Effect Audio Signature Series 8: More is More

Sound impressions

As always, approach the following section with an open mind. Cables don’t have their own ‘sound’, per se, but their materials, geometry, connectors, shielding, and even solder type can affect their impedance and signal transmission qualities in different ways, which in turn affects how an IEM responds.

I’m not a ‘cable believer’ because in my opinion there’s no question that different cables audibly affect the sound of an IEM to some degree. It’s easy enough for me to pick out the differences in an AB test. That said, the differences are often very small – it takes a rare (and usually very expensive) cable to hear ‘night and day’ differences, and even then, I wouldn’t usually call the differences night and day. 

I mainly compared the new Ares S and Cadmus 8-wire cables to each other, noting subtle differences in tonal response and technical performance with several IEMs, including FIR Audio’s Rn6 and Xe6 flagships, Sony’s Z1R, HiBy’s Zeta and FatFreq’s Maestro SE. I also compared them to their predecessors, and literally just for fun, matched them up against the mighty PW Audio Orpheus. 

Ares S 8-wire

Copper cables are traditionally associated with a slightly warmer sound profile, and Ares S doesn’t disappoint. Tonally, the Ares S 8-wire imposes a bolder sound using a moderate sub-to-midbass lift that stops just short of making already-bassy IEMs sound too bloated. 

Where it differs from some other copper cables that use the same trick is that it keeps the mids-to-treble transition fairly neutral. There’s a slight warming of the lower mids, probably from the warmer bass lift, and treble is on the gentler side too, but I don’t feel like resolution takes too much of a hit as this combination of attributed would usually imply. 

Fire up A Fine Frenzy’s Elements with a moderately bassy IEM and you’ll be treated with a bigger, punchier opening drum salvo, followed by a natural, neutral lead vocal and a gentler treble than you’d sometimes hear with this track. Similarly, Alanis Morissette’s Uninvited sounds bigger in the drums and smoother in the sibilants – of which there are none with Ares S, in my experience. 

EA named Ares S after the Greek god of war, likening the sound to an “intense sense of power” characterised by “warm vocals” with “improved frequency response”. While the language may be flowery, it’s not wholly inaccurate, and I find the warmer, slightly looser bass presentation lends itself to a touch of romanticism, especially in female vocals, while still managing to convey the prevalent treble clarity and extension of the IEM. 

It’s not a fuzzy sound, and to my ears doesn’t give me that “vacuum tube” feeling no matter how much I squint my eyes and try to imagine it. In fact I think it maintains an IEM’s technical performance without too much trouble, which is usually the sign of a well-made cable anyway. You certainly don’t want a cable that degrades technical performance, no matter how romantic it makes your favourite crooner sound.

Cadmus 8-wire

I have a love-hate relationship with silver, be it silver shielding as is the case with Cadmus, or pure silver (Cleo II). I often find that silver cables tend to ‘quicken’ the transients, tightening the bass and thinning out the midrange in favour of increased speed and resolution. Technical listeners tend to love pure silver for that very reason, while silver plating usually splits the difference between silver’s speed and copper’s warmth, at least in theory. 

Cadmus falls on the right side of the line for me when it comes to tonality. It does tighten up the bass on most of my IEMs, but I don’t feel it thins the midrange too much, if at all. It also keeps the treble relatively smooth, but I can still hear some extra energy in the upper-midrange to lower-treble transition with this cable that works to add some clarity to whatever you’ve plugged it into. 

This works quite well for IEMs that tend to be more relaxed or inherently warmer, like FIR’s Xe6, and also works fairly well with the more neutrally-tuned Rn6 (which itself comes standard with a stock silver cable). But it doesn’t quite gel with IEMs that have a bit of extra bite in their upper mids or lower treble registers, like Zeta and Z1R. 

Impressively, Cadmus manages to avoid any serious sibilants with Angel Olsen’s Chance or Missy Higgins’ Shark Fin Blues, even with the two latter IEMs. It does tighten the bass a bit too much, at least for my liking, but if you’re someone for whom thicker bass is anathema to good music, this could be a plus. 

EA pitches Cadmus, named after the famed Greek warrior, as the “perfect all-rounder”, with “higher resolution” and “an outstanding treble response”. I definitely agree with the first part, since Cadmus is more balanced than Ares S across the frequency range, with less colour and more speed. Whether or not you’re of the school that equates more treble energy with higher resolution is a different story. I generally don’t, but I’ll grant you that Cadmus makes most of my IEMs sound clearer when compared to its copper counterpart, which, depending on the track, can make subtle sounds easier to hear.   

Select comparisons

The most obvious comparison to make between these cables, other than to each other (which I already started doing above), is to their 4-wire counterparts. 

Unlike the saying ‘less is more’, when it comes to cables, more is more, in my opinion. More wires physically equates to less resistance and lower impedance, so if nothing else, you can expect your sensitive IEMs not to fluctuate too much with impedance swings when connected to low impedance sources.

There are two characteristics that both cables share, in general, when I compare them directly to the 4-wire versions: a larger, more defined stage, and a bump in resolution. With bigger staging comes better separation too. 

Not to pour cold water on these benefits, however, they should be taken in context; these are not multi-kilobuck, exotic mineral cables, and the changes they make to the sound of an IEM, when they do, is small to begin with. Going from 4-to-8-wire is about the same jump as going from basic stock cables to more expensive quality cables like these. It’s notable, but it’s subtle. There’s no black and white here, just slightly different shades of grey. 

That said, I do feel the difference these 8-wire versions make goes beyond just improved sound quality. I actually prefer the heftiness of the cables, and the braid feels tighter too, so overall the experience is a better one for – let’s face it – not that much more money. If you’re looking to buy a Signature Series cable, unless you’re of the thinner-is-better persuasion, spend a little more and get the 8-wire version for sure. They’re better cables, full stop.     

Which of the two should you buy? At $299 Cadmus is only $20 more expensive than Ares S, so price-wise they’re a wash. Your choice should really be based on the IEMs you intend to pair them with, and your sound preferences. Need some added warmth and love your bass sounding fuller? Ares S will likely be the go-to, even with bassier IEMs. Want less bass, more treble but an overall smooth and balanced signature that doesn’t do too much to change the character of your IEMs? Cadmus would be my pick.  

And just for fun…

If you want to hear what 20-times the money of either cable will buy you, see if you can get a demo of PW Audio’s legendary Orpheus (or the new Orpheus with Shielding) at your local audio store, dealer, or wealthy audiophile. When I said night-and-day generally doesn’t apply to cables, there’s a certain point at which it simply does.

Comparing EA’s well-made, great sounding Signature Series cables to Orpheus is, of course, a fool’s errand, but just because I can, I did. If I have to spell it out, there’s fresh air and more than a few playing fields between the performance of the world’s most expensive cable and the reliable Greeks. 

Tonally, Orpheus is closer to Ares S, with a fuller bass response, but a slightly more rolled treble. In fact, if you’re looking to add treble extension to your sound, Cadmus might even work better for you than Orpheus, believe it or not. Technically, where the Signature Series maintain and perhaps slightly improve the sound of certain IEMs, Orpheus can literally transform the performance of certain IEMs – or at least scale them up much further than a copper cable has any right to. 

Practically speaking, Orpheus is something that’s only relevant to those for whom cost is no object, whereas everything about Signature Series speaks to great value and affordability. What’s more, just knowing that a cable like Orpheus exists shouldn’t make you value the Signature Series cables any less; if anything it’s a sign of how far we’ve come where you can get really good performance, build and ergonomics that will notably upgrade your basic stock cables without requiring a kidney in exchange. 

And besides, when the time is right, and you have that kidney to spare, Orpheus will be there, waiting…

Continue to closing thoughts…