Other Comparisons
Eletech Aeneid
The Aeneid feels a bit more comfortable because of its 24AWG gauge and the 4 core braiding. It’s also more flexible with a softer feel. Looks-wise it’s more splashy with a more assertive design, especially with the gold-coloured y-split and audio jack.
Sound-wise the Eletech widens the stage with more room between instruments but I think the Chiron provides more depth. Eletech’s signature is soft with a smooth nature, even smoother than the Chiron, and it’s certainly a cable that can provide great listening hours at night. The way it gives you the treble effortlessly and sharp at the same time is exceptional.
Chiron has more texture and layering. You have a deeper perception of sound with a better sense of pinpointing the instruments. The Aeneid gives you more balance across the spectrum and evens out the overall stage in a wider area.
And although Aeneid feels quite wide when paired, the Chiron has better imaging overall. And again, the most striking quality of the Chiron is its ability to scale up the bass response. You have better layering and texture in the bass region. It provides a better note size as well with a fuller approach than the Aeneid.
Brise Audio Yatono Ultimate
The new Yatono Ultimate is another fantastic cable from Japan. I love Brise Audio because of their house sound which is very dynamic, definitive, and highly resolving. The build quality of Brise Audio is always outstanding but comfort wise their cable is a bit stiff when compared to EA or Eletech. So you need to use that chin slider to mount the cable around your ears to have a more secure wearing.
The Yatono has incredible resolution and transparency, and that’s not surprising at all. Brise’s offerings always impressed me with that feature. The Yatono Ultimate also boosts the mids a bit with a forwarding approach, so it feels more dynamic and exciting. Especially the upper mid area is nicely boosted so if you need more mids, especially in upper registers, you can take the Yatono Ultimate.
The Effect Audio Chiron is superior in terms of stage width and depth. The Yatono Ultimate provides a closer stage when compared, but you get better dynamism and PRaT, at the cost of sound stage, layering and imaging. Brise Audio cables have a certain character and approach to the sound, whilst the Chiron takes everything to greater heights with its fantastic bass, definition and imaging.
Conclusion
Effect Audio Chiron impresses with excellent quality and craftsmanship, which is not surprising from EA. The new Chiron is a very soft and smooth cable, for both its sounds and premium build. The new dark design brings fresh air to the EA lineup, and it offers fantastic performance with the right IEM pairing.
If you have reached the summit-fi in portable audio and have the luxury to spend more cash on perfecting your setup, this is one of the High-End cables that can certainly impress you. If you need a fuller and denser low end, creamy mid-range and softer treble out of your flagship IEM, this is the way to go.
For anyone else, this won’t make your IEM a flagship one if it’s not on its own already. Instead, you can look out for the Effect Audio Vogue or EVO series for increasing the performance of your setup.
Page 1: Intro and Design
Page 2: Sound Quality
