I was first introduced to Effect Audio when they partnered with the company Empire Ears to create their Arthur and corresponding Excalibur cable. I was unfortunately unable to hear this unit personally but as a huge fan of the Empire Ears brand I had to look into this Effect Audio company a little bit more and was very impressed by the quality and appearance of their products and grew to understand why Empire Ears would offer up their flagship Zeus to create what turned out to be an amazing product (again I haven’t personally heard this product and am only going off of reviews and impressions).
Fast forward to May of 2017, I was browsing through the forums and seen that Effect Audio was having a giveaway of a few models of theirs. Well I thought it’d be silly to at not put my name in the hat. Then, when I was beyond surprised to find out I actually was lucky enough to be a winner of their Ares 2 cable I was beyond happy. So after a month with the Effect Audio Ares 2 I feel comfortable enough with it to present my impressions.
A little about me
I would like to say that first and foremost I am NOT an “audiophile” but rather an audio enthusiast. I listen to music to enjoy it. Do I prefer a lossless source? Yes, of course. But I can still be very happy streaming from Pandora or even YouTube's “My Mix” playlist. I also prefer equipment that sounds the best to me personally regardless of what frequency response it has or rather or not it's “sonically accurate” and I always have and shall continue to encourage others to do the same.
I'm a 26 year old firefighter, for the City of Concord, North Carolina as well as the U.S. Army, North Carolina National Guard. The cliché of wanting to do this since I was born couldn't be more present with me. I've worked hard over the last several years to earn this position and now it's time for me to work even harder to keep it.
My interests/hobbies are fishing and relaxing to audio products and reviewing them to help other decide on what products would work for them. Few things make me as an audio enthusiast/reviewer feel more accomplished than when someone tells me that I helped them find the type of sound they've always been looking for.
Now, the sound signature I personally favor is a relaxing, warm and sensual sound that just drifts me away in the emotional experience of the music being performed. Yes, accuracy is still important but I will happily sacrifice some of that if I'm presented with a clean, warm sound that can wisp me away into an experience that makes me yearn for more.
My ideal signature is that of respectably forward mids and upper bass range with the bass being controlled but with some slight decay. I like my treble to have nice extension and detail reveal with a smooth roll off up top as to not become harsh in the least. Examples of products that have given me chills and keep giving me the yearning for more feels are the (in no particular order) Bowers & Wilkins P7, Oppo PM-1/2, Empire Ears Hermes VI & Zeus XIV, Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Headphones 99 Classics.
I would like to say that first and foremost I am NOT an “audiophile” but rather an audio enthusiast. I listen to music to enjoy it. Do I prefer a lossless source? Yes, of course. But I can still be very happy streaming from Pandora or even YouTube's “My Mix” playlist. I also prefer equipment that sounds the best to me personally regardless of what frequency response it has or rather or not it's “sonically accurate” and I always have and shall continue to encourage others to do the same.
I'm a 26 year old firefighter, for the City of Concord, North Carolina as well as the U.S. Army, North Carolina National Guard. The cliché of wanting to do this since I was born couldn't be more present with me. I've worked hard over the last several years to earn this position and now it's time for me to work even harder to keep it.
My interests/hobbies are fishing and relaxing to audio products and reviewing them to help other decide on what products would work for them. Few things make me as an audio enthusiast/reviewer feel more accomplished than when someone tells me that I helped them find the type of sound they've always been looking for.
Now, the sound signature I personally favor is a relaxing, warm and sensual sound that just drifts me away in the emotional experience of the music being performed. Yes, accuracy is still important but I will happily sacrifice some of that if I'm presented with a clean, warm sound that can wisp me away into an experience that makes me yearn for more.
My ideal signature is that of respectably forward mids and upper bass range with the bass being controlled but with some slight decay. I like my treble to have nice extension and detail reveal with a smooth roll off up top as to not become harsh in the least. Examples of products that have given me chills and keep giving me the yearning for more feels are the (in no particular order) Bowers & Wilkins P7, Oppo PM-1/2, Empire Ears Hermes VI & Zeus XIV, Audeze LCD-XC, Meze Headphones 99 Classics.
Equipment used at least some point during the review
-C/IEM’S
-Empire Ears Hermes VI
-Also used the BTG Audio Starlight cable to compare
-Sources
-Luxury & Precision L3
-C/IEM’S
-Empire Ears Hermes VI
-Also used the BTG Audio Starlight cable to compare
-Sources
-Luxury & Precision L3
Disclaimer
I am by no means sponsored by this company or any of its affiliates. I was lucky enough to be one of the selected winners of one of their giveaway’s they held here on Head-Fi. There was not any requirements to gain entry into this contest and my reviewing them was completely of my choice that I chose to do after the fact.
The following is my take on the product being reviewed. It is to be taken “with a grain of salt” per say and as I always tell people, it is YOUR opinion that matters. So regardless of my take or view on said product, I highly recommend you listen to it yourself and gauge your own opinion.
I am by no means sponsored by this company or any of its affiliates. I was lucky enough to be one of the selected winners of one of their giveaway’s they held here on Head-Fi. There was not any requirements to gain entry into this contest and my reviewing them was completely of my choice that I chose to do after the fact.
The following is my take on the product being reviewed. It is to be taken “with a grain of salt” per say and as I always tell people, it is YOUR opinion that matters. So regardless of my take or view on said product, I highly recommend you listen to it yourself and gauge your own opinion.
The Opening Experience
Why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience
Please allow me to explain why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience with a product. Maybe it’s due to my southern roots in the hills of eastern Kentucky, but I’ve always been raised under the pretense of when you introduce yourself to someone for the first time you present yourself with confidence, class, character, pride, and competence. You greet the other person with a true warm smile, eye contact and a firm handshake. Anything less or short implies to other person that you either don’t care about them, are too full of yourself, too busy to be bothered by the likes of them, or worse, just generally disrespectful.
As a consumer, I take this same belief to when I open a new product. Why? Because think about it this way. How else can a company introduce themselves to their customers? How do they present their products? Are they packaged with pride and presented in such a way that makes the listener eager to listen to them? Or maybe they’re just wrapped up and placed in an available space. How about the box itself? Is it bogged down with jargon that says look at this, look what I can do. I’m better than anything on the market and here’s why read this and check out that. Or, is the package clean, simplistic and classy? As if saying to the customer ‘Good day, pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Please give me a listen and allow me to show you what I can do and allow my actions to speak louder than my words.’
This is why I feel so strongly about the initial presentation of a product, and I feel it’s truly a shame more people don’t. But with all that aside, let’s discuss how this products introduced itself shall we?
Please allow me to explain why I feel so strongly about the initial unboxing experience with a product. Maybe it’s due to my southern roots in the hills of eastern Kentucky, but I’ve always been raised under the pretense of when you introduce yourself to someone for the first time you present yourself with confidence, class, character, pride, and competence. You greet the other person with a true warm smile, eye contact and a firm handshake. Anything less or short implies to other person that you either don’t care about them, are too full of yourself, too busy to be bothered by the likes of them, or worse, just generally disrespectful.
As a consumer, I take this same belief to when I open a new product. Why? Because think about it this way. How else can a company introduce themselves to their customers? How do they present their products? Are they packaged with pride and presented in such a way that makes the listener eager to listen to them? Or maybe they’re just wrapped up and placed in an available space. How about the box itself? Is it bogged down with jargon that says look at this, look what I can do. I’m better than anything on the market and here’s why read this and check out that. Or, is the package clean, simplistic and classy? As if saying to the customer ‘Good day, pleasure to meet your acquaintance. Please give me a listen and allow me to show you what I can do and allow my actions to speak louder than my words.’
This is why I feel so strongly about the initial presentation of a product, and I feel it’s truly a shame more people don’t. But with all that aside, let’s discuss how this products introduced itself shall we?
My only experience with aftermarket upgrade cables is the BTG Audio Starlight cable that I purchased along with my Empire Ears Hermes VI, so they arrived together and I can only go off of the unboxing Empire Ears provided. The other is the Moon Audio Black Dragon cable they were kind enough to send me when I was reviewing the Sennheiser HD700, which was a rather, disappointing, unboxing experience. So when I received the package in the mail, I’ll be honest, I wasn’t expecting much. However, Effect Audio has most certainly given me the best unboxing experience of an upgrade cable to date. True, there’s not a whole lot you can do to make a cable exciting to open, but Effect Audio, I believe, did the best available.
So starting with the beautiful box supplied with the Ares 2 cable (I can only speak to this cable for I’ve no other experience with any of their products). The top of the box is very simplified with only the Effect Audio logo being present.The bottom has the full company name along with its logo and website information. Now, going back to the top of the box and as you’re looking at the box, as you turn in downward to where you’re looking at the sides the first panel has generic information as to what the product inside the box is which in this case is Effect Audio Premium Cable. Then moving clockwise the corresponding panels only say the words “Perfection”, “Design”, and “Sound” respectively. Yup, that it!
‘But Army, that doesn’t tell you anything? Why do you like unboxings like that?’
Well completely made up voice in my head, I like boxes like these because they feel enough confidence in both their brand name and their product that they don’t need bog down their box with specs., and various other “look at me’s” that many companies do. When products are simplistic on the outside, to me, it’s then telling me ‘my actions speak louder than my words. Listen to me and allow me to show you what I can do than simply boast about it (and often not follow through)’.
Finally, as you open the box you’re then greeted with the Effect Audio Ares 2 cable coiled around, and edged by, black Styrofoam. This is a very nice presentation of the aftermarket upgrade cable but I will say I wish they would have included a little information about the cable (which yes, is also found on the website) and also the warranty information (which this does not have any paper included HOWEVER, per Effect Audio, they DO warranty their cables for 1[one] year).
Construction
This is an immediate thing I noticed when I picked up the Ares 2 out of their box. The quality and craftsmanship that went into making this cable goes above and beyond any other cable (albeit few) that I have personally reviewed. From the connectors (both phone and c/iem) to the Y-split can be customized (somewhat) from the website and each is built very sturdy.]
Just from an appearance aspect I feel prideful wearing these out. Both myself and the team at Empire Ears put a lot of effort into designing my personal Hermes VI to look exactly like I imagined and when matched with the Ares 2 cable, the “premiumness” (I couldn’t think of a word so gimme a break will ya) just didn’t fully show, plus the copper cables color really matches my wooden back w/ red casing frame. My version is terminated in a 2.5mm balanced configuration with 2 separate cables going to each iem (4 in total). The Effect Audio company name and logo are printed on both the silver and carbon fiber appearing 2.5mm termination and the Y-splitter while the c/iem terminations have the Effect Audio logo facing the outside.
The cable itself is wound up in a niece, standard, weave pattern that maintains its flexibility while allowing it to “stretch” some in case of shock load or it getting stuck on something. I can see the terminations and Y-splitter either cracking or having its face start to peel off after some years but that’s just to be expected with the type of material used. I haven’t experienced anything of the sorts personally but, from experience, I can see this happening in the years to come.
Sound
The sound of the Effect Audio Ares 2, to me, was immediately noticeable when switching up from the silver cable of my BTG Audio Starlight. At first, I honestly wasn’t impressed and even somewhat disappointed. The sound was notably slower, there was a couple, albeit small, details that I couldn’t hear anymore in certain songs, the bass has slightly longer decay, the treble was more tame and the mids were a fair bit more forward (which I personally love). But after a few hours of listening to them and allowing my ears to adjust I grew to REALLY enjoy the more musical experience vs detailed one of the Starlight cable.
I really enjoy listening to acoustic music and when listening with the Ares 2 the strings sound more realistic and almost personal. Though going back to the note of loss of detail, on a few songs I can no longer hear the artists fingers scratch across the strings as they change notes. That is a little bit of a downside but the tradeoff, to me, is worth it.
I mentioned earlier that the treble was tamed. To be more precise I believe the Ares 2 makes the roll off a little sooner than that of the silver Starlight cable, which is likely to be explain the loss of scratching of the guitar strings being lost. The mids however to take a notable forwardness and sound more lifelike and have more body than what the Starlight cable presents. To be a little more specific on that, male vocals (such as Trace Adkins) sound incredible through the Ares 2 cable. Then finally to continue on, the upper bass also presents a little more forward which makes drums (some not all) present a little more prominent as do lower toned string instruments.
Conclusion
My overall thoughts on the Effect Audio Ares 2 upgrade cable is that it really is a splendid cable in both appearance and sound. Though it may not have the detail retrieval of my other BTG Starlight cable, it presents the music with a nice touch of warmth which, as most of you who know me know, is something I personally love. A couple people here and there will notice that my ciems are custom but it wasn’t until I equipped them with the Ares 2 cable that people really started taking note that I wasn’t just listening to some regular earphone, and even asked about the cable. The Effect Audio Ares 2 cable is a great upgrade cable that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get a nice”er” sound from your beloved c/iems. I honestly couldn't recommend this cable enough for its price/quality ratio is very respectable.
Also, make sure to check out my unboxing and review videos. They’re pretty awesome AND you getta put a face to the Army-Firedawg name. If this review helped you out at all please hit that thumbs up button for it really helps me out a lot. Till next time my friends, stay safe.