[Vitaly2017]

A quick look at my truck )

 

[SBranson]

@SBranson is secretly praying to the IEM gods that I'll be flipping my Valk at a discount

 

[mwhals]

A quick look at my truck )

Are you an independent truck driver?

 

[bvng3540]

A quick look at my truck )

How about you load entire EE office and their employees in your trailer and do a cross country so everyone can audition their iems

 

[singleended5863]

A quick look at my truck )

He loaded all testing systems for the high-end DAPs, IEMs, headphones and cables he own then driving around from Canada to USA to let everybody test their portable systems... for FREE.

 

[bvng3540]

He loaded all testing systems for the high-end DAPs, IEMs, headphones and cables he own then driving around from Canada to USA to let everybody test their portable systems... for FREE.

Very doable as long as YOUpay the gas

 

[Vitaly2017]

Hahaha didnt expect to make that much noise haha. Yes lets load the truck with cables iems and all goodies and go threw towns and throw it all threw windows doors so every one can get a pieces of audio gear )


Yes its my own truck I usually travel from montreal canada down to georgia and sometimes florida every week


And @KuroKitsu is well aware I often drop and throw valuable gear out the window on the highway haha if it hiss shewww if it sound bad fllewww. He said he found one gear once apparently lol.

 

[SBranson]

My Eros II 8 wire with P² plug arrived today.. At first I listened to parts of about 5-6 well known tracks with the Ares II 8 wire, then put in the ErosII.. The first thing I noticed is that I felt I had to increase the volume about 4-5 steps on my M11.. Not much but it had the effect of making everything seem a little closer and a little more focussed left/right with some sounds seemingly to come more from the earpiece rather than the sense of being a little off in space... This initially confused me until I turned the volume down a bit and that seemed to put things back where I was used to them.. I listen for about 10 mins and considering the recent science talk I was wondering how much I was merely convincing myself of the differences; that notes were clearer and cleaner, that there was more "air" around the instruments...
So.. just to make sure I switched back to the Ares and the effect was dramatic. Suddenly notes sounded dense and lacking the transient attack as with the Eros.. But I had family stuff to do and left it.

I went back later this evening just for 10 mins but that turned into 45... I did the same thing, but only focussed on one song.. Immunity by Jon Hopkins. There's a lot of left/right stuff, some really distant cues, some nice deep bass, some "obscured" lyrics and then a nice clear vocal track.. At first with the Ares, everything was as I remember but then things got interesting with the Eros..
Without trying to dissect to much or get too long winded what I noticed mostly in this track and in the other 35 minutes of listening was how the much the vocal tracks changed, and how little moments of definition stood out. My phonetic terms are a little weak but he leading edges of consonant and the plosive ends on hard consonants became so clear. On some tracks by Olafur Arnalds with the prepared piano, I could hear the paper affecting neighbouring strings at times, and in a particularly well known Johann Johannsson track, Odi et Amo (the last version recorded in a church(?)) there was a whole other upper harmonic I hadn't noticed.
That happened a lot during that listening.. there were little bits within tracks that I hadn't noticed before and I'm sure this wasn't due to just listening more intently because of the new gear because on one track, Sarah Bareilles version of Yellow Brick Road, there was a simple contrapuntal line in the piano playing that I had never really noticed as it's own voice.
I know all these pieces well and have listened to them dozens of times on at least 5-10 iems...

On a broader scale, I think the initial volume thing was because the increase in clarity reduced the "hangover" effect of the thicker tonality so I thought I had to turn it up to get the same "amount" of sound.. it was just clearer... kind of like when you listen to a really good 2 channel set up and you can't really tell how loud it is..
Everything is improved in subtle ways but it all adds up to a pretty dramatic effect. I don't think I can go back to the Ares II.. There is a slightly more intimate staging with the Ares II which puts the performance a little more in front of you, as if sitting a couple rows further back and I kind of like that but that could also be a bit of the function of not being able to truly get an objective volume match because the "amount" of sound is presented in different ways.
There definitely was a bit more "forwardness" of the vocals and if I had one element that I preferred in the Ares, it would be that.

I look forward to more listening..

 

[Layman1]

My Eros II 8 wire with P² plug arrived today.. At first I listened to parts of about 5-6 well known tracks with the Ares II 8 wire, then put in the ErosII.. The first thing I noticed is that I felt I had to increase the volume about 4-5 steps on my M11.. Not much but it had the effect of making everything seem a little closer and a little more focussed left/right with some sounds seemingly to come more from the earpiece rather than the sense of being a little off in space... This initially confused me until I turned the volume down a bit and that seemed to put things back where I was used to them.. I listen for about 10 mins and considering the recent science talk I was wondering how much I was merely convincing myself of the differences; that notes were clearer and cleaner, that there was more "air" around the instruments...
So.. just to make sure I switched back to the Ares and the effect was dramatic. Suddenly notes sounded dense and lacking the transient attack as with the Eros.. But I had family stuff to do and left it.

I went back later this evening just for 10 mins but that turned into 45... I did the same thing, but only focussed on one song.. Immunity by Jon Hopkins. There's a lot of left/right stuff, some really distant cues, some nice deep bass, some "obscured" lyrics and then a nice clear vocal track.. At first with the Ares, everything was as I remember but then things got interesting with the Eros..
Without trying to dissect to much or get too long winded what I noticed mostly in this track and in the other 35 minutes of listening was how the much the vocal tracks changed, and how little moments of definition stood out. My phonetic terms are a little weak but he leading edges of consonant and the plosive ends on hard consonants became so clear. On some tracks by Olafur Arnalds with the prepared piano, I could hear the paper affecting neighbouring strings at times, and in a particularly well known Johann Johannsson track, Odi et Amo (the last version recorded in a church(?)) there was a whole other upper harmonic I hadn't noticed.
That happened a lot during that listening.. there were little bits within tracks that I hadn't noticed before and I'm sure this wasn't due to just listening more intently because of the new gear because on one track, Sarah Bareilles version of Yellow Brick Road, there was a simple contrapuntal line in the piano playing that I had never really noticed as it's own voice.
I know all these pieces well and have listened to them dozens of times on at least 5-10 iems...

On a broader scale, I think the initial volume thing was because the increase in clarity reduced the "hangover" effect of the thicker tonality so I thought I had to turn it up to get the same "amount" of sound.. it was just clearer... kind of like when you listen to a really good 2 channel set up and you can't really tell how loud it is..
Everything is improved in subtle ways but it all adds up to a pretty dramatic effect. I don't think I can go back to the Ares II.. There is a slightly more intimate staging with the Ares II which puts the performance a little more in front of you, as if sitting a couple rows further back and I kind of like that but that could also be a bit of the function of not being able to truly get an objective volume match because the "amount" of sound is presented in different ways.
There definitely was a bit more "forwardness" of the vocals and if I had one element that I preferred in the Ares, it would be that.

I look forward to more listening..

Thanks for this fascinating, well-written and comprehensive set of impressions

I already placed an order 1 week ago with Empire for a custom Nemesis with an upgrade to an Ares II+ cable.
Wondering if I should upgrade to the P-squared plug too now after a couple of positive reports here

In your case, it was a different cable too, so I'm trying to control/console myself with the thought that I don't know how much difference specifically the P-squared plug made

 

[Vitaly2017]

My Eros II 8 wire with P² plug arrived today.. At first I listened to parts of about 5-6 well known tracks with the Ares II 8 wire, then put in the ErosII.. The first thing I noticed is that I felt I had to increase the volume about 4-5 steps on my M11.. Not much but it had the effect of making everything seem a little closer and a little more focussed left/right with some sounds seemingly to come more from the earpiece rather than the sense of being a little off in space... This initially confused me until I turned the volume down a bit and that seemed to put things back where I was used to them.. I listen for about 10 mins and considering the recent science talk I was wondering how much I was merely convincing myself of the differences; that notes were clearer and cleaner, that there was more "air" around the instruments...
So.. just to make sure I switched back to the Ares and the effect was dramatic. Suddenly notes sounded dense and lacking the transient attack as with the Eros.. But I had family stuff to do and left it.

I went back later this evening just for 10 mins but that turned into 45... I did the same thing, but only focussed on one song.. Immunity by Jon Hopkins. There's a lot of left/right stuff, some really distant cues, some nice deep bass, some "obscured" lyrics and then a nice clear vocal track.. At first with the Ares, everything was as I remember but then things got interesting with the Eros..
Without trying to dissect to much or get too long winded what I noticed mostly in this track and in the other 35 minutes of listening was how the much the vocal tracks changed, and how little moments of definition stood out. My phonetic terms are a little weak but he leading edges of consonant and the plosive ends on hard consonants became so clear. On some tracks by Olafur Arnalds with the prepared piano, I could hear the paper affecting neighbouring strings at times, and in a particularly well known Johann Johannsson track, Odi et Amo (the last version recorded in a church(?)) there was a whole other upper harmonic I hadn't noticed.
That happened a lot during that listening.. there were little bits within tracks that I hadn't noticed before and I'm sure this wasn't due to just listening more intently because of the new gear because on one track, Sarah Bareilles version of Yellow Brick Road, there was a simple contrapuntal line in the piano playing that I had never really noticed as it's own voice.
I know all these pieces well and have listened to them dozens of times on at least 5-10 iems...

On a broader scale, I think the initial volume thing was because the increase in clarity reduced the "hangover" effect of the thicker tonality so I thought I had to turn it up to get the same "amount" of sound.. it was just clearer... kind of like when you listen to a really good 2 channel set up and you can't really tell how loud it is..
Everything is improved in subtle ways but it all adds up to a pretty dramatic effect. I don't think I can go back to the Ares II.. There is a slightly more intimate staging with the Ares II which puts the performance a little more in front of you, as if sitting a couple rows further back and I kind of like that but that could also be a bit of the function of not being able to truly get an objective volume match because the "amount" of sound is presented in different ways.
There definitely was a bit more "forwardness" of the vocals and if I had one element that I preferred in the Ares, it would be that.

I look forward to more listening..

Reading your review just made me wanna order the cleopatra cable hehe.
I own the ares II 8 wires with the carbon fiber 4.4 connector.

Hmmmmm I remember some one earlier shared a comprehensive feedback for cables while he felt a difference between cables but the price got him back to ares II 8wires hehe.

I love my ares cable and havent heard other type yet from ea. Hopefully when I get a tour at ee office I can try the cleopatra and see how much better things can get.

 

[KuroKitsu]

Wondering if I should upgrade to the P-squared plug too now after a couple of positive reports here

In your case, it was a different cable too, so I'm trying to control/console myself with the thought that I don't know how much difference specifically the P-squared plug made

Do it, if you're spending money on an EA cable, might as well stomach the extra $50 and go for the P-Square/Pentaconn plugs.

In the case of my Valk, I'm just going to live with the stock EA 4.4 since the cable comes in the cost, not spending more money. (I have this weird love-hate for EA)

@Vitaly2017 You're single handedly respoonsible for the creation of a new Canadian urban legend: The wander audiophile who stalks the 400 series of highways in hopes of finding HiFi gear flying out a certain truck window

 

[SBranson]

Just for clarification, I felt a similar sense of upgrade when I got the Ares II 8 wire. Also it should be noted that though I feel that I have a very acute sense of hearing for subtle differences (as in that pitch test I linked to) I also have some upper register loss due to age.
I can play freq. sweeps and my 11 year old son can tell me from across the house to turn it off it's driving him nuts at about 17kHz and I can't hear a thing. Mine cuts out in the 15-16khz range..

So.. this cable may end up "bright" for some?.. Maybe I can't hear the clarity others can in the Ares II.. This is the subjective value part..

For me though, with the Phantoms, this is a great cable.

 

[Progisus]

Has anyone a suggestion to prevent tips coming off in ear. The tube? is of the same material as the body on my LX and it has little grip on the tip. I have tried several different tips.

 

[olddude]

Just for clarification, I felt a similar sense of upgrade when I got the Ares II 8 wire. Also it should be noted that though I feel that I have a very acute sense of hearing for subtle differences (as in that pitch test I linked to) I also have some upper register loss due to age.
I can play freq. sweeps and my 11 year old son can tell me from across the house to turn it off it's driving him nuts at about 17kHz and I can't hear a thing. Mine cuts out in the 15-16khz range..

So.. this cable may end up "bright" for some?.. Maybe I can't hear the clarity others can in the Ares II.. This is the subjective value part..

For me though, with the Phantoms, this is a great cable.

You've gone from a copper cable to a copper/silver hybrid attached to a fairly warm and somewhat thick iem. It's going to brighten the sound. With my Zeus, which is already bright, I use the Ares to bring it down a bit.

Of course some would say we can't hear the differences, but.....

 

[fiascogarcia]

Has anyone a suggestion to prevent tips coming off in ear. The tube? is of the same material as the body on my LX and it has little grip on the tip. I have tried several different tips.

I had to regularly use a clean cloth (like the type I use to clean my glasses) and wipe the nozzle to remove any oil/moisture that could make it more slick. It would really be a plus if they would start putting a rib on the end of the nozzle to hold tips more securely. IMO