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EWA LS80 speaker cables

I've now had my new LS-80 on the end of my 500 series Naim for about a week now. Lovely uplift from the LS-25 - just that extra bit of detail, togetherness and overall quality. I've certainly not seen anything overpowering in terms of bass, just there with the right presence.
 
Another LS-80 owner here. Given the return policy, I took a leap of faith and skipped the demo pair doing the rounds. For the sole reason I wanted locking bananas, I went for the Furutech connectors.

Now for the sound. Lord! There are a few occasions in audio where something kind of stops you in your tracks, like the first time you hear proper speakers. This was one of those occasions.

All comparisons relative to LS-40. Tested using a Bluesound streamer into Moon 340i amp/dac and out to either Proac Tablette Anniversary or D18s.

Like others have mentioned, the soundstage just gets bigger, deeper, wider.
Everything is smoother, yet clearer. Dynamics up, up. Lyrics to songs suddenly become clear, tracks that were a pain to listen to, become listenable. The position of individual components is more obvious, and more correct.

An example track is that cheeky pianist Chilly Gonzalez. The track ‘Take me to Broadway’ is a pretty harsh mix, and I was never really sure what all the lyrics were. Now, I could make out every word, and my ears did not bleed getting through the track.

Taking the much cleaner mix of Adele’s Lovesong, her voice is now dead centre. The gentle guitars on each side of the room sound more solid, the plucks have the resonance a real guitar makes in your presence.

Bass is a little fuller, but tighter and solid, you get a pleasant sensation when notes are struck. It is more in balance within the mix, with better timbre.

Orchestral music is greatly enhanced, you get a real sense of the venue, the drama, the emotion.

Are they worth the money? For me, an easy yes, but you need something good for them to work with, as they amplify the best characteristics of the source/speakers, not change them.

Well done Colin, well done.
 
Hello.
I'm a newbie on this forum. Looking for a new speaker cables for my system I heard about EWA LS 80 cables. Unfortunately I live in Poland (sorry for my English) so I can't demo them. If anyone on the forum or Collin himself could tell me which of Tellurium Q speaker cables is/are similar in term of sound signature with LS 80 (Silver Diamond, Black Diamond or Statement?), I could listen to them (they are available in Poland) and decide if LS80 are my missing link or not.
Thank you,
Jarek
 
Jarek
I’m sure privately Alan will help you. I can see why you want to compare to a brand you can demo but can you demo Tellurium Q at home with your own system? If not, you can’t compare like for like.

I suggest you just demo an entry, mid and high end TQ cable and see how much difference you notice. If you don’t notice a huge amount, then money on cables isn’t for you.

I don’t know whether ABC give their 30 day guarantee to overseas customers but maybe try TQ first to see if you spot differences, then have an open mind to the most expensive of the EWA you can afford. I previously used EWA LS25 as an upgrade from TQ Ultra Black. LS 40 offer a lot more but were a bit bright in my system. I bought LS80s and they are another significant leap ahead. Like others I don’t hanker after any other speaker cables now - EWA are the most cost effective upgrade around . I’m not saying they are cheap: I’m saying that € for € you will get a much greater improvement from EWA than Tellurium Q
 
Thank you ex brickie and Alan.
I already have TQ Ultra Black speaker jumpers and I'm really happy with them. For many years I had tube amps and I used to warm, full bodied sound with nice midrange but definitelly not bright at highs. I can demo TQ Ultra Black in my system and will surely go back to you.
Have a nice Sunday.
Jarek
 
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Hi Jarel
LS25 were better than Ultra Black in my experience but not by a lot. A significant improvement is LS40 but I found them slightly bright in my system. I don’t use tubes except in a phono stage so the tubes would calm them down a bit. Others here do t fi d the LS40 bright - let’s hope they comment for you

Check if you can have the 30 day trial.

Good luck
 
Jarosław Gontek said:
Thank you ex brickie and Alan.
I already have TQ Ultra Black speaker jumpers and I'm really happy with them. For many years I had tube amps and I used to warm, full bodied sound with nice midrange but definitelly not bright at highs. I can demo TQ Ultra Black in my system and will surely go back to you.
Have a nice Sunday.
Jarel
Click to expand...
Anyone who buys EWA from ABCaudio has a thirty day period to return products if they wish - wherever they are living.

It's shipping costs and customs that add to the complication, I'm afraid, but in principle it is still the buy/try model.

Jarel, I would wholeheartedly recommend LS-40 or 80 to you, they should leave the 'competition' behind.
 
Hi Alan.
I left you a message on ABCaudio website.
According to your experience ex brickie with LS40 they tend to sound a little bit too bright. I still have 2 tube amps but now my main amp is McIntosh MA7000 (pure transistor but also on the warm side; see my profile for the rest of my setup). I would definitely go for LS80. I asked earlier if they could be compared to TQ Statement because I read an enthusiastic review on polish highfidelity.pl site (available in English as well). I know that the same cable can sound different in different systems, but the sound signature of TQ Statement could be the one I'm looking for, but the price is ridicullous. One of the LS80 users have compared them to TQ Statement and Nordost Odin. Of course, I could go simpler way and buy medium line Cardas (which I like very much), Acoustic Revive, lower Nordost or Siltech but I like to experiment. Beside I've read a story of Collin and TQ, and would like to support him.
Take care,
Jarek (not Jarel, my mistake)
 
New LS80 owner here. I have to ask Alan if I'm the first LS80 owner in Poland. If yes soon will be the second one:), a friend of mine who is also addicted to music even more than me, and of course have some money to spend on LS80.
Going back to LS80. It was a blind purchase but I have to thank a guy, who on one of polish forums mentioned about EWA cables. I had high expectations but the scale of positive changes is enormous. Musicality, timing, black background, multilayerity, emotions, stereo image...wow!!! I can't stop listening to music. My old cds sounds completely different, now I know they sound as they should have. Frank Sinatra has risen and appeared in my listeng room together with his band. Anthony Rothers' electronic music from "The CCM Corporation" sounds really scary. Thomas Feiner voice on Exit North "Book of romance and dust" is silky smooth. Blade Runner 2049 sountrack simply ruined my listening room (just listen to first 2 tracks and you'll understand what I mean;)). One of the best recorded and produced IMO music: Random Access Memories by Daft Punk (japaneese edition) filled my whole room. I can't even imagine what will happen with the sound when LS80 burn-in and adapt to my system.
Thank you Colin for such an impressive work (TQ you should be ashame:mad: to loose such a talented man) and Alan for your help and support with the purchase.
All the best,
Jarek
 
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The Naim forum is a strange place, but understandable for the closed views you get. I have some Naim gear but the interesting stuff I have learned about has been here on pf. If you want advise on Naim its ok.
 
That’s too bad. Some of the Naim forum contributors have some very high end cables like chord music and it would be interesting to read some comparisons.
 
Oh,dear. I'm seriously unimpressed by the LS-80s ... and that's the best compliment I can give them. Compared with the 40 I already own, the music just flows. It's understated but realistic. I wasn't that impressed for the first few minutes, and then I realised that everything was just right, unimpresive, just flowing, musical and right. Quite a clever act.

A few days to go on the trial, but I'm already wondering whether my wife will notice a raid on the savings account. I'll post a serious review later.
 
I’ve had the pleasure recently to have both the LS-80s and the mixed box of connecting cables. I’m currently using the LS-80s, the power cable on my power amp, and the XLR cable between pre and power. The cables are nicely built, though the tails on the LS-80 are very thin, curiously, thinner than the LS-40s, meaning that I felt that the cable needed supporting to take the strain off it going into the ESL63s.

The system comprises : Primare BD32 disc player; Chromecast via an audio stripper into the preamp’s built-in DAC board; Primare Pre32 with MM30 DAC/streaming board; Primare A60 power amp; Quad ESL63s.

I already own the LS-40 speaker cables, and thought that that was as far as I could reasonably go in terms of expense. The LS-80s are a big jump. In some ways, they are unremarkable, for I found myself just listening to the music, without analysing what I was hearing. That’s their great strength.

Bach’s great Advent Cantatas (BWV61, 62, 36 : Teldec) : The choir was portrayed as being composed of individual voices, rather than a mass, the instruments were well separated and characterful, the ebb and flow of the music was well presented, with lots of micro-dynamics that allowed me to hear how the instruments were being played. It was a performance, not just a facsimile.

Some music was quite different sounding. Weil’s Dreigroschenoper was now obviously performed by a small ensemble, with each instrument clearly defined, although the harmonium seemed to disappear a bit into the mix. What really made the performance interesting was the portrayal of the tone and timbre of the instruments, and, again, the micro-dynamics. Voices were smooth, with lots of vocal detail. The words were easy to hear.

The following day, I added the power cable to the power amp, and noticed some change but didn’t really have time to listen in detail.

Next, I put the XLR cable in and, having just taken the $1 Roon trial, set about listening to what it could source from the NAS via the Chromecast. I was transfixed. A big, fat sound, full of detail and realism. After playing a couple of classical works, I played a Queen track and then let Roon radio run. Everything was attention-grabbing and grin-inducing. Who knew that the Chromecast could be so good ? There’s power, slam and delicacy; grunt, smoothness and realism. It’s a bit like having the band in the room. It’s also the first time I’ve know the soundstage appear to extend to the right and left of the speakers.

I thought my system was pretty well fettled, especially since I started using the Power Inspired mains regenerator on the preamp and disc player, so I wasn’t expecting much. As I type, Roon radio has picked Bohemian Rhapsody. I’ve never heard it quite like this. I didn’t know that the ESL63s could sound so “fat”, either !

A rather inadequate write-up, I’m afraid. In 6 words, then: I think these cables are amazing !
 
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