it too was a great upgrade vs. the stock Meze Cable, I do not know how much run time was on that cable which I find with Silver cables is the difference between OK sound and hearing the cables full potential so will have to refrain from passing judgment, but Andrew at Musicteck assured me the Meze with the Purgatorio would be a similar upgrade so will just say the 2 might be close, except the Shirogane is a much more expensive cable.
I’ve heard the Meze Elite with an upgraded Lavricable Ultimate cable installed (that the shop I listened to it at assured me it had over 100hours of run time on as recommended by Lavricable) and if memory serves me correctly it was a good upgrade, but not one that grabbed me and made me want to go and get that cable immediately. Unfortunately I have not been able to do an A/B directly so please take this with a grain of salt.
Apologies this is not the best A/B write up and I can only give you the reader an A/B comparison of the 2 Eletech cables against the Meze Upgrade cable, but I hope this information helps someone out there on the fence between the 2 cables.
I think Eric/Eletech’s cable design internally using the multisize stranding technology internally along with the Mesh copper or Mesh silver shielding and other parts of his builds in these cables is the source of the differences I’ve heard vs similarly priced cables.
I’ll just say you cannot go wrong with either cable, as both are an improvement over what I have listened to past and present on the Meze Elite
And as always what I wrote above is IMO, and YMMV
Thanks for reading!
Elite and Meze Upgrade SPC cable
Purgatorio and Inferno with 4.4mm and Mini 4 Pin XLR
Meze Elite with Inferno installed
Meze Elite with Purgatorio installed
Last edited:
Writing today as I purchased both the Eletech Purgatorio and Inferno cables for my Meze Elite over the ear headphones and wanted to share my impressions of both.
All I am about to write below is IMO, and as always YMMV
I’m not a paid reviewer, just someone who enjoys his audio, and like all of us here on Head-Fi is chasing their ideal sound signature from their audio gear (sources, cables, interconnects, DACs/DAPs, Amp, and monitors) and like you pay for my gear, and have to watch a budget. Just wanted to state this as recently someone suggested I was being paid for my write ups. Nope not the case.
I write because if it helps one person save a little and get to the sound signature they want, then I’m glad.
Can Jam So CA this past Sept was when I finally decided to pull the trigger and update my over the ear headphones and bought the Meze Elite. There were a lot of other “Over The Ear” headphones I was looking at and demo’ing this past year but kept coming back to the Meze’s and after having the ability to A/B demo all of my choices again at Can Jam pulled the trigger and bought the Elites
But similarly to when I look to buy IEM’s I was looking for a base sound I liked as I knew I could get the final sound I wanted via a cable change.
I know there are those here on Head-fi that do NOT believe a cable change will affect the overall sound and at the risk of reigniting the religious war cable discussions (and burn-in) create will just state I do believe there is a difference, but as other have stated here in Head-Fi I also believe a cable is NOT going to miraculously change an overly dark monitor to balanced or one that is shrill to calm, but if its close to what you want, it will change to a point it fine tunes the sound and might become the sound signature you want.
This is why I chose the Elites (along with overall comfort! – another discussion entirely)
Now which cable. I’ve always received great advice from people like Christian at Plussound and Eric at Eletech. As I already own a Inferno for another/older over the ear headphone and have had a great experience with it, and knowing Eric was showing the Purgatorio at Can Jam went and listened with my older over the ears, and liked what I heard and ordered one, as well as another Inferno as I thought (and found it to be true) there is room for both and a time and place both work their best, and my older inferno had a different connector keeping me from using it on the Elites.
This setup the ideal back to back test and the reason I’m writing today.
As from my initial listen when they arrived and taking some preliminary notes prior to running burn in (and not cheating by sneaking a listen during burn in as to eliminate brain burn in) and then listening again after burn in was completed, I’ve heard differences and can definitely state Eletech’s Inferno and Purgatorio are 2 cables that definitely benefit from lengthy burn in. They sound very different once the cable is burned in. IF you have either of these cables and are hearing something different than what I write and have less time on them, wait as with some time on the cable they will change.
Eric himself recommended for the Inferno at least 150 hours, and for my previous Inferno, found this to be true and on the previous cable, really heard changes up to the 170 hour mark. The new Inferno got 170hrs+ of burn in time.
The Purgatorio Eric suggested between 170 and if possible more. I put about 192 hours of time on it (8 days of constant music playing on it) and was probably the right amount of time, as having put another 30-40 hours of critical listening on the cable it has not changed from that time, but is quite a bit different than when it first arrived. Eric himself said he was looking at offering a burn in service and I saw many comment that they would definitely buy that service to any order, and I include myself in that group of commentors. The delay in posting this was a combination of getting the burn in time done, as well as the pesky thing called “my day job” that usually interferes with audio time.
So how do they sound? Where do they differ?
They both do some amazing things with the sound.
Both have a great balance of lows to the mids/highs Nothing seemed out of place.
Both have great sound stage left to right, very wide and clean. Both have great accuracy with instrument placement front to back is good also, but the Purgatorio has a slight advantage
For me, the Purgatorio has a slightly wider sound stage than the Inferno.
Both have excellent sound stage height and depth, but the Pergatorio seems to have a slight advantage over the Inferno here.
The Inferno as expected being all copper is a little warmer, a little more relaxed in its sound and an easy listen. Very inviting, clear clean, with good bass and sub bass and separation into the mid bass. Mids are where I hear this cable being a little more relaxed. They are not recessed just not upfront or in your face. The highs have a nice extension and clarity, and don’t leave anything wanting. For the highs, the Inferno does what the Ode To Laura does for IEM’s and brings a nice clarity and pop to the highs.
The Inferno with Jazz or Classical music seems to be right at home, but it is not shy to play faster rock, more modern club music or R&B.
It is a great cable, and with my desktop tube amp as well as my portable C9 amp it delivers a sound that is just relaxing to sit back and listen to.
The Purgatorio is NOT typically what people expect for an all silver cable, in that it offers a wide range of sound from lows to highs not emphasizing one over the other.
Unlike the stereotype for silver cables, It does NOT immediately head to sizzling highs that boarder on sibilant at the expense of the lows. Instead it is a very balanced sounding cable.
As with other properly built silver cables I own, it adds to and enhances the bass as much as it extends the treble/highs out (which the Purgatorio does well).
Where it really differs from the Inferno, is the cable is pacier/has faster pace. It will add some speed and additional accuracy to your music via how wide the soundstage is and the accurate sound placement. Where the Inferno is relaxed with good sound placement on stage, the Purgatorio is laser accurate. You know exactly where on the stage/recording room floor each instrument and vocalist is. Again while the Inferno offers good air around the instrument/vocalist, its not the pinpoint accuracy of the Purgatorio, which in turn makes the Inferno feel more relaxed, more blended. The Pugatorio with is wider stage and deeper stage and accuracy, offers more air around each performer and more clarity. You hear little nuances like pluck of stings on the guitar. Add the extension to the highs and great control of bass/sub bass and added clarity and you feel like the music has better pace to it. It is not a sterile cold cable either, but it is not the relaxing warmth of the Inferno.
Live performances, Rock, heavy club music or Electronic heavy R&B will be right at home on the Purgatorio, but Jazz (any type) and Large orchestra classical music will also benefit from the Purgatorio.
But because of this laser/pinpoint accuracy, the Purgatorio is less forgiving of poorer/lesser recordings, and is much more source sensitive. Example, I recently upgraded the Interconnects between my R2R standalone DAC and my desktop Tube amp from an older 5n silver single strand size woven IC technology to a newer multistrand size 6n silver IC. Before doing this I felt the Inferno was better sounding, but with the change the Purgatorio responded, and I now find myself putting the Purgatorio on the Elite’s were previously I preferred the Inferno. With the right chain of components, the Purgatorio will reward you with a very detailed, lush and all enveloping sound.
The Inferno as some describe NOS Mullard tubes in various AMP forums, is like putting on a nice jacket on a cold day. Warm, Inviting, comfortable and relaxed.
When I bought my Elites, Meze included the “upgrade” 8 wire OCC SPC braided cable with copper connectors
From my memory vs the old stock stranded OFC copper cable that use to ship with the Elites there was a quite a bit of sound improvement from the Meze Upgrade cable. For many this change alone will be enough, and will stop their journey there. So my comparison below is from the upgrade cable NOT the stock black plastic OFC copper cable.
The inferno was an order of magnitude better in overall sound quality than the Meze Upgrade SPC cable, and added a wider soundstage to the Elite’s already great soundstage width, but also added more depth and extension of the highs and more sub bass rumble and overall tigher bass over the Meze upgrade cable.
It is a noticeable and worthwhile upgrade IMO.
The Purgatorio totally destroys the Meze Upgrade SPC cable as to sound quality. It extends out the highs, tightens the base, adds more sub bass rumble, cleans up the mids, and adds to the overall enjoyment of the Meze Elite’s
At Can Jam I was able to listen to the Elite with the Brise Audio Shirogane cable attached at Musicteck’s table
While it too was a great upgrade vs. the stock Meze Cable, I do not know how much run time was on that cable which I find with Silver cables is the difference between OK sound and hearing the cables full potential so will have to refrain from passing judgment, but Andrew at Musicteck assured me the Meze with the Purgatorio would be a similar upgrade so will just say the 2 might be close, except the Shirogane is a much more expensive cable.
I’ve heard the Meze Elite with an upgraded Lavricable Ultimate cable installed (that the shop I listened to it at assured me it had over 100hours of run time on as recommended by Lavricable) and if memory serves me correctly it was a good upgrade, but not one that grabbed me and made me want to go and get that cable immediately. Unfortunately I have not been able to do an A/B directly so please take this with a grain of salt.
Apologies this is not the best A/B write up and I can only give you the reader an A/B comparison of the 2 Eletech cables against the Meze Upgrade cable, but I hope this information helps someone out there on the fence between the 2 cables.
I think Eric/Eletech’s cable design internally using the multisize stranding technology internally along with the Mesh copper or Mesh silver shielding and other parts of his builds in these cables is the source of the differences I’ve heard vs similarly priced cables.
I’ll just say you cannot go wrong with either cable, as both are an improvement over what I have listened to past and present on the Meze Elite
And as always what I wrote above is IMO, and YMMV
Thanks for reading!
Elite and Meze Upgrade SPC cable
Purgatorio and Inferno with 4.4mm and Mini 4 Pin XLR
Meze Elite with Inferno installed
Meze Elite with Purgatorio installed
Thanks for the really indepth impressions! The team is really psyched to hear that the Dante Line-up of cables is being appreciated in this IEM dominated space, this will motivate the team to continue to innovate in the HP cables space
We do have a project that we are working on in Dante, let's hope we make it to completion within this year 
SCYJ
100+ Head-Fier
(Apologies if this question is off-thread-topic, feel free to delete if inappropriate).
Do you guys find sonic differences via cables more obvious only with certain "kinds" of IEMs? (eg, harder to drive IEMs, or complex crossovers, etc). I'm aware that multi-driver IEMs seem to be affected more than single driver ones, but what other factors?
It seems that most who talk about cable sound changes usually hear them from higher-end IEMs, so I'm assuming its either something to do with the fact that many of those IEMs are harder to drive, or have complex crossovers and stuff. Any reasoning behind this?
(I don't want this to turn into a cable debate so for those who don't think cable changes sound, please ignore this post, thanks. Only want to hear thoughts/opinions from those who do).
Do you guys find sonic differences via cables more obvious only with certain "kinds" of IEMs? (eg, harder to drive IEMs, or complex crossovers, etc). I'm aware that multi-driver IEMs seem to be affected more than single driver ones, but what other factors?
It seems that most who talk about cable sound changes usually hear them from higher-end IEMs, so I'm assuming its either something to do with the fact that many of those IEMs are harder to drive, or have complex crossovers and stuff. Any reasoning behind this?
(I don't want this to turn into a cable debate so for those who don't think cable changes sound, please ignore this post, thanks. Only want to hear thoughts/opinions from those who do).
There are endless theories about this, but my guess would be that higher end IEMs are more resolving and more technical, so it's easier to pick up subtle nuances and changes to the sound. I personally try to keep the price of the cable below the price of the IEM, but that's my own metric.
Any IEM that doesn’t have LID tech on it or have wild impedance swings at ulta low resistances (loudspeaker territory level ~2-4 ohms). Campfire IEMs are famous for this hence why they have the most cable differences you’ll find
SCYJ
100+ Head-Fier
Thanks, that makes sense. And yeah, I typically max out my cable budget at ~25% of my IEM's cost.
The interesting thing is that there are some IEMs with LID, that are known for being very sensitive/revealing of source and cable changes. Subtonic Storm and FF Grand Maestro. Which makes me more curious as to how these IEMs, even with LID, could exhibit these subtle changes as obviously (or even more obviously) than many other IEMs.
As far as I know LID only keeps the sound more or less constant through changes in output impedance from the source. It doesn't do anything to prevent changes from cable geometry, material, shielding etc.
- Joined
- Oct 6, 2013
- Posts
- 15,567
- Likes
- 50,097
Another plausible theory is that people who buy multi-kilobuck IEMs are also the ones who invest into higher quality multi-kilobuck cables while looking to squeeze out extra 5% of sonic improvement. And those who focus more on budget IEMs will not upgrade to a cable that cost as much or 10x more than IEM itself, or look for a cable upgrade from an aesthetic perspective, often settling on cheap "pretty" chi-fi cables.
SCYJ
100+ Head-Fier
Thank God we have amazing cables even way below $1000 that offer great sonic performance for their price.
*hint hint, Raphael
*
Thank God we have amazing cables even way below $1000 that offer great sonic performance for their price.
*hint hint, Raphael
Even Raphael is expensive for budget-fi users
They still make some changes even with LID, but yes subtle, nothing like turning an IEM from trash to amazing on IEMs that doesn't have LID and crazy impedance swings across frequencies from 2 ohms to 29 ohms (Campfire Andromeda being an example, but most Campfire IEMs are 10x more susceptible to cable rolling than others). The more sophisticated the cable is, the more apparent the changes across the board on all resolving IEMs happen. OTL and Adam are definitely one of the most synergetic dependent cables out there for sure
I did try those pretty cheap chi-fi cables. Most don't alter the sound signature of resolving IEMs, but all of them put a large blanket of veil across the board. Not noticeable at all on budget IEMs, but their weaknesses are incredibly apparent on resolving IEMs.
Users who are viewing this thread
