Review of Plexcio Acoustics New Products (Caps and Cables)

[Crazyguy106 0]

I came by Plexcio Acoustics products and offered to review it in exchange for testing it for a few weeks. I have to say I was pretty happy with what was offered.

 

Constants:

 

Equipment: NoisePod 5.5G 30GB -> Crystal -> Caps -> Crystal -> ALO RX, or NoisePod 5.5G 30GB -> cable -> ALO RX

Music: FLAC recordings of Gently Disturbed by Avishai Cohen, and Like Minds by Burton/Corea/Metheny/Haynes/Holland, and Skylark by Renee Olstead

 

 

Firstly, was the MCaps:

Overall:

 

I'd have to say I'm pretty impressed with the MCaps. Having tried the Sonique and Zenith (price range 600-800) by BigOnNoise, and the Sonicaps by Valgrind, I can safely say that I wouldn't mind having this caps if I were to using it for the next few months (of course Zenith would be the perfect choice). Zenith is made of VCaps which are virtually untouchable, plus Aaron's little juice added in, it's bound to be an awesome listening took.

 

However, I'd like to state that unlike my reaction when I switched from Sonique to Valgrind, or Zenith to Valgrind, I did not feel a tinge of "OUCH" that I got from switching over to valgrind. I was quite pleasantly surprised - tonality of the music was still intact, much like that of Sonique and Zenith. There was not much shift in terms of frequency response - the graph would be pretty flat, though it started with less bass (a bit more with burn in) and slight bit more highs (smoother as it burns in).

 

Bass:

 

There is a slight lack of speed in the bass region, I think due to a slightly bigger mid-bass than the VCaps... Remember this is comparing with the VCaps. There is a bit less of an extension of the bass to get really low deep double bass tones, but it's fine considering I didn't experience it much of that with the original Sonique or Valgrind either. The bass is still rather fast in my opinion. I can still hear decent definition of a double bass, with a bit of loss of attack and the lovely "mwah" I love to get out of my basses. I would attribute it to the mid-bass and low-mids region to be not-too-optimal. But hey, for this price I can't complain.

 

Mids:

 

This is definitely the area that VCaps probably wins over all its competition. The amazing ability for definition and maintaining flatness in VCaps is just unparalelled in my experience thus far. I was have to say that the MCaps is not as fast, though still maintain good tonality and flatness throughout this region, with no major bumps or dips. I like my caps neutral because it shouldn't be the most important part of the equation anyway, though critical. High mids are a slight bit more recessed, as is the low-highs which gives sharpness, which is fine, but gives a bit of a muffled sensation. If you like smoooooth rich mids you would definitely need the Vocalist, but it doesn't by far reduce the effects, it's just a fine different between this and VCaps.

 

Highs:

 

Good highs. I would say pretty good, again, considering the price. The Zenith does add some extensions, but that's because I'm using Crystal Cables for comparison too. I would say it gives good cymbal definitions and sweet tones, though due to the dip in low-highs there might be an effect of muffling if you go from Valgrind to it or Zenith to it. Valgrind to me just has TOO MUCH low-highs and high-mids, so that's my take on it. =)

 

Soundstage:

 

Soundstage, compared to VCaps, is something like from like being in a large room with the musicians, to a jamming studio with them in my outer ear. I have to say this is still quite pleasant and definitely something I would consider good for its range. I'm really enjoying the sound coming from this cheap small (smaller than Zenith) caps. =)

 

Separation:

 

Die die one of the most important things for me. Separation and speed are killer things. Separation for MCaps are definitely better than what I'd expect for its price. I don't get artificial walls that I get from Valgrind, and the spatial spacing is definitely not limited to one plane, but all three, with sufficient room for each instrument and sound. Definitely less than Zenith by quite a bit (this is actually one of the key reasons why you get expensive caps), but definitely good.

 

Conclusion:

 

You read it, I didn't really have much to fault it. I think it's at a great price and in my opinion from my experience a definite good product for its price range. I would like to try the Sonique to give it a good comparison but it's no longer with me anymore so I can't say. But Sonique is also out of stock. However Valgrind is definitely not a contender in my opinion. If you're going for clear sound and good tonality I'd advise this as your first capacitors. =) Also, MCaps is about the same price as Soniques and Valgrind, if not cheaper, depending on where you buy from.

 

The Cables (Price wise: Vocalist < Bassist < Performance < 100):

 

Bassist:

 

I'm pretty impressed by the cable. It's definitely clear. The cymbal definition is brilliant. It's to the high side with a bit more emphasis in the low-highs which can help with sound resolution but might fatigue the ears a bit more than the crystal cables. For my the crystals has definitely more extensions, but not as bright, thus it gives more "air" but less resolution, though making it more true to a live performance. But the bassist is definitely a good cable in my books. Oh, and there is a slight recession of the mids, which gives a rather "scooped feeling".

 

I would suspect off the bat it's something silver related (found out later it's silver-plated + something new). Hahaha. I can't remember what it was made of already so my safest bet is that it's Silver due to its sound. However, it still has a sufficient amount of bass, which leads me to suspect it has some bit of copper. Bass definition is not as good as the crystal's, but still very much decent. I need to get my intrinsic to compare (same price range) but I'd say Performance has impressed me. It's one of those cables that's not too piercing to the ear but still give good resolution.

 

Though I'd have to warn about the stiffness... It is rather problematic in my situation where I virtually carry a bomb. Hahaha makes it a very tough thing to deal with, but overall it's still a good cable... The length I got is slightly shorter than the actual, so I believe there shouldn't actually be much problems because I don't have much problems as it is.

 

Vocalist:

 

Obviously the bassist has the most bass (though less than Crystal interestingly enough). These three cables definitely are moving up the graph in terms of overall response. For me the bassist is the flattest, vocalist has some bass loss, but OMG the mids! Haha the clarity in the mids is definitely quite a big plus for this one. Previously the bassist was unable to produce the true Pat Metheny tone, but the Vocalist produced it. Though of course with the crystal the attack becomes even faster (similar tone) and adds the attack of every note by the great guitarist. Great cable for people who like slightly flatter and slower mids. Gives a great vocalist feel and warmth and smoothness to the voice of a nasal singer. It's definitely named the Vocalist well.

 

Plus it is not as stiff as the bassist, is mostly longer and has a nice profile. My only complain is that you don't get the fullness of a bass tone (super important especially musicians). But good stuff if you can't really stand much bass...

 

 

Performance:

 

I got both the caps version and the non-caps version. The soundstage is not that big on the caps version (it IS in-built caps), to the level of around the mid-ear. Not in your head at least. Suddenly the bass is back again! Haha but the low mids definition has suddenly felt a bit down because there is a increase in high mids. This gives a slightly more nasal tone and gives that very "forward mids" feel. And this, together with the increased low-highs, gives increased detail resolution for the music. However, in my opinion it does colour the music a bit and gives a false tone compared to what I'd prefer. Not very out of place, because it's still pretty close, but not exactly the very natural tone of the piano, guitar and bass I'd like.

 

Double bass notes still sound out because of the dip in bass compared to the bassist or crystal, but gives definitely doesn't have the "full tone". But that's only for a person who's as picky as me. Great detail reproduction, though a tad not real, but overall I'd say it's great if you're going to spot mistakes in the music. =)

 

Conclusion:

 

I'd say Plexcio Acoustics is definitely going to make waves if everyone gets a good try at it. It can definitely match up to most competition at its price range and even slightly higher. I hope to see it more for days to come. I would say in terms of details, Vocalist (too slow) < Bassist < Performance (tonality increases details), realness is Vocalist < Performance < Bassist, and for smoothness it's Performance < Bassist < Vocalist. So choose according to what you want. =)