ELETECH ILIAD - REVIEW

Beautifully Musically, Incredibly Transparent, and Engaging Sound!

Eletech— Element Technology—is a Singapore based company founded by Eric Chong and Wang, that takes a collaborative and unconventional approach to developing its IEM cables. This approach combines an historical analysis of both the successes and pitfalls of previous cable designs, a multifaceted examination of material science, cable geometry, and metals conductivity, as well as monitoring the constant feedback from symbiotic manufacturers (IEM, DAP), distributors, and consumers.

The Eletech cables from the “Fortitude ($199)” to the “Socrates ($699)” to the “Iliad ($1,799) are to a one beautifully constructed, well designed, of premium quality materials, which range from copper to silver to gold to palladium, and each must pass stringent quality control checks, before they are considered marketable.

The Eletech cables came to my awareness, most recently, when I was asked to review several of their upper-tier cables—Socrates, Plato, and Iliad. Over the past couple of weeks I’ve been burning-in the cables in preparation for analysis and a subsequent review of each for AudioKey Reviews.

This review will focus on the Top-of-the-Line Eletech Iliad cable and will ferret out its strengths and weaknesses as a stand alone and then in comparison to its siblings—the Socrates and the Plato cables.

REFRAIN: Unlike most reviews, this review will be non-sequential, as it will start with how the equipment actually sounds and not the process of physically “undressing” it and/or laying out its various accoutrement, specifications, etc. Think of this review then, as a  non-linear movie—Memento, Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc—that, likewise, starts at the end and winds its way to the beginning.

The Sound

In terms of tonality the Eletech Iliad offers via the blending of several precious metals—silver, gold, palladium—wonderful body, copious amounts of detail, exceptional transparency, and extraordinary extension from top to bottom.

The Iliad’ soundstage is vast and easily the deepest and widest of its brethren, with very good height.  And as a result of its increased transparency it exacts excellent staging cues—separation, layering, microdynamics, and detail—and provides proof of venue and tangible musicians. There is, of course, the next-level, black-quiet background which its siblings only hint at and from which notes arise in a very natural and pristine fashion.

The Iliad is imbued with an analog-like musicality that is very engaging and coupled with its resolving abilities absolutely stunning. Have a screecher IEM or headphone that plays well with very few, this is the cure for its personality disorder, so to speak.

The Eletech Iliad cable for the purposes of this review was paired with the MMR Thummin which was powered by the DX220/AMP-1 Mk II via its 2.5mm balanced headphone out.

Bass 

As a test track for bass across each of the three Eletech cables—Socrates, Plato, Iliad—Massive Attack’s Angel (Mezzanine, Virgin) track was used. The Iliad cable indulged itself with this track and delivered a weighty, deep, and textured bass that had great detail and a driving momentum. Further, the bass was beautifully refined, more coherent, and detailed and it played across a wider soundstage. Tone and timbre were also more organic and richer than either of its siblings, which made for a much more engaging and detailed listen.

Midrange

Joan Shelly’s song Wild Indifference (Joan Shelly, No Quarter) was used as a test track for the various Eletech cables. The midrange of the Iliad is wondrously transparent and involving. Joan Shelly is no longer an apparition, she is front and center stage, fleshed out, and palpable. And tone and timbre are now closer to being analog-like in their richness, yet still beautifully transparent. Shelly’s voice is natural, beautifully rendered via greatly increased microdynamics and overall detail. And as mentioned in both the Socrates and Plato reviews, the tambourine which appears on this tract at 1:45 is just outside of the head with the Iliad and it is much better articulated.

Treble+ 

The test track for treble across each of the Eletech cables was Patricia Barber’s Invitation (Night Club, Blue Note/Premonition Records). As mentioned in the DX220 AMP1 MkII review this track is rich with high-hats, ride cymbals, and crash cymbal hits which generate a great deal of middle and upper treble energy. It can be a “thumbs down” track for the non-resolving or bright, wherein “Cshhhchsshhh” is what is mostly generated across the sound field. The Iliad takes full measure of this track and delivers wonderful resolution and precision that finds the various sounds/notes/moments beautifully rendered, distinct, and organic—we know what they are. It is a rich and engaging and resolved rendering of this track, that easily draws one in.

The Wrappings and Accessories

The Eletech Iliad’s containing box is in the form and likeness of book with a black, white, and grey “book cover” wrapped around a white containing box. The face of the box features an illustration of a Trojan helmet and the proverbial Trojan Horse.

Like a book, the cover opens and then lays out with its “spine” separating from the now exposed inner compartment. This compartment houses a beautifully designed, round, green leather carrying case, as embedded in a form-fitting foam cutout. Above the carrying case is a gold, metal badge which bears the name of the included cable and its product category, which in this case is “Parnassus.”

The packaging is well designed and evokes a familiar, classical feel via its book-like design and when opened presents a clean, rich, minimalist layout, like its siblings.

Design—Look and Feel and Choice

Within the leather carrying case is the Iliad cable. The Iliad cable is wrapped within a luxurious, braided, silver jacket, with a two-tone, silver and gold Y-connect and a matching 2.5mm balanced connector.

The design of the Eletech Iliad’s is Top-Of-The-Line (TOTL) stunning, beautifully designed, and all fashioned elements—Y-connect, connector, and two-pin connectors—speak to an even richer and more elegant appearance than its Socrates or Plato sibling. The Iliad is a more substantial cable though it still retains its flexible.

The Iliad in terms of connector options comes as a 2.5mm balanced or 3.5mm single-ended or a 4.4mm balanced option. Customers may also choose for their IEM connection the 2-pin, MMCX, UE/qdc, FitEar, or JH Audio 4-pin connector. 

The Specifications

4-Wire, 24 AWG

Flawless Monocrystal Silver + Palladium Plated Silver + Gold-Silver Alloy

Hybrid Type-4 Litz Geometry ; Kevlar Resilient Core

Cryogenically Treated 

Eletech Bespoke Solder 

Eletech Customised connectors and Y-split

Individually Enameled strands

FlexiMax Insulation™ (patent pending)

Comparison

Eletech Socrates

The Socrates drive a thumping bass that is quite hard to ignore. The Iliad in comparison presents a potent bass that while not as thumping as the Iliad is, however, far more refined and detailed and coherent than either the Socrates or the Plato. And though the Socrates brings a good measure of detail across the frequency spectrum it does not equal the transparency, nor balance, nor the background quiet of the Iliad or the Plato.

Eletech Plato

The Plato does not deliver the kind of ‘thumping’ bass that the Socrates delivers, nor does it deliver the level of refinement or transparency that the Iliad does. The Iliad also brings greater refinement, resolution, and better staging cues than the Plato across the frequency spectrum. Notes as a result are more defined, tighter, and more accurate with regard to tone and timbre than the Socrates.

Conclusion

The Eletech Iliad is a TOTL cable that provides a near analog-like richness and transparency and weight that will render an immersive and engaging musical jaunt across one’s library of music, via its esoteric mix of silver, gold, and palladium metals. It is truly the peak of the Eletech cable family and will render wondrous resolution, weight, air, and a black-quiet background above all of its siblings. And like its brethren, it is beautifully packaged and constructed with excellent attention to detail and aesthetics. Bravo. 

Music—Qobuz, Tidal exclusively

Alexander Tharaud—Tharaud Plays Rachmaninoff
Omar Sosa—Ballads, Calma
Patricia Barber—Verse
Rickie Lee Jones—Pop Pop
Sade—Lovers Live
Sheku Kannah Mason—Inspiration
Tracey Chapman—Where You Live
Olafur Arnalds—Island Songs
Melody Gardot—My One and Only Thrill
Melody Gardot—My Worrisome Heart
Eiji Oue—Rachmaninoff: Symphonic Dances
Hilary Hahn—Tchaikovsky 
Mechell Ndegeocello—Bitter
Maxwell—Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite
Sarah Jarosh—Undercurrent
Igor Stravinsky—Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps (The Rite of Spring)
Annie-Sophie Mutter—Mendelssohn, Brahms: Violin Concertos
London Grammar—If You Wait
Stevie Wonder—Innervisions 
Marvin Gaye—What’s Going On
Miles Davis—Kind of Blue
Jóhann Jóhannsson—Orphée
Dave Holland—Emerald Tears
Gidon Kremer, Daniil Trifonov, Giedre Dirvanauskaite—Preghiera/Rachmaninov Piano Trios

Ancillary Equipment

Meze Empyrean
Rosson Audio RAD-0
OBravo EAMT-2C IEMs
Final Sonorous III
FiiO FH5
AudioQuest Cobalt
AudioQuest Red
AudioQuest Black
AudioQuest Dragon Tail
Samsung S10
Apple X iPhone

The Company

Element Technology Pte Ltd
16 Shaw Road, #01-04, 
367954, Singapore
+65 82003584 (Eric)