Sound Impressions
So why chooses a cable this big? Because you want big sound!
That’s what ASOS+X delivers – it excels at giving your IEMs a much greater sense of scale & impact.
Bass
First up a disclaimer: A cable’s ability to boost your IEM’s performance is synergy dependant, some IEMs yield more noticeable improvements than others and and occasionally you’ll hit upon a magic cable/IEM combination that seems to elevate the performance of both.
ASOS+X improves IEM bass performance more than any other cable I’ve tried under $1000. Not only does it increase bass quantity, particularly sub bass, but also adds texture to the rumble you feel at the lowest frequencies.
ASOS+X will actually make many IEMs feel more bass dominant, with tighter & more impactful bass too. The bass improvements of this cable are nothing short of spectacular.
Midrange
As a silver-plated copper based cable ASOS+X isn’t one I’d recommend if you prioritise warm vocals. Most SPC cables tend to brighten the midrange to some extent and ASOS+X is no exception, though not to the extent of many pure silver cables out there.
What ASOS+X does is bring the midrange forward, increasing note weight and generating a much stronger sense of gravitas behind male vocals in particular.
It also boosts midrange detail retrieval enormously effectively. You’ll need to spend a LOT more on a cable to get better midrange resolution than this, and ASOS+X presents those tiny details effortlessly.
Treble
Thanks to its’ silver-plated conductors and huge number of wires, ASOS+X is likely to brighten your IEMs especially those with pure copper stock cables.
Tonally ASOS+X is not among the brightest cables I’ve heard, but does lie on the slightly cooler side of the spectrum so it’ll be most effective in ‘waking up’ darkly-tuned IEMs.
What prevents this cable from crossing the threshold into outright treble-emphasis is there’s simply so much bass quantity & midrange articulation that I’d classify it as W-shaped if it were an IEM.
Technical Performance
Aside from tweaking earphone tonality, perhaps the biggest benefit from aftermarket cables is improving IEM technical performance and this is precisely where a behemoth like ASOS+X shines.
ASOS+X has an enormously wide, deep & tall soundstage. Big enough to make the stage of some 8 wire cables feel cramped. I’d recommend ASOS+X for the stage improvements alone, they help make some IEMs feel like open-back headphones – you will wish your other cables sounded this huge.
Then there’s dynamics, which become jaw-droppingly good. Resolution gets improved too, often more than you might imagine possible from a cable upgrade. Hunting tiny details becomes a thing of the past, instead they’re right there in front of you.
Imaging & background blackness do improve, but only slightly. I recommend shielded cables instead if you prefer to prioritise those attributes.
Page 1 – Introduction, Packaging, Ergonomics & Build Quality
Page 2 – Sound Impressions
Page 3 – IEM Comparisons
Page 4 – Cable Comparisons
Page 5 – Conclusion
Comments