Pair up.

Here is how I hear Xmas cable pairs up with some IEMs.  I chose a handful of popular monitors for this testing, to compare the performance between their stock and Xmas cables, and to capture any changes I hear.

In this test I was using LPGT as a neutral reference source, volume matched, and playing the selection of my usual 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”, Counting Crows “Big yellow taxi”, Galantis “Hunter”, Alan Walker “Darkside”, Iggy Azalea “Black widow”, Indila “Boite en argent”, Robin Schultz “Oh child”, Dua Lipa “Love again”, David Elias “Vision of her”, and Michael Jackson “Dirty Diana”.  By force of habit, the cable had a few days of burn in.

64 Audio U12t (stock OFC to Xmas) – Xmas really ‘cleans up’ the sound of U12t.  As expected, improvement in mids was the first thing that jumped up at me.  Besides a lifted veil and noticeably more clarity, the mids are more layered, more separated, more expanded (vocals literally spreading wider), and less congested due to more air between the layers of the sound.  Another thing I noticed was a tighter bass due to a sharper decay of bass notes which results in better separation of mids-bass and lower mids.  This was a noticeable finetuning from the stock cable, especially in mids, not making them brighter or revealing, but adding more transparency with less coloration to improve the clarity of the sound.

UM Mest MK2 (stock Copper M2 to Xmas) – I was looking forward to this pair up because MK2 mildly U-shaped tuning with its stock cable focuses on bass and treble, often leaving mids a bit behind.  Here, Xmas cable breathed a new life into mids of MK2, bringing them more forward with improved clarity and layering.  As a result, the sound sig shifts to a more balanced tuning.  Also, I’m hearing the improvement in shorter decay of bass notes, making them snappier which also tightens the sound.  One thing I was worried about was treble.  To my ears MK2 treble has the perfect amount of sparkle and airiness, but it is on a borderline where with some recordings it could get a bit hot.  With Xmas cable the treble remained unchanged, and as a matter of fact, due to mids having a more forward presentation, the treble intensity took a small step back, making it a bit more natural.

Empire Ears Legend X (stock Ares to Xmas) – Also, couldn’t way to try this pair up for a few reasons.  L-shaped tuning of LX always brought more attention to the bass, pushing mids presentation back, and it comes stock with Ares 4W cable.  Have been a while since I heard these IEMs, so it was a pleasant reunion to hear back the big blooming bass and sparkly treble.  But stepping up to Xmas scaled up mids/vocals to a whole new level.  As expected, vocals are more forward, have more clarity, layering.  Instruments have better separation and more air between layers.  The tuning is still L-shaped but not as extreme, more like W-shaped with an elevated enhanced bass which has slightly less sub-bass rumble and more controlled decay of notes, shaping up the bass to be more balanced with mids.  I might have to keep Xmas cable permanently attached with Legend X.

Comparison.

For this test I continued using LPGT with my usual selection of tracks, but decided to step up to UM MM and Aroma Jewel, both of which I use in my critical sound analysis.

Xmas vs Ares S 8w – Ares presents mids in a different, slightly denser, with a bit less air between the layers of the sound.  This creates the perception of a more subtle layering and separation and more center-focused imaging which still keeps the overall width of the soundstage but makes vocals a little bit narrow.  Xmas has more expanded mids that spread wider, literally feels like there is more air between the layers of the sound.  Also, with an exception of Ares S having a little deeper sub-bass rumble, the overall tonality hasn’t changed, just the technical performance mentioned above.

Xmas vs Cadmus 8w – Cadmus has less sub-bass and brighter treble sparkle.  As a result, Cadmus has more forward presentation of the mids, with less coloring, and more revealing tonality.  Xmas has a deeper bass, not as deep as Ares but deeper than Cadmus.  That adds more body to the sound and has more balanced presentation of the mids/vocals in comparison to more forward presentation of vocals with Cadmus.  Xmas also has slightly less treble emphasis, still plenty of sparkle and airiness, but it is just a touch scaled down.  I hear the same soundstage expansion.

Xmas vs Eros S 8w – Eros has a little deeper sub-bass rumble, also has a bit north of neutral body in lower mids, and slightly smoother treble peaks.  That gives vocals more body with a slightly smoother overall tonality.  In contrast, Xmas has a bit less weight in lower end, more transparency in mids/vocals, and a little more sparkle in treble. I keep focusing on changes in mids, but in this comparison it is not as noticeable as it was with Ares.  And despite the difference I hear in mids, the soundstage expansion is still very similar, quite expanded along with the imaging.

Conclusion w/Sound Analysis.

As I made it clear in my original Signature Series review, these Effect Audio cables are easy to recommend because they are easy on the eye, easy on the wallet, and feature higher quality wire material.  EA Signature Series of cables stepped it up with premium looks on the level of some kilobuck cables while the price remained at the entry level.  And if you take into consideration Ares S ($179), Cadmus ($199), and Portable Carrying case ($79), you are getting $457 value product with a limited-edition cable hardware finish for $349.  Also, don’t forget, the cable still comes with ConX so you can use it with different types of IEMs.

And as far the cable itself, as I always say, there is no magic in sound changes.  Even cable disbelievers will agree that when you double the number of wires, you are doubling the cross-section area of the combined cable, decreasing the impedance of the cable which in combination with the output impedance of your source and the impedance and crossover design of your IEMs should affect the sound.  In my review I described the changes relative to LPGT DAP and various popular IEMs.  And while these changes could be more or less noticeable relative to how the user hears it or other sources and IEMs in use, these changes were very consistent.

I found EA Xmas cable to give you the ability to finetune the sound of your IEMs with some of the tonal characteristics found in individual Ares S and Cadmus 8-wire cable versions.  Xmas enhances the depth and the weight of bass which approaches Ares S 8w level, and at the same time the sparkle and the airiness in treble which approaches Cadmus 8w level.  But what makes it stand out is the transparency and the resolution in mids/vocals with a noticeable improvement in the layering and the separation of the sounds, literally feeling like there is more air between the layers.  That also improves the width and the overall soundstage expansion of mids/vocals.  It’s not just a great looking cable with cool accessories, but also a great sounding cable too!