The Effect Audio Janus is a new earphone cable by Effect Audio from Singapore.
Disclaimer: The star of this weeks’ picture Sunday is the Effect Audio Janus. This post is a part of our Picture Sunday series.
Our friends from Singapore have made some exceptional cables in the past, and them I’m first of all thinking about the Ares, Thor, Lionheart, Leonidas and Horus. Well they have a lot more really good cables but these are the ones I end up using most.
Effect Audio is known for it’s really good building quality and there continuous drive to keep improving. EA want to put new things on the market with new materials and so far their R&D division has managed to do exactly that with great results.
The latest creation of them is called the “Janus” and it has been announced for quite a while already now. The Janus cable do is available now for pre-order on Effect Audio’s website. Janus is part of the Hall-of-Fame series and there actually are two different versions: the “D” Dynamic and the “B” Basso. You can find their product pages right here: Janus Basso and Janus Dynamic.
The version that we have in for review is the Basso version, and Linus will be doing the full dedicated review of that very soon. The”Janus” cables feature an industry-first’s Palladium plated cables as well as an unique EA developed alloy mix to tame the volatility of ‘Palladium’ as a plating material. The Dynamic & Basso feature a full bodied richness and realistic tonal balance.
Technical Specifications:
- 24 AWG
- 8 Wires
- Multi Sized Stranding
- Ultra Purity OCC Palladium Plated Copper & ‘EA Alloy Mix’
- EA Ultra Flexi Insulation
- PSquared / Pentaconn Superior Plugs
The Basso (or Dynamic version for that matter) comes in an 8-wire design and the quality of the braiding, connectors and splitter is top-notch. The 8-wire construction does make the cable look and sound bad ass but it isn’t the most comfortable cable because of its thickness and limited flexibility. It’s also a cable that isn’t really stealth like a Linum cable: if you’re using it on-the-go then everyone will notice it. That being sad, I have been using it pretty much everywhere since it arrived and the thickness or weight hasn’t bothered me one bit. The cable still is light enough to wear over the ear and gravity doesn’t want to pull it down all the time. Actually, I think the 8-wire cable looks really cool and I don’t mind everyone looking at it at all. Sound before looks, right?
I have mostly been using the the Janus Basso in combination with the Jomo Audio Tango custom monitor (review soon!) and I really like the combination. The Basso has easily made it my top 3 of EA IEM-cables and with the Horus and Leo it’s in very good company. To me the Basso perfectly matches with the character of the Tango and you get a full bodied sound and a wide stage. The Palladium plating makes the Basso very well layered and the sound stage is wide with great separation and the perfect amount of air. If you’ve never heard the effect of Palladium you will be impressed for sure. When EA first started using the material they sent me a cable with and without the material and the difference was huge. Ever since I’ve been a big fan of the component and it in the Basso again doesn’t disappoint.
I do still prefer the Horus over the Basso at this stage as I find it to have an even improved clarity with a lighter, precise delivery but that’s also personal preference.
The Janus B and D are available now from Effect Audio and the cable price starts from $1399 USD. That puts it in the high-end cable segment for sure and it won’t be accessible for everyone but from what I’ve been hearing so far, it really belongs up there with the very best. Effect Audio is doing all of the Head-Fi canjam shows, so if you’re planning on going to one of these, make sure to audition the Janus Basso and Dynamic at EA’s booth. Be warned though, you might want to have it once you’ve listened to it…
