Sound
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Talking about cable sound has always proven to be very conflicting. There are two teams for this game. Those that defend their belief in cables making a difference in the chain, and those that swear there’s no sonic benefit of them. Personally, I see myself in the camp of people who hear a difference. Otherwise I wouldn’t be writing reviews about them. I’m always in for a good discussion about audio, but from experience this topic has left civilized talks a long time ago. Anyway, back on track. The No. 10’s sound characteristics. For this section I have used a variety of IEMs. Mostly the Noble Katana and Khan, JH Audio’s Layla, 64 Audio’s A12t, A18t and Tia Fourté, Vision Ears’ Elysium and others.
PW’s latest cable offers a rich sound throughout with a wonderful low-end body. It enhanced bass weight and richness to give lighter monitors more meat on their bones. There is slightly deeper extension into the sub-bass areas to my ears.
Midrange has a touch of warmth and good smoothness in it. Instruments sound slightly fuller and richer with enhanced texture and structure. The No. 10 also enabled my monitors to higher resolution, better instrumental separation and improved imaging.
The background got slightly darker, but there still is room for improvement. But for a cable in the sub 200 USD category it is performing very well. The sound stage is a tad wider and deeper with the No. 10 in the chain. To me, it also seems that my IEMs keep structure better in complex situations. Vocals appear sweeter in tone and with a bit more air around them. They don’t come across as thickened or congested. The No. 10 gives them a somewhat nicer contour and richer appearance without making them sound chesty or congested.
Treble is a notch brighter and richer. Unlike most silver or silver-plated copper cables in that price-segment, the No. 10 doesn’t overly sharpen the highs. It does add some sharpness and precision to them but won’t cause for discomfort. Highs are a bit more energetic and crisper to me.
Overall, the No. 10 is a splendid performer if you want to give your IEMs a bit more low-end body and midrange-warmth. It provides very nice richness and does really well in terms of resolution and rendering. It brings out finer details that are often hidden in the tracks or not mastered in well.
PW Audio No. 10
Suggested pairings:
64 Audio A18t and Tia Fourté; Empire Ears’ Wraith and Zeus XIV; Noble Audio’s Katana, Kaiser Encore and Khan; HUM’s Dolores; Vision Ears’ VE 3.2 and Elysium; Dita Audio’s Dream XLS; qdc’s Fusion
Comparisons
The No. 10’s retail price puts it in the same league as other popular cables. Some of them I also have access to as they are in my arsenal of cables. For comparisons I have used the Lotoo PAW Gold Touch and Noble’s Katana and 64 Audio’s A18t.
Mentioned prices are in USD and correct at the time of writing.
Linum – SuperBax (~220$)
The Linum is one of my favourite cables on the go. It’s super light and goes on unnoticed. The No. 10 in comparison is a lot bigger and noticeably heavier. Although it also is far from being uncomfortable, it is the Linum that’s unbeaten in this area.
On a sonic basis the two are quite different. The Linum goes for an uncoloured and transparent sound, that does basically nothing but enhance technical abilities. The No. 10 on the other hand gives a richer tone with a favourable warmth.
The PW Audio cable provides a fuller sounding low-end with bigger body. It boosts the lower midrange slightly for additional warmth in the mids. The SuperBax sounds less smooth in its mids, but slightly more precise in terms of resolution. The No. 10 creates a wider and deeper sound stage than the SuperBax. It also keeps its structure better with superior layering. Both cables have very nice imaging capabilities.
The Treble is thinner and dryer on the SuperBax, the No. 10 boasts a rich tone in the highs, that makes it more pleasing overall to me. The Linum has a sharper and more direct treble, whereas the PW does tend to smooth highs a bit more.
PW Audio No. 10
Effect Audio – Virtuoso (149$)
Effect Audio’s Virtuoso is the company’s silver-plated copper cable. It comes in at about the same price as PW’s No. 10. The Virtuoso uses slightly smaller 26 AWG wires also in a four-braid construction.
EA’s cable keeps the lows a bit tighter and more controlled than the PW. The No. 10 however does put more weight in them, which gives them a fuller and bigger body. Peter Wong’s No. 10 appears smoother in the midrange to me. The Virtuoso seems to bring more texture to the notes. It also renders at a slightly higher rate, making the picture sound more precise.
Both cables really do well in terms of treble. Neither of them has squeeky or thin sounding highs. The PW Audio does put out a wetter sound, the EA is slightly dryer and brighter to me.
In terms of technical abilities, it’s the EA that produces marginally higher resolution. The PW Audio creates a slightly wider and deeper stage. Both cables are very good in imaging and their background is almost equally dark.
Conclusion
PW Audio celebrates their tenth anniversary with quite a cable. At the price of 259 SGD it is very tempting and presents a real bargain.
The smoothed-out sharpness of the No. 10 suggests to me, that if it is indeed a silver-plated copper cable, it must use high quality silver for the plating. Because usually SPC cables tend to sharpen treble to almost sibilance levels. The No. 10 however, does stay clear of that to me.
The No. 10 gives you a rich and smooth sound, that can match very well with somewhat lighter gear, or monitors that just need that little bit extra to juice things up. Personally, I’ve enjoyed it most with my Katana.
PW’s latest anniversary edition cable is our latest entry in the Best Accessory list.
