Ear to Ear Cables -- A follow up
Martin Appel
After
reading my colleague Roy Harris’ review of the EAR to EAR (ETE)
cables, my curiosity was piqued. After discussing these cables with him
I was even more interested in checking them out. You see, Roy likes to
keep his opinions close to the vest and it’s often difficult without
being very direct! Suffice it to say that he piqued my interest enough
that I contacted Alessandro Cupillari, the head honcho of ETE and expressed
my interest in doing a follow up review of his cables. He was happy to
oblige but asked me if I would review his new, top of the line power cord,
the Platinum Black N w/ Fururtech Fl-11 Gold plugs ($650 1.5m) and the
Black Magic RCA interconnect w/Vampire series 800/CB connectors ($350
1m), and the Black Magic balanced interconnect w/Neutrik connectors ($375
1m). I needed the balanced for my CD player and the RCAs for my phono
stage connection to my preamp.
The Platinum Black power cord comes in
two versions, one with a black nylon braided jacket (N) and the second,
a braided stainless steel (S) jacket. While the construction of the cable
is the same, and the performance almost the same, the ‘S’
cover offers a slight improvement in rejecting EMI and RFI. Why not just
make the S version? According to Cupillari, he offers both options because
some users may enjoy the greater flexibility and lighter weight of one
model compared to the stiffer, heavier S model with its additional protection
from outside influences, further reducing signal degradation. Your choice.
In either case these cables are quite stiff. Now, let’s listen.
My first test was to install the Platinum
Black on my Marantz SA-7S1 CD player in place of my reference, Acoustic
Zen’s Absolute. I let about 150 hours of burn in happen before I
started my serious evaluation process. Cupillari recommended that trying
it on a source component would have the largest impact. He was right.
Quieter backgrounds increased three dimensionality, greater palpability
and body, improved soundstage depth, all adding up to an improvement in
the listening experience. I was surprised and impressed. The Platinum
Black was going up against a power cord that cost more than three times
the price. Before I go further I want to reiterate how important system
synergy is and point out that my system’s linestage is Innersound’s
iControl. The listening result was obtained with this linestage in the
system. The introduction of the ETE power cord, as previously stated,
produced this beneficial listening result and I decided to see what effect
changing the preamp would have. It just so happened that I had on hand
for review the Marantz SA-7S2 linestage. It had been sitting, burning
in and decided to replace the Innersound with the Marantz. Would I obtain
a similar result? The answer was not what I expected. The same ETE power
cord that worked so well on the CD player did not produce an equal benefit
with the Marantz linestage in the system. My reference power cord, Acoustic
Zen’s Absolute, produced a greater improvement with the Marantz
linestage in the system then with the Innersound linestage in the system.
Greater clarity, separation and air were achieved.
When I replaced my reference Acoustic
Zen Absolute power cord and Absolute interconnect on the Innersound linestage
with the ETE cables, I had another interesting result. There was a definite
tonal shift downward that emphasized the mids, upper and lower bass and
minimized the upper mids and high frequencies. The sound became richer,
fuller, deeper, in a traditional tube like manner. A sound, my colleague,
Roy Harris loved. I tried the same cable setup with the Marantz linestage
in the system and achieved a very different result. The tonal shift did
not occur and the sound was more evenly balanced. We know that it’s
practically impossible to know how cables from one manufacturer will interact
with different equipment from other manufacturers. It has been documented
by many in the field that changing cables to tailor the sound will sometimes
expose unintended results. Even though I was aware of this, I have not
experienced such a strong tonal shift. This is not a good or bad thing.
It just means that auditioning the ETE cables in your system is crucial.
Clearly something was going on between the ETE cables and the Innersound
linestage but not with the Marantz linestage. I wish I had a third linestage
to test.
In conclusion, I would like to thank
Alessandro Cupillari for his patience and allowing me the extra time I
needed to write this follow up review. His cooperation in sending me special
cable lengths was also much appreciated.
The Ear to Ear cables were auditioned
along side some very expensive and well regarded competition, and, in
most cases, faired very well. There is something to be said for hi-end
cables that give ultimate transparency. Lots of money, though. However,
Cupillari has designed cables that have many of the attributes of the
top end competition at a very reasonable price. Auditioning them is strongly
suggested, but that is true of most high end products. Your time and patience
may well be rewarded with cables fit for the very best in high end audio.
Give them a try and discover a cable company with a lot of promise. Keep
listening.
Manufacturer's Comment
Martin,
I’m glad you enjoyed our cables. We at Ear
to Ear Cables strive to make the best cables possible at down to earth
prices. We don’t use gold or platinum in our wires and our connectors
are not generally jewelry grade. But, we do use the best available copper,
silver and Teflon wires and then we add 3 layers of vibration damping
between each wire and around the assembly. We also use several different
shielding techniques on each cable which separately drain to ground.
We know of no other cable manufacturer that takes
vibration control and EMI shielding so seriously. This is why our cables
sound so smooth and quiet. The reduction of background noise and high
frequency grain allow more of the music to come through; the dynamics
are richer and each note sounds sweeter.
We agree that system matching is extremely important.
That’s why we encourage our customers to try our cables in their
homes at their convenience with a full cable return policy.
Again, it has been a pleasure working with you and
your magazine during this review.
Best regards,
Alessandro Cupillari
President,
Ear to Ear Cables
Associated Equipment
4-Nuforce 9V2 SE’s monoblocks
Processor: DEQX PDC-2.6P
Preamplifiers: Innersound iControl, Marantz SA-7S1
CD source Marantz SA-7S1
Speakers: Wasatch Musina
Analogue source: Avid Volvere / RB300 arm.
Cartridge: Shelter 7000
Speaker cables: Acoustic Zen’s Absolute, Wasatch’s Ultama
Power Cords, Acoustic Zen’s Absolute
Interconnects: Acoustic Zen’s Absolute
Accessories: Sound Fusion’s Sound Boosters, Black Diamond Racing
Cones, Vibrapods, Acme Audio Labs wall outlets.
Manufactured by Ear to Ear
Source of review sample: Manufacturer loan
E-mail: sales@eartoearcables.com
