Sound Quality
Cables are like fine wines. They can complement or enhance the flavours of gastronomical creations in subtle or assertive ways. If a wine sommelier does a terrible job, counterintuitive pairings can contradict, mask, or harm the delicate taste of intricate dishes. The same rules are extrapolated to audio.
Keep in mind that cables are complementary, not revolutionary. No matter how hard you try, you cannot simply rewrite the fundamental base signature of any IEM or headphone.
We discuss how the sonic qualities of my reference IEMs are altered through these selective pairings.
IO Audio Volare
Before Pairing: The IO Audio Volare is a technical marvel that embodies the Harman-response curve albeit with a more bulbous low-end and extended upper-treble for added bass texturing and brilliance. The end result is an excellently resolving IEM with a rapid PRAT.
Bass-rendering is especially clean, with a deeper sub-bass rumble and better depth in the mid-bass region. Micro detailing in this region is technically impressive, with subtle gradations and textures being picked up on.
The midrange has a soft-tuck, but with enough forwardness to sound natural across most recordings. On occasion, the rise in the upper-treble can result in persistent shoutiness across poorly-mastered tracks.
Lateral staging and imaging between vocal and instrumental elements across the stage displays exceptional headroom, with pans and sweeps being immediately apparent.
After Pairing: The immediate change starts with the Volare’s class-leading bass response. From top-to-bottom, there is a noticeable improvement in overall bass texturing and micro-detailing. Sub-bass fullness is apparent, with trailing notes sounding ‘stretched’ in a natural manner – akin to natural reverb. There isn’t as sharp a alteration to the mid-bass, but in terms of macrodynamic performance , it’s powerful slam is softened ever so slightly, with a slower (just a touch) PRAT.
Depending on your listening preferences, the detectable changes to the presence region may be construed as a positive or a negative. I happen to fall in the former camp. The Volare’s stock treble has a garish quality on orchestral-heavy recordings. It never ever crosses the threshold of discomfort, but instances of metallic timbre detracts from its sense of realism – this is a prevalent problem across electret tweeters. The Lavender 6 helps to smoothen out those rougher artefacts.
Fatfreq X HBB Deuce
Before Pairing: Fatfreq is Singapore’s darling brand for bass-heads across the globe. The HBB Deuce is their cheapest offering thus far, powered by a dual-dynamic driver configuration that has become ubiquitous across the entire audiophile scene.
This should come as no surprise, but to the uninitiated, Fatfreq’s ‘bass-focused IEMs’ crank up the bass to comical levels – in this instance, expect a 15dB sub-bass cliff (25dB with the accompanying impedance adapter). Mid-bass slam, in contrast, is ‘gentler’ – it lacks the assertive slam and commandeering presence of the sub-bass’s thickness and gargantuan rumble.
What makes the Deuce fantastic is how it brings Fatfreq’s signature relative cleanliness in the rest of the frequency response with minimal overlap or bleed. Surprisingly, the midrange remains fairly organic and natural in its presentation in spite of the unsubtle and in-your-face oomph in the bass. Unlike the Volare, the Deuce is definitely an IEM that fulfills a niche incredibly well, but it isn’t a technical or all-rounded pair for all intents and purposes.
Moreover, what makes the Deuce an addictive pair is its ability to return a lively and energetic upper-midrange that offers a foil to the cavernous and rotund sub-bass rise – how it sounds in practice doesn’t quite match up to how it graphs.
After Pairing: The Deuce’s low-end is already emphatic on its own. With the Lavender 6, this pairing accentuates the weight and drag of trailing notes (albeit tastefully). This isn’t a taut-and-tight bass response to begin with, but the Lavender 6 enhances the sweet and syrupy aspects of a slower bass-response. Atmospherically, this lends itself well to giant orchestral swells and crescendos, enhancing its cinematic appeal and impact. Counterintuitively, this also results in a thicker bass response that begins to creep upward into the midrange.
The presence boost in the Deuce doesn’t really come across as sibilant or abrasive in most listening sessions pre-pairing, but the Lavender 6 mitigates those timbre problems, enhancing the Deuce’s overall timbre presentation, with tonally-correct instrumentation and grounded vocal presentations.
Conclusive Remarks
The Lavender 6 is a laudable release from a under-the-radar cable maker. From its extravagant build to its lasciviously warm and rich performance (when paired with the above IEMs), the Lavender 6 is an affordable flagship cable that reminds us that musicality trumps raw fidelity.
