Sound Analysis.

The sound analysis of these cables was done using 64 Audio U18t with Lotoo’s LPGT, playing a selection of the test tracks, such as Agnes Obel “The curse”, Sandro Cavazza “So much better” (Avicii remix), C-Bool “Never go away”, Ed Sheeran “Shape of you”, Galantis “Hunter”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Robin Schultz “Oh child”, David Elias “Vision of her”, and Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”.

In my opinion, cable doesn’t have a “sound” which you can describe by itself like IEMs in terms of lows, mids, treble.  Cable is a medium that could shape up and fine-tune the sound signature or expand the soundstage perception, something you can describe relative to IEM under the test or relative to another cable you compare it to.  What you hear is a synergy between 3 elements in the sound chain: the source, the cable, and IEMs.  Thus, it’s easier to describe the sound when you replace one of these elements and note the change associated with it.

I started “analyzing” the sound of these cables while going through a comparison to reach my conclusion below.  And in the follow up Comparison section I will go into more details.

Relative to using U18t while comparing between three Vogue cables, I hear Cu Maestro to make the sound more balanced and more natural, with a little more emphasis in the low end and a bit smoother top end.  In comparison to Cu Maestro, SPC Virtuoso lifted the upper end of mids and treble while trimming the sub-bass extension, and hybrid Cu/Ag Grandioso refined the sound into a more v-shaped fun tuning with a sub-bass lift of the low end and extra sparkle in the lower treble.

Comparison.

Consistent with my cable testing philosophy, I used the same IEM (64 Audio U18t) and only changed one variable at a time to note the sound difference I hear while keeping volume matched.  Keep in mind, I’m describing how these cables sound with 64 Audio U18t IEM.

EA Ares II vs EA Maestro (Cu) – in this comparison I hear the soundstage to be nearly the same, but there are some subtle differences in tonality where Maestro adds a little more sub-bass rumble and more body in upper mids.  Especially in upper mids, it’s more noticeable with vocals being a little fuller with more natural body.  It’s not a drastic change, but when listening closely, I do appreciate it.  Other big improvement is a more flexible thinner jacket and a tighter braiding, making cable appear slimmer.  And the new hardware with a much lighter plug and splitter also reduces the cable weight, making it more comfortable for extended use with IEMs.

EA Maestro (Cu) vs EA Virtuoso (SPC) – again, soundstage here is the same, I don’t hear any changes, but the tonality change is typical of SPC nature.  In comparison to Cu Maestro, SPC Virtuoso has a little less rumble in sub-bass, brighter upper mids, and noticeably crisper treble.  Bass change is more subtle, but upper mids and lower treble change is more noticeable with instruments and vocals having more sparkle, being more revealing, and treble having more airiness.  Switching between these two cables is a good way to finetune the sound without drastic changes, where for example if the tuning of your IEM has harsher lower treble peaks, you would want to go with Cu Maestro to give it a more natural upper frequency tonality.  But if you feel that treble is a little dull and you want to inject more energy into the sound – SPC Virtuoso can provide that extra sparkle.

EA Virtuoso (SPC) vs ALO SPC – These two were very close in performance.  With U18t the perception of soundstage expansion is nearly the same.  And when it comes to sound tonality, from the low-end extension and impact, to a slightly brighter mids – all sounds nearly identical.  The only difference here is in treble where ALO SPC treble is smoother, similar to Cu Maestro, while SPC Virtuoso treble has more sparkle.

EA Maestro (Cu) vs EA Virtuoso (SPC) vs EA Grandioso (Cu/Ag) – In this comparison I combined all three together because after going back and forth between all these cables, I found hybrid Grandioso to sound like a “hybrid” between Cu Maestro and SPC Virtuoso. Soundstage perception is the same between all three cables. But in Grandioso the bass is very close to the extended sub-bass rumble of Cu Maestro, going even a touch deeper with a more textured rumble.  The mids (Grandioso) are also close to Cu Maestro, having a more natural tonality with a slightly more body in vocals.  But the treble of Grandioso has a similar sparkle, airiness, and extension as SPC Virtuoso.

EA Grandioso (Cu/Ag) vs ALO Ref8 hybrid – While Ref8 hybrid is a combination of Cu and SPC wires and Grandioso is a hybrid with pure Cu and pure Silver, these do have a lot of similarities in sound. Soundstage perception is nearly the same with U18t.  I hear bass to have a similar deep sub-bass rumble and tight mid-bass punch.  Treble is also very similar in quantity and quality, with extra sparkle and more airiness.  But the presentation of mids varies, where Ref8 brings mids a little more forward and makes them even a touch brighter, while Grandioso mids sound more natural and slightly pushed back in comparison.  You also have to take into consideration that Ref8 is more expensive, quite microphonic, and stiff in comparison to Grandioso.

Conclusion.

Up until now Premium Standard series was EA’s budget line of cables, but with introduction of Vogue – the price went down even lower.  To my surprise, I found these new cables to feel as “premium” and to offer even some improvements and enhancements, becoming more competitive not only in pricing but also in design.  It definitely didn’t feel or look cheap.  Instead, the new Vogue series cables are more lightweight, comfortable to wear, feel durable, and have plugs and connectors with an enhanced grip thanks to a flattened design.

When it comes to the sound, as I state in every cable review, wires shouldn’t change anything drastically like an EQ, and instead help with a refinement and fine-tuning.  And if you don’t hear the changes or they are too subtle to your ears, these cables by itself is a great option to replace your cheap stock wires with a better looking balanced terminated cable.  To my ears, the sound change I hear is very typical of Cu, SPC, and mixed Cu/Ag as I described it in Sound Analysis section.  And since you can find Effect Audio at most of the audio shows, you don’t have to take anyone else’s word; just try these cables for yourself to find out what you hear!