TechRadar: All Accessories Feeds

ACS TS2 - the best earphones in the world?

Dan George — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 17:08:00 +0000

Most savvy consumers recognise that the 'freebie' earphones supplied with music portables belong in the bin.

However, the upgrade options can be bewildering; there's in-ear, on-ear, noise-cancellingÖ plus the awkward paradox that big isn't necessarily better. So what's the best solution and what makes the ultimate earphone for music on-the-go?

Anyone who has used headphones outside can grasp the benefits of the electronic noise-cancelling systems currently on the market and likewise, 'noise-isolating' systems — a more natural approach with earplug-like headphones — offer tangible benefits in blocking out outside noise, leaving just you and the music.

So imagine, then, a custom-fit earplug moulded for your ears, with a high-quality drive unit systems inside. Enter the TS2 'in-ear monitors' from Advanced Hearing Solutions (ACS).

Custom-made

The specialist provides custom-fit in-ear monitors for performing musicians and hearing protection/communication systems for motorsport applications, so they know a bit about earphones.

When you buy a pair of T2s you'll be given a voucher to arrange a quick custom fitting session at an audiologist in your area. In less than 15 minutes, a mould of your ear is taken which is then sent off to ACS to transform into your own, personalised set of in-ear T2 monitors.

The clever design is based around two tiny drivers that ACS claims deliver, ìan incredibly detailed responseî and a frequency range of 20Hz to 16kHz.

The driver unit is moulded within the custom-fit earpiece, which is made from high-grade silicon – a substance that lends itself particularly well to the inner ear—quickly reaching body temperature whilst retaining crucial flexibility. Sound travels a mere 10mm from the tiny drive unit to the aperture, down a 1mm diameter 'tube'.

ACS says the T2 blocks out 26dB of background noise and when fitted correctly the blocking effect is incredible, enabling you to see the world but not hear it.

Rather brilliantly, this means you only need around half the volume you would normally require to get the same listening levels, dramatically reducing the risk of long-term hearing loss, something ACS founder Andy Shiach is extremely passionate about.

Sound Quality

The benefits of a custom-fitted earphone are abundantly obvious in use. It allows the earphone's driver to operate in a near-perfect environment, free from intrusive background noise and external influence. This allows for extraordinary levels of detail that few earphones (and few high-end hi-fi systems) can achieve. And to simply use the word 'detail' doesn't do the T2 justice.

What it does offer is unparalleled intelligibility of music, uncompromised neutrality and the kind of 'rediscover your music collection' resolution that traditional hi-fi manufacturers collectively aspire to. There's so much transparency of offer, in fact, that the T2s will effortlessly reveal detail in music that you didn't even know existed!

Compared to a full-size hi-fi headphone such as the excellent £160 Sennheiser HD 595, there's a sense that some 'scale' and dynamics are missing, but the insight the T2s give quickly becomes addictive. But plain sailing it's not.

Many users will find the 'intimacy' of the fit takes some getting used to and the slightly fiddly fitting procedure can seem troublesome at first. This is a product for the dedicated user, however, but persevere and the rewards are there for the taking.

We've yet to find a more accurate earphone and if you can afford £500 in the pursuit of commuting heaven, it really makes a sound investment.

Marantz IS201 iPod Dock

James Ellerbeck — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 15:44:00 +0000

Docks that connect to your hi-fi are ubiquitous in the iPod market, but few audiophile companies have entered into the fray.

Aside from the Marantz IS201, we can only think of Denon's ASD1R dock as an example of a thoroughbred audiophile competitor that went all-out to put sound first without worrying about the price tag.

Neutral performance

Good hi-fi equipment shows up the thinness of MP3 files if you play them through an attached iPod dock. Worse still, some docks add tinny, wavering qualities to the audio, while others boost areas of the frequency for effect.

What Marantz has done with the IS201, like Denon, is produce an excellent-quality dock that keeps the signal as neutral as possible, so with excellent-quality files to play and a decent amp and speakers to attach the dock to, you can revel in the original production techniques and fine artistry.

For a clean and tidy desktop, the connection ports are kept on a separate box a cable's length from the dock, so you can tuck most of the kit away. You get the twin RCA audio outs, S-Video out, RC-5, IR-Flasher and RS-232 connections.

The RS-232 connection is dated and Marantz would have been better off scrapping it in favour of a USB port, which would have allowed a Mac to sync with the iPod through the dock. The 3.5mm RC-5 and Flasher ports give you control over the dock using a stereo's IR remote control, if available.

We were less concerned with these connection options given the boxed dock remote, and concentrated on the sound quality coming through the RCA ports, which was very fine indeed.

Close contest

This Marantz dock is wall mountable, which might attract some. The docking tray cover slides out to reveal two iPod Universal Dock Connectors: one facing forward and one facing out.

The Marantz IS201 iPod Dock offers excellent audio quality, and some ports you probably don't need. It just beats the Denon because it has a separate remote.

Van den Hul The Wave

Richard Black — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:22:00 +0000

With one of vdH's less bizarre names, but a truly distinctive colour to its jacket, The Wave is a new model from the company's confusingly vast range.

It uses silver-plated copper conductors (the more upmarket ones use carbon strands), polythene insulation, coaxial construction and a 'Hulliflex' jacket. Apparently the green colour signifies the 25th anniversary of vdH's green mission to make cables that do not harm the environment.

Strong imaging

The central conductor is a generous 0.9mm diameter and the internal dimensions are such that the cable is also suited to video duty and indeed digital audio interconnection. It's a little thicker and less flexible than other rival cables, but still perfectly practical and it is fitted with very nice collet-clamp phono plugs which, in principle, give better termination to coaxial wire than the usual types.

We found this cable had a full-bodied and clearly defined sound across the registers. It has a very slightly fuller upper bass, which may tickle some tastes, but this does not seem to have any adverse effect on rhythm, which is lively and precise.

Treble is cleanly extended and once again there is a lovely natural quality to the way delicate high-frequency sounds decay into ambience (given good recordings!). Imaging is very good, with perhaps a slightly longer perspective in the depth direction.

That's something we've noticed once or twice before with vdH cables and we regard it more as a matter of taste than absolute right or wrong. A highly capable and compatible interconnect.

TCI Tiger II

Richard Black — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:18:00 +0000

The TCI Tiger II is the company's entry-level interconnect.

It actually looks a good deal more upmarket than the price suggests, with some particularly handsome (and well made) phono plugs fitted. Beneath the soft jacket, it is apparently a simple twisted pair in design, an arrangement which minimises hum pickup, though under very low-signal conditions (a turntable connected to a phono preamp) the lack of shielding may possibly become an issue.

The wire is straightforward stranded copper insulated in polythene, a low-loss dielectric whose properties are slightly compromised here by the fibre filler and the PVC outer sleeve – were it not for that, Tiger would also serve pretty well as a digital interconnect.

Great at the price

Budget interconnects often struggle mainly in the treble, with a less open sound than their dearer rivals can achieve. In this case, although that is still true to some extent, treble is really rather impressive.

Just now and then one becomes aware of a slight lack of ambience and 'air' around the sound, but for the most part results are good and for the price, excellent.

Bass is interesting, being to our ears a little short of completely neutral. Instead there is something of a lift to it, which makes for a fuller sound, but does on occasion detract from the tautness of a rhythmic bassline. In budget set-ups, with rather bass-light systems, that may be no bad thing.

Detail is good and imaging excellent with surprisingly good depth, too.

Kimber Timbre

Richard Black — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 12:14:00 +0000

Kimber's interconnect cables have generally followed a common pattern in recent years, with three conductors plaited together.

Termination is done with two conductors for 'hot' and one for earth: Kimber's claims for the arrangement are more to do with the way the plaiting distributes electromagnetic fields around the cable, than anything related to ohmic resistance and there's no real reason why the resistance difference in each 'leg' of the circuit should matter.

Within each conductor are copper strands of various thicknesses and the insulation is of transparent Teflon. In principle, a cable constructed like this is more open to hum and interference pick up than the more common coaxial arrangement, but we've yet to encounter any problems in line-level circuits, at least.

Excellent in every way

Simple, but good-quality phono plugs with Kimber's 'Ultraplate' surface treatment are fitted as standard: XLR connectors are an option, for balanced working.

We've vague memories of hearing this cable before, but it was an analloyed pleasure to be reacquainted with it. Sound is beautifully solid and well-rounded, but also very delicate and highly detailed and there is a marvellous sense of stereo image in a large space between, beyond and around the loudspeakers.

Only by trying direct comparison with some very fancy cables, were we able to identify any limitations: there is just the slightest hint of high-frequency congestion on the odd occasion, but by goodness it's small in this extent.

The Timbre is only halfway up Kimber's range, but its performance frankly belies that: excellent in every way.

Line 6 Pocket Pod

Alex Thomas — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 15:37:00 +0000

Ever wanted to play guitar like Jimi Hendrix, but didn't know how to mimic his trademark sound? With the Line 6 Pocket Pod, you can. The latest in the acclaimed series of Pod pre-amps from Line 6 may seem small, but it's packed full of more classic rock sounds than a roadie's record collection.

About the size of a standard guitar tuner, the Pocket Pod works as a digital pre-amp that allows the user to mimic the sounds of classic amplifiers and effects pedals. Just plug in your guitar, link the Pocket Pod up to either your amp or your Mac, and you can sound like classic guitarists from Eric Clapton to Jimmy Page.

Vast chioce of sounds

The Pocket Pod comes loaded with 48 classic amp and cabinet models, along with a further 300 custom presets, which include over 100 supplied by bands such as Maroon 5 and Razorlight. You can also create and save your own sounds at the push of a button and a twiddle of a knob, or download yet more from the Line 6 website.

Once saved into the Pocket Pod, you can 'deep dive' into your presets with ease on your Mac using Line 6's Vyzex software, in order to fine-tune your sound before you record it.

Although the Pocket Pod is at its best when plugged into a Marshall stack with some classic rock pumping through it, it can also be invaulable in the home studio and makes an ideal companion to either Logic or GarageBand. It plugs into your Mac using the easily accessible USB cable and you can even plug in your iPod using the Pocket Pod's headphone socket and jam along to your favourite songs.

Lose the clutter

Although not as feature-packed as Line 6's more professional models, such as the Pro X3 or XT, it's almost a quarter of the price, making it the perfect beginner's model.

Its portability and ease of use make this a must for any home Mac musician. The days of your home studio being cluttered with effects pedals is over.

Wireworld Solstice 52

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:06:00 +0000

You've got to admire some folks' ingenuity in creating memorable TLAs (Three-Letter Abbreviations).

This cable is part of the all-new 'DNA' range from Wireworld – that's 'Delineated Neutralizing Array'. In the case of the speaker cables in the range, this means that multiple flat, stranded, conductors are stacked diagonally face-to-face, an interesting and unique arrangement that gives the cable high capacitance (so no older Naim or Exposure amps!) and also a rather unwieldy physical nature despite the fairly flexible leadout tails.

Solid bass

There's plenty of copper (silver-plated) inside, giving a usefully low resistance and the multiple conductor arrangement means that bi-wiring is an option: indeed, as far as we can see, tri-wiring should be perfectly possible, too.

Having carefully routed the cables so that they didn't try to pull out of the terminals on the amp and speakers, we found that this is another bit of evidence linking high-capacitance design with astonishingly profound and solid bass.

Cables from Townshend, Goertz and Electrofluidics were recalled, as we revelled in believable reproduction of large percussion instruments, double bass and piano. This is one of those cases where what are really quite small and subtle differences seem disproportionately audible.

Glorious detail

While mostly new-found fine detail in the lowest octaves registers as a whole extra dimension of extension, control and tunefulness.

There's no sense at all of bass bloat: control is close and tight, but if instruments with a lot of bass energy have been faithfully recorded you'll get it all in glorious detail through this cable.

Midrange is neutral and dynamically assured, while treble seems effortlessly sweet and detailed.

This is a remarkably fine cable.

Ixos XHS756

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 15:00:00 +0000

The name might not tell one much, but there's quite a lot to the Ixos XHS756.

Its appearance is certainly distinctive, with the multiple conductors and those intriguing-looking terminator barrels (which actually merely serve to disentangle the conductors), and as with most Ixos cables, the distinctive feature is the 'Gamma Geometry' weave.

This is a bit of a novelty, though, in that there are two sets of conductors interwoven with the non-conducting strands that give the assembly its particular properties.

Decent performance

One set is slightly heavier than the other and in bi-wiring mode one could have no end of fun mixing and matching gauge with frequency range.

We opted for single wiring, under which conditions this cable behaves in basic electrical terms as a very low resistance, moderate capacitance type.

The sound is generally good all round, without any particularly outstanding areas, but also without any irritating weaknesses or drawbacks. Bass is certainly extended, but not quite as powerful and ringing as some can offer, while treble is open and very sweet.

No coloration

There's a very well-judged balance between the tonal extremes and the midrange, which leads to a particularly natural rendition of human voice, male or female, spoken or sung.

It's surprising how many cables seem to impart some coloration to that and it's always nice to find one that seems absolutely honest vocally.

We were also rather taken with the dynamics this cable offers, which seem both wide and confident with no hardening of the sound in loud passages. Imaging is good and this seems to be a cable one could 'fit and forget' in pretty much any decent system.

Chord Company Carnival Silver Screen

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:44:00 +0000

Screened loudspeaker cables are not all that common. Interconnects tend to be screened because the signals they carry are much lower in power.

They're more easily interfered with by stray electrical fields and a screen largely blocks those.

It is indeed pretty much unknown for speaker cables to pick up interference in an obvious way and yet there may still be a good argument to screening them and hence reducing the amount of RF pick-up fed back into the amplifier, where its effects may be subtle but insidious.

Cable design

Interestingly, the Carnival doesn't actually connect the screen electrically to the conductors, but it will still have an effect.

The conductors themselves are medium-thickness, PVC-insulated copper, twisted together for best rejection of magnetic interference (which is not blocked by a screen).

Screened cables can, in some cases, have high capacitance, which doesn't always agree with amplifiers, but that's not so in this case.

Impressive depth

Considering that this is, by most standards, a budget cable, performance is creditable.

The bass may lack a little in raw punch and drive, but midrange is neutral and the treble admirably clear and extended, with plenty of insight and a real sense of air and space around notes.

Imaging is also good, with some of the best depth we've heard from a cable at or near this price, while in terms of detail there's just the slightest trace of constriction in complex musical climaxes.

Unless you absolutely demand the ultimate in bass, this cable is a strong recommendation for budget and even moderately upmarket systems.

Atlas Mavros interconnect and speaker cable

Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:28:00 +0000

Mavros, the Atlas flagship cable, is different from those we're used to, both physically and sonically.

Mavros is a range, rather than a single product, that embraces speaker cable, single-ended interconnects and a balanced/XLR-based interconnect.

All three of which were available for this test, though it's the single-ended interconnect and a 2 into 4 bi-wire speaker cable that we're concentrating on here.

High-quality

The interconnect uses a 'microporous' PTFE dielectric with an ultra-low dielectric constant of 1.5, which improves signal velocity (Nordost makes a similar claim for its cables and there is good reason to believe this is not the usual marketing hype), which is wrapped in a Mylar jacket, a cotton filler to reduce microphony, a close weave-shielding braid to reduce RFI, a PVC jacket and finally an outer woven cotton sheath.

The cable itself is an OCC (Ohno-Continuous Casting) monocrystal cable which is said to have just one boundary in 700 feet of conductor, so that the audio should not have to transverse many grain boundaries.

Careful design

The 73-strand multi-diameter wire cable interconnect and 385-strand speaker cable is 99.999% (6N) free of oxygen and other impurities. Both are made the same way.

The interconnect is available terminated by XLR connectors in the balanced version in various lengths.

These are completed with non-compressing, double-screened, self-cleaning plugs. Similar care is taken with the speaker plugs, with spades available as an option.

Tough cable

One point that cannot escape notice is the physical integrity of the Mavros cables.

The connectors are firmly located and show no inclination for the conducting pins to fracture (which happens with hollow pin plugs), or to work loose through handling.

The balance of the Mavros cables doesn't have quite the transparency and speed of a Nordost Valhalla, but it gets close. This is still a fabulously clean, agile-sounding design in both interconnect and loudspeaker versions and it has the particular benefit of being unusually well balanced.

LF voicing is expansive and powerful, and there is no tendency for transients and HF content to lead. Its fluid, grain-free presentation is certainly impressive, though in this area it was the interconnect that was the most accomplished.

Improved listening

Atlas claims that Mavros speaker and interconnects work well in combination and this appears to be the case, not least thanks to the similar balance of the two.

I also formed a distinct preference for the balanced interconnect in a system that make good use of such cables (which for this test included the Yamaha 2000 electronics and Denon's DCD/PMA-SA1), but true internal balanced operation is a long way from universal, even with equipment with balanced socketry.

And if it is used with equipment that is single-ended internally, single-ended cables are likely to give the best outcome.

Almost imperceptibly, Scottish cable manufacturer Atlas has been growing in status, thanks to some good technology, a straight-forward set of technical claims (which are refreshingly free – mostly free – of the gobbledygook that usually surrounds many brands), impressive build quality and, we'd guess, some well-informed listening.