Paired with Unique Melody MEST MK3
Astral Mars serves Unique Melody Mest MK3 better than the stock cable in various ways. MEST MK3 is more focused on the mid-highs while the low-ends are gentle, yet the bass clarity wasn’t too much of MK3’s best area. Though Mars gives a solid reinforcement for the MK3, making the ultra-lows better nuanced. Mars brings out a cleaner, deeper bass.
The bass also gets gently bolder tighter and denser. These changes are made very naturally so that they won’t alter the original sound signature except by giving better clarity and a well-built show stage for upper frequencies to their finesse. The bass gets agile with better resolution.
The mid-range of Mest MK3 also gains stronger dynamics, making the vocals more lively and dynamic. Trebles better separation and clarity. The soundstage gets nicely improved, especially due to the significantly improved bass depth and ultra-low extension, as well as partially due to the superior separation. It’s a perfect cable upgrade available for the MK3 I’d say.
Paired with Canpur CPBA7
The CPBA7 is a rather reference style tuning but not one of those that desire explicit texture exposure and bright tuning – but instead a sound that keeps a gentle, leveled, and fatigue-free sound that is also high in resolution to be a reference monitor. Mars adds liveliness and fun to the low mids, making the bass gain more energy and dynamics. The bass timbre also sounds more lush and creamy, making the bass just sound overall more tasteful and addictive to listen to. A subtle magic going on with the Mars & CPBA7 combo.
The bass nuance and quantity remain almost identical, yet the CPBA7 is backed up with more energy and density, making the bass more impactful while keeping the CPBA7’s original gentle attitude (with a touch of more dynamics though). Mars brings a more noticeable upgrading experience for the vocals, by having the vocals gain a much more lush, full-bodied tone.
Sure, there may be other lower-costing cables that can do this, yet Mars does this while keeping the CPBA7’s sound almost exactly original as it is – so desiring a pure “upgrade” of the IEM’s sound. The vocal also takes a slight step forward with noticeably higher resolution than the stock cable. Lastly, the staging is more grand, full, expansive, and, deep. In sum, it just expands in every way to create a larger holographic headroom.
Compared to Nostalgia Kratos (Review link)
Kratos is another amazingly priced cable for its sonic performance, having a punchy, powerful, full, and decently lush sound. Although Kratos is almost half of Mars, I’d thought this may be a worthy comparison as people (including myself too) would wonder why choose Mars when we have Kratos that look overall similar with the same copper conductors, and with even thicker wires. So let’s see how these compare.
Putting it simply, Mars is the achievement that Kratos was looking to do – don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Kratos is flawed or significantly inferior to Mars. However, Mars and Kratos share a very similar tuning purpose and sound signature, and Mars executes them with higher qualities. First, the resolution. The texture grains and micro resolution are visibly (or audibly) more nuanced and cleanly played with the Mars.
Secondly, the separation. Mars does a much better job of making a cleaner yet distinctive separation between the three ranges (low/mid/highs). Lastly, the agility. Mars sounds more lively and powerful, bringing out the force that the music intended to have initially. Of course, Kratos is already an excellent cable that can get for the $300 price range, yet if you’re willing to go even further in upgrading your IEM’s capabilities, Mars should be the one.
Compared to Rhapsodio Hybrid
Rhapsodio Hybrid has a more neutral tuning by less highlighting bass depth and sub-bass quantity and overall sounds less w-shaped than Mars. If we talk from Mars’ perspective, Mars has a more energetic, W-shaped sound signature that highlights the dynamics, liveliness, and strength of the sound. Due to these reasons, Mars sounds more agile. Mars also achieves slightly better resolution for the vocals.
Speaking of vocals, the Hybrid has a neutral thickness for the vocals whereas Mars has a neutral-thick body for the vocals to give that roomy, full-bodied experience for the mid-range. Lastly, as mentioned in the beginning, the Hybrid has a more leveled and even bass. This would be ideal for those who don’t want to further highlight the sub-bass.
Lastly, The Hybrid has a relatively drier timbre whereas Mars makes the vocals more lushed – those that are extra sensitive to the timbre may sound slightly colored. Summing up, both cables sit in the same tier, yet with some obvious differences in strengths and desired tuning style.
Similar looks don’t mean the same sound!
As coaxial custom cables became popular, there are numerous cables in the market that look alike, feature a coaxial design, and use pure copper materials. I also had my skepticism, though Astral Mars made itself obvious that its tuning and sound quality differ from those that are commonly found in upgrade cables from Aliexpress or other DIY cable shops.
Through my experience of discovering Aliexpress and DIY cables, I’ve noticed many of their specs were often inaccurate (or straight-up lies), as well as not doing so good of a job retaining the IEM’s original sound signature and timbre. However, Mars makes the sound more dynamic, lush, and rich in details, all while preserving the IEM’s intended sound and charms.
Needless to say, the carefully tuned sound of Mars was enough to justify and differentiate from those that are cheaper or that look similar in appearance. If you’re looking for a firm upgrade cable that doesn’t alter the IEM’s sound but would like to bring out more depth, extension, and lush texture, Mars will do a worry-free job for you.
