ESPRIT AUDIO ETERNA CABLES REVIEW

Stuart Smith takes a listen to French brand Esprit Audio, who are sponsors of our coverage of the Hong Kong Audio Visual Show 2024, Eterna mid-tier cables. Have a read of what he (and Linette) thought.

French brand Esprit may well not be a household name in the UK but if their presence at Munich and other shows around the world that we have visited is anything to go by it’s only a matter of time before they are on many more people’s radars than they are currently. That kind of suggests that Esprit are a new brand on the HiFi scene, but the truth is that they have been developing and making cables, and more latterly a small but nicely selected range of loudspeakers, for around 25 years or so – Richard Cesari launched the company in 1996.

Richard is a very affable fella and came to making cables after being a bit of a HiFi buff and making cables for himself and, later, friends. The Esprit website suggests that Richard uses concept that the process of making cables is akin to creating a fine meal – great source materials skilfully combined to make a finished dish, or cable in this case.  However, the brand is keen not to bang on excessively about the ingredients used to make their cables or their technical specifications, rather he is keen for potential users to “taste” with their ears the finished product. Personally, though others will fall into the much more objective camp, I like this approach and have written about my thoughts on this matter several times in the past. Suffice to say, I don’t think that measurements fully explain or can predict the listening experience – your mileage may vary and I’m full aware of discussions and opinions on all sides of this topic that are more or less outlined in my Cable Wars article. But that is taking us away from the purpose of this review. 

Esprit cables are all handmade in France in the Charente town of Confolens, North West of Limoges – a beautiful part of the world, if you ever have the opportunity to visit. Esprit are clearly very proud of their “Made in France” heritage and all the boxes carry the French colours of red, white and blue. 

PACKAGING

In the grand scheme of things, packaging is superfluous nonsense when it comes to audio, or so some would argue. However, I am very much of the opinion that if you are spending a considerable amount of money on a product then you want it to feel special, and that feeling begins the moment you begin unpacking it. We talk about this a great deal and refer to it as the Christmas morning effect. Look, you wouldn’t spunk ten grand (or whatever) on a watch and expect it to arrive in a crappy plastic bag, why would you expect any less of a luxury product that happens to be used to play music rather than tell the time. Anyway, Esprit have nailed the packaging with their Eterna line of cables – what other cables in their range comes package like I cannot comment as I haven’t had the chance to experience them. 

A nicely (very tastefully) branded outer slip is removed to reveal an inner flip top box that contains the cables. On the outside of the inner you are shown the product line, what kind of cable is in there (power, speaker, interconnect), and the length – this leads me to assume that the same boxes are used for all their cables. You also get a nice yellow envelope that has a guarantee card and information (again) about the cables model, type, length, the person that made it, and the person that checked it. I really do love all this kind of stuff and it does genuinely make for a lovely shopping experience – important at this level and something some other brands could well take note of!

THE CABLES

So, what we have here for review is a basic loom of cables in the ETERNA range that includes XLR interconnects, speaker cables, power cables, and speaker jumpers. The full range includes RCA interconnects, phono cables for turntables, SPDIF, AES/EBU, RJ45, and USB so that should one wish, you can have ESPRIT` cases from your chosen range from start to end in your system. 

ESPRIT ETERNA falls in the middle of the ten cable ranges that begins with the ALPHA entry level products and tops out with the L’Esprit range. 

The XLR has 720 strands of 0.24mm silver plated pure copper cables in a symmetrical structure in an twisted asymmetrical dielectric. They use partial screening and ESPRIT’s connectors. There is 40 microns of silver on the copper cables. 

The Speaker cables have 1680 strands of 0.08mm pure copper with a 10 micron coating of silver. The structure of the cables is symmetrical and the dielectric is the same as with the XLRs. 

Like all the cables here the power cables have ESPRIT connectors and the same kind of dielectric.

All the cables are relatively flexible, though fairly stiff, if that’s not a contradiction and all look very nicely put together. 

That’s pretty much as much of a description as I can offer but I did ask Esprit about the polarisation of their dielectric as this was something I’d not come across before and the ETERNA range of cables is the firs to use it. This is the reposes I got:

“There are 2 ways of considering an insulator: Either as a pure insulator, or as a very poor conductor in which there can be micro-displacements of charges. If we consider it to be a very poor conductor, then the displacement of micro-charges disturbs the signal, which is why we apply a DC voltage of 12 volts to the insulators in order to saturate them and thus preserve the integrity of the signal.

Let’s take the example of a sponge and water: When you dip a dry sponge into a container of water, it absorbs almost all the water, whereas if you take your sponge, wet it first and then dip it into the container of water, it will absorb much less water. It’s the same principle with our insulation polarisation system.”

So there you go. 

HOW WE CARRIED OUT THE REVIEW

Our main system is made up of a hotchpotch of different brands that have been used between different bits of kit because (after careful listening) they are what we found to be best in any one position in the system. Once in place the cables do not really change and the current set of cables have been in there for well over a year without change. 

We are fully aware our review methodology is far from a double-blind test, but we thought it would be interesting to get two opinions on the changes made (if any) when swapping cables in and out.  And so this is the way we carried out the review process: We picked three tunes we both know well. Our normal cables were played for the whole song, then the cables changed for the ESPRIT cables. The we changed the tune and played our normal cables (to save time more than anything) and then the ESPRIT cables were returned to the system, and so on…this was repeated until all five tunes (streamed from locally stored files) were heard. During the listening process we both made notes without discussing what we were writing. At the end of the review process notes were compiled into the section you see below. Time between each switch over was about two minutes. This procedure essentially echos how we came to the decisions on each of the cables we use in the reference system.

Hardware in the system is an Ansuz switch (using their cables between router, switch and streamer) > AURALiC Aries G1 > heavily modified Lampizator DAC > Vinius Preamp > Electrocompaniet AW800M power amp > Audiovector R6 loudspeakers. Power distribution to each item other than the NUC holding ROONCORE is through a Torus AVR Elite. Cables being swapped in are the USB between streamer and DAC, power cords to DAC and amp (pre does not have a power supply), XLR between pre and amp, and speaker cables and jumpers. 

The first track up was Daft Punk’s Giorgio by Moroder from the Random Access Memories album being streamed from local files. 

STU: Switching the ESPRIT cable into the system my immediate reaction was the the sound had been smoothed out slightly but that (oddly) there was a smidge more detail in the background of the track – whether that is “better” is going to be a wholly subjective choice, but it’s certainly different and if you do prefer a slightly less in-your-face and more easy going sound then you may well enjoy these cables. Rounded is an odd word to use in a way, because whilst I did feel the overall sound was “softer” (again, not the perfect word) there was also a sense of more high frequency information being evident. I did feel the system was lifted a little and more to my taste, and whilst the differences weren’t huge they were evident immediately. 

LIN: A smoother sound with more of the background sounds in the intro, the people chatting, champagne cork popping, coming though. More focus on the midrange and bass, with slightly less clarity in the tops, this tune has quite sparkly high frequencies but these were more smoothed with these cables. Vocals had a real warmth and the sound overall was very velvety and without hard edges.

So now we listened to the A Very Precious Time by Gil Scott-Heron streamed from local files and with the ESPRIT loom. We then changed to our normal hotchpotch of cables. Something that sprang to mind at this juncture was me questioning my logic of using different cables in different parts of the system and whether a full loom of one kind of cable from one company would be a more holistic approach…the jury is out on that as we’ve chosen cables in specific positions carefully, but the argument might be that one brand and one line within that brand would be more “complimentary” to each other.

STU: From memory there seemed to me a more detailed and yet smooth presentation of this song that allowed Gil’s vocal to come into the room with a liquidity and smoothness that really suited this track when the ESPRIT cables were in the system. Likewise, the electric piano had a sense of relaxedness about it. Details are all well evident and certainly nothing was missing. 

Switching to our reference the effect was of a smidge more details throughout the the midband but a less soft and perhaps more shouty top-end with a feeling of graininess to the edges of the vocal performance. The vocal also seemed to be more forward in the mix than with the Esprit. Overall I’d say the Esprit was more relaxed and less in your face detailed. Again, I’d say what you prefer will come down to personal preference and taste. 

LIN: In comparison to our reference cables the ESPRIT put out a very pleasant, smooth warmth to this track, the rasp of Gil Scott’s voice very evident. Laid back and expansive, again the midrange really shining through but with the background details and the little sounds, like breaths, that really make the track, given their place in the overall sound. ‘Smoothing out’ would suggest that details are lost, but that is not the case here, just emphasis given to the smoother middle of the register rather than the top or bottom. Whether you enjoy this does boil down to personal taste and what flavour you prefer, but I would think for most people these cables would give hours of comfortable listening without any fatigue. (Genuinely we have not conferred at all over these notes!  – Ed’)

So now we have our reference cables first and then we swapped to the ESPRIT and playing the old favourite off the Chain By Fleetwood Mac streamed from local files. 

STU: There’s certainly a whole load of detail evident with our reference cables that some may find a bit too much, but then we have chosen our cables to be revealing in extremis and to be able to highlight changes in the system’s components. You can hear the beater on the bass kick and particularly the top frequencies are laid bare with loads of detail and no hint of smoothing out. Switching to the EPRIT cables there was a little more evidence of the overdrive on the electric guitar at the start of the track but also an slightly more emphasised attack on the bass kick. The top steel strings of the guitar well evident but not at all harsh sounding. Shimmer on the effect on the cymbals seemed to hand in the air a little more than with the reference. Bass (on the very famous line…if you watch F1) was nice and tight but slightly less forward and full on. The drive and attack of the rockier pars of this track were presented with great timing and an overall sound that you really could just listen to for hours without fatigue. 

So here’s the thing, from my perspective, you could look at our reference cables and suggest that they are too much for all day listening sessions, and perhaps you could be right in some ways, however, the role of our system is both as a tool for reviewing and a system to sit and enjoy listening to music on and so they need to be uber-revealing.

LIN: Again a really lovely and listenable warmth to this track, backing vocals are a big part of The Chain and they really came through well as did guitar, and of course the bass…this actually had a more rocky feel to the sound than with our usual cable loom, which I wasn’t expecting. Very enjoyable indeed.

QUIBBLES

The cables are pretty stiff and the extra hardware on the XLRs can get in the way a bit and make it difficult.

CONCLUSION

Reviewing cables is a thankless task and I believe the reviewer’s overall preferences will always play a greater or lesser role in the wording of the final draft of the review. What we have done here is tried to be as objective as we can be within the realms of what we can achieve and what we believe the review process should be – your opinion may well differ on this methodology. However, reading back on the comments we have made independently demonstrates to me that we have done enough to demonstrate that there are difference in the ESPRIT cables to our reference loom and that those differences are consistent between those listening. 

Overall the ESPRIT cables are a very musical (meant positively) and ejoyable listen that allow you to hear everything in the files you are listening to but without any glare, harshness, or feeling that you are being overloaded with information. For long listening sessions (they were left in the system long after the review process had finished) they are fantastic and allow you to listen and relax into your tunes. 

Some will thoroughly enjoy their slightly softer sound when compared to our reference whilst others will want to more upfront and in your face presentations  – very much a case of one size not fitting all. 

Would I buy these cables? There are two ways to look at this, and my first reaction is that given the current role of our review system I’d prefer our carefully put together references. However, and this is important, were I to be in a different role and listen to music purely for pleasure, then I”d seriously consider these cables as a long-term investment. However, the ESPRIT ETERNA are not the companies top range and fall somewhere in the middle of their offering, and I would love to hear those cables further up the range which I would expect to be even more revealing and neutral – at the moment and from reading back both mine and Linette’s comments, I’d say the ETERNAs are a revealing but soft sounding cable. 

I’m (or rather we) are giving these cables 5 Hearts based on how much we enjoyed their ability to convey the musical information on files with detail but without sounding shouty or over the top in any frequency. 

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality:

Excellent construction

Available in black or white to suit your home

Quite stiff bit I’ve used stiffer

Great hardware

Sound Quality:

We found the sound of the ETERNA cables as a loom to offer a smoother and warmer sound than our (admittedly) more unforgiving cable loom

Easy to listen to without fatigue and without a feeling you are missing out anything in your tunes

Value For Money:

Not cheap but build, construction and sound are on a par with cables costing this much and more 9much more), though your final choices will be very much down to your own taste and preferences in presentation. Overall, they are pitched correctly! 

We Loved:

Excellent packaging and Christmas morning appeal

A lovely and easy to get on with sonic performance

We Didn’t Love So Much:

Slightly softer presentation will not be to everyone’s taste – some will love it and others will prefer a more in-your-face presentation

Elevator Pitch Review: This mid-market offering from French brand ESPRIT offers an easy-going nature that will allow you to enjoy your music in a wholly “organic” and non-fatiguing way whilst not losing any of the detail and micro-detail in the files you put through them. I enjoyed them immensely!

Price :

Power 1m50: €840

Speaker cable 2x3M: €2550

RCA modulation 1m20: €2040

SUPPLIED BY ESPRIT AUDIO

Stuart Smith

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

INTERCONNECTS :

Number of wires: 24 

Conductor structure: symmetrical

Dielectric structure: Unbalanced twisted

Polarisation system: Yes

Insulation: Triple insulation on air

Shielding: Partial shielding on air

Connector: Esprit Connectors

Plating: Pure copper with silver plating

Speaker cable :

Number of strands: 1680 in 0.08

Conductor structure: Symmetrical

Dielectric structure: Asymmetrical twist

Polarisation system: Yes

Insulation: Air insulation

Shielding: Partial shielding on air

Connector: Esprit connectors

Plating : 40 Microns. Silver plating on pure copper

Power :

Conductor structure: Asymmetrical

Dielectric structure : Asymmetrical twist

Connector : Esprit connector

Plating : 40 microns. Silver plating on pure copper / IEC