Cable pair up.

I’m aware that some people don’t believe in cables and have a very strong opinion about it.  It’s not my intent to start an argument here.  Instead, I would like to share what I hear during my testing.  What makes sense to me, a metal wire is a material with physical properties of resistivity, conductivity, and purity, all of which put together act as a filter between your source and earphones.  Variations of these physical properties can affect the conductivity of analog signal, resulting in a sound change, from a subtle to a more noticeable level.  If the talk about cables upsets you, you are welcome to skip this section.

I believe you have a choice when ordering Allegro directly from PlusSound to request a different, other than Copper+, cable if you think it will suit you better.  And as always, I encourage people to cable-roll to see if you hear any difference.  Also, the changes below are not night and day, those are fine-tuning changes.

PS Copper+ – closer to a U-shaped tuning with more emphasis on sub-bass and upper mids and mid-treble.

PS Copper+/Silver+ Hybrid – more balanced tuning with a stronger mid-bass punch (relative to Copper+), clear detailed upper mids and more balanced mid-treble which makes highs sound less intense.

PS Silver+ – balanced W-shaped sound sig with deep sub-bass and stronger mid-bass impact relative to Hybrid+, forward, clear, detailed mids, and crips and natural treble which has a bit more sparkle than Hybrid+ but less than Copper+.  This will be great for those who enjoy the weight and the impact of analog bass and want more resolving upper frequencies without too much harshness.  Personally, I preferred this cable out of three “+” versions.

PS PPH8 – balanced W-shaped sound sig, very articulate and well controlled bass, clear revealing mids, excellent extraction of details, and brighter treble.  In this pair treble does sound brighter, transparent, airy.  Treble wasn’t harsh or fatigue, but it was definitely more vivid in comparison to other PS cable pair ups.

PS Tri-copper – enjoyed this pair up very much.  It was closer to PPH8 with a balanced sound tuning, very articulate tight bass, clear revealing mids, and treble that was crisp, airy, and quite extended, and less fatigue and more natural in comparison to PPH8.

Eletech Socrates – similar to Tri-copper with more elevated sub-bass rumble and a touch more treble sparkle.

EA Cleo II octa – paired up with this cable, Allegro sounds smoother and more organic due to warmer bass, more body in lower bids and fuller body and smoother upper mids, and a lot more natural treble. The only thing I wasn’t too crazy about, soundstage shrunk a bit, having more depth/height rather than width, also making the sound a bit distant in front of you.

EA Eros S – this copper/silver hybrid cable had a similar pair up synergy as Cleo II octa with smother and fuller body mids and more natural treble, the bass was stronger, had more weight and impact.  But surprisingly, the soundstage here was a little narrower with sounds being closer to the center.

Liquid Links Venom – I was very surprised with this pair up, expecting a typical Venom synergy with more revealing sound, while instead it was warmer and thicker, with lower mids having more body and upper mids being more organic and smoother.  Treble was still crisp and clear.

Source Pair up.

PS Allegro has 10ohm impedance and average sensitivity of 112dB, making it quite easy to drive.  Also, with most of the DAPs no hissing was detected.  For your reference, here are my brief pair up notes.  And by brief, I just focus on any changes related to a sound sig and a general tonality.  I will start with PlusSound own TWS-C “source” and then cover other popular DAPs.

PlusSound TWS-C Bluetooth cable (w/Hybrid+ cable) – very mild hissing, only noticeable between tracks of the song during those few seconds of playback.  Default EQ setting is a bit bass heavy, tuned for a commercial sound preference.  Mids are clear, detailed, organic, and treble is crisp and natural.  But the bass is elevated in default setting.  I preferred Classical EQ setting here which brought upper mids more forward with better clarity and higher resolution and retrieval of details.  As a result of that, bass perception wasn’t as elevated.

Lotoo LPGT – baseline sound with big expanded soundstage, deep elevated sub-bass, rounded mid-bass punch (average speed attack and average decay), neutral lower mids, clear, detailed, natural upper mids, and crisp and clear treble.

Shanling M9 – as expected and typical of M9, the treble gets brighter and splashier, not the best pair up in this case.

Sony WM1ZM2 – mid-bass has a stronger and faster punch, lower mids got a bit more body which gives upper mids more organic tonality, and treble is also a touch smoother.  Great pair up synergy.

Cayin N8ii (class AB, tube, P) – while I usually go with P+, here I switched back to P since P+ gave treble a bit of a boost.  The sound has a more holographic soundstage, similar bass response as with LPGT, a little more body in lower mids, and a bit more vivid treble response.

A&K SP2k – big soundstage expansion, deep elevated sub-bass, rounded mid-bass, and neutral lower mids – all quite similar to LPGT pair up.  The only difference here is a little more vivid treble.

iBasso DX320 X w/AMP14 – big soundstage expansion that actually wraps around/behind you, deep elevate sub-bass and a bit punchier mid-bass, natural detailed mids, and crisper, brighter treble.  Treble was a bit hot here, not too harsh, but definitely more vivid.

Hiby RS8 – big soundstage expansion, a good balance between deep extended sub-bass rumble and faster and tighter mid-bass punch, natural fuller body detailed mids, and very detailed treble without being too crisp or fatigue.  Probably 2nd best pair up next to LPGT.

Page 4 – Comparison and Conclusion.