[mrazik]

Annother comparison
 
PlusSound Apollonian
Nonrne Audio Vorpal
Stock Noble Audio
 

 

[lookingforIEMs]

PlusSound Apollonian series. Cable is well crafted and it seems very resistant. Despite of its heavy-duty look is very comfortable. Cable on pictures is made from cryo treated copper and is a bit more detailed, than stock cable. You can choose many different combination of termination, material ( from copper to gold plated silver ) and many more. Price vary from 189USD to over 500USD.

Interesting. Looks like they have upped their build quality from an earlier version apollonian I used to have.

 

[jmills8]

Here is a cable I picked up after demoing eight different high end cables. My main focus was on the sound. Conmfort was secondary and looks was not important. Well it sounded great, better than great. A huge seperation between instruments, vocals clear and a bit upfront, deep deep sub bass and impactful. Treble extended very politely. Lucky for me it is very soft and flexible. Cable is by DH made of Copper with Silver plating. Interesting it sounds more like a pure Silver cable that has a dynamic sound.

 

[jmills8]

YY Pro Audio 7N OCC Copper cable with 2.5. This cable is heavy and built like a tank. Very Dynamic sounding while having a wide sound stage, silky mids and very clear treble. Easy to listen to this cable all day long.







Modified connectors

 

[Kerouac]

Here is a cable I picked up after demoing eight different high end cables. My main focus was on the sound. Conmfort was secondary and looks was not important. Well it sounded great, better than great. A huge seperation between instruments, vocals clear and a bit upfront, deep deep sub bass and impactful. Treble extended very politely. Lucky for me it is very soft and flexible. Cable is by DH made of Copper with Silver plating. Interesting it sounds more like a pure Silver cable that has a dynamic sound.

 
It looks (and obiously) sounds great

 
Where did you order/buy it and what was the price?
I could only find this DH cable site: http://www.silversonic.com/
but couldn't find that specific one...

 

[jmills8]

It looks (and obiously) sounds great

Where did you order/buy it and what was the price?
I could only find this DH cable site: http://www.silversonic.com/
but couldn't find that specific one...

Double Helix (USA). The easiest to use on the go plus top sounding cable I ever used.

 

[lookingforIEMs]

Plussound GPSP is pretty TOTL too. And DHC's complement series. But I must admit that it's almost impossible to use any complement for portable use. Way too thick

 

[jmills8]

Plussound GPSP is pretty TOTL too. And DHC's complement series. But I must admit that it's almost impossible to use any complement for portable use. Way too thick

Yeah there are cables that can get in the way. Im in Hong Kong walking, taking buses and jumping on trains 3 hours a day. I wont get a cable that will be too troublesome to take out.

 

[MikePortnoy]

Recently launched Leonidas IEM cable from Effect Audio has arrived. I am impressed with its conductors' flexibility and premium leather case. After some burn in, I will share my impressions about it.  
 
 

 

 

[flinkenick]

Classification scale edited and moved to post 2!

 

[LoryWiv]

  (Cable) classification rating system.
I came up with an ingenious way to classify the tone and general characteristics of a cable: flinkenick’s Seasonal Classification System^tm (patent pending). A sound can be classified by one of the four seasons; winter, spring, summer and autumn. It might also help to provide an easier picture of the sound different types of cables can offer.
 
While resolution is discussed, it refers mostly to ambiance and tonality as there is a lot of variance in resolution based on quality. The iem/headphone examples below also refer to tonality, not resolution per se.
 
Winter
A cold atmosphere, void of warmth; either inherently or from the mid-bass. With its cold mid-bass and black background, the Rhapsodio Silver Litz is a typical example of a winter cable. Its atmosphere might be cold, it has both excellent separation and definition. This is partially due to a slightly enhanced upper treble that boosts sparkle and resolution: like examining the beauty of a snowflake from up close. These cables are best matched with warm iems, especially to control an (overly) warm mid-bass, or just for those that prefer a flat and neutral sound. Generally speaking, associated with analytical precision and a high resolution (both in cables as iems). Cold and dark yet sparkly, the Rhapsodio Silver Litz is a winter's night. The cold but with clear background TWag V2, a winter's day.
 
Cable examples: Rhapsodio Silver Litz, Whiplash TWag V2
 
IEM examples: Dunu DN-2000j, Rhapsodio Galaxy (without 2.98 cable)
 
Spring
A clear background with a hint of warmth: like opening the curtains on a spring morning, and letting the first rays of sun in while the air still has to warm. Silver cables like the DHC Symbiote V4 Silver Litz and Rhapsodio Luna Silver are examples of cables with a classic spring signature. While not inherently warm, spring cables have a well-balanced signature that sounds neither warm or cold/bright, but get their warmth primarily from the mid-bass, that prevents them from sounding analytical. Rather, they have a pleasant tone that sounds natural, offering a nice balance between resolution, tonality and smoothness. In addition, these type of cables will generally offer a wider soundstage, typical to a lift in the lower treble. While offering an overall very good balance and pleasant sound that is versatile and easy to match, they have neither the tonal richness of a summer cable, or absolute resolution of an autumn cable. Very generally speaking, most silver cables will fall in this category.
 
Cable examples: Toxic Silver Widow, Null Audio Vitesse Silver, Rhapsodio Luna, DHC Symbiote V4 Silver Litz
 
IEM examples: EarSonics S-EM9, Empire Ears Apollo
 
Summer
Inherently warm with a beautiful rich tone. Natural yes, but at its best: the pure joy of sensing the caressing touch from the sun, on a beautiful summer afternoon. Something I like to call romantic realism. A summer cable gets its richness from a sweet coloration in the upper mids and lower treble, and the combination with a generally smooth and warm ambiance gives it a very organic sound. A very rare and special feat, and certainly not common in the world of cables. Both the SilverFi IEM2 and Rhapsodio Golden are examples of a Summer cable. While these cables have a very special tone, they do not improve resolution, and are therefore best paired with iems that already have a high resolution (Zeus, S-EM9), or are on the brighter side (Galaxy). Not to say that this tone always implies a lower resolution, but combining both is the highest achievable. Up the ladder, the higher SilverFi cables like IEM-R1 and R2 manage to accomplish this feat.
 
Cable examples: Rhapsodio Golden, SilverFi cables
 
Headphone example: Hifiman HE-1000
 
Autumn
The sun has set, and with it its richness in tone has made place for a darker sound. But the atmosphere is still warm, either inherently (Rhapsodio 2.98) or from the mid-bass (Rhapsodio Wizard OCC). While it doesn’t have the rare richness of a summer signature, these cables offer their own advantage: a natural tone in combination with a high resolution. In fact, these cables are at the top when it comes to resolution and separation. Due to a slightly midcentric signature, they offer depth in the presentation although they might not be particularly wide.
 
Cable examples: Rhapsodio Wizard OCC copper, Rhapsodio 2.98, Labkable Takumi
 
IEM examples: Sony XBA-Z5, Heir 8.A, Rhapsodio Solar
 
Matching
Generally speaking you can say an iem with a winter sound is best matched with an autumn or summer cable, to provide some warmth and smoothen the upper treble. Spring iems like cables are easier to match, while an autumn iem might match best with either an autumn or spring cable. But this is mostly subjective, someone preferring a flat neutral sound might not require some warmth, etc.

Very evocative and well-written, flinkenick, and whether one fully agrees with the characteriztions you offer, it is an interesting construct and I find it not just applicable to cables but a nice metaphor for sound signatures in general. Kudos for this post, flinkenick.

 

[flinkenick]

  Very evocative and well-written, flinkenick, and whether one fully agrees with the characteriztions you offer, it is an interesting construct and I find it not just applicable to cables but a nice metaphor for sound signatures in general. Kudos for this post, flinkenick.

Thanks my friend, appreciate that.

 

[Overkill Red]

Going with the seasonal rating system, I'll classify the Effect Audio Mars as a nice Spring!

 

[flinkenick]

Man that Mars cable just eluded me - it almost made it in the upcoming review series. It sure is a beautiful cable, feel free to post a pic or two man 

 
Also, any further impressions would be welcome!

 

[Overkill Red]

Man that Mars cable just eluded me - it almost made it in the upcoming review series. It sure is a beautiful cable, feel free to post a pic or two man 

Also, any further impressions would be welcome!

Wish I had a better camera.. My phone doesn't do the cable justice!
I'm actually letting go of my cable to try other options, as I seem to like how a colder cable sounds (winter).

As for impressions, I'll try to drop some impressions once I get a chance to compare it to other cables, but characteristics wise the cable is pretty much a typical spring cable: slightly warm, extends well up top and down low with nice sweet mids (without any particular tilt in any frequencies). I'd say it's a slightly warm and aggressive cable, to be paired with any neutral custom that you want to make more fun and warm sounding.