Cable Comparisons
I tested the EBC80s with some aftermarket cables to gauge how impressively they scale.
All comparisons were made against the C2 stock cable.
ISN C2 (USD $79) vs ISN S2 (USD $79)
The EBC80 comes with your choice of three cables – the pure copper C2, silver-plated S2 or the H2 which is a copper & silver-plated hybrid of both.
ISN were kind enough to send me both the C2 & S2, and as expected they’re sonically very similar as I believe the geometry of both cables is the same with only wire materials differing.
The C2 has a slightly darker background with better dynamics, improved note weight & more vocal emphasis, whereas the S2 has a wider stage but sounds a bit floatier, brighter & more open with slightly deeper sub bass. The magnitude of these changes is fairly minor, but I prefer the C2 particularly for that bit of extra midrange wamrth.
NiceHCK DragonScale 2 (USD $299)
Dragonscale 2 generates a slightly deeper stage that feels a bit more three dimensional with a marginally blacker background that aids resolution by allowing notes to pop more easily.
Tonality becomes slightly brighter sucking out a bit of warmth, midbass is a bit more impactful, but I find too much attention is shifted away from the midrange and dynamics don’t feel as impressive either.
This pairing unfortunately made me pine for the tonal balance of the C2 cable.
Penon Totem (USD $649)
As expected the Totem creates a blacker background with a bigger stage across all axis, slightly tighter bass and improved dynamics.
Unfortunately the price for the added sense of spaciousness is a brighter tonality with diminished note weight, and less midrange focus with instruments that feel smaller after being pushed further back.
Ultimately I’m not sure the tradeoff in technicality for tonality is worth it for the EBC80s, which are already strong in those technical areas but really need the added warmth for my taste.
To summarise, I find ISN earphones are generally paired with stock cables that have been very carefully chosen to compliment their tonality and this seems to be the case with the EBC80s.
I was slightly disappointed they don’t scale with cables quite as well as some other ISN IEMs I’ve tried, the flipside is that leads me to recommend sticking with one of the stock cables – particularly the C2 as I can’t find another cable that boosts EBC80 technical performance enough to warrant losing how the C2 perfectly enhances them tonally.
Page 1 – Introduction, Packaging & Ergonomics
Page 2 – Sound Impressions & Technical Performance
Page 3 – IEM Comparisons
Page 4 – Cable Comparisons
Page 5 – Conclusion
try zisin a01-apopis you’ll be shocked (i’ve to say that i leave it in the freezer 24 hours to have the best results you can trust me or not) , c2 and h2 are among the worst cables i’ve listened to. Zisin and cayin ru7 and i can’t ask for more… can’t still find the same excitement with the sibling est 80 that have more forward voices but too shy highs, too thin or delicate.