Ear to Ear Cables
Roy Harris
Thank
you , Pear Cable. This company claims its cable is the best that is commercially
available. On its website, it lists the names of 143 of its competitors.
I was familiar with 90 of the entries. I accessed the websites of the
remaining 53 cable companies and eliminated most of them from consideration
based upon materials and statements of product performance. After perusing
a description of the Ear to Ear cables offerings on its website, www.eartoearcables.com,
and talking to designer Alessandro Cupillari, I expressed an interest
in reviewing interconnects, speaker cables and power cords.
The initial shipment contained two pairs
of interconnects, differing only with respect to the connectors, a pair
of speaker cable, and four power cords. After a break-in period of about
200 hours, I auditioned all of the cables and reported some of my observations
regarding frequency response. I then received two more power cords, two
pair of interconnects and another pair of speaker cable. One of my suggestions
became the basis for the creation of a new cable which is included in
the review sample, namely the Black Magic interconnect.
The following cables are the subject
of the review: 1 m Black Magic interconnect, with Vampire 800 CB connector
$350; 2.5 m Black speaker cable with Furutech spades $525; 6 ft Black
power cable with standard Levitton connectors $300 x 2 $600; 6 ft Black
power cable with Furutech FT-11 connectors $390 x 2 $780
Note, the line cords terminated with
Furutech connectors were used with my VTL Deluxe 120 amps, whereas the
line cords having the standard connectors were used with source components.
Cable Design
All cables are stranded, 5 9s copper,
5 percent silver plated multi-gauge wires. The interconnect cable uses
2 13 gauge conductors, the speaker cable has 6 8 gauge conductors and
the power cords use 3 conductors, each of which is 6 gauge. Teflon is
the dielectric in all cases. Wires are spiral twisted inside of a Teflon
tube, and the tubes are twisted around each other. A copper braided shield
and a proprietary dampening material are wrapped around the Teflon tube,
in the aforementioned order, several times. A stainless steel braided
outer jacket covers all of the aforementioned materials for additional
shielding. The shield is connected to ground at one end. External drain
wires are connected to ground at the same end as the shield. The drain
wires from the interconnect and speaker cables are then connected to the
drain wires on the line cord to reduce noise. The designer believes the
system described above routes noise directly to ground and away from the
musical signal. Silver solder is used to connect wires to the RCA connectors.
Crimping with a small dab of silver solder attaches wires to spades, and
set screws attach wires to the IEC and plug.
The Sound
The following CDs were used to evaluate
the cables: Holly Cole, DON’T SMOKE IN BED, “I Can See Clearly
Now”, Alert Z2 81020; Ravel “Alborado Del Gracioso”,
Ansermet, London 414046; Offenbach, “Gaite Parisienne”, Fiedler,
JVC XRCD 0224; Steely Dan, AJA, “Deacon Blues”, MCAD 37124;
Earl Klugh and Bob James, TWO OF A KIND, “Sandstorm”, Manhattan
CDP 77191
The
acoustic bass solo at the beginning of “I Can See Clearly Now”,
slightly emphasized the body of the instrument relative to the articulation
of the strings. This recording is a typical example of close-miking. Thus,
it was no surprise that Holly Cole’s voice exhibited some sibilance.
Fortunately, the sibilance was not exaggerated. The SPL varied from 76
to 83 db, as measured by a Radio Shack SPL meter, c-weighted.
Ravel’s “Alborado Del Gracioso”
featuring L’Orchestre de la Suissse Romande was recorded in 1961.
Sonically, it compares favorably to orchestras recorded 40 plus years
later. A brief clarinet solo is heard in which the instrument is positioned
deep into the orchestra. Two cymbal crashes are located well behind and
slightly to the left of the left speaker without an excess of lower treble
energy. However, a bassoon solo shortly thereafter although exhibiting
some depth of field, is a bit forward compared to what I have experienced
using other cables. The SPL varied from 74 to 81 db, using the SPL meter
previously mentioned.
I must be partial to French orchestral
music, as my next selection was Offenbach’s “Gaite Parisienne”.
The very first notes are a test of dynamics. I did not notice any deficiency
or bombast with respect to this attribute of music. The triangle had its
usual sparkle without sounding edgy, or euphonically colored. The tambourine
was positioned in the background with its appropriate timbral cues articulated
without sounding overly focused. Both the wood block and the triangle
were positioned a bit further back from the right speaker than I usually
experience with other cables, but I observed a slight foreshortening of
the distance between them. The SPL varied from 70 to 80 db, using an SPL
meter, as previously described.
The words to “Deacon Blues”
have an existential flavor. It is my favorite Steely Dan song. Donald
Fagen’s diction and enunciation were unimpeded by any sonic artifacts.
His characteristic vocal inflection and the words themselves were clear
and easy to follow. The sound of instruments such as kick drum, cymbal
and voices was spectrally balanced. Pete Christlieb’s tenor sax
solo was robust and retained its natural timbre in the upper register
of the instrument. Listening to this section with other cables has occasionally
revealed an emphasis on the lower treble. The SPL varied from 74 to 81
db measured by an SPL meter, as previously described.
“Sandstorm”,
track 3 from TWO OF A KIND, begins with a cymbal alternated with a kick
drum. I did not detect any additive coloration. However, the cymbal lacked
some texture and sounded a bit thin. The plucking of the strings of an
acoustic guitar provided sufficient timbral cues to identify its material
content, namely nylon. However, there was a slight lack of texture and
a thinness to the sound of the strings. In addition, there was a slight
lack of weight in the wood body of the guitar. The SPL varied from 72
to 82 db, measured by an SPL meter, as previously described.
Conclusion
My experience with these cables was very
interesting. The designer was very accommodating, providing cables in
addition to the original shipment, allowing for variation in connectors
and a change in the gauges of the stranded wires of the interconnect.
I observed sufficient detail at all times. At no time did I detect a lack
of resolution. There was an absence of errors of commission. There was
no brightness or exaggerated bass. The sound of instruments did not exhibit
any gross or serious timbral inaccuracies. There was no grain and no noise.
I believe the presence of a drain wire connected to the ground of the
power cord can explain an overall very quiet presentation. There was a
minor issue of spacing and depth and a slight subtractive coloration in
the midrange. These slight deviations from neutrality (no component is
perfect) were not obtrusive and did not interfere with the enjoyment of
the music.
All of the cables in the review sample
are in current production. In addition to these cables, I received a prototype
interconnect cable, differing in construction with respect to the gauge
of the wires. This interconnect was terminated with Neutrik Pro-Fi connectors.
When substituting this interconnect for the Black Magic interconnect,
I observed a reduction in the subtractive colorations alluded to above.
In addition, when I substituted my Audionote CD2 CD player, the subtractive
coloration disappeared. There is a difference sonically between the Vincent
24 bit player and the 1990’s 20 bit player with respect to warmth
and spectral balance. The Audionote is closer to the classic tube sound,
while the Vincent, with its tube output stage, has a modern tube sound.
As a consequence of the effect of the difference in CD players upon the
sound of the stereo system, I consider the Ear to Ear cables appropriate
for spectrally balanced and slightly warm sounding stereo systems.
Manufacturer's Comment
I’d like to start off by saying that it has been a real pleasure
discussing the ETE cable designs, manufacturing methods and other “things
audio” with Roy Harris throughout this review process.
When we at Ear to Ear (ETE) were
contacted by Roy Harris we were excited by the prospect of a published
review. That excitement was tempered somewhat when we discovered that
Roy’s reviews are typically very factual and understated. We believe
that Roy’s reviews are generally neither positive nor negative.
Roy calls it as he hears it without inserting his judgment into the review.
He lets the reader decide if the cable is right for them or not. When
you think about it, is this not the way it should be? During that initial
conversation, Roy mentioned that he was looking for cables that he could
live with for a while, ones that he could just hook-up and forget about
so he could concentrate on other things besides cable reviews for a bit.
Now, the review process which spanned
5 months has ended and Roy has expressed an interest in purchasing the
set of ETE cables he reviewed. For us at ETE this is the highest form
of praise and we couldn’t be more pleased.
I would like to sincerely thank Roy Harris for his review of the ETE cables
and for helping to develop the “Black Magic” RCA interconnect
which we have incorporated into our cable offerings.
Alessandro Cupillari
President,
Ear to Ear Cables Ltd.
Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Vincent CD S6 and Audionote CD2
Preamp: Passive Bent TVC
Amplifier: VTL Deluxe 120 mono blocs
Speaker: Magnepan 1.6
Interconnect: Chimera Labs, Voodoo Cable Talisman,
Soundstring Audio
Speaker Cable: Voodoo Cable Talisman
Power Cords: Element Cable Signature Terminator, Voodoo Cable
Mojo, Soundstring Audio, Distech, Clarity Audio
Accessories—AC: PS Audio Power Plant 300, PS Audio Ultimate Outlet,
PS Audio Noise Harvesters, Alan Maher Power Enhancers,
Enacom for the line, PS Audio Juice Bar, Chang ISO 6400,
Nirvana Audio isolation transformer, Blue Circle Sound
Pillows, Quantum Symphony
Accessories—Passive: Enacom for interconnects, Enacom for the speaker,
Room
Tunes, Audio Interference Solutions Ophiopogon, Sound Fusion
Sound Boosters, eggcrate mattress, diy wall mounted foam , Z
System Z Sleeve.
Manufactured by Ear to Ear
Source of review sample: Manufacturer loan
E-mail: sales@eartoearcables.com
