Elsdon Wonfor Audio LS-40 speaker cables
- Thread starter Cereal Killer
- Start date
I think it would be (very) difficult to design a speaker cable badly.
Still, I am intrigued. Perhaps CJ14 can shed light on it?
I am still awaiting my B&W Formations (confirmed by B&W themselves to have delivery issues) to add to my other active set but I have a pair of Quad bookshelves tucked away and may buy the much praised Rega Io to try out. If a keeper I may be in the market to try the above after I know some more about it other than cost.
It would likely be compared with something like VD which I have used prior to going active.
Cereal Killer
432
Like I said I would be happy to. Unfortunately, in some 40 years of dabbling in the hobby I have found cables to make minor differences compared to other stuff.
Oddly enough I have a digital toslink cable with multi stranded optical fibres, a few hundred rather than one, which I treasure and swear by.
Go figure.
Luceo non uro
pfm Member
The good news is, thanks to Alan, you can easily find out by getting a loan of the cables to try yourself. Much more reliable than looking for a mechanical reason as to why they might make a difference!
I wish more manufacturers would put their money where their advertising speil is and do test loans - I suspect I know why they don't though.
Both be good. Hopefully he can shed some light on what makes his cables different.
steveinspain
pfm Member
I'll leave the clever stuff to Alan or Colin, but my ewa LS-80 speaker cables cost about double my EWA Q20 amp, and are the best value for money/bang for buck I've had in my 40-odd years of listening to music.. Get yourself on the list for the loan pair, all it'll cost is the postage and then possibly the price of a pair...!
I will (lower end one, LS25) but I REALLY would like to see and read about the make-up of it before doing so (if I re-employ my passive speakers in a third system).
Surely there must be some technical info on it and pictures of an un-terminated pair?
ABCaudio
Trade: ABCaudio, representing EWA
I rather hope he doesn't talk too much about that side of things, but it's totally up to him.
Some people are deeply impressed by EWA cables, others are not, and I try to stay out of that (I'm just an enabler!). That is fine, I'd rather live and let live by the status quo, instead of talk about what Colin has actually done. Someone will probably figure it out someday I'm sure, or at least a part of it, but we can't compete with a large company. If there's any hope of making a living from this one day, some restraint is necessary.
The good news is that so many will decry the notion of certain things possibly making a difference, or of this or that effect being significant at all, that the odds of someone actually stumping up and prototyping reverse engineered version of Colin's cables is fairly slight, especially given the extreme cost of doing so! They are being sold almost at distributor rates as it is, and I wonder if EWA cables aren't some of the most expensive to manufacture in all audio?
Some people are deeply impressed by EWA cables, others are not, and I try to stay out of that (I'm just an enabler!). That is fine, I'd rather live and let live by the status quo, instead of talk about what Colin has actually done. Someone will probably figure it out someday I'm sure, or at least a part of it, but we can't compete with a large company. If there's any hope of making a living from this one day, some restraint is necessary.
The good news is that so many will decry the notion of certain things possibly making a difference, or of this or that effect being significant at all, that the odds of someone actually stumping up and prototyping reverse engineered version of Colin's cables is fairly slight, especially given the extreme cost of doing so! They are being sold almost at distributor rates as it is, and I wonder if EWA cables aren't some of the most expensive to manufacture in all audio?
ABCaudio
Trade: ABCaudio, representing EWA
That's what the website is for, of course: https://www.abcaudio.biz/
I don't see any harm in that, it's nothing special to look at at all, and I don't think anything much can be learned from it:
This will ultimately become one leg of LS-80, but there's another three hours work on it yet. No network or additional components. Just termination, braiding, sleeving and the branded clamp-widgety things.
ABCaudio
Trade: ABCaudio, representing EWA
Yes, it is.
More information: (>more information) here: https://www.abcaudio.biz/product-page/ls-40-reference-2-metre-stereo-set
And in much broader strokes: https://www.abcaudio.biz/cable
More information: (>more information) here: https://www.abcaudio.biz/product-page/ls-40-reference-2-metre-stereo-set
And in much broader strokes: https://www.abcaudio.biz/cable
From your description it appears that the original Chord Signature is very different from the Signature XL. The current Signature XL is significantly bass light in comparison to the Epic and NACA5. The bass of the XL is lean, giving an impression of reduced bass but in reality it goes deeper with improved definition and detail ie. you hear better layering and texture in the bass with the leaner bass output whereas it's just a big fat ballsy bass with the Epic which masks the fine detail or changes in the bass. The upper bass of the NACA5 sticks out more to give the PRAT but the low bass is missing.
ex brickie
pfm Member
Just give them a free listen. Why get bogged down in technical detail when many of us on here have been part of a trial and many of us bought the cables based on our own ears. Maybe you think we are fools.... we don't think so.
It is not a subtle improvement in sound quality. If your ears don't agree, don't buy them. How many other cable manufacturers would take the trouble to let you try cables, on trust, no deposit and for the price of insured onward postage??
Everything is relative. There will be people who hear noticeable or remarkable differences in amplifiers and there will be others who regard those differences as minor or negligible.
Also, perception may alter with experience. I used to fiddle with several power cords 20 years ago and failed to hear any meaningful differences between those cords during that time. Just last year, I upgraded the mains sockets and tried some premium cords. For the first time I experienced a massive difference as these cords transformed the entire system. I would say the difference was even larger than swapping some amplifiers and I was totally gobsmacked. Skeptics may express disbelief but that's my personal experience.
Back to the LS40. Hopefully this thread stay on track..
Cereal Killer
432
I was also a power cable naysayer till I tried the EWA MCS-5.
Trust me when l say l was more curious about folk on this forum liking them, that is why l took the plunge and tried them and glad l did, l would say they were like a component upgrade.
Or why not put your name on the loaner list and feel the love?
I may well do, please see my previous post. I am on a waiting delivery list for something I've ordered. Once I know it's on is way I may revive a passive system for occasional use and this cable will feature for a trial, no issues whatsoever.