PDA

View Full Version : Review: Epiphany Acoustics 'Atratus' interconnect cable



YNWaN
30-03-2012, 16:57
Review: Epiphany Acoustics ‘Atratus’ interconnect cable

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h90/markemark_2006/backofamp2evensmaller.jpg

A few months ago there was a post on this forum from a company called Epiphany Acoustics inviting PM’s from anyone who would like to try their new interconnect cable FOC. I’m always up for a bit of hi-fi fun so I dully sent a PM and thought nothing more about it. Weeks passed and I had quite forgotten about the offer of a loan cable, then I suddenly received a PM saying that said cable would be with me in a couple of days and, indeed, two days later a padded envelope popped through my door. Inside were two individual cables, one metre long, gold plated RCA phono plugs and finished in a rather smart black woven outer braid with a white stripe running through it. This cable is, superficially, quite understated; there was no writing or markings on the cables other than small, colour coded, L and R’s on the plugs (no wooden boxes or flashing LED's). The cables are about 10mm in diameter and are reasonable flexible; they aren’t stiff as such, but they can’t be bent at ninety degrees either. I have since learned that this cable is called ‘Atratus’, is not considered directional, is only available in pre-terminated one metre lengths and is of a dual shielded construction; oh, and it costs £40. Obviously I was curious as to how the cable was constructed and so unscrewed the barrel of the plugs, only to find the insides entirely hidden by a very neatly applied sleeve of heatshrink tubing. Not to be discouraged I contacted Epiphany Acoustics (who, I must admit, I had never heard of till now) and asked for some details; promptly, I received this description:


“It uses high quality copper conductors, has a braided copper screen as well as a foil screen. All wrapped up neatly in the nylon jacket. It is terminated with heavy duty copper plugs.”

Since then, and with Epiphany Acoustics permission, I have investigated a bit further. At the centre the cable there are twin, individually insulated, multi-strand, copper conductors (I don’t know the dialectic); these are twisted with cotton filler and wrapped in a tight Mylar tape shield. The two centre conductors are both soldered to the centre pin of the plugs. Around that Mylar shield is a copper braided shield and this also forms the return. There are then two separate layers of soft PVC insulation (at first it looks like one, but is definitely two separate layers which together form a thick outer insulation layer) and around all of that is a polyester woven jacket. The chunky gold plugs are neatly soldered on and then injected with a plastic (looks like PVC) which makes the connection extremely secure and also extremely difficult to get at! I would say that the construction quality is excellent.

Before we go any further, I should perhaps state my feelings regarding interconnect cables and their role in hi-fi. In my many years involved in the world of hi-fi I have seen the interconnect cable go from being an inconsequential afterthought to almost being the primary component of choice, for some! In addition, I have ‘heard’ a lot of different interconnect cables and at a lot of different price points. In general my findings are thus, the differences between cables are significantly overstated and that price has very little bearing on performance. Indeed, I’ve just read a description of the construction of a cable that sounds uncannily similar to the Atratus – the manufacturer describes this other cable as offering ‘outstanding performance’ for only £300 a metre! Now don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I believe cables don’t do anything; I do think they can sound different – just not as different as cable ‘devotees’ would have you believe. Indeed, my own interconnects have ‘seen off’ some hugely expensive cables (many hundreds of pounds), which barely sounded any different and, if anything, worse.

In fact, such was my lack of enthusiasm that the Atratus cables sat on the island unit in my kitchen for two days before even making it to the hi-fi room (yes, my hi-fi has a room of its own). Even then I couldn’t bring myself to plug it in for another couple of days. Eventually, I had literally nothing better to do and decided to give it a go…

Now, as I only use one source (vinyl) and mostly have Naim amplification, there is only one place such a cable as this can go, and that is between my phonostage and my pre-amp and so I dutifully swopped out my usual interconnect for the Atratus and sat down to listen (noting that the plugs pushed onto the sockets with a pleasing firmness).

Before I say anything about the subjective performance I have something objective to say (shocking, I know, in a cable review). I used the mute control on my pre-amp when swopping the cables over and was struck by the difference between the way the two cables dealt with hum and hiss. I use a very low output MC cartridge and there is a lot of gain in the system. With my normal cable, if I turn up the volume control, with no music playing, I primarily hear a steady low level hum with a background of transistor hiss. The phonostage has an off-board power supply and is positioned away from all transformers, moving cables makes no difference. When I plugged in the Atratus cables I was surprised to find that the hum was reduced almost to nothing; the transistor hiss was no louder, but was now the predominant noise! At first I thought I must have imagined this effect, but repeated switching confirmed that the Atratus did suppress the hum; presumably this is an artifact of the improved shielding over my usual interconnect.

So, I started to listen to some actual music. In all honesty, I was expecting to shortly swop back to my usual cable after hearing very little difference (perhaps none). However, I was in for another surprise; not only did the Atratus instantly strike me as sounding different to my usual cable, it sounded really quite different. My first thought that the system sounded louder, but I knew the volume was exactly the same (as I had used my pre-amps mute facility between changes). The more I listened, the more I concluded that the difference between loud and soft passages seemed increased, as if the dynamic range had expanded. In addition, my usual interconnect sounded quite 'soft' in comparison. Instruments sounded, more sharply etched, quite noticeably so in fact. This last suggests a rising top end or lean presentation, but neither of these were the case. In terms of tonal balance the two interconnects sounded essentially the same. In fact, the Atratus is anything but lean. Voices are very strongly projected and bass has a drive and authority that had somehow escaped my usual cable. It’s not that there was now more bass, it’s more that the bass was delivered with greater impact; actual bass texture and speed was, if anything, better than before – complex drumming was easier to follow and strikes seemed to stand out more clearly and blur into each other less. My system provides very much a front row experience (that’s how I like it), but with the Atratus cable in the system the musicians sounded like they had moved a bit closer still! Every sound seemed more obviously delineated.

What was supposed to be a quick twenty minute listen turned out to be six or seven albums. Not only was it well past my tea time but I was in cable turmoil! Surely I was having some kind of hi-fi break down or had slipped into a parallel universe; surely changing an interconnect just didn’t make anything like the difference I had just heard. Somewhat bewildered I turned off the hi-fi (well, the record deck – I never turn the amps off) and went to get something to eat; suspecting that tomorrow would confirm a temporary mental aberration and that normal order would be returned. However, the next day things were not any different. Numerous times, when listening to records I know well, I was struck by how vivid the sound was, how dynamic it was and how etched, in the space between the speakers, instruments were. I can think of one well known cable manufacturer whose products are renowned for having a warm balance. Whilst the Atratus has strong lower registers, I wouldn’t say it is warm in balance, its upper registers are not muted and the tonal balance is not skewed. In addition, another well known company produces designs noted for their light and lively character, but the Atratus doesn’t achieve its vivacious presentation by curtailing bass weight. I suppose some might feel the Atratus produces an over-hyped version of reality, but I don’t see how a passive item of this type could add to the musical presentation in this way. Even then, I’m not personally on a mission to discover absolute neutrality (whatever that may be), I just want to enjoy listening to music and feel immersed in the event.

So, contrary to my previous beliefs, I have found that a single interconnect can make a significant difference. However, more in line with my previous experience, I have also found that significant cable improvements do not have to cost a lot of money and the £40 that Epiphany Acoustics are asking for the Atratus seems more than reasonable. If you like to imagine you are sat mid theatre (or even listen from outside the theatre as some seem to), then the bold and vivid presentation of the Atratus may not be for you; but if you want to be engrossed in a front seat experience, I wholeheartedly recommend this cable. Perhaps the differences I experienced were specifically due to the lower noise floor of the Atratus, I don’t know; I only tried the cable in one position in my system (the only place it could go). Whatever the reason, the fact remains that it did significantly increase my enjoyment of records I thought I knew inside out (I’m not taking it out of my system – even though it is slightly too short for me). In fact, I’m going for another listen now!

Note: I have absolutely zero involvement with Epiphany Acoustics or anyone associated with the company.

The Epiphany Acoustics website page can be found her:

http://epiphany-acoustics.co.uk/our-products/atratus-audiophile-interconnect/

I also see they have a 14 day refund policy.

Effem
31-03-2012, 09:42
Interesting read Mark.

I presume that your good sense should have eliminated the "wiping" action of plugging and unplugging the different sets of cables, so cleaning the contacts?

If that is the case then maybe you have stumbled across another value brand to add to our list at only £40 the set. Pity though that other lengths are not available.

YNWaN
31-03-2012, 10:52
Well, I swapped the cables in and out a whole load of times, so any advantage of wiping the contacts was pretty quickly negated - the differences remained stable throughout (it doesn't say all that in the report because I thought it a bit dull).

I know what you mean about the length, as 1.2m would be better for me. However, I did enquire and was told that only pre-terminated 1m lengths were available.

I had another long listen yesterday - the difference is really quite marked! To be honest, I don't see that you can go far wrong for £40; you can always send them back if you don't like them. I'm not a believer in cable burn-in and I didn't feel the performance of this cable altered at all in the time I was comparing it. So, plug them in for a couple of days and have a listen - if you don't like them, send them back (under their 14 day refund policy).

I don't know how many other people tried this cable before me, but I'm surprised that none of them have deigned to post anything.

morris_minor
31-03-2012, 12:56
That's probably the best cable review I've seen, Mark! So much better than most of the magazine or e-zine reviews I've read. Had I not just bought a number of Mark Grant cables I would be sorely tempted to try an Atratus . . .

YNWaN
31-03-2012, 13:09
Thanks Bob :).

I've not actually tried the Mark Grant cables; but I would like to. If anyones fancies loaning me a 1m pair, it would be much appreciated.

Macca
31-03-2012, 13:30
That's probably the best cable review I've seen, Mark! So much better than most of the magazine or e-zine reviews I've read. Had I not just bought a number of Mark Grant cables I would be sorely tempted to try an Atratus . . .

Agreed.

I am in the market for an interconnect but I won't pay silly money. £40 is within acceptable limits. My only reservation is that I'm not a 'front row' sort, I like a more 'cinematic' sound.

YNWaN
31-03-2012, 14:45
Well, one mans cinema is another's theatre....:)

YNWaN
31-03-2012, 15:26
I've had a look at the construction of my previous interconnect (it is definitely now my previous interconnect) - it's quite interesting to compare the construction of the two (for me at least).

My previous interconnect also has twin, twisted, conductors at it's core and like the Atratus (I don't know what Atratus means - a Google search didn't suggest anything) they are multi-strand copper. However, the diameter of each cable is a touch smaller than the Atratus and there is no cotton filler twisted with them. One cable is soldered to the + pin and one to the return. A Mylar foil screen is wrapped around the twisted cables, but is not connected in any way, and quite a thin insulation (could well be PTFE) jacket covers the whole thing. It does have posh Eichmann bullet plugs fitted though....

Mark Grant
31-03-2012, 16:01
I've not actually tried the Mark Grant cables; but I would like to. If anyones fancies loaning me a 1m pair, it would be much appreciated.

You are welcome to borrow anything, let me know. They can be any length you need as I make cables to order.

YNWaN
31-03-2012, 16:16
Cool, I've sent you a PM regarding a loaner cable if that's OK?

sq225917
31-03-2012, 18:16
It's a nicely made cable that Mark, it certainly 'felt and looked the money' when you brought it round.

YNWaN
31-03-2012, 18:50
Oh, I see this has been moved - I must admit, I find the naming of the various sections of the forum most confusing (and what is supposed to go where)

YNWaN
01-04-2012, 07:17
Hmm...I see Jerry has also written a review of this cable for the HIfi Pig website. I have found it interesting to compare his experience to my own. He describes the vocal projection and bass drive/slam that I also heard. However, he feels the 'sound' of the cable is program dependant; I can't say I found that to be the case, but then I didn't listen to any classical music. I do think the Atratus leans towards the 'dry and projected', rather than the 'smooth and airy'. Jerry also mentions an emphasis of sibilance and I must admit this is an aspect I had also heard but had not commented on. The reason being that I'm not convinced that sibilance is emphasised, I think it might just be being presented accurately. What I mean is, sibilance wasn't generated where none existed before (for me), but where sibilant sounds (on some close miked vocals) existed, the effect was more explicit than before (but then, so were all sounds) and Sss sounds didn't leap out of the mix in an obviously lifted way (as they sometimes can). Perhaps the Atratus is slightly emphasising the leading edges of sounds (as my amps are sometimes accused of doing) - though I'm not sure that a cable can do such a thing.

jandl100
02-04-2012, 07:29
I find it very interesting that Mark and I completely independently came to quite similar conclusions regarding the "sound" of this cable.

My review can be seen here (http://hifipig.com/epiphany-acoustics-atratus-cables/) if anyone is interested. :)

I've bought my review pair from Epiphany - as Mark said, I found it a bit of a mix of pros and cons and music dependent, but where it is good it is truly exceptional, imo.

YNWaN
02-04-2012, 07:55
I find it very interesting that Mark and I completely independently came to quite similar conclusions regarding the "sound" of this cable.

Yes, so do I; very much so. I think we described very similar things, but I think we just weighted them slightly differently.

Perhaps you could expand on the program dependant element? I don't really listen to classical music (I believe you do?), though I do own some - I will have a listen later.

jandl100
02-04-2012, 08:38
I think there's an emphasis to the sound in the upper mids & treble.
It highlights the natural sibilance in recordings, and gives acoustic instruments with significant high freq energy a bit of a boost.
This can sound impressive with a lot of amplified music, where perhaps there is less of a reality to compare it to.
It doesn't seem to impact on vocals very much, except for sibilant esses and tees, the perceived boost is higher than that.
Violins, plucked intruments (I played a solo lute CD, not good), brass with high harmonics - all those seem to be affected to me. Yup, that's classical music written off, for me anyway!

But most non-acoustic music is great through the cable, with the subtle boost giving real presence and palpability. And the bass, my gosh it's amazing. The cable really lets it through - it just shows how much other cables bugger things up, imho! Fantastic bass resolution and control.

I think I have to accept that as a mainly classical music listener I am more sensitive than others to just the kind of treble emphasis I heard with this cable. In my review I gave the cable a strong thumbs up ("just might be the bargain of the decade"!!) for other musical genres.

sq225917
02-04-2012, 09:13
Maybe your hifi is just a bit 'spitty' Jerry. ;-)

jandl100
02-04-2012, 13:14
Well, many folks have heard my system, and the unanimous opinion is that is not so. Most folks hear it as the cleanest and most resolved treble they have ever heard. The MBL radialstrahler drivers really are exceptionally fine. :)

Maybe that allows me to hear cable differences better.

Marco
02-04-2012, 13:34
Oh, I see this has been moved - I must admit, I find the naming of the various sections of the forum most confusing (and what is supposed to go where)


Strokes of Genius Tell us of any fantastic tweaks, free or otherwise, which have transformed your system. Also post reviews of equipment and ancillaries.


I don't know how it could be made any clearer, daftee! ;)

We like to keep all reviews together in the one place, for easy access later, as a point of reference.

Marco.

YNWaN
02-04-2012, 13:49
Yes, the tag line is clear - but 'Strokes of Genius' isn't (IMO).

Marco
02-04-2012, 14:15
Of course... The section descriptions purposely relate audio to art (hence 'The Art of Sound'). In case of any confusion, the tag line underneath exists to outline where topics should be posted. Ya gots ta READ it! ;)

Marco.

YNWaN
02-04-2012, 15:23
Of course... The section descriptions purposely relate audio to art (hence 'The Art of Sound').

:doh: You know, oddly, that never occured to me!



In case of any confusion, the tag line underneath exists to outline where topics should be posted. Ya gots ta READ it! ;)

Marco.

Ah indeed, fair comment.

Marco
02-04-2012, 16:12
:doh: You know, oddly, that never occured to me!


Lol - *that* is funny! However, I suspect that you're not alone. Often what appears 'obvious' to you, is erm, less 'obvious' to others!! We firmly believe that there is just as much art involved as science in building a superb sounding hi-fi system (as indeed is outlined in our ethos).

'Strokes of Genius', as in brush 'strokes' (on a painting), and also as in a 'stroke of genius' is often a term used when someone has a brilliant idea. The whole of the forum has been laid out in this format. Don't worry everything here has a very carefully considered purpose! ;)

In the case of audio, a 'stroke of genius' could be a brilliant tweak which someone has discovered that hasn't cost them anything, or one that has cost something, but which has effected a sonic improvement far in excess of how much it has cost.

As for reviews, we simply decided that 'Strokes of Genius' was the area where we'd put them all in :)

Marco.