EWA pfm tour: ABCaudio demo kit

[Rug Doc]

Hello, Alan.

The usb IC-25 would be perfect, 90 cm should do it. Thank you. Do you have my details on file ? If not, I'll pm them to you.

M

Prepare for a bigger shock than with the speaker cables and RCAs. the USB cable is the one that wowed me the most. I know it shouldn't as it's 1s and 0's, but it just floored me.

 

[ABCaudio]

Prepare for a bigger shock than with the speaker cables and RCAs. the USB cable is the one that wowed me the most. I know it shouldn't as it's 1s and 0's, but it just floored me.

@Rug Doc That's only because you tripped over all those trailing wires..!

Thank you though, that is kind. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your system that day. I just bought a very special little class A amplifier with those Impulses in mind.

 

[ABCaudio]

Hello, how is the starting point cable compared to the ewa ls-v+jumpers,
That I have?

Hi @Boris the madcap

Starting point uses the same extrusion tool so it looks the same as LS-V. But they use different conductors, so there are differences (and SP is more flexible, too). I would say that Starting Point should present scale and dynamics better. It is a very long time since I listened to LS-V and SP together so I cannot comment on a direct comparison without digging through the parts box. Starting Point came about because we wanted slightly stronger bass from LS-V but there was no way to do it with the conductors we were using, and using the custom stuff from LS-XXV was just too expensive. Starting Point did accomplish that.

That said the change is more of an evolutionary step than a drastic change, so please do not worry about it.

 

[Rug Doc]

@Rug Doc That's only because you tripped over all those trailing wires..!

Thank you though, that is kind. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to your system that day. I just bought a very special little class A amplifier with those Impulses in mind.

I want those impulse's back. !!!

 

[Boris the madcap]

Hi @Boris the madcap

Starting point uses the same extrusion tool so it looks the same as LS-V. But they use different conductors, so there are differences (and SP is more flexible, too). I would say that Starting Point should present scale and dynamics better. It is a very long time since I listened to LS-V and SP together so I cannot comment on a direct comparison without digging through the parts box. Starting Point came about because we wanted slightly stronger bass from LS-V but there was no way to do it with the conductors we were using, and using the custom stuff from LS-XXV was just too expensive. Starting Point did accomplish that.

That said the change is more of an evolutionary step than a drastic change, so please do not worry about it.

OK, thank you very much, for the information.

 

[ABCaudio]

I want those impulse's back. !!!

Not. Gonna. Happen!

 

[Rug Doc]

Not. Gonna. Happen!

well make sure they’re not getting damp at all in storage please. Plenty of MDF on them to go pop.

Just want to be sure they’re still mint when I collect them

 

[ABCaudio]

well make sure they’re not getting damp at all in storage please. Plenty of MDF on them to go pop.

Just want to be sure they’re still mint when I collect them

Nah, they spend a good deal of time in the house in rotation with the Revels now, and the storage facility is bone dry. The Ta'us shall remain ever-minty, and in my greasy mits! Mua hahahaaa!

 

[Rug Doc]

Nah, they spend a good deal of time in the house in rotation with the Revels now, and the storage facility is bone dry. The Ta'us shall remain ever-minty, and in my greasy mits! Mua hahahaaa!

Interested to hear how the two compare!?

if you do happen to ever see a rosewood pair please lmk.

 

[ABCaudio]

Most certainly.

The Revels are more even-handed (especially off axis), probably deeper in the bass and certainty better integrated in terms of the drivers. Impulses are coloured in comparison (though you soon listen 'through' that), have a great dynamic presence and speed, and if you are in the sweet spot they are just impossible to beat. By comparison the Revels seem 'quiet' on first blush, but that is more the neutrality and accuracy I suspect.

I still think the Impulse are happier when facing down a room rather than across it (although across/nearfield does calm a bit of the coloration), but the F-208 are happy either way and just drive the room better. They are both end-game as far as I am concerned, as were your Yamaha NS behemoths - perhaps all more similar than not.

 

[ABCaudio]

Update time!

LS-80 are with @Weiss-Man

LS-80 with @DavetheBass is not coming back!

IC-25 USB is with @gustav_errata

IC-25 USB (another) is with @eisenach

IC-40 RCA interconnects are back here already

LS-25 is now going to Nick (not sure he is a fishie)

LS-40 & IC-25 (XLR) are with Mike (not sure if a fishie)

LS-40 is with Nigel (not sure a fishie)


Notwithstanding some of this kit may get bought, is there any further interest on pfm in trying something out? I would hope most of these cables are almost ready to be sent on, maybe by the end of the week/early next week.

I have a set of LS-40 and IC-40 soon to go to @Swann36

The LS-80 go to @Yivez next.

 

[ABCaudio]

I wanted to add Dave's really great mini-review to this thread, as I didn't want it to be missed (and I think just one EWA thread bumping up and down the audio room is best because some take umbrage at excessive trade activity in the audio room and I want to respect that).

Just wanted to post a few comments and observations on the EWA LS-80 speaker cable. A couple of months ago I PM'd Alan to ask about the possibility of demoing a set of LS-40 speaker cables. He said that would be fine but that they were out on loan, so he would let me know when they returned. We exchanged a few messages (as you do) and got talking about the LS-80 as well. Now I should add that at that time I was thinking that I'd be needing a 4.5m pair. The thought of spending out on LS-80's wasn't something that filled me with enthusiasm. However, talking with 'She who must be obeyed' resulted in the idea of moving the rack to between the speakers. This cuts the required length to a 2m pair...far more palatable. As luck would have it, Alan had a 2.7m pair already built for a customer who wanted 2 pairs of 2m LS-80 for bi wiring. So bingo bongo, I demo'd that pair.

Without wishing to wax lyrical or get in to the whole 'cables make no difference' debacle, this is what I (and 'She who must be obeyed') found. My previous cable was a 4m pair of NAC5. I should probably list the other components as well I guess. Hegel H390 and a pair of PMC Twenty5 22 stand-mounts. My source is the internet going through a Silent Angel N8 switch. I use Qobuz. I had the system cooking away for about 40mins with the old cable before switching, the wife was upstairs at this point. I did the swap. Volume on the amp was unchanged. The difference was immediate and tangible. Wider deeper soundstage, more space around the elements of the recording and better definition and texture to those elements. So obvious was the change that my wife appeared at the door to the lounge giving me one of her looks. We both knew these cables were keepers. Back of the net!

The cables arrived very well packaged and in a presentation box with three layers of foam for protection. Alan has been an absolute gentleman to deal with from the start, which was just a casual enquiry. I have no affiliation with Alan or EWA and have nothing to gain by making these comments. I could have sent the cables back with no charge, at any point. If you're thinking about upgrading your cables, get in touch with these guys, you'll be glad you did.

 

[Warszawa]

 

[ABCaudio]

'She who must be obeyed': "How much were these cables?"

Dave:

 

[DavetheBass]

'She'!! The management. The approval committee. You know....She. As to the cost, my soul lost quite a lot of its weight.

 

[eisenach]

We'll, I decided to keep the USB cable. I really didn't think it would make a difference, but it did. It's quite subtle, but when I'd been listening for a while, I realised that I was enjoying the music more. There's plenty of detail, but it's not in your face.

The wife asked what I'd done ...
I was hearing things I'd never heard before ...
A veil was lifted ...
The blacks were inky ...
The sound stage burst the walls ...
My strings were velvety ...

Enough !

 

[ABCaudio]

We'll, I decided to keep the USB cable. I really didn't think it would make a difference, but it did. It's quite subtle, but when I'd been listening for a while, I realised that I was enjoying the music more. There's plenty of detail, but it's not in your face.

The wife asked what I'd done ...
I was hearing things I'd never heard before ...
A veil was lifted ...
The blacks were inky ...
The sound stage burst the walls ...
My strings were velvety ...

Enough !

Excellent, we are thrilled that you like it!

This is all very interesting, as in the space of a few posts we have a range of experiences with the same product (IC-25 USB, from our third tier range).

One listener found it astounding, a truly dramatic improvement in his system. Another has now found a subtle, but in his opinion worthwhile improvement that adds to his enjoyment of music; and a discreet listener that heard no discernable change at all (feel free to post about it if you like, we welcome all experiences being shared).

The only conclusion I am prepared to draw from this (as I am convinced that Colin's design is excellent) is that people should hear cables for themselves in your own system. Take your time, don't be pressured.

And if someone does like what they hear we always appreciate a good word that can be shared publicly, it's the only 'advertising' we get.

 

[CJ14]

Now I am of a different response I like all comments even the critical ones as it will help us to improve the product and for all systems and including the room and furniture very different sound.
So please give us all the info, room, kit, furniture and pets with pic, ( especially bunnies )
Thanks all
Best Col

 

[gustav_errata]

I was the heretofore discreet USB auditioner.

My source is a SOtM sMS-200 NEO SE, which is an ARM CPU-based streamer with a well-engineered power section (but as yet still with the generic SMPS wall wart). The SE adds extra features including EMI absorption sheets. The sMS-200 is connected by USB to an RME ADI-2 DAC FS. My current USB cable is a Furutech GT2, and I admit I didn't notice any significant difference when I added that cable over my previous £3 job, but it stayed in anyway.

The rest of my system is an EWA M-50 power amp connected directly to the DAC by short runs of EWA IC-40 and some -10dB Golden Jacks attenuators. The speakers are currently the weak link, I think: DALI Oberon 5's, but I'm stuck with them for space reasons until we move to a different house. The speakers are connected via EWA LS-40. As you can see, I like the EWA products that I have heard so far.

I understand digital audio, so I went into the IC-25 USB cable with the understanding that there shouldn't be any obvious change in things like frequency response, and that changes to the actual signal would be obvious in the form of clicks and pops. However, I have an open mind to the possibility of noise traveling by USB from source to DAC and on to the amplifier, which might have psychoacoustic effects on perceived soundstage, dynamics, etc. So, I went into the IC-25 USB demo with enthusiasm and an open mind.

Thanks to the generosity of the demo tour, I was able to keep the IC-25 in my system for a couple of weeks. I also did some cable swapping for back-to-back comparisons but I mainly focused on long-term enjoyment. All auditioning was performed fully sighted with no scientific or statistical rigor. I do that for my day job and can't be bothered when I'm relaxing with music. I listened at a variety of volumes, from quiet night sessions to wife-and-kids-are-out blasting. The music ranged from Another Timbre chamber music through to rock and experimental electronic music (lots of Autechre!). I also auditioned my own music productions, which of course I am very familiar with.

Anyway, long story very short, in the end I had to admit that I couldn't discern any difference. I very consciously wanted to but I forced myself to be honest with myself. I've now swapped back to my old cable and I will continue to pay attention to see if I feel that I'm missing out on anything.

I think the most likely explanation is that the RME DAC aggressively rejects noise and homogenises the incoming signal. And, if marketing is to be believed anyway, the streamer should also be sending a very clean signal to begin with. So, if the IC-25 USB can do wonders for a digital signal, this is not the front-end to reveal it. Other possibilities include speakers that are perhaps not as revealing as those used by others who heard differences, and/or unideal room conditions.

So, the IC-25 USB didn't work out for me, but if/when I change my front-end, I would be happy to revisit it. If anything, my EWA budget might better be put towards a pre-amp for my M-50! Until then I will continue to enjoy the rest of my EWA kit and would still highly recommend them to anyone!

 

[CJ14]

Thank you for that reply, after a few test here with square waves and scope, I found depending on load the rising edges and falling edges of the digital lies could be messed up I wondered if the could fool the DAC, then I tried EWA this error was reduced so much I thought I had bypassed the cable under test.
Then I tried my old designed cable from a pass life, not bad but the new stuff was much much faster and less effected by radiated noise, the test I use for that is fun.
I rap the cable around a old Flo tube as they radiate like hell. Good old Tesla.

Now that a way to have charging done and the car will not be stolen cool.