wolfstar76
Headphoneus Supremus
Thanks for @PLUSSOUND and @Sebastien Chiu, I can demo the two new releases from Plussound, which is a local company to me but for whatever reason I have never tried their products until this time.
The package that I have received is a very nice leather modular case that includes the following items:
1x Quad-Copper 2-pin/4.4mm
1x SPC XL 2-pin/4.4mm
2x Earphone Stands
5x Silicone Eartips Set
The two cables are part of the Plussound limited edition cables, and the only cable missing from the tour kit is the silver-plated copper XL 4-wire, which is only for headphones.
First, let’s look at the quad-copper cable, which is very interestingly consisted of pure copper, silver-plated copper, gold-plated copper, and palladium-plated copper. Even though there are so many different types of wires included, the overall size of the cable is surprisingly thin and nimble (I believe what I got is Exo 4-wire version). You also have the choice of choosing Exo (4-wire), X6 (6-wire), or X8 (8-wire), plus numerous other options when you order your cables. I will talk about the customization alternatives you will enjoy at the end of this review, which IMO is one of the biggest strengths of Plussound cables.
As I mentioned before, quad-copper cable is very nimble and flexible. Ergonomics is another big strength of Plussound cable. There are many other premium cables, but few can compete with Plussound in terms of ergonomics and flexibility. When premium cable companies design their products, it is always a challenge to use thicker and premium materials to maximize the sound quality while also maintaining a level of flexibility. Plussound has some technological know-how to make the best tradeoffs in this regard.
Now let’s talk about the sound of the quad-copper cable. The first thing I noticed was the bass performance, which IMO is the star of the show. It is closer to pure copper than to silver-plated copper. Mixing 4 different coppers in one cable brings some uniqueness to the sound signature, but to my ears, they are improved copper sound but still very close to pure copper. The bass is tighter, more in-control, while still having the impact and rumble of the sub-bass. In the meantime, I did not find any significant change in the treble area, unlike silver-plated copper.
Next, the silver-plated copper XL cable. Even though both cables are 4-wire Exo, the XL is visually much thicker. From my demo, XL is my favorite cable. Just like quad-copper, XL is still very flexible and very easy to handle, typical Plussound cable in terms of ergonomics.
Compared to quad-copper, XL has the same satisfying bass performance, but you can clearly hear the impact from silver-plate, which brings more mid-range and clarity from the treble. Because of this, I also felt a perceived larger soundstage in XL.
Now I must talk about the commonality shared by both cables. Even though I was talking about the difference between these two cables above, readers must understand that they share way more traits than their differences. Both cables bring strong bass performance, and significantly improve the resolution compared to the cheap stock cables from most of the IEMs.
For example, the recent hyped Penno Quattro, which is an unbelievable priced ($399) IEM with 4 dynamic drivers implemented on each side. The stock cable in blue looks and feels like a decent one. However, Archille’s heel of Quattro is its bass, especially the mid bass. If you play Gig Boi’s Kill Jill, which is one of the classic tracks to test bass performance, you won’t hear any bass impact at all with Quattro on stock cable. Switching to either quad-copper or XL, you will immediately notice the change in the bass. Similarly, you will start to hear more details much more easily than the stock cable.
Big Boi – Kill Jill ft. Killer Mike, Jeezy
If you must choose between quad-copper and XL, it will depend on your personal preferences and your arsenal of IEMs. For me, I do have a clear preference that I like XL more than quad-copper. If you are looking at the spectrum of pure copper to pure silver, I would say that quad-copper is between pure copper and silver-plated copper, which is quite surprising to me since I originally thought quad-copper sits in another side of the SPC in the spectrum given the mixing of 4 coppers (3 of them are plated).
Finally, let’s talk about the customization of your order from Plussound, which IMO is one of the most customizable among all the premium cable manufacturers. You have tons of choices in almost every aspect of the cable. One of them really attracts me is the choice of termination by IEM companies. For example, Sony IER series have a recess MMCX port, which creates trouble for the cable upgrade. If you ordered from Plussound, you would have a customized MMCX termination for Sony IER-Z1R or M9.
However, the only thing that I wish Plussound has is the MMCX/2pin combo termination. I know this is contrary to my previously mentioned Cons, universal vs precisely customized. But some competitors, such as Effect Audio got ConX, and Eletch Cable is in the process of doing something similar, it is sooner than later for Plussound to catch up and provide another choice of termination, which can universally adapt for either MMCX or 2pin.
The premium modular case is actually quite nice, with two earphone stands. However, you will notice that the case is very large to carry two IEMs.
Plussound also has quite extensive selection of accessories, such as their IEM tips, which unfortunately haven't have the chance to try them yet, but you can see the picture below:
The package that I have received is a very nice leather modular case that includes the following items:
1x Quad-Copper 2-pin/4.4mm
1x SPC XL 2-pin/4.4mm
2x Earphone Stands
5x Silicone Eartips Set
The two cables are part of the Plussound limited edition cables, and the only cable missing from the tour kit is the silver-plated copper XL 4-wire, which is only for headphones.
First, let’s look at the quad-copper cable, which is very interestingly consisted of pure copper, silver-plated copper, gold-plated copper, and palladium-plated copper. Even though there are so many different types of wires included, the overall size of the cable is surprisingly thin and nimble (I believe what I got is Exo 4-wire version). You also have the choice of choosing Exo (4-wire), X6 (6-wire), or X8 (8-wire), plus numerous other options when you order your cables. I will talk about the customization alternatives you will enjoy at the end of this review, which IMO is one of the biggest strengths of Plussound cables.
As I mentioned before, quad-copper cable is very nimble and flexible. Ergonomics is another big strength of Plussound cable. There are many other premium cables, but few can compete with Plussound in terms of ergonomics and flexibility. When premium cable companies design their products, it is always a challenge to use thicker and premium materials to maximize the sound quality while also maintaining a level of flexibility. Plussound has some technological know-how to make the best tradeoffs in this regard.
Now let’s talk about the sound of the quad-copper cable. The first thing I noticed was the bass performance, which IMO is the star of the show. It is closer to pure copper than to silver-plated copper. Mixing 4 different coppers in one cable brings some uniqueness to the sound signature, but to my ears, they are improved copper sound but still very close to pure copper. The bass is tighter, more in-control, while still having the impact and rumble of the sub-bass. In the meantime, I did not find any significant change in the treble area, unlike silver-plated copper.
Next, the silver-plated copper XL cable. Even though both cables are 4-wire Exo, the XL is visually much thicker. From my demo, XL is my favorite cable. Just like quad-copper, XL is still very flexible and very easy to handle, typical Plussound cable in terms of ergonomics.
Compared to quad-copper, XL has the same satisfying bass performance, but you can clearly hear the impact from silver-plate, which brings more mid-range and clarity from the treble. Because of this, I also felt a perceived larger soundstage in XL.
Now I must talk about the commonality shared by both cables. Even though I was talking about the difference between these two cables above, readers must understand that they share way more traits than their differences. Both cables bring strong bass performance, and significantly improve the resolution compared to the cheap stock cables from most of the IEMs.
For example, the recent hyped Penno Quattro, which is an unbelievable priced ($399) IEM with 4 dynamic drivers implemented on each side. The stock cable in blue looks and feels like a decent one. However, Archille’s heel of Quattro is its bass, especially the mid bass. If you play Gig Boi’s Kill Jill, which is one of the classic tracks to test bass performance, you won’t hear any bass impact at all with Quattro on stock cable. Switching to either quad-copper or XL, you will immediately notice the change in the bass. Similarly, you will start to hear more details much more easily than the stock cable.
Big Boi – Kill Jill ft. Killer Mike, Jeezy
If you must choose between quad-copper and XL, it will depend on your personal preferences and your arsenal of IEMs. For me, I do have a clear preference that I like XL more than quad-copper. If you are looking at the spectrum of pure copper to pure silver, I would say that quad-copper is between pure copper and silver-plated copper, which is quite surprising to me since I originally thought quad-copper sits in another side of the SPC in the spectrum given the mixing of 4 coppers (3 of them are plated).
Finally, let’s talk about the customization of your order from Plussound, which IMO is one of the most customizable among all the premium cable manufacturers. You have tons of choices in almost every aspect of the cable. One of them really attracts me is the choice of termination by IEM companies. For example, Sony IER series have a recess MMCX port, which creates trouble for the cable upgrade. If you ordered from Plussound, you would have a customized MMCX termination for Sony IER-Z1R or M9.
However, the only thing that I wish Plussound has is the MMCX/2pin combo termination. I know this is contrary to my previously mentioned Cons, universal vs precisely customized. But some competitors, such as Effect Audio got ConX, and Eletch Cable is in the process of doing something similar, it is sooner than later for Plussound to catch up and provide another choice of termination, which can universally adapt for either MMCX or 2pin.
The premium modular case is actually quite nice, with two earphone stands. However, you will notice that the case is very large to carry two IEMs.
Plussound also has quite extensive selection of accessories, such as their IEM tips, which unfortunately haven't have the chance to try them yet, but you can see the picture below:
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