Paired with AuR Audio Alicante (Review link)
Alicante is AuR’s latest flagship IEM featuring drivers. Alicante comes with Xerxes by default, so the cable comparisons were conducted with the Artify Core Abyss cable. Although this may be the most natural (if not obvious) pairing, Xerxes’ synergy with Alicante checks out nicely – these two are simply meant to be together. I can see why AuR persisted in making Alicante come with Xerxes by default. Xerxes maximizes the potential that Alicante has, which isn’t simulated with other cables – even decent ones.
There are two biggest changes when pairing Alicante with Xerxes. First is the scale of the sound – particularly the mids. The ambiance and headroom expand noticeably with much larger, fuller-bodied vocals. Next is the separation and the distancing between instruments. Xerxes boosts Alicante’s overall clarity and analyticity without getting the upper-ends hot or shouty. It’s noticeably more transparent, detailed, and airier than Abyss – which is interesting since Abyss is a silver-plated copper, yet Xerxes offers stronger extension. If you’re wondering about swapping out Xerxes from your Alicante with a different, cheaper cable, I’ll advise you to do an A/B test. You’ll soon find out how big of a role Xerxes is having.
Paired with Faith Audio Labs E1000 (Review link)
Let’s pair it with E1000 – a flagship1DD IEM by Faith Audio Labs. The E1000 comes with a flagship-grade stock cable, which is also made of copper wires. While the stock cable provides excellent sound quality, the cable is rather thick and stiff, not being the most ideal option if you’re sensitive to microphonics or using them on the go. If you question why Faith Audio Labs would use such inconvenient wires, it’s because of the sound, as the thick fabric shielding plays into creating the E1000’s transparent, deep-diving sound. Along with the core wires themselves being on the stiffer side too.
There are plenty of custom cables that you could swap out with, yet if you’ve already tried doing so, you’ll notice how nice the E1000’s stock cable sounded; many cables fall short in soundstage and bass details. I’m also one of those who switched to the stock cable as I liked the default sound the most – until pairing it with Xerxes. Material-wise, Xerxes is much smoother than the stock cable, and achieves the performance that we need.
So how does Xerxes affect E1000 soundwise? Xerxes keeps the mid-frequency shine but gently soothes down the shoutiness. The E1000 remains as transparent and open-ended as the original but more natural and organic in tone. Xerxes achieves more front-to-back roominess and spatialness, which is one part that I wished to gain more out of E1000’s sound. Most importantly, the bass extension is as deep and nuanced: deep, musical, and dominant, yet tightly controlled and organic. If you’re an E1000 user and looking for a cable that’ll make the wearing experience three times better while keeping the sound character intact, be sure to check out this combo.
Paired with PlusSound Allegro II (Review link)
This matching, personally, was an eye-opening experience. The Alicante+Xerxes combo may be the textbook-ideal example, though my personal favorite and the extremity of cable upgrade is found in the pairing with PlusSound Allegro II. Made by the renowned cable maker from the USA, PlusSound Allegro II is an IEM that benefits a lot from cable upgrades, as these IEMs are very sensitive to cable changes. This also makes these IEMs ideal for testing cable performance and tunings, and I was thoroughly pleased. Xerxes brings a lot of significant upgrades to the table – first is the vocal presentation.
Vocals sound drastically larger and fuller, overall providing more resolution and detail intake compared to the PlusSound stock cable. It isn’t a matter of sounding thicker but expansive three-dimensionally, bringing a larger scale for the mids. The deeper, nuanced bass is present, as I’ve been mentioning above. Xerxes keeps the bass quantity in line with the original tuning, which is just what I want. Treble technicality is a major joy of these IEMs, and Xerxes highlights them even more pleasingly. Clean yet natural separation, and there’s a lot more musical taste and flow to it. These changes in mids and highs create a lot livelier ambiance and background for these IEMs. If you’re using Allegro II or cable-sensitive IEMs like these, I highly suggest you try pairing Xerxes.
Next Page: Compared to Flagship IEM Cables (Eletech Ode to Laura / PW Audio Meet Agains / Astral Acoustics Luna) & Verdicts