⌈ ESPRIT CABLES is a French company specializing in audio cables. It was founded in 1997 by an electrical engineer, Mr. RICHARDO CESARI. Two years later, it unveiled its first cable, Eterna. It offers a full range of cables in which it applies its own solutions and developments. We are testing cables from its middle ETERNA series. ⌋

AS IT SEEMS, WE USUALLY ASSUME that the so-called “certainty theorems” are really certain and that we can fully trust them. This would be the belief that gravity is a constant, like time, that after night comes day and after payday comes drinking, to invoke a classic. We put our trust in the fact that such statements are something absolutely constant and unchangeable. And yet... We know that none of the above constants is an absolute. In any environment other than Earth, it may turn out to be very different.

Something like this was probably what Viktor De Leeuw had in mind when he told me that dielectrics are not quite dielectrics. Victor, COO of International Audio Holding, which includes the Siltech, Cristal Cable and, more recently, HMS Elektronik brands, dropped this when describing preparations for the brand's latest top series, Master Crown; more → HERE. The context was to discuss the mechanical design of the new cables, which use conductors with a larger total cross-section, yet more flexible than the previous ones.

The problem, he said, is that the flexibility of the cables is provided by soft dielectrics, which behave somewhat like a conductor, at least at the point of contact with the cables. Dielectrics, on the other hand, which are much more resistant to current flow, are much stiffer. Therefore, the designer must make a decision and choose whether he cares about reducing interference or making the cables flexible.

As it turns out, this is knowledge that other manufacturers are aware of as well, at least the high-end ones. In the test of the Eterna series cables featured in “HiFi Pig” magazine, the head of Esprit Cables said:

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 polarization system.

⸜ STUART SMITH, Esprit Audio Eterna Cables, „HiFi Pig”, 9 Aug. 2024, → www.HIFIPIG.com, accessed: 28.10.2024.

The system that Richardo Cesari told Stuart about is one of the company's key solutions. It can be found in most of the manufacturer's cables, including the RCA interconnect and the Eterna series speaker cable we tested.

▌ Eterna

IT SITS precisely in the middle of this manufacturer's lineup. These were the first cables it offered back in 1999, so you can say they've been refined for a long time That's a good thing. Sudden changes in a lineup tell you that a product wasn't quite perfected, and sometimes that it was an outright mistake. Esprit seems to be a much more balanced manufacturer, as new series are added very rarely.

Take a look at the chart posted on its website, and you'll find out that the next series, Lumina, was presented in only 2002, a year later they added Gäia, but then they waited until 2011 (!) for introduction of the Alpha and Beta series. In 2018, the entire range underwent a change and the cables were given the “G8” designation. Now we are dealing with an even newer generation, the G9.

All cables from this manufacturer are handmade in the town of Confolens in the Charente department, northwest of Limoges. As Mr. Cesari once told “The Absolute Sound” magazine, he draws inspiration from artists such as Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Mahler, Arvo Pärt (more → HERE).

The company materials posted on the manufacturer's website read about the cables as follows:

Eterna series cables, true benchmarks in high fidelity in terms of sound-to-price ratio, preserve the finest details of musical presentation and reveal a richness of sound that meets the highest audiophile requirements. Their incredible realism and naturalness allow them to convey the emotions contained in music with unparalleled mastery.

The cables look good, they are well made and have some interesting features. The most important is, already mentioned, the dielectric polarization system. The voltage is fed from small batteries enclosed in small capsules attached to the signal source side of the cables. This solution has been known for years from the products of another manufacturer, the American company Audioquest, where it is called Dielectric Bias System (DBS). Esprit uses two batteries of 12 volts each for polarization.

They are enclosed in a capsule made of carbon fiber. The wire running inside the cable is plugged into them. By the way - this fiber can also be found in the sleeves located at the ends of the speaker cables, where the double, twisted run goes into two separate terminated cable ends. We check the battery charge by pressing the button and lighting the blue LED.

The second unusual solution found in Esprit cables is known to me from several Japanese companies, Tiglon comes to my mind (more → HERE), Polish companies: → AVATAR AUDIO ˻PL˺, and German one: → VIABLUE ˻PL˺. We are talking about ferrite bushes. They are placed near the plugs in order to minimize high frequency interference. One of the companies offering those is Acoustic Revive.

The cables themselves are made of Oxygen-Free Copper (OFC) with a purity of 6N (99.9999%) and, as the manufacturer claims, “long crystals and high purity.” The interconnects, according to him, use 720 wires, each 0.08 mm in diameter, and the speaker cables have 1,680 of them. The cables are enclosed in a structure that Esprit says is “asymmetrical,” since they are partly to be insulated with air. Also, the braid of the two conductors in both the interconnect and speaker cables is to be asymmetrical. Both the interconnect and the speaker cable are shielded with 5N silver-plated copper foil.

Note the very nice plugs. They are custom-made for Esprit Cables. The ones in the interconnect are called EH50, and their contacts are pure copper coated with a 10-micron layer of silver, The body, in turn, is made of brass - part of it is screwed on, which allows you to tighten it firmly on the socket. Banana plugs are also nice (as this is the version we received for the test). Their body is made of brass coated with a “multi-layer copper-silver coating with a thickness of 40 microns.”

And finally, something that I think is also important: the packaging. Those of Esprit cables are nice-looking, functional, and have a classy feel to them, too. The boxes are made of thick cardboard in dark blue, with gilded lettering, with a lid that closes with magnets. A sleeve of thin cardboard is slipped over the whole thing. Simple, and it works and is really aesthetically pleasing.

▌ SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED • Esprit Cables Eterna analog interconnects and speaker cables were tested in the “High Fidelity” reference system. The interconnects connected the RCA output (WBT Nextgen sockets, gold-plated) of the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player and the input of the same company's Spheris III line-level preamplifier (again, WBT Nextgen sockets, gold-plated). Speaker cables, in turn, connected the output of the Soulution 710 solid-state amplifier and the input of Harbeth M40.1 speakers.

It was an AA/BB/A comparison test, with A and B known, while the role of the ‘B’ was played by Siltech Triple Crown.

» RECORDINGS USED FOR THE TEST ⸜ a selection

⸜ DIRE STRAITS, Brothers In Arms, Vertigo/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2099, „Original Master Recording”, „Ultradisc UHR”, SACD/CD (1985/2013).
⸜ CHET BAKER QUARTET, Chet Baker Quartet, Barcalay/Decca Records France | Universal Music Company UCGU-9074, „Chet Baker In Paris SACD Collection”, SHM-SACD (1955/2024).
⸜ AL JARREAU, All I Got, GRP ‎065 082-2 | SUDL 003630, Test Press SACD/CD (2002).
⸜ ART BLAKEY & THE JAZZ MESSENGERS, Just Coolin', Blue Note/Universal Music LLC (Japan) UCGQ-9027, SHM-SACD ([1959] 2020).
⸜ MARIE AWADIS, Études Mélodiques, Deutsche Grammophon 486 5992, CD (2024).
⸜ THOMAS KESSLER, Fragile, Hypersensitive Records HRCS 004, Limited Edition CD-R (2023).

ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS you'll notice with Esprit Eterna cables is the ease they communicate music with. ˻ 3 ˺ Walk of Life, an energetic track from the DIRE STRAITS album Brothers In Arms, had a kind of “flow” with them, if you know what I mean. It's a dense arrangement with multiple layers. And yet the tambourine, clearly struck every two bars, and the powerful bass, heavily cranked up in the Mobile Fidelity version on SACD, were shown through the interconnect effortlessly, with no ‘extra punch’ or contouring.

You don't get the impression of “compressed” sound with these cables, which sometimes happens with this digital recording. With the Eterna interconnects it sounded smooth, fluid, and very pleasant. The upper treble here is presented in an open way, it's hard to suggest any level of warming up. Yet the last thing I would say about them is that they are bright, harsh or emphatic. This is playing, in a way, that is “liberating” - from audiophile tension and bloat.

To be honest, it's been a while since I encountered a similar combination. Because if it was, for example, a cable that was “pleasant” to listen to, it was usually not very energetic If, on the other hand, its energy was preserved and the cables conveyed well something that could be called - since we are talking about from France - élan vital, they lacked coherence or filling. Esprit Cables from the Eterna series are both, which makes them a very interesting proposition.

For when I listened to the latest Japanese remaster of the CHET BAKER QUARTET’S Chet Baker Quartet, an album recorded in 1955 at Studio Pathé Magellan for Decca Records France and originally released in this country, I was almost relieved. For I was afraid that the cables would brighten it up, which is not difficult to do. While this is an excellent transfer of the original tapes and an SHM-SACD release, it still sounds a bit light.

And that was not the case. ˻ 1 ˺ Rondette, a piece written by Bob Zieff, sounded powerfully and energetic, but also in a sort of ‘relaxed’ way. What I mean by that is that these are cables that, on the one hand, do not accentuate selectivity, that is, they do not bring out the edges of sounds, their attack and decay. Nor are they “detailed” in the sense that they don't focus on fine details.

But their sound is also not ‘blurred’ or ‘supressed’ either. The first few bars of ˻ 1 ˺ Random Act Of Love, the opening track of AL JARREAU's All I Got album, and all is clear. The strong, low-pitched kick drum, the catching up, though not all the time, funky bass guitar, gave very well-marked rhythm and fullness. For although it's difficult to talk about clear contours of the instruments' bodies, everything in this music is there, attack, rhythm and energy.

All this, as mentioned above, is ‘set’ in such a way that it does not impose itself. Maybe that's what it's all about, the seamless rendering of music in such a way as to give as much information as possible, these are resolving cables, but without pressure, without push. And both the interconnects and the speaker cables have a similar character. The latter shows space in a slightly more compact form than the interconnects. It also doesn't provide as much weight at the bottom of the scale. But in terms of character, it's very similar playing.

Not identical, though. Because the speaker cables in question show a slightly warmer, a drip more smoothed presentation. Both the interconnects and the speaker cables convey creamy tones and something in the sound that gives the music drive, that pushes it forward. The cables connecting the amplifier and speakers differ from the interconnects in that it does so more quietly. Though also without calming the sound down, that's not the point.

Because when a low chorus comes in ˻ 5 ˺ Lost And Found from Al Jarreau's album, it is truly powerful. Immediately after that comes the vocals of, appearing as a guest on this album, Joe Cocker, having energy and an a bit hidden pulse. So it dawns on me that the Eterna speaker cables gives the whole thing a polish. More of a bow tie than regular tie. It's ostensibly about the same thing, and yet the weight of one and the other part of a man's attire is different, isn’t it?

In fact, the same was true of the Walk of Life track, which I returned to at the end of my listening sessions. It sounded slightly higher and more open in the system with the Esprit Cables interconnects and speaker cables than with the Siltech speaker cables and interconnects from France. This is because the tested speaker cable has the crisper, more open sound of the two. And it is the one that offers a faster, more sonorous presentation.

▌ Summary

THE STEREOTYPE OF FRANCE as a stylish and elegant country, confident of its own worth and thus allowing itself to create certain things in its own way, is largely true. To a certain extent, the tested cables are also ‘their own’ thing. Not because they are ‘strange’, but because they shift the emphasis within the high-end sound in such a way that we get something different than with most of the cables available on the market.

These are cables with an open presentation that has excellent energy and shows a great deal of information. However, they do it in an elegant, sublime way. That is, the open treble is not bright, and the carrying, clear midrange is not bright, but energetic and powerful. And I'm not smuggling anything between the lines - it sounds exactly like that. The tonality of the interconnects and speaker cables is based on the midrange, in the case of the latter with its stronger opening to the treble. The interconnects, on the other hand, show a stronger and deeper lower end.

I feel like saying ‘France elegance’ (a Polish idiom), because these are very cool cables. And let it stay that way - chic, style and a bit laid-back are the three terms that best describe them and that’s what I want you to remember from this test. :) ●

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THIS TEST HAS BEEN DESIGNED ACCORDING TO THE GUIDELINES adopted by the Association of International Audiophile Publications, an international audio press association concerned with ethical and professional standards in our industry, of which HIGH FIDELITY is a founding member. More about the association and its constituent titles → HERE.

→ www.AIAP-online.org