I just spent nearly 12 hours auditioning the Phantom with the EA Leonidas II, Thor II 8-Wire, Eros II 8-Wire, and Cleopatra. Some quick 'n' dirty impressions as compared to the Ares II 8-Wire:
- The Leonidas II is a weird pairing. Its fundamentals—separation, imaging, detail retrieval, soundstage, general coherence—are ridiculously good, and the Phantom is able to take full advantage. However, the Leonidas also quashes the Phantom's defining bass. Sub-bass is simply and quite literally gone at reasonable volumes, and mid-bass is tempered so much that it's no longer the most prominent frequency. This does increase the precision and speed of the bass, but it comes at the heavy cost of texture and timbre, which are also reduced to a lesser degree across the signature. The reduced bass does help the upper mids and treble shine through, and veils aplenty are lifted. Male and female vocals are more balanced than normal: the former lose significant power and are placed further back but retain most of their emotion. I wasn't able to find a genre for which this pairing was ideal, but it does exemplify the Phantom's technical potential.
- The Thor II 8-Wire, on the other hand, adds a healthy amount of slam to the Phantom's bass. It's still nothing like a DD, but it's a palpable increase in bass volume—both quantity and stage presence. Treble receives a similar treatment. This pairing is aggressive; not harsh or particularly bitey, but loud and in your face, no matter the decibels. Put simply, the Phantom is transformed from an n-signature to a V-signature, without the use of subtraction. Fundamentals are nearly on par with the Leonidas, but the stage is much smaller, and the very finest details are buried beneath the primary lines. The midrange—vocals and instruments alike—take a step back behind the mighty bass and treble, but no more than that: the presentation remains perfectly coherent. This pairing isn't as good for relaxed listening as a stock Phantom, but if you're looking for something a bit more gutsy and powerful without just handing the reins to the bass and/or snare drum, it should be on your audition list.
- The Eros II 8-Wire seems to be Wyville's pet pairing with the Phantom, and I can see why: it does an amazing job of balancing and clarifying the notoriously dark monitor. Sub-bass gets a very slight boost, mid-bass through lower mids are pulled back a bit, upper mids are pushed forward, and the treble gets a dash of shimmer, all while retaining the Phantom's lovely low-end timbre and enriching the high end so it doesn't sound so pinched and nasal. At the end of the day I'd call it solidly reference-natural. Extension on both ends is improved slightly, and fundamentals get a significant boost, but not like what you get with the Leonidas, with the exception of the soundstage, which I think is even better here. The Eros also supplies copious air, which completely alters the Phantom's presentation, displacing the fog you knew was there and plenty more you weren't even aware of. However, there's a reason the Phantom wasn't tuned like this to begin with, and it quickly becomes apparent: this pairing is not much fun. It's great for analytical listening or for classical music because it's so transparent, but a transparent painting wouldn't be much good, and for most other genres, neither is a transparent audio setup. I, at least, want one color or another when I'm listening to music for enjoyment, whether that be slamming bass or forward vocals or sparkly treble or something in between or completely opposite. But whatever the song demands, Eros just stays completely clear. Maybe for you, that's perfect. Which would be neat because it's also the cheapest and coolest-looking cable on this list.
- Finally, the Cleopatra. This was my favorite pairing of these four. It mostly adds rumble and slam to the (sub-)bass and richness to the upper mids, opening many doors for the Phantom. A more textured and impactful bass, with greater balance between sub- and mid-bass, does the Phantom all kinds of favors with EDM, rap, rock, grunge, classical, pop, and electronic genres, while a smoother response on the way up gives female vocalists (and trumpets, flutes, etc.) a turn in the spotlight, both pushing them forward and correcting their tone. And that's about all the Cleopatra does, besides the standard EA fundamental improvement, once again just a hair behind the Leonidas. Lower mids are still strong and forward, just relatively a little less so than before. Unfortunately, the Phantom can't really afford the Cleopatra's tweaks, because while all the praise above is perfectly true, it ignores the fact that the Phantom becomes darker than ever as a result. You don't get that sense of a lifting veil or a clearing fog; instead, both are thickened. Rumblier bass is slower bass; smoother treble is dimmer treble. This doesn't make the Phantom unlistenable by any stretch, but it does nag. I wonder if the Cleopatra Octa might fix this? I'll likely be trying it in a week or so, so stay tuned. Or, if you think you might not mind an even darker tone, or if you have a very bright source, audition a Cleopatra ASAP.
In the end, I stuck with my Ares II 8-Wire for now. The Cleopatra was tempting, but the improvement was too marginal relative to the downside for me to justify spending $700. Here's hoping the 8-Wire version leaves the tuning alone while airing out the presentation a bit!