In this review we check out the Eletech Raphael. This is Eletech’s new mid-tier cable which can be yours for $499 USD.
Disclaimer: Eletech supplied the Raphael for this review and our honest opinion. We thank Eric and the team of Eletech for their support and trust.
Eletech
Element Technology (aka Eletech) is a Singaporean boutique cable manufacturer that we have featured on Headfonia a couple of times already. Eletech has been co-founded by Eric Chong (previously with Effect Audio) who is very well known around our corners.
Their goal is to offer high performance cables at a reasonable price and provide hardware that meets their own (quite high) standards. I have been handling their new products for a few weeks now, and the plugs, connectors and splitter are really good and well made.
Eletech’s porftolio of cables is discerned into four different series. The Virtues Series holds their entry-level products, which cater to first-time users as well and customers looking for bang for buck offers. The Azrael, Cassiel and soon to be released Raphael (review coming soon) can be found in this series.
Their School of Athens Series is their mid-range cable series for customers who have a bit more to spend and are looking for unique signatures. Then there’s the Paranassus series, which goes all the way for audiophiles with big pockets. All of these series are IEM cables only. For headphone users there’s the Dante series, which right now only has one product in it – the Inferno headphone cable.
Apart from cables, Eletech also offers leather accessories and interconnects. Their leather cases are so sought after, that they are pretty much sold out within hours of their release. Whenever you’re after one of their cases, better be quick!
Raphael
The Eletech Raphael is an all-new Gold-plated Copper and Gold-Copper alloy cable, that uses nine-core Litz wires in a four-braid configuration. It is Eletech’s new adventure into higher end Copper cables, as they are bringing their experience from their flagship cable – Ode to Laura – to this accessibly priced new addition to their line-up.
Raphael’s gauge size is 25.5 AWG according to it’s product page. It uses a multi-sized stranding design as well as Eletech’s high-dispersion geometry with a kevlar resilient core. All of Eletech’s cables are cryogenically treated and come with customized connectors and y-splits. If you’ve ever seen Eletech’s cables in the wild, you know, that they go above and beyond when it comes to their design choices.
The Raphael sports the same components as the Azrael or Cassiel, which we reviewed just a short while ago. These new split, plug and barrel housings are all made of brushed gun-metal aluminum and show triangular shaped inlays with geometric figures in them. A big thumbs up from my side for that!
As far as I know, Raphael will come with a leather pouch as accessory. It can be yours for 499 USD and is available through Eletech’s webshop or one of their regional dealers.
Sound
The following impressions were gathered with the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch and PAW6000 as well as the new Astell&Kern SR35 as sources (as the cables are 4.4mm terminated) and the FIR Krypton 5, Xenon 6, Radon 6, Vision Ears Phönix and 64 Audio U4s and Empire Ears Odin as C/IEMs.
The first thing that I noticed, was the added sense of space around the instruments when I listened to Raphael. It gave the musicians more room to play in and added a layer of emotional charakter to the vocals. Raphael is a rich and smooth sounding cable, that puts out an organic mid-range. With Raphael in the chain I can hear the sound being richer and fuller with more flesh. Everything appears more palpable.
Raphael gives me a more detailed, better rendered bass that reaches a touch deeper and adds a slight bit to the mid-bass region. But just so much, to color the sound to a faintly warmer signature. Something else Raphael did to my monitors is bring the lows better texture and layering.
The mids did get warmed up a bit, as I mentioned before. Giving them a more natural tuning. Raphael is making mids more open but with that extra dose of flesh around the bones to sound more tangible. I honestly love what it does to male and female vocals, where both sound richer and more emotionally convincing.
In terms of treble I hear it to be slightly more defined, but not as forward, putting lower treble a notch back. This is something very welcome with monitors that feature a colder, brittle treble. However, the highs appear sharper cut, bettter accentuated to me.
Raphael’s technical performance is very high as well. Eletech’s newest cable adds doses of resolution, layering and together with the pitch-black backround it is able to achieve better imaging and positioning. With Raphael I hear the sound stage being stretched further into width and slightly deeper, though the changes in width are more noticeable than in depth to me.
So all in all, Raphael is a lush and full sounding cable, that might be best suited for IEMs that need a bit infusion of warmth. But in my experience, playing with the Radon and Xenon 6, it also plays extremely well into the already high performing mids of neutral to warm/darkish sounding monitors. Giving them just that extra bit of a push forward. The Raphael has seen the most ear-time here with my Radon 6 and 18s from 64 Audio. It’s just a magical combination to me.
The review continues on page two!
Cliff
Nice!