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Elsdon Wonfor Audio LS-40 speaker cables

Well now, this really is not what I expected! The LS-25 and the LS-40 are two very different sounding cables, that was immediately obvious.

The first thing that struck me was the bass, it is a lot more prominent in the mix, a sense of power really comes across. Not in a boomy or muddy way, I think the best word I can think of is forcefull.

The other aspect is that the overall balance is darker, more chocolate. Detail is presented, well, differently. For me, the LS-25 actually sounds more detailed and airy, though the LS-40 has a more refined approach to what you might call splashy treble.

For example, on Grover Washington’s album ‘Feels So Good’, the track Hydra, has a tambourine that is coming a few feet to the side of the left speaker. It sounds like somebody is in the room shaking it. With the 25, it seems to be placed wider apart, with the 40, a little closer in, but sounding more present, more mass. The sections with a lot of ride cymbal are tidier with the 40. However, I feel like there is some loss of excitement, and the main instrument (saxophone), oddly, is less present. Overall, I prefer the LS-25 on this one.

On The Bothers Johnson ‘Blam’, the bass is...menacing, punchy, but the drums sound more dynamic with the 25. Maybe a draw here.

I think a big factor is my Proac D18 floorstanders, and their positioning, as one speaker is somewhat cornered in. The extra bass from the 40 is maybe too much, but there is no other place for it. If I had room correction, maybe this would play out differently.

Another factor is how loud I listen, which is not loud at all, between 60 to 65db. I tried cranking the volume, and the 40 starts to pull ahead once you get to 75db plus, as it just keeps more control across all frequencies. Bass really can be thunderous where it’s in the track.

Given that in mind, I switched to the theme from The Mandalorian. They really went for epic here, pounding drums, full orchestra, bold brass. No doubt that the pounding drums have more definition to them, again that sense of control, but at the cost of a touch of excitement. Overall, I give this one to the 40.

Reading back other reviews, one thing I am not finding is any more sense of space, which is a bit puzzling, but there you go.

Oh, I also did a db check between the two cables, to see if one was louder than the other, but they averaged out almost identically.

So, not a home run for me, I need to listen a lot more, and to more genres, so will report back in a few days.
 
Synergy is everything. I remembered I was using a particular power cable (Black Rhodium Jazz) on the amp, as it had the property of making everything that bit more dark and bassy. It is really a cable for source, not an amp. Maybe with the LS-40 I did not need that? So switched over to the Mark Grant that used to be in place, and bingo. All the recessed saxaphones etc sprung back to life, and the bass, while still being warm and full, was much better in balance, the life back into the music, but with that extra refinement the 40 brings. In this setup, it sounds better than the BR/LS-25, and a lot better than the MG/LS-25.

So will listen to a ton of music, then will flip back to the original setup to see if I still hear the same differences. Who said power cables made no difference?
 
@Bronzeage fantastic feedback, thank you! I'm glad you're having fun.

Incidentally, I use LS-40 at home and am really, really taken with that Mandalorian theme also!

Cables are an interface, every case will be different (before we even get to individual preference). And yes, power cables...
 
I hadn’t thought to swap any mains cables to see if the sound was more to my taste.... I’ll check and remind myself what I have. I may need the LS40s back again at the end of the chain! :eek::D
 
steveinspain said:

Hmm, so should I be thinking of trying an EWA power cable?
My q20 has a captive one, but maybe on my streamer or dac....
Click to expand...

There are many who will hammer you for even entertaining the thought, but for me, power cables have a bigger influence than speaker cables. Unsighted, I can hear differences as clear as night and day. Maybe my mains sucks. Biggest impact is with source components, I have found a standard kettle lead better than most audiophile leads on the power side, but never for source.
 
Bronzeage said:
I might as well go full mad scientist and ask the wife what she thinks!
Then there is the LS-32.5 to explain ...
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Don't knock it..... my wife talked common sense into me. She was the first to notice what sounded a bit harsh (as well as all the fantastic detail) and really questioned my irrational hifi mind that more is always better.

I've no idea re EWA mains cables and I really don't want to spend a load on more cables (unless Alan wants to send one round but he is better starting with whoever has the speaker cables to assess the synergy).
I have a Studio Connections mains into the amp and Russ Andrews High Current into most other components. If I had the speaker cables back I could swap those round (I might try anyway at the weekend with my LS25s)
 
Bronzeage said:
There are many who will hammer you for even entertaining the thought, but for me, power cables have a bigger influence than speaker cables. Unsighted, I can hear differences as clear as night and day. Maybe my mains sucks. Biggest impact is with source components, I have found a standard kettle lead better than most audiophile leads on the power side, but never for source.
Click to expand...
There are many with opinions, and even a few I agree with, but I'm open to trying anything, and do have a couple of 'fancy' cables already.....!
 
A pal of mine has some of the new LS80 cables and we recently compared them to my LS25s on his hi end system. There was a marked difference! The best way I can describe it is to say the LS80s just delivered more of everything.

So I’m now curious as to how much difference one would notice between the LS40s and the LS80s. Maybe Colin and Alan would care to comment?
 
Frankly, there is only so much you can fret about - if the music does not make you feel good, what is the point? Try things out, within your means, go for what makes you happy. Listening to my crappy car radio (in the car!), I enjoy that and don’t think about upgrading it, because I’m only thinking about the music.

If only it was so easy in our living rooms.
 
steveinspain said:
Hmm, so should I be thinking of trying an EWA power cable?
My q20 has a captive one, but maybe on my streamer or dac....
Click to expand...

Send it back to me if you like, I'll fit MCS-2.5 for you. But I'm not going to even try and answer your question. ;):p

iansr said:
A pal of mine has some of the new LS80 cables and we recently compared them to my LS25s on his hi end system. There was a marked difference! The best way I can describe it is to say the LS80s just delivered more of everything.

So I’m now curious as to how much difference one would notice between the LS40s and the LS80s. Maybe Colin and Alan would care to comment?
Click to expand...

You've said it already, Ian. More of everything, it'll sound like you have a bigger amplifier. LS-80 squashes noise even lower than LS-40, has vanishingly low phase shift and handles much more power (not that that is necessary, LS-40 would comfortably run a cooker, no problem). Power handling isn't the goal, by the way...
 
Hi All
I’m going to half to pull out on two counts: I’ve had a measure and need a longer set, plus I’m about to make a major box upgrade. I’ll be still following this thread with great interest. Good luck to the person next in the queue!
Gavin
 
Hi Gavin,

That's fine. I think @Darren L is next.

I will have a lightly used 5M set coming back to base as someone is upgrading to LS-80. Let me know if interested.
 
Hi Alan

@DarrenL has told me he is not in a position to take them yet, so have messaged @ryder.

If I don’t get a reply by Tuesday, will move on to the next on the list.
 
ABCaudio said:
Hi Gavin,

That's fine. I think @Darren L is next.

I will have a lightly used 5M set coming back to base as someone is upgrading to LS-80. Let me know if interested.
Click to expand...

Hi, I'm not presently in the position to take them at present , just to busy, but can take them over the Xmas period or after Xmas in January, I hope that's okay.
 
OK, I have had an interesting and fun few days. For those who want to get straight to the ending, yes, these are great, great cables, as long as you can get your system in balance, because they simply reveal more of the truth.

Now for the long bit.

As per before, it took some juggling with power cables to get the bass to how I like it. In fact, apart from one brand, all my other power cables resulted in too much bass. In the end, putting my two best cables on dac and amp, with a decent thickness kettle lead on the streamer, was the best combo, which is not the case with LS-25, that wanted the best cables on streamer and dac, maybe as they are lighter in bass anyway.

To equalise the whole power cable setup, I listened to output from the TV, just using dac and amp.

This was very revealing, as it was now quite obvious the LS-40 was better in every way. Dialogue, clearer, sounds like doors clunking, thuds, chimes, more believable. And I was more aware of the kind of room or space the sound was coming from.The real key being, it was far more engaging to listen. Tried music through the YouTube app on the TV. The track Linus (by Snarky Puppy) has a high quality stream, and boy, I really got into it, I was moving and grooving in my chair.

From there on, that is what I really noticed - I was moving around in my chair a lot more, or for slower passages, breathing in the music. I’m not a massive classical musical buff, but I found myself listening on when I would usually lose interest.
Chopin’s Prelude in C minor Opus 28, had real drama. It was like being at the venu.

At this point, I decided to try and save myself some bucks, and switch to Van Damme 4mm HiFi. It was like I switched from a 4K OLED TV to a first generation LCD. I was shocked at how much detail was lost, and the bass was totally wimpy in comparison. It is a very easy listen, and without any point of comparison, fine in its own way, but I found myself getting bored.

An example is the track ‘Sleeping in My Dreams’, by Jacob Collier. It starts with just voice and some background bleeps, later kicking into a very catchy poppy EDM chorus. With the Van Damme, the whole experience is a bit meh, but with the LS-40 (and the 25 to be fair, if still to a lesser degree), you want to bounce around the room. In the name of science, I played this track to my daughter, without telling her why or what I was doing. With the Van Damme, she was enjoying it, and when the chorus kicked in, she said ‘Cool song Dad’. With the LS-40, she started dancing!

For a laugh, I setup the system back to LS-25 configuration.
What if I put 25 on the corner speaker, and 40 on the open speaker?
Welcome to the LS 32.5!
This was really pretty good, over bass tamed. Not as good as the LS-40 setup, but maybe a cheapo way of getting part the way.
Then I changed the 25 to Van Damme. Damn, now I really could tell what was missing, by panning from left to right.

So, to conclude, is the LS-40 better? Yes, by quite some margin, if musical enjoyment is the measure. However, what you feed into it can really change how it works out, I can well imagine it will be a bit too much for some, but totally awesome for others.

Time to talk to Alan about a trade in...

Still no word from @ryder.
 
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