Effect Audio Cadmus

"Sound. Design. Perfection"

~~Effect Audio

Cadmus is a Greek hero of a Phoenician origin. He is the brother of Europa who was abducted by Zeus that takes the form of an aurox bull. He was advised by an oracle from Delphi not to pursue his sister anymore and was advised to follow a cow where he founded the city of Thebes. He is also the husband of Harmonia, the daughter of Ares and Aphrodite, her name is also the personification of symmetry and order.


Effect Audio is a Singaporean-based audio company that was founded in 2009 by Suyang, an electrical engineer during his university days. With his innate workmanship on crafting some cables that are capable of delivering a superior sound quality, a certain audio solution company, Crystal Cables based in the Netherlands that is also renowned for their premium and bespoke line of cables and also loudspeakers, did recognised Suyang's workmanship that leads into the development of the renowned "Crystal Cables Piccolino" that brought them into fame across the audio community. Their main focus on their specific audio solutions is to manufacture premium high-quality cables that exude value-for-money options for discerning audiophiles in which this part of the segment is considered a niche product in a portable audio market. They are pursuing a flawless sound quality with some audio engineering backed by their research and development team on their mastery and expertise on some metallurgical properties of materials that will be implemented on their cables.



This is my second review on a premium cable. Once again, I would like to address in advance that my subjective review and analysis on this one might be inadequate and sounds inexpert on this matter and it should be taken as grain salt but I'll try to deliver some of my observations and findings on this cable as much as I can.


I'm sticking to my position as a “cable sceptic" as I need more data that will back-up that cables will drastically change the sound quality of an IEM transducer. But cables made of high quality, high purity materials will deliver a better power output due to some factors on passive electrical components like impedance, capacitance, inductance and conductance of certain materials. As a matter of logic regarding this matter, In ideal conditions, cables will absolutely have zero impedance. A voltage that was produced and generated by amplifiers will simply drop off across the impedance of transducers like IEMs, headphones and even loudspeakers. So if the constant impedance of cable stays flat, so the resistance of the transducers will also stay flat.



What I have here is Effect Audio Cadmus, this product model is part of Effect Audio's Signature Series along with Ares S and Eros S, and this cable model serves as a middle ground between those cable models. Effect Audio is well-aware that some audio enthusiasts have its preferences on choosing a cable and some basic knowledge on certain properties of a material will “improve” some certain parts of the frequency range.




PRODUCT PACKAGING

The product packaging of Cadmus indeed exudes a premium and elegant presentation on how the packaging box was presented and how the cable was organised on its compartment cardboard inside.



Here are the following contents that you can find inside the packaging box:

● Effect Audio CADMUS cable

● Leather cable organiser

● Polyester cable pouch

● User's manual

● Booklet catalogue





FEATURES & MATERIALS:

The Cadmus is a 4-core cable in a 24AWG set-up. Its wire gauge appears quite substantial on its texture while maintaining a good flexibility, suppleness and resistance on entangling due its proprietary EA Ultra Flexi Insulation which is a PVC (polyvinyl chloride) - type insulation coating to protect and hold the wires together, and also to contain electrical current. The EA Ultra Flexi Insulation supposedly has a better resistance against abrasion and offers more stability on electrical properties.



The materials that were used in this cable were UP-OCC (Ultra Pure - Ohno Continuous Casting) Silver Plated Copper Litz. OCC (Ohno Continuous Casting) is a complex casting process that greatly reduces the annealing issues and almost eliminates the possibility of grain boundaries on copper by specific heated mould in order to draw a single mono crystal in a specific length of up to 125 metres. Meanwhile, regarding Litz wiring , it is a process whereby individual insulated magnet wires either braided or in twisted turn into having a uniform pattern, it was designed to minimise skin effect that will be detrimental that affects the conductive process on delivering electronic signals. It was usually applied on devices for high frequencies; this one is also used on both television and radio equipment, sonar and radar equipment, communication equipment and even transformers. So what will be its benefits on audio quality? Theoretically, it will give more emphasis on treble frequencies while preserving some nuances and detail and lessens inference noises.



The benefits of OCC processed on Silver-plated Copper in Litz weave format that it offers better resistance against oxidation and impurities that might ruin the electrical signals, low electrical resistance, flexibility and fatigue resistance without diminishing conductive characteristics, better and faster signal transmission that will deliver a clear, transparent and uncompromising sound clarity without distortion .

Like the Ares S, The Cadmus also features a dual geometric design pattern that features a septuplet Multi-size Core bundle. These wires were braided precisely and well-woven to have an ample tension in the overall design of the cable. Its earhook guide appears to be flexible to be worn behind my ears for long listening session. Other components on the cable such as receptacle connectors, splitter and sliders are made of metal alloy, specifically aluminium and these components underwent either brushed or polished process to give a more premium and classy look on its overall aesthetics.



The termination plug on what I've got is a 4.4mm balanced one and it was made of brass that was plated with rhodium. Any alloys that were rhodium-plated will have a better tensile strength and excellent resistance against tarnishes, scratches, dents and corrosion while maintaining a lustre surface. On its electrical properties, it has an excellent conductive material due to its high resistance on oxidation with its high tolerance properties that can handle both high amperage and high voltages just like all platinum metal groups. Upon ordering this cable, you can choose any termination plug that will be implemented on its plug socket.



Another unique feature that all Effect Audio has is its proprietary Con-X system where you can replace the choice of connector interface on either 2-pin or MMCX which makes it more versatile and will cover all the basics on pairing it with your IEM collections. Good job, Effect Audio in this innovative approach.



As stated by Effect Audio, it is said that The Cadmus will give a tighter and dynamic bass response, improve resolution and clearer and airier treble feedback.


PAIRING DEVICES:

I pair this cable with some of my neutral sounding sets that I currently have. Here are the following IEMs that I'm using to test the Ares S:

● LETSHUOER EJ09

● LETSHUOER EJ07M

● HIBY CRYSTAL 6 MK.II

● SEE AUDIO Bravery Red

● KINERA IDUN GOLDEN

● BQEYZ Winter

● AFUL PERFORMER 8

● AUDIOSENSE DT300



My source devices that I'm using to conduct this test.

● LG V20

● LG G7

● LG V50

● QUESTYLE M15

● HIDIZS S9 PRO+ Martha

● TRUTH Shio

● HIBY R6 PRO II



Android Apps:

● HIBY Music App

● Neutron App


SOUND IMPRESSIONS:

In my initial test as I'm doing A/B testing for 5 hours at daily basis every night in 10 days straight before I going to sleep as I do some IEMs and source swapping, In some tests, it seems that the sources has something to do with pairing of this cables and IEMs.

If I put this cable along with an IEM in neutral or bright-neutral sources, the improvements of treble response, clearer resolution, a tad transparent midrange and some marginal attenuation on the bass response that makes it a bit more rumbly are quite audibly noticeable to my ears. But on warmer sources like Shio dongle, I didn't notice any improvement on certain frequencies at all. I did this test on LETSHUOER EJ07M, Performer 8, BQEYZ Winter, HIBY Crystal 6 and BQEYZ Wind.

On resolution capabilities, due to good conductivity and high quality of the materials used in this cable, The Cadmus will surely deliver a crisp, clear and transparent sound due to rapid response of its signal transmission.


As I conclude my review and put up a conclusion about this product, Effect Audio Cadmus is indeed an excellent cable for discerning audio enthusiasts who want to add a classy and sophisticated look on their IEMs as this cable is quite eye-pleasing to behold. With some marginal improvements on its frequency range to be noticeable depending on pairing a proper source if you do a concentrated and critical listening mode, this cable did a good job for its specific use and with its slightly increased price compared to the Ares S is somehow justified in my opinion.



EFFECT AUDIO ARES S is currently available on Effect Audio's official store online.

LINK:
https://www.effectaudio.com/cadmus


SPECIFICATION:

MATERIALS: UP-OCC Silver Plated Copper, Rhodium-plated Brass (Termination Plug)
WIRE CORE BUNDLE: 4-core
WIRE GAUGE SIZE: 24 AWG
LENGTH: 1.2M
TERMINATION: 4.4mm Balanced

P.S.

I am not affiliated to @EffectAudio nor receive monetary incentives and financial gains as they provide me a review unit for an exchange of factual and sincere feedback from yours truly.

Once again, I would like to send my gratitude to @JordonEA of Effect Audio for letting me to be part of Effect Audio Review Tour Philippines. I truly appreciate his generosity and trust towards me and other reviewers.

So I’ll be doing this review/roundup a little differently since I normally don’t do cable reviews. Hopefully this will be a different/fun read versus my normal content.

How this all started​

At one point in time I truly used to believe that cable rolling made a difference. This was also off of two IEMs I had at the time and since I only had those, it was easier to attempt to focus on small changes to sound via cables. This was half the reason why I cable rolled. I always understood cables were a subjective thing and yet I loved rolling cables anyways to see if I could hunt down the differences whether it was placebo or not. The other half was simply looks. I was a huge fan of both Labkable and Null Audio cables back then. I still to this day buy Null audio cables. Part of the reason back then was that I was a hardcore “balanced” believer and I always wanted to run 2.5mm and the new at the time 4.4mm pentaconn connector over 3.5mm. There was so much I wanted to chase down back then and the rabbit hole kept getting deeper and deeper. So why did I personally stop cable rolling in general? Let's get into that next.

So what happened?​

After I transitioned to reviewing audio gear, I quickly realized I didn’t have time anymore to attempt rolling cables. I attempted to cable roll for the first few months but once I actually started getting companies to let me try IEMs and full size headphones out at a more constant pace, I simply wasn’t able to dedicate a week of rolling cables into my reviews. Like that person at work who would say “if you have time to lean, you have time to clean”, I started following my own “if you have time to cable roll, you have time to review other stuff”. I started caring about the quality of stock cables for everyday use over possible improvements or how they were made artistically. Same thing with running balanced. I still run almost all my final testing off whatever the stock cable is terminated in but all my IEMs I personally own all have 4.4mm balanced plugs. It always comes down to time management and the difference between cable rolling/balanced testing for 3 days vs 3 additional days of listening, I’m always gonna choose listening.

Why care about cables now?​

So what brought me to this long set of impressions/review? Simple, I decided to dedicate some time to cables as I have an abundance of cables whether it's just random cables I bought, or ones I received to review. In this case, Effect Audio asked if I wanted to check out their upcoming Signature series cables though in prototype form and I thought it would be fun to review these and check out the final production units.

How is this gonna work review wise?​

Whether or not I do cable reviews down the road is gonna be hard to say. I will mostly be doing cable reviews with one or two IEMs max(in the future) since I still don’t have the time to roll a cable on anything more than that. I don’t think I will be rolling cables or doing balanced vs single ended testing with my normal reviews since I’m always backlogged in general. So now that I got all of that out of the way…

Time for Corgifall to review some cables!! Get on with it already!​

So what do I have for this special roundup/review? Well I have three prototype cables and three post release cables from Effect Audio. They are called the Ares S, Cadmus and Eros S. They come from their new Signature series line. Effect audio is one of those boutique cable companies that make absolutely gorgeous cables. While this is meant to be an EA cable review, I will say that my personal favorite cables come from Null Audio and DUNU.

Gear Used​

IEMs: Effect Audio Axiom, Thieaudio V16, Moondrop Variations, LETSHUOER S12.

Source Gear: SMSL SU-9 feeding the SP400 amp.

Looks and Feel​

So all these cables look and feel amazing. They all feel wonderful with nice texturing on the cables. The cables are a little thicker and they have a bit of weight but both the standard 4 braid cables(Ares S and Cadmus) come in about the same weight as my other 4 braid cables from other companies. The 8 braid Eros S is heavier with some extra thickness that adds a little extra weight on the ears but It never bothered me for long sessions. The Eros S has a nice matte grey color with a rougher finish on the cables which gives it a better quality feel. I think these do look good and I like the rhodium plating the 4.4mm pentaconn plugs use. Both the plug and the y split have a beautiful dark grey finish and the y split has a raw carbon fiber insert on both sides of the split casing.The connectors are Effect Audio’s interchangeable ConX system. The ConX plugs I received are a CIEM 2 pin so they will work with recessed plugs on IEMs. These are wonderful examples of good looking cables though and I love the way they look.

Cable Sound Impressions​

Like most things in this hobby, cable rolling to me is super subjective. These impressions will be what each cable sounded like when paired to the specific IEMs I choose. IEM selection, source selection and ear tip selection will possibly add very different results vs what I hear personally. I spent a good amount of time really analyzing everything so take my impressions any way you wish.

Effect Audio Axiom​

The first section will be my original impressions from the pre-release cables I received. The cable material didn’t change so my impressions stay the same here.

Ares S​

Starting out with the Ares S! I felt the Ares S really brought out the Axiom’s stock MU tuning when paired with this cable. The lows come in fairly strong and thick. It’s a nice sounding low end. While strong, it still felt well controlled and never bloated. Sub bass hits really come through well with nice impact/slam. The mids are a little recessed sounding but they have good speed and decent detail. Vocals never sound quite loud enough for my personal preference but instruments still make it through just fine. Treble has the same issue of not coming in loud enough to match the Axiom’s boosted bass. The treble was actually really clear though it was missing some of the extra brightness that the Cadmus has. Staging was probably the widest of the three cables but I felt there wasn’t much depth compared to the other cables and this very much felt closer to a wall of sound to my ears. Imaging was fine however and I could pick stuff out without too much effort. This was my least favorite cable for the Axiom but that doesn’t mean this won’t be a nice cable for other IEMs.

Cadmus​

The Cadmus goes the polar opposite route of the Ares S and has less bass presence but sounds a little more accurate with better control. Bass impact was still strong but the bass notes didn’t linger which made for a leaner bass overall. In the case of the Axiom(MU module) this was welcome as the Axiom comes in strong with heavy bass. The mids are clear with a bit of energy but they didn’t feel overly fast or detailed. The instruments such as guitars and pianos sounded accurate but with just a hint of artificial sound to them. The treble however was noticeably more intense with a noticeable sharpness that made everything sound more accurate and detailed. Cymbal hits all had an extra zing with no lingering decay which made everything sound very fast and clean. The soundstage was rather average compared to the other cables. It’s not bad but the Ares S is wider with less depth and the Cadmus has a good balance. Imaging in this balanced stage made things easy to pick out. I liked this cable when paired with the Axiom and this was probably my favorite in terms of cleaning up the bass heavy Axiom.

Eros S​

I found the Eros S cable to be the most interesting. The lows still have a slight boost with good impact/slam. There’s a longer decay that gives it a nice full/airy sound down low. The lower mids sound about the same as the Ares S but the rest of the mids are very prominent and focused. Things like guitars and vocals really stand out against the rest of the frequencies. I really liked the extra energy here, though some female vocals did get slightly sibilant at times which I had never experienced with the Axiom to this point. The treble comes in clear but feels a little behind the Cadmus in terms of presence and sharpness. The mids have a bigger focus when I listen so I have to put extra energy into listening for details in the upper frequencies. I would throw the treble somewhere between the Ares S and Cadmus. The soundstage is the most unique part about the cable. After much back and forth swapping, It was very noticeable the stage felt about as wide as the Ares S but it had a bit more depth than the Cadmus. The slightly longer decay within the whole frequency range may be the reason for this but there is a nice echo within the stage and while it's not dramatic, it’s neat and it made for a nice listening experience. The imaging was good and I was able to pick things out fairly easily within the stage and nothing ever got congested. I can’t quite tell if this is the best cable of the bunch or if it's just the most unique sounding cable of the three.

Other IEM Pairings​

This will be a quick section of what I thought paired well with some of the IEMs I have on hand. I tried all three cables on each IEM but the ones I chose were the most noticeable vs the standard cable each IEM originally came with. These are quick and simple impressions as such.

LETSHUOER S12(Ares S)​

While I don’t like the color combo of the S12 and Ares cable, I do like the S12 in general so It was the first IEM I wanted to pair something up with. The stock cable is a silver cable so I figured the copper Ares would be a good opposite to go with. The low end did feel slightly more impactful with a more authoritative thump. The mids had a more relaxed sound but vocals still had a sharper presence. The treble I wanna say sounded a little more tamed with a slight loss to what makes the S12 special with its intense listen. Though the changes as with all the cables are very slight hints vs big changes.

​

Moondrop Variations(Cadmus)​

The Variations stock cable is a copper cable so I went with the opposite here again and there was a slightly different flavor going on here. The bass is still very intense though it sounded just a hair more controlled. Mids had a little less warmth with a faster and clearer tone. Vocals still lacked a little energy but they sounded accurate still. The treble sounded a bit more energetic with some added sharpness that I rather enjoyed on the Variations. I liked this cable combo and I also loved the way it looked with the Variations color scheme. This is gonna stay on my variations going forward.

THIEAUDIO V16 Divinity(Eros S)​

I don’t like the feel of the stock cable nor the way it sits on my ears for long sessions. The stock cable is a silver plated cable but I wanted to give it a hybrid in general. So while I don’t like the color combo of the pairing, I did notice a more unique sound from the Eros cable on this just like I have with my other IEMs. The bass still stays strong but with a bit more control vs the stock cable. There is a spaciousness for fullness down low that also follows into the mids. The mids have a slightly recessed sound but instruments and vocals feel powerful with more energy and a slight boost in the upper mids. The treble is still relaxed and since the V16 sits just where I want it in terms of treble, I like the way it’s presented here. The V16 didn’t feel very wide or deep but with the Eros, there is just a little extra to make me happy.

Overall Thoughts​

So at the end how do I feel about the new EA cables? I like them though I enjoy them more for their looks and feel over anything else. When I do occasionally buy new cables, it’s always important how it looks and will pair with certain IEMs. While I was able to pick out different details from each cable, I have a harder time these days investing time getting deep into cable rolling. For the quality and cosmetic side of things, I can easily recommend the new signature series line of cables. Even at their pricing($180-300). I personally find cables to be an art thing. If it looks good, I can possibly find value in the price. For those looking at changing the sound of their IEMs, I still personally believe cable rolling is subjective though I think it’s totally fine hunting down sound differences and I say go for it and give the new EA cables a shot. Finally I’ll also mention the fact that a lot of other companies do cables as well. Some like Nightjar and Null Audio do really nice premium cables too. DUNU also makes really nice cables but their cables also have their own QD plug system which makes their products interesting in itself. While I won’t be doing many cable reviews in the future, I would like to poke at cable reviews as time allows. Good job to Effect Audio and I look forward to checking out more of their products in the future. Thanks for reading!!