I use the Raphael on my Bravado 2 as well and enjoy it immensely. I've also tried the Raphael on my LX, and while it's good there, I use the Aeneid with my LX which is just glorious!
Eletech Cables Official Impressions & Discussions Thread
- Thread starter Wyville
- Start date
I use the Raphael on my Bravado 2 as well and enjoy it immensely. I've also tried the Raphael on my LX, and while it's good there, I use the Aeneid with my LX which is just glorious!
Have you tried OtL with LX? Prob my fav combo with LX
I had a hunch the OTL would work best with the Bonneville and thanks for confirming that with your OTL with LX experience
LX and Bonneville share similar sound tunings BTW
NJoyzAudio
100+ Head-Fier
Eletech Purgatorio IC Prototype Information
For anyone that read one of my earlier post, I mentioned using a prototype XLR interconnect, and having received the “go ahead to discuss” from Eletech, wanted to post this information, and give others a chance to give Eletech some feedback.
For the past few years, I’ve resisted getting a desktop tube headphone amp because I knew I would get caught up in buying more than just the amp to find that elusive sound signature I was chasing and wanted to keep my endeavors at that time within the portable audio world.
But having previously used a Lotoo PAW 6000 in its variable line out mode (totally removing the amp section of the DAP and not coloring the sound) into the “Pre In” setting of a C9 portable amp (totally removing the preamp/volume control of the C9 from the chain) and with the C9’s ability to be a Tube/SS/Class A/Class B amp, allowed me to fall back in love with the “tube” sound.
This led to buying a N8ii as when traveling for work, I missed the “tube” sound I had at home with the C9/PAW6K combo.
This in turn led me to overhaul IEM’s, IEM cables, and then this past year started looking at open back over the ear headphones.
I ended up with the Meze Elites for many reasons, but outside of sound and comfort, was the ability to drive it from the portable N8ii DAP.
Well I made the mistake of connecting the Elite’s, into the portable C9/PAW6K combo and realized with more power, and the slightly more “tubey” sound of the C9, It brought the Elites to another level which then led to demoing my Elites on a desktop amps and shortly thereafter purchase one.
I tend to NOT buy things until I know I can afford not only the initial purchase of the item, but all of the items in and around the sound chain to insure I’m maximizing my investment.
This is why I resisted buying a dedicated desktop tube amp, as I enjoy tinkering in this hobby and well knew it could be endless what I can update/upgrade, and as I do NOT have unlimited funds for this hobby (or so I tell my wife) I have to maximize my dollar spend, but as I often tell friends who like me are on a budget “Nothing costs more than having to buy twice because the first purchase was a mistake” which is usually followed up with the justification to buy up by saying “we don’t make enough to buy cheap” which reflects back on not buying twice
So, knowing this tube amp purchase would lead to buying a LOT of NOS driver and power tubes. (It did) but it also spurred on (and I knew it would) a standalone R2R DAC to better utilize the features of a desktop amp, but before I could properly use the new DAC, I would need interconnects (and I did initially go out and get new ones) and knew I wanted 5n/6n silver XLR interconnects, as maybe just me but not a fan of SPC cable sound (with most upgrade XLR interconnects being SPC).
So off I went and purchased from Lavricable (A company I’ve used before and respect) their middle of their product line, Ultimate series XLR interconnects. Knowing it was a safe purchase as it was true pure silver (I’m surprised how many so-called silver interconnects are not, or are “sterling silver” which is neither OCC or higher purity than 1n at best) that used traditional wire stand sizes which were then woven to help reduce/eliminate RF and EMI/EMF noise, and were sturdily built. They offer a burn-in service of $35 for 150 hours allowing me to use these as soon as they arrived.
Reusing a N7 DAP (replaced the PAW6K for input into the C9) going into an external R2R DAC via an i2S cable (for both true digital input as well as the clock timing), the Lavricables were used from the R2R DAC into my desktop tube amp gave me a great sound signature, and after much tube rolling I thought I was happy.
But again during Can Jam this past Sept, when purchasing new headphone and IEM cables, I was speaking with Eric on my thoughts of going to a desktop amp, and the chain of HW I was thinking of putting together, my frustration of the limited availability of pure silver XLR IC, that I thought would be reasonable (I’ve seen manufacturers when you say Silver XLR, with prices that border on insane. anywhere from $500 to $5000-$7000 for 5n/6n silver. Copper or SPC can be found for as little as $25 for a ½ meter pair…)
Eric mentioned he has always wanted to build and see if the Purgatorio cable would make a good to great XLR IC, and well we talked, he offered, and a one off custom/bespoke set of Purgatorio IC’s were ordered made and delivered shortly after I received in (ironically just shortly after) the Lavricable XLR IC’s. This set up the head to head comparison!
Having worked with the Inferno/Purgatorio wire design with other headphones, I knew I was looking at min a 150 hours of burn in. For the Purgatorio on my Meze Elites, they really came into their own with about 200 hours of burn in.
So while I listened and settled on a NOS tube configuration using the Lavircable XLR’s the Purgatorio IC’s underwent a 200+ hour burn in via other HW I use for burn in.
Waiting for the burn in I was able to build some baseline notes with the Lavricable IC, not knowing what the Purgatorio IC’s would bring.
Before I say what I heard on the Purgatorio IC’s I want to state the following
Happy to say the Purgatorio IC’s made a huge difference.
Changes were noticeable immediately vs. The Lavricable Ultimate version of their IC line (which again has been a very good IC)
The Purgatorio has more air on the top end, increased sub bass, bass and mid bass was clearer, and highs MUCH clearer/cleaner. Vocals are very lush and fluid. I was worried about what the mids may do given what I was hearing and liked on the Lavricable IC’s and the difference in build/technology in the Purgatorio base cables. The Lavricable IC’s were where I like my mids, present and clear not forward, but not recessed either.
For the Purgatorio IC, mids are not in your face and are a little clearer. Not aggressive but not passive either, for me it’s just about right.
With the N7 I am using as a source (now looking for a new source player as I’m worried that it may be adding its own color to the sound) I have turned off the parametric EQ I often use in Neutron Player.
I mention this as its difference I found with the Lavricable IC’s Un EQ’d to EQ’d the Lavricable IC required EQ’ing.
For the Purgatorio IC’s it DOES NOT. In fact I’m hearing very little difference of the Parametric EQ on and Off, and I always prefer to NOT EQ where possible. This was a great surprise and very much welcomed.
Soundstage with the Purgatorio IC is astonishing. Not only side to side but more importantly BOTH height and depth, which I was not getting with the Lavricable IC’s. Perhaps if I went upscale to Lavricable’s Master or Refence line I would see similar results, but I have to A/B with what I have here, AND the Purgatorio IC’s are not a final product so it might not be a true apples to apples comparison either way.
Something interesting that came out of this testing was my final choice of Dante Series cable on my Meze Elites.
With the Lavricable IC’s I was preferring the Inferno / Meze Elite Combo. I get a little less soundstage width, but was getting more depth and height on the soundstage. Also the Purgatorio’s pace with the Lavricable IC’s, they were a little fatiguing.
The Purgatorio headphone cable on the Meze Elites, the pace with the Purgatorio IC’s is just right, and the sound is really sweet. Not sterile and dry (and as I wrote this writeup, for grins and giggles as an additional test, I’m purposely using a driver/power tube combo which can be a little fatiguing, not so with the Purgatorio IC - I think I’ve found a new tube combo I can use to help color the final sound that was not enjoyable with the Lavricable IC.) With my go to tube combo I find I just STOP analyzing the music but instead just sit back and listen and enjoy the music. A strong testament to this sound chain/combo.
I’m probably going to have to go through all my driver tubes again and maybe even the power tube collection as the Purgatorio IC is making a difference, all other items in the sound chain being constant.
On my desktop tube amp, depending on which driver tubes I have in, they are sensitive to the wireless conferencing headset I have in my home office where the amp sits (it is a business level DECT 4 based Jabra headset that allows me to walk anywhere in my house or backyard while working – it has a 300 yard/274 Meter range – IE its signal is strong)
The manufacturer of my amp has stated the tube protection cage also functions as a RF/EM shield for tubes and can help to eliminate static, hum or pulsing noises caused by these type of sources
I have to run the tube cage installed or put up a shield around the headphone transmitter I made which kills the RF/EM interference from the headset when using the amp with tubes from Telefunken or Amperex. The Purgatorio IC’s does use the ground pin on the XLR connectors and the construction of the Silver Mesh shielding over the signal cables internally seem to be making a difference so far.
From the start, I was so excited to hook up the Purgatorio IC , I didn’t even think about/forgot about putting up the shield and the tube cage was removed and the rhythmic buzzing the headphone causes in its standby state was not present. The Purgatorio IC "as-is" did a good job of eliminating that interference.
The Purgatorio IC are also much more flexible than the Lavricable IC’s I have here. Allows routing of the IC’s behind the amp and DAC easily vs the Lavricable.
As I write I keep stopping to just listen to the music. Its is just so nice to listen to…
Full, VERY wide sound stage musical, sweet and lush are adjectives I would use for the Purgatorio, since the rest of the chain is the same, the only change is the IC.
The IC change in my chain made as much difference as changing from the Meze Upgrade headphone cable my Elite’s shipped with to the Purgatorio or Inferno headphone cable did early on, especially on this desktop setup.
I just stopped writing again and was listening to the “Live” version of the Eagles Hotel California, from their Hell Freezes Over album which is one of my songs in a headphone test set I’ve made, and I mention this as I was just at their “Long Goodbye” farewell tour concert where I was sitting on an elevated riser on the floor section in the middle just behind the audio mixers (My preferred place to sit, since it’s the same place the team mixing the house sound system sits) The song Hotel California was in the recent concert set and the way the sound is coming through my headphones with the Purgatorio IC is giving me the EXACT same experience I just had at the live concert! It is like I’m back at the concert listening live.
I think I’ve optimized the HW/Audio chain from end to end, as I knew balancing the chain would yield the best sound for the buck.
Example:
I mentioned earlier while I’d love to have a 300b Tube based amp, the holy grail of 300b tubes, NOS old stock Western Electric 300b tubes can set you back at least 2x-3x the cost of the amp ($9K for a pair of these tubes). That is too rich for my budget by a LONG shot ( – https://tubedepot.com/products/nos-western-electric-300b-black-plate-1961-matched-pair - as reference)
My amp uses the 6V6 power tubes instead, where the “holy grail” Bendix 5992 tubes for a pair is a much more reasonable $500 if I choose to use them (I do own them but don’t use them all the time). I’ve found tubes that were almost 2/3’rds less then the holy grail Bendix tubes that give me the sound I want. Again freeing up funds to get things like the Purgatorio IC. But I’ve blown my Audio budget at least until the next Can Jam SoCAL, or I keep telling myself (and my wife)
I took this into account when I went amp shopping, and having nice HW but maybe not TOTL as written in many of the forums, has allowed me to spend my tight budget on things like Eletech’s cables and these IC’s.
PM me if interested what is my chain of HW, as not including the detail of my chain here as while it does influence what I’m saying about these IC’s I don’t want to take away the focus of what I’ve said I’m hearing. Just want to focus on the IC’s here, but will gladly share if of interest.
And as I always like to remind folks EVERYTHING I wrote above is IMO, and YMMV, especially since these are today “one off” bespoke cables that are in early stages of development
But if your interested in these IC’s I’d suggest emailing Eletech or PM’ing them and discuss with them your interest in these (or Eric mentioned to me IC’s from the Inferno copper wire) as they are mulling over IF they should proceed and make these IC’s available to order as an accessory/orderable item, or just leave them as a true “Bespoke/Custom Order” item.
Also give him your feelings on Burn In Service for cables. I know several have already told Eric, they would buy this, but getting more input will help all here to let Eletech know we would pay for such a service!
If you’ve made it to this point THANK YOU for reading!
Pictures of the Purgatorio Based Interconnect as I received them.
They are using Furutech copper body, alpha copper gold plated pins as seen in this picture.
And for comparison the Lavricable Ultimate IC I originally purchased (using Neutrik HW)
For anyone that read one of my earlier post, I mentioned using a prototype XLR interconnect, and having received the “go ahead to discuss” from Eletech, wanted to post this information, and give others a chance to give Eletech some feedback.
For the past few years, I’ve resisted getting a desktop tube headphone amp because I knew I would get caught up in buying more than just the amp to find that elusive sound signature I was chasing and wanted to keep my endeavors at that time within the portable audio world.
But having previously used a Lotoo PAW 6000 in its variable line out mode (totally removing the amp section of the DAP and not coloring the sound) into the “Pre In” setting of a C9 portable amp (totally removing the preamp/volume control of the C9 from the chain) and with the C9’s ability to be a Tube/SS/Class A/Class B amp, allowed me to fall back in love with the “tube” sound.
This led to buying a N8ii as when traveling for work, I missed the “tube” sound I had at home with the C9/PAW6K combo.
This in turn led me to overhaul IEM’s, IEM cables, and then this past year started looking at open back over the ear headphones.
I ended up with the Meze Elites for many reasons, but outside of sound and comfort, was the ability to drive it from the portable N8ii DAP.
Well I made the mistake of connecting the Elite’s, into the portable C9/PAW6K combo and realized with more power, and the slightly more “tubey” sound of the C9, It brought the Elites to another level which then led to demoing my Elites on a desktop amps and shortly thereafter purchase one.
I tend to NOT buy things until I know I can afford not only the initial purchase of the item, but all of the items in and around the sound chain to insure I’m maximizing my investment.
This is why I resisted buying a dedicated desktop tube amp, as I enjoy tinkering in this hobby and well knew it could be endless what I can update/upgrade, and as I do NOT have unlimited funds for this hobby (or so I tell my wife) I have to maximize my dollar spend, but as I often tell friends who like me are on a budget “Nothing costs more than having to buy twice because the first purchase was a mistake” which is usually followed up with the justification to buy up by saying “we don’t make enough to buy cheap” which reflects back on not buying twice
So, knowing this tube amp purchase would lead to buying a LOT of NOS driver and power tubes. (It did) but it also spurred on (and I knew it would) a standalone R2R DAC to better utilize the features of a desktop amp, but before I could properly use the new DAC, I would need interconnects (and I did initially go out and get new ones) and knew I wanted 5n/6n silver XLR interconnects, as maybe just me but not a fan of SPC cable sound (with most upgrade XLR interconnects being SPC).
So off I went and purchased from Lavricable (A company I’ve used before and respect) their middle of their product line, Ultimate series XLR interconnects. Knowing it was a safe purchase as it was true pure silver (I’m surprised how many so-called silver interconnects are not, or are “sterling silver” which is neither OCC or higher purity than 1n at best) that used traditional wire stand sizes which were then woven to help reduce/eliminate RF and EMI/EMF noise, and were sturdily built. They offer a burn-in service of $35 for 150 hours allowing me to use these as soon as they arrived.
Reusing a N7 DAP (replaced the PAW6K for input into the C9) going into an external R2R DAC via an i2S cable (for both true digital input as well as the clock timing), the Lavricables were used from the R2R DAC into my desktop tube amp gave me a great sound signature, and after much tube rolling I thought I was happy.
But again during Can Jam this past Sept, when purchasing new headphone and IEM cables, I was speaking with Eric on my thoughts of going to a desktop amp, and the chain of HW I was thinking of putting together, my frustration of the limited availability of pure silver XLR IC, that I thought would be reasonable (I’ve seen manufacturers when you say Silver XLR, with prices that border on insane. anywhere from $500 to $5000-$7000 for 5n/6n silver. Copper or SPC can be found for as little as $25 for a ½ meter pair…)
Eric mentioned he has always wanted to build and see if the Purgatorio cable would make a good to great XLR IC, and well we talked, he offered, and a one off custom/bespoke set of Purgatorio IC’s were ordered made and delivered shortly after I received in (ironically just shortly after) the Lavricable XLR IC’s. This set up the head to head comparison!
Having worked with the Inferno/Purgatorio wire design with other headphones, I knew I was looking at min a 150 hours of burn in. For the Purgatorio on my Meze Elites, they really came into their own with about 200 hours of burn in.
So while I listened and settled on a NOS tube configuration using the Lavircable XLR’s the Purgatorio IC’s underwent a 200+ hour burn in via other HW I use for burn in.
Waiting for the burn in I was able to build some baseline notes with the Lavricable IC, not knowing what the Purgatorio IC’s would bring.
Before I say what I heard on the Purgatorio IC’s I want to state the following
- The Lavricable IC’s are a very good product. I don’t want to give the impression here they are not.
- The Purgatorio IC’s are still a prototype/very custom order item that you’ll have to ask Eletech about both ordering and pricing.
I state this last point out of respect to Eric/Eletech that I do NOT want to discuss what I paid for these as I am assuming there was a huge discount given to me as these were really a prototype as well as the change in price for longer lengths of the Purgatorio cable that I think many would be looking at based on what adding additional length costs on the Purgatorio Headphone cable is when ordered.
Happy to say the Purgatorio IC’s made a huge difference.
Changes were noticeable immediately vs. The Lavricable Ultimate version of their IC line (which again has been a very good IC)
The Purgatorio has more air on the top end, increased sub bass, bass and mid bass was clearer, and highs MUCH clearer/cleaner. Vocals are very lush and fluid. I was worried about what the mids may do given what I was hearing and liked on the Lavricable IC’s and the difference in build/technology in the Purgatorio base cables. The Lavricable IC’s were where I like my mids, present and clear not forward, but not recessed either.
For the Purgatorio IC, mids are not in your face and are a little clearer. Not aggressive but not passive either, for me it’s just about right.
With the N7 I am using as a source (now looking for a new source player as I’m worried that it may be adding its own color to the sound) I have turned off the parametric EQ I often use in Neutron Player.
I mention this as its difference I found with the Lavricable IC’s Un EQ’d to EQ’d the Lavricable IC required EQ’ing.
For the Purgatorio IC’s it DOES NOT. In fact I’m hearing very little difference of the Parametric EQ on and Off, and I always prefer to NOT EQ where possible. This was a great surprise and very much welcomed.
Soundstage with the Purgatorio IC is astonishing. Not only side to side but more importantly BOTH height and depth, which I was not getting with the Lavricable IC’s. Perhaps if I went upscale to Lavricable’s Master or Refence line I would see similar results, but I have to A/B with what I have here, AND the Purgatorio IC’s are not a final product so it might not be a true apples to apples comparison either way.
Something interesting that came out of this testing was my final choice of Dante Series cable on my Meze Elites.
With the Lavricable IC’s I was preferring the Inferno / Meze Elite Combo. I get a little less soundstage width, but was getting more depth and height on the soundstage. Also the Purgatorio’s pace with the Lavricable IC’s, they were a little fatiguing.
The Purgatorio headphone cable on the Meze Elites, the pace with the Purgatorio IC’s is just right, and the sound is really sweet. Not sterile and dry (and as I wrote this writeup, for grins and giggles as an additional test, I’m purposely using a driver/power tube combo which can be a little fatiguing, not so with the Purgatorio IC - I think I’ve found a new tube combo I can use to help color the final sound that was not enjoyable with the Lavricable IC.) With my go to tube combo I find I just STOP analyzing the music but instead just sit back and listen and enjoy the music. A strong testament to this sound chain/combo.
I’m probably going to have to go through all my driver tubes again and maybe even the power tube collection as the Purgatorio IC is making a difference, all other items in the sound chain being constant.
On my desktop tube amp, depending on which driver tubes I have in, they are sensitive to the wireless conferencing headset I have in my home office where the amp sits (it is a business level DECT 4 based Jabra headset that allows me to walk anywhere in my house or backyard while working – it has a 300 yard/274 Meter range – IE its signal is strong)
The manufacturer of my amp has stated the tube protection cage also functions as a RF/EM shield for tubes and can help to eliminate static, hum or pulsing noises caused by these type of sources
I have to run the tube cage installed or put up a shield around the headphone transmitter I made which kills the RF/EM interference from the headset when using the amp with tubes from Telefunken or Amperex. The Purgatorio IC’s does use the ground pin on the XLR connectors and the construction of the Silver Mesh shielding over the signal cables internally seem to be making a difference so far.
From the start, I was so excited to hook up the Purgatorio IC , I didn’t even think about/forgot about putting up the shield and the tube cage was removed and the rhythmic buzzing the headphone causes in its standby state was not present. The Purgatorio IC "as-is" did a good job of eliminating that interference.
The Purgatorio IC are also much more flexible than the Lavricable IC’s I have here. Allows routing of the IC’s behind the amp and DAC easily vs the Lavricable.
As I write I keep stopping to just listen to the music. Its is just so nice to listen to…
Full, VERY wide sound stage musical, sweet and lush are adjectives I would use for the Purgatorio, since the rest of the chain is the same, the only change is the IC.
The IC change in my chain made as much difference as changing from the Meze Upgrade headphone cable my Elite’s shipped with to the Purgatorio or Inferno headphone cable did early on, especially on this desktop setup.
I just stopped writing again and was listening to the “Live” version of the Eagles Hotel California, from their Hell Freezes Over album which is one of my songs in a headphone test set I’ve made, and I mention this as I was just at their “Long Goodbye” farewell tour concert where I was sitting on an elevated riser on the floor section in the middle just behind the audio mixers (My preferred place to sit, since it’s the same place the team mixing the house sound system sits) The song Hotel California was in the recent concert set and the way the sound is coming through my headphones with the Purgatorio IC is giving me the EXACT same experience I just had at the live concert! It is like I’m back at the concert listening live.
I think I’ve optimized the HW/Audio chain from end to end, as I knew balancing the chain would yield the best sound for the buck.
Example:
I mentioned earlier while I’d love to have a 300b Tube based amp, the holy grail of 300b tubes, NOS old stock Western Electric 300b tubes can set you back at least 2x-3x the cost of the amp ($9K for a pair of these tubes). That is too rich for my budget by a LONG shot ( – https://tubedepot.com/products/nos-western-electric-300b-black-plate-1961-matched-pair - as reference)
My amp uses the 6V6 power tubes instead, where the “holy grail” Bendix 5992 tubes for a pair is a much more reasonable $500 if I choose to use them (I do own them but don’t use them all the time). I’ve found tubes that were almost 2/3’rds less then the holy grail Bendix tubes that give me the sound I want. Again freeing up funds to get things like the Purgatorio IC. But I’ve blown my Audio budget at least until the next Can Jam SoCAL, or I keep telling myself (and my wife)
I took this into account when I went amp shopping, and having nice HW but maybe not TOTL as written in many of the forums, has allowed me to spend my tight budget on things like Eletech’s cables and these IC’s.
PM me if interested what is my chain of HW, as not including the detail of my chain here as while it does influence what I’m saying about these IC’s I don’t want to take away the focus of what I’ve said I’m hearing. Just want to focus on the IC’s here, but will gladly share if of interest.
And as I always like to remind folks EVERYTHING I wrote above is IMO, and YMMV, especially since these are today “one off” bespoke cables that are in early stages of development
But if your interested in these IC’s I’d suggest emailing Eletech or PM’ing them and discuss with them your interest in these (or Eric mentioned to me IC’s from the Inferno copper wire) as they are mulling over IF they should proceed and make these IC’s available to order as an accessory/orderable item, or just leave them as a true “Bespoke/Custom Order” item.
Also give him your feelings on Burn In Service for cables. I know several have already told Eric, they would buy this, but getting more input will help all here to let Eletech know we would pay for such a service!
If you’ve made it to this point THANK YOU for reading!
Pictures of the Purgatorio Based Interconnect as I received them.
They are using Furutech copper body, alpha copper gold plated pins as seen in this picture.
And for comparison the Lavricable Ultimate IC I originally purchased (using Neutrik HW)
Yes, I've tried the OTL with the LX, and it's indeed wonderful. I'll give it another listen at CanJam NYC. I do have the Socrates and enjoy it with my LX. I just like the ability to have small changes in the IEMs depending on the music I'm listening to, as well as DAP, by changing the cable.Have you tried OtL with LX? Prob my fav combo with LX
Thank you for your trust in our products, we really appreciate it. It's always flattering to see our long time friends/customers coming back to ping us again even just for simple chats
PS ：You did not miss much! We didnt go crazy with releases after releases yearly hence there wasn't too much you missed since Raphael
RE : The new developments - i'll try my best. Hopefully it's be in time to showcase @ NYC or SG Canjam.
Thank you! Since 2023, i've actually taken a step back and have been slower on replies on both head-fi and emails/pm. Headfi-ers close to me would know thats because im taking care (struggling) of a toddler and that's taking up a huge chunk of my time.
Really appreciate you guys being tolerant of my sluggish replies and continuing to engage with me and my team
Eletech Purgatorio IC Prototype Information
For anyone that read one of my earlier post, I mentioned using a prototype XLR interconnect, and having received the “go ahead to discuss” from Eletech, wanted to post this information, and give others a chance to give Eletech some feedback.
For the past few years, I’ve resisted getting a desktop tube headphone amp because I knew I would get caught up in buying more than just the amp to find that elusive sound signature I was chasing and wanted to keep my endeavors at that time within the portable audio world.
But having previously used a Lotoo PAW 6000 in its variable line out mode (totally removing the amp section of the DAP and not coloring the sound) into the “Pre In” setting of a C9 portable amp (totally removing the preamp/volume control of the C9 from the chain) and with the C9’s ability to be a Tube/SS/Class A/Class B amp, allowed me to fall back in love with the “tube” sound.
This led to buying a N8ii as when traveling for work, I missed the “tube” sound I had at home with the C9/PAW6K combo.
This in turn led me to overhaul IEM’s, IEM cables, and then this past year started looking at open back over the ear headphones.
I ended up with the Meze Elites for many reasons, but outside of sound and comfort, was the ability to drive it from the portable N8ii DAP.
Well I made the mistake of connecting the Elite’s, into the portable C9/PAW6K combo and realized with more power, and the slightly more “tubey” sound of the C9, It brought the Elites to another level which then led to demoing my Elites on a desktop amps and shortly thereafter purchase one.
I tend to NOT buy things until I know I can afford not only the initial purchase of the item, but all of the items in and around the sound chain to insure I’m maximizing my investment.
This is why I resisted buying a dedicated desktop tube amp, as I enjoy tinkering in this hobby and well knew it could be endless what I can update/upgrade, and as I do NOT have unlimited funds for this hobby (or so I tell my wife) I have to maximize my dollar spend, but as I often tell friends who like me are on a budget “Nothing costs more than having to buy twice because the first purchase was a mistake” which is usually followed up with the justification to buy up by saying “we don’t make enough to buy cheap” which reflects back on not buying twice
So, knowing this tube amp purchase would lead to buying a LOT of NOS driver and power tubes. (It did) but it also spurred on (and I knew it would) a standalone R2R DAC to better utilize the features of a desktop amp, but before I could properly use the new DAC, I would need interconnects (and I did initially go out and get new ones) and knew I wanted 5n/6n silver XLR interconnects, as maybe just me but not a fan of SPC cable sound (with most upgrade XLR interconnects being SPC).
So off I went and purchased from Lavricable (A company I’ve used before and respect) their middle of their product line, Ultimate series XLR interconnects. Knowing it was a safe purchase as it was true pure silver (I’m surprised how many so-called silver interconnects are not, or are “sterling silver” which is neither OCC or higher purity than 1n at best) that used traditional wire stand sizes which were then woven to help reduce/eliminate RF and EMI/EMF noise, and were sturdily built. They offer a burn-in service of $35 for 150 hours allowing me to use these as soon as they arrived.
Reusing a N7 DAP (replaced the PAW6K for input into the C9) going into an external R2R DAC via an i2S cable (for both true digital input as well as the clock timing), the Lavricables were used from the R2R DAC into my desktop tube amp gave me a great sound signature, and after much tube rolling I thought I was happy.
But again during Can Jam this past Sept, when purchasing new headphone and IEM cables, I was speaking with Eric on my thoughts of going to a desktop amp, and the chain of HW I was thinking of putting together, my frustration of the limited availability of pure silver XLR IC, that I thought would be reasonable (I’ve seen manufacturers when you say Silver XLR, with prices that border on insane. anywhere from $500 to $5000-$7000 for 5n/6n silver. Copper or SPC can be found for as little as $25 for a ½ meter pair…)
Eric mentioned he has always wanted to build and see if the Purgatorio cable would make a good to great XLR IC, and well we talked, he offered, and a one off custom/bespoke set of Purgatorio IC’s were ordered made and delivered shortly after I received in (ironically just shortly after) the Lavricable XLR IC’s. This set up the head to head comparison!
Having worked with the Inferno/Purgatorio wire design with other headphones, I knew I was looking at min a 150 hours of burn in. For the Purgatorio on my Meze Elites, they really came into their own with about 200 hours of burn in.
So while I listened and settled on a NOS tube configuration using the Lavircable XLR’s the Purgatorio IC’s underwent a 200+ hour burn in via other HW I use for burn in.
Waiting for the burn in I was able to build some baseline notes with the Lavricable IC, not knowing what the Purgatorio IC’s would bring.
Before I say what I heard on the Purgatorio IC’s I want to state the following
- The Lavricable IC’s are a very good product. I don’t want to give the impression here they are not.
- The Purgatorio IC’s are still a prototype/very custom order item that you’ll have to ask Eletech about both ordering and pricing.
I state this last point out of respect to Eric/Eletech that I do NOT want to discuss what I paid for these as I am assuming there was a huge discount given to me as these were really a prototype as well as the change in price for longer lengths of the Purgatorio cable that I think many would be looking at based on what adding additional length costs on the Purgatorio Headphone cable is when ordered.
Happy to say the Purgatorio IC’s made a huge difference.
Changes were noticeable immediately vs. The Lavricable Ultimate version of their IC line (which again has been a very good IC)
The Purgatorio has more air on the top end, increased sub bass, bass and mid bass was clearer, and highs MUCH clearer/cleaner. Vocals are very lush and fluid. I was worried about what the mids may do given what I was hearing and liked on the Lavricable IC’s and the difference in build/technology in the Purgatorio base cables. The Lavricable IC’s were where I like my mids, present and clear not forward, but not recessed either.
For the Purgatorio IC, mids are not in your face and are a little clearer. Not aggressive but not passive either, for me it’s just about right.
With the N7 I am using as a source (now looking for a new source player as I’m worried that it may be adding its own color to the sound) I have turned off the parametric EQ I often use in Neutron Player.
I mention this as its difference I found with the Lavricable IC’s Un EQ’d to EQ’d the Lavricable IC required EQ’ing.
For the Purgatorio IC’s it DOES NOT. In fact I’m hearing very little difference of the Parametric EQ on and Off, and I always prefer to NOT EQ where possible. This was a great surprise and very much welcomed.
Soundstage with the Purgatorio IC is astonishing. Not only side to side but more importantly BOTH height and depth, which I was not getting with the Lavricable IC’s. Perhaps if I went upscale to Lavricable’s Master or Refence line I would see similar results, but I have to A/B with what I have here, AND the Purgatorio IC’s are not a final product so it might not be a true apples to apples comparison either way.
Something interesting that came out of this testing was my final choice of Dante Series cable on my Meze Elites.
With the Lavricable IC’s I was preferring the Inferno / Meze Elite Combo. I get a little less soundstage width, but was getting more depth and height on the soundstage. Also the Purgatorio’s pace with the Lavricable IC’s, they were a little fatiguing.
The Purgatorio headphone cable on the Meze Elites, the pace with the Purgatorio IC’s is just right, and the sound is really sweet. Not sterile and dry (and as I wrote this writeup, for grins and giggles as an additional test, I’m purposely using a driver/power tube combo which can be a little fatiguing, not so with the Purgatorio IC - I think I’ve found a new tube combo I can use to help color the final sound that was not enjoyable with the Lavricable IC.) With my go to tube combo I find I just STOP analyzing the music but instead just sit back and listen and enjoy the music. A strong testament to this sound chain/combo.
I’m probably going to have to go through all my driver tubes again and maybe even the power tube collection as the Purgatorio IC is making a difference, all other items in the sound chain being constant.
On my desktop tube amp, depending on which driver tubes I have in, they are sensitive to the wireless conferencing headset I have in my home office where the amp sits (it is a business level DECT 4 based Jabra headset that allows me to walk anywhere in my house or backyard while working – it has a 300 yard/274 Meter range – IE its signal is strong)
The manufacturer of my amp has stated the tube protection cage also functions as a RF/EM shield for tubes and can help to eliminate static, hum or pulsing noises caused by these type of sources
I have to run the tube cage installed or put up a shield around the headphone transmitter I made which kills the RF/EM interference from the headset when using the amp with tubes from Telefunken or Amperex. The Purgatorio IC’s does use the ground pin on the XLR connectors and the construction of the Silver Mesh shielding over the signal cables internally seem to be making a difference so far.
From the start, I was so excited to hook up the Purgatorio IC , I didn’t even think about/forgot about putting up the shield and the tube cage was removed and the rhythmic buzzing the headphone causes in its standby state was not present. The Purgatorio IC "as-is" did a good job of eliminating that interference.
The Purgatorio IC are also much more flexible than the Lavricable IC’s I have here. Allows routing of the IC’s behind the amp and DAC easily vs the Lavricable.
As I write I keep stopping to just listen to the music. Its is just so nice to listen to…
Full, VERY wide sound stage musical, sweet and lush are adjectives I would use for the Purgatorio, since the rest of the chain is the same, the only change is the IC.
The IC change in my chain made as much difference as changing from the Meze Upgrade headphone cable my Elite’s shipped with to the Purgatorio or Inferno headphone cable did early on, especially on this desktop setup.
I just stopped writing again and was listening to the “Live” version of the Eagles Hotel California, from their Hell Freezes Over album which is one of my songs in a headphone test set I’ve made, and I mention this as I was just at their “Long Goodbye” farewell tour concert where I was sitting on an elevated riser on the floor section in the middle just behind the audio mixers (My preferred place to sit, since it’s the same place the team mixing the house sound system sits) The song Hotel California was in the recent concert set and the way the sound is coming through my headphones with the Purgatorio IC is giving me the EXACT same experience I just had at the live concert! It is like I’m back at the concert listening live.
I think I’ve optimized the HW/Audio chain from end to end, as I knew balancing the chain would yield the best sound for the buck.
Example:
I mentioned earlier while I’d love to have a 300b Tube based amp, the holy grail of 300b tubes, NOS old stock Western Electric 300b tubes can set you back at least 2x-3x the cost of the amp ($9K for a pair of these tubes). That is too rich for my budget by a LONG shot ( – https://tubedepot.com/products/nos-western-electric-300b-black-plate-1961-matched-pair - as reference)
My amp uses the 6V6 power tubes instead, where the “holy grail” Bendix 5992 tubes for a pair is a much more reasonable $500 if I choose to use them (I do own them but don’t use them all the time). I’ve found tubes that were almost 2/3’rds less then the holy grail Bendix tubes that give me the sound I want. Again freeing up funds to get things like the Purgatorio IC. But I’ve blown my Audio budget at least until the next Can Jam SoCAL, or I keep telling myself (and my wife)
I took this into account when I went amp shopping, and having nice HW but maybe not TOTL as written in many of the forums, has allowed me to spend my tight budget on things like Eletech’s cables and these IC’s.
PM me if interested what is my chain of HW, as not including the detail of my chain here as while it does influence what I’m saying about these IC’s I don’t want to take away the focus of what I’ve said I’m hearing. Just want to focus on the IC’s here, but will gladly share if of interest.
And as I always like to remind folks EVERYTHING I wrote above is IMO, and YMMV, especially since these are today “one off” bespoke cables that are in early stages of development
But if your interested in these IC’s I’d suggest emailing Eletech or PM’ing them and discuss with them your interest in these (or Eric mentioned to me IC’s from the Inferno copper wire) as they are mulling over IF they should proceed and make these IC’s available to order as an accessory/orderable item, or just leave them as a true “Bespoke/Custom Order” item.
Also give him your feelings on Burn In Service for cables. I know several have already told Eric, they would buy this, but getting more input will help all here to let Eletech know we would pay for such a service!
If you’ve made it to this point THANK YOU for reading!
Pictures of the Purgatorio Based Interconnect as I received them.
They are using Furutech copper body, alpha copper gold plated pins as seen in this picture.
And for comparison the Lavricable Ultimate IC I originally purchased (using Neutrik HW)
Sent your impressions and feedbacks to the team! They're incredibly psyched that you're enjoying the interconnects! We've never built one before and we're sweating if it'll be something you'd like
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SCYJ
100+ Head-Fier
PS ：You did not miss much! We didnt go crazy with releases after releases yearly hence there wasn't too much you missed since Raphael
IMO one of the best things companies can do (in the audiophile hobby) is not to have such frequent releases. Protect your customers by protecting the value and lifespan of your products. Some companies can really learn from this.
(I'm also saying this because I need time to save up for an 8W Raph and don't want to have FOMO yet
)
Don't hold your breath for the 8w version of Raphael, we're still not sure if it'll ever come to fruition. We've been testing it (albeit not focusing) sporadically and have yet to find a right mix. A direct implementation of 8 wires without adjusting the mix results in a bloated mid bass and midrange, highs got a little muted too... Let's see
SBranson
Headphoneus Supremus
PS ：You did not miss much! We didnt go crazy with releases after releases yearly hence there wasn't too much you missed since Raphael
I’ve been watching from the sidelines with the Aeneid, OTL and Sonnet of Adam…. For “not much” I’d say those are “quite a lot” since the Iliad reigned.
Some day, I hope…
Tubewin
1000+ Head-Fier
So, I finally have about 200 hours into the Inferno and can say a few things about it.
I found the mid range to be its strongest trait. The stock Susvara cable has a slight "cloudiness" in the mids while the Inferno clears it up completely. The mids from the inferno are full bodied and clear (the stock's midrange is well done, just not as clear as the Inferno's).
The Inferno seems to have a slight roll off in the upper and lower frequencies. While the Inferno has a more textured and detailed bass signature, it doesn't "hit" as hard and with as much quantity as the stock cable. The Inferno doesn't reach as high as the stock as well. I found myself missing some of that top end sparkle of the stock cable on certain tracks. And because the stock hit harder and reached higher, it came across as being more dynamic than the Inferno. There were some tracks that I preferred the Inferno, and some tracks where I preferred the stock. But I had more "wow" moments with the stock cable and I think that came down to dynamic range. I think there may be some truth to the popularity of hybrid fusion silver/copper cables for the Susvara.
It's perfectly possible that it is a chain synergy issue. I'm willing to accept that my chain could be the limiting factor and not the Inferno.
Jcat XE -> Holo May -> Enleum 23r -> Susvara
I found the mid range to be its strongest trait. The stock Susvara cable has a slight "cloudiness" in the mids while the Inferno clears it up completely. The mids from the inferno are full bodied and clear (the stock's midrange is well done, just not as clear as the Inferno's).
The Inferno seems to have a slight roll off in the upper and lower frequencies. While the Inferno has a more textured and detailed bass signature, it doesn't "hit" as hard and with as much quantity as the stock cable. The Inferno doesn't reach as high as the stock as well. I found myself missing some of that top end sparkle of the stock cable on certain tracks. And because the stock hit harder and reached higher, it came across as being more dynamic than the Inferno. There were some tracks that I preferred the Inferno, and some tracks where I preferred the stock. But I had more "wow" moments with the stock cable and I think that came down to dynamic range. I think there may be some truth to the popularity of hybrid fusion silver/copper cables for the Susvara.
It's perfectly possible that it is a chain synergy issue. I'm willing to accept that my chain could be the limiting factor and not the Inferno.
Jcat XE -> Holo May -> Enleum 23r -> Susvara
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KuroKitsu
Headphoneus Supremus
At least that's not a "team said no to Project8"Don't hold your breath for the 8w version of Raphael, we're still not sure if it'll ever come to fruition. We've been testing it (albeit not focusing) sporadically and have yet to find a right mix. A direct implementation of 8 wires without adjusting the mix results in a bloated mid bass and midrange, highs got a little muted too... Let's see
But yaknow we want some LEATHER Eric.
I am gradually working through a number of embarrassingly long delayed reviews (ever so sorry Eric!). One of those is of this little stack, which gave me an opportunity to get the Inferno out again. Sounds so nice! 
Congratulation on the new cable @Eric Chong , any plans for international version release of the Enigma?
We've had a proper discussion with the team, unfortunately it seems unlikely
Please look forward to our next works！
Kiats
Headphoneus Supremus
Very nice surprise came today from @Eric Chong and team. Just sharing the unboxing photos here. I don’t recall anyone actually posting photos prior to this.
As usual, the unboxing experience is lovely. The handle of the cable is excellent: not too heavy and yet sufficiently substantive. Very flexible as always. The details of the hardware as usual: elegant, understated and classy. And of course, the leather pouch is gorgeous!
As usual, the unboxing experience is lovely. The handle of the cable is excellent: not too heavy and yet sufficiently substantive. Very flexible as always. The details of the hardware as usual: elegant, understated and classy.
And of course, the leather pouch is gorgeous!
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