Eletech has been building a name for themselves over the past few years, with cables that combine advanced metallurgy with luxurious, jewelry-like finishing, and exquisite sound. With offerings like their flagship Ode to Laura, Eletech defies expectations for what’s possible in a cable using careful selection and sourcing of materials followed by meticulous craftsmanship to produce an incredible final result. They recently refreshed their “School of Athens” lineup with two new cables, the silver Euclid and copper Aristotle, also adding their advanced Versa connection option in the process. Do Euclid and Aristotle deserve a place in your collection?
Build and Design
Eletech continues to draw inspiration from Classical Greece for their designs, and each of the packages includes a plastic insert with art based on the namesake of the cable. Underneath that, you’ll find the cable tucked neatly inside of a leather case, a metal nameplate, and a strap for the cable. Euclid’s case is blue, while Aristotle’s is a classic brown leather with some reddish hues.
Euclid is an 18AWG pure silver litz cable with a nano-silver coating that contains 1% gold. The construction also includes 24AWG silver shielding, and is finished off with Eletechs Fleximax insulation. Aristotle uses a triple coaxial blend OCC copper litz. It gets its unique reddish look from the oil-coated Crimson Copper used as one of the main conductors. Aristotle uses a similar 24AWG shielding and FlexiMax insulation.
The two cables have similar hardware and a very similar feel. They’re both a bit heftier than their predecessors, Plato and Socrates, but not as noticeable bulky as something like an Effect Audio Code 23. The overall feel of the cables is similar to the aforementioned Ode to Laura, with a weighty feeling, without significant stiffness or memory in the cable.
Probably the most notable update here is the addition of Eletech’s new Versa technology for swapping the connectors. While cables with multiple terminations have been pretty commonplace for a while now, there still aren’t many options for changing the IEM connections. Versa allows you to swap connections for different IEMs by unscrewing a portion of the connector, removing the current connection and replacing it with a new one. The units we tested came with a 2-pin connection out of the box, but included MMCX for a replacement, giving you the ability to check out a wide variety of IEMs. Penatconn Ear connectors are also available.
Listening Impressions
If you want to start a fight on an audiophile forum, just ask whether or not different cables sound different. Like many who review HiFi products, and tip their toes into the world of cables, I offer the disclaimer that these impressions represent what I heard in my listening sessions, not a scientificly backed, vigorously researched dissertation.
Whether or not the cables are beautiful and functional, being able to subtly adjust the sound of your IEMs is the core promise of high-end cables. I listened with a number of different IEMs and a few different sources, and was pleasantly surprised to find some clear differences – including ones that I wasn’t expecting.
My two main listening setups were the iBasso DX320MAX and Astell&Kern SP3000, both with Qobuz as my music source. I listened to a selection of high-res tracks ranging from Holst to Led Zeppelin to Charlie XCX, and took notes on what I heard as I cycled through the cables with each IEM.
My first listen was the FatFreq Grand Maestro, and what I was really hoping was that Aristotle would add just a little extra midbass to complement Grand Maestro’s deep subbass, but instead I found more clarity and midrange, with a wider stage, but while the bass felt tighter, there wasn't any increase in bass quantity. Euclid gave me more of what I expected, which is air and resolution, with a somewhat faster attack.
Noble Ronin already comes equipped with a unique Eletech cable which alternates silver and copper strands, and so I didn’t imagine it so much in need of an upgrade as subtle changes to the sound. Here Aristotle seemed to take a little bit of snap off the snare and percussion, and added some depth to the bass and impact. Aristotle wasn’t quite as resolving as the stock cable, but Euclid was, bringing back the snappiness and adding more air, while also making elements like reverb more apparent in the mix than either other cable.
Empire Ears Raven was the last IEM I did extensive testing with, and I was curious how a cable change would impact the deep subbass emphasis and wide stage you get with the stock cable. The effect was similar to what I heard with Grand Maestro: I heard more clarity and detail with both cables, but found that the stock cable and Aristotle to be about the same in bass quantity – though Euclid seemed to bring out an extra little bit of ultra deep subbass that neither other cable found. Aristotle brought some fullness to the mids and Euclid had stronger air and resolution than the stock cable or Aristotle, as you might expect.
Final Thoughts
While the typical expectation is “copper = warm, silver = bright,” that didn’t fully hold true here. Aristotle sounded a bit like a mini-version of Ode to Laura, offering natural clarity and detail along with control in the bass, but not a notable elevation in the low end compared to the stock cables. Euclid behaved more like you might expect, with a strong upper end extension, and a little extra air and brightness. Euclid and Aristotle are excellent options to expand your cable collection, both offering a natural enhancement to detail and clarity, and world-class craftsmanship and construction.
