Dekoni Audio has long been known for their unique and often groundbreaking headphone accessories, from their incomparable custom earpads to their Dekoni Audio Bulletz memory foam IEM eartips, to their Dekoni Audio x SKB Headphone Hero Heavy Duty Travel Case, to their Dekoni Audio Omega Headphone Stand, to their Dekoni Audio Nuggets Headphone Headband Pressure Relief Pads to various headphone cleaning supplies and the list goes on. And what they are most known for is extreme quality and budget pricing, so it is to no one’s surprise that when they entered the cable market they would do so with a product that combines performance with practicality to maximize value to the end user. Enter the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables employing Dekoni Audio’s unusual Dekoni Modular Cable System Technology ().
Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables
The core of Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables’ Dekoni Modular Cable System Technology is a locking 2.5mm TRRRS connector that separates the cable into two halves one that is a Y cable housing the headphone connections and one longer single cable that ends in the amplifier connection. On the headphone side three options are currently available: 3.5mm TS, mini XLR, and what they refer to as the HD600 connector, and for the amplifier cable there is 4.4mm TRRRS for balanced and ¼” TRS for single-ended. There are also two levels of cable available, a Blue Nylon Woven Jacket Heavy Duty Cable for everyday use, and a higher performance 8 Strand Silver-Plated Copper Braided Cable at a slightly higher price, the amplifier cables also come in two lengths, 52” and 64”.
The advantage of this modular system is that five cables offer the flexibility of application of 10 cables thus halving your investment. Obviously, this system is aimed at Personal Audio enthusiasts who own multiple headphones and multiple sources while being offered at a budget that can make them practical even for those who only own a single headphone and source. One can also presume that as time passes and they become more popular other connection types will be made available as demand requires.
Living with the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables
I received several samples of the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables towards the end of November. They appear to be high quality and very well constructed. Both styles are very light and flexible, though the Silver Braided Cable is lighter and more flexible than the Blue Nylon Woven Jacket. I do find the Silver Braided Cable to be more attractive, but that is just personal preference, neither look cheap.
Per usual, I burned in the cables over the holidays and as this entailed 8 cables it took several weeks to accomplish this, but as Christmas arrived I was ready to do some listening. In the end, I decided to use my HIFIMAN DEVA Pro Planar Magnetic Headphones for this review for a few reasons; one, of all my headphones they were in most need of a cable upgrade and responded best to such, two, because of this I have more cable options for the DEVA Pro than any other headphone, and three, the DEVA Pro falls into the appropriate price range to complement the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables.
With the stock cable, the DEVA Pro is an excellent $200 headphone, but the truth is they sounded better with the HIFIMAN Bluemini R2R Bluetooth module despite the 48kHz limitation, which just goes to prove that an inexpensive cable can limit the resolution of your headphone. As it turns out, the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cable is not 100% compatible with the DEVA Pro as the DEVA Pro is designed to accommodate the Bluemini R2R module which uses a TRS connector on the left ear-cup. I overcame this issue by placing a small bit of tape where the ring should be preventing the DEVA Pro from grounding out the right channel. The Ensemble Cable works fine with my other HIFIMAN headphones, but by this time I was already determined to use the DEVA Pro. This does bring up a weird quirk of HIFIMAN headphones, their cables use TRS connections at the ear-cup with the ring not being wired, so an aftermarket cable with TRS connections will not work with HIFIMAN headphones (both sides would receive left channel information only) unless they are specifically wired for HIFIMAN.
For amplification, I used my HIFIMAN EF600 R2R DAC & Headphone Amp.
Assembling the cables is a simple matter of snapping them together and ending with a clockwise twist to lock them together. I began with the Blue Nylon Woven Jacket single-ended cable and Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ new album “Wild God” (24-bit/96kHz-Qobuz). The differences between the Ensemble Cable and the stock HIFIMAN cable were immediately apparent with the Ensemble offering greater dynamics, more detail, and tons of musicality despite the increased clarity.
Next up was “Letter to Self” (24-bit/88kHz-Qobuz) by the Sprints. Once again clarity and musicality were the watchwords providing an in-studio experience. This time I listened with the Ensemble first before switching back to the HIFIMAN cable which appeared compressed and muddy in comparison.
Switching to the balanced cable for the next track (“Butterfly Lovers & Paganini” – Chole Chua, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Rodolfo Barráez, Mario Venzago – 24-bit/96kHz-Qobuz) I once again began with the HIFIMAN cable, this time the higher performance cable provided with the HIFIMAN AUDIVINA. Not unsurprisingly the change was not so stark but the soundstage with the Ensemble was definitely larger, more expansive, more three-dimensional, and the emotionality of the magical performance was more vivid and palpable. I positively got chills on my second run-through.
Selecting Ryuichi Sakamoto’s “Opus” (24-bit/96kHz-Qobuz), the soundstage was massive and the piano had that rich authoritative Yamaha sound.
My final test was to compare the Blue Nylon Woven Jacket Ensemble Cable to the Silver Braided Cable Ensemble. For this, I chose “Night Reign” (24-bit/96kHz-Qobuz) by Arooj Aftab. The difference was subtle but the bass was much more natural with the Silver Braided Cable and the detail had undeniably increased. Both cables offered up a huge soundstage with gallons of musicality.
To see how far the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables Silver Braided Cable would scale up I decided to do a quick listen with the HIFIMAN SUSVARA UNVEILED using one of my favorite test tracks “Non Mi Lasciare” (16-bit/44.1kHz-Qobuz) by Dario Baldan Bembo. The Dekoni competed favorably with the stock cable which employs a single crystalline copper wire alongside a single crystalline silver wire. Switching to “Birds of Fire” (“Birds of Fire” – Mahavishnu Orchestra – DSD) I noted that the Ensemble Cables might actually have a little more dynamic range, in all, I prefer the Dekoni cable due to its flexibility and lighter weight.
Conclusions on the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables
I loved my time with the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables. Unfortunately, despite how great they sounded with the DEVA Pro, I can’t recommend them for that particular headphone as they are not compatible and my mod is not viable for regular use, while it was not a problem with the EF600 the possibility of damaging your amplifier exists so you should always check to see if your headphone is on Dekoni’s compatibility list (which can be found here) if it uses a TRS connection as opposed to a TS. That being said, I can heartily recommend them for any other HIFIMAN that is not configured for the Bluemini, whether you want them as a replacement cable or an upgrade.
The Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables combine flexibility of application along with physical flexibility with an excellent soundstage, increased dynamics, neutral timbre and tonality, strong bass and bass control, wonderful resolution, and musicality rarely found in products in this price range.
I especially recommend the Dekoni Audio Ensemble Cables to those who have multiple headphones using the different available connections and multiple amplifier options wishing to simplify their cable needs. Two thumbs up.
Price:
Blue Nylon Woven Jacket Headphone Connection: $59.99
Silver Braided Cable Headphone Connection: $79.99
Blue Nylon Woven Jacket 52” Amplifier Connection: $59.99
Blue Nylon Woven Jacket 64” Amplifier Connection: $64.99
Silver Braided Cable 52” Amplifier Connection: $69.99
Silver Braided Cable 64” Amplifier Connection: $84.99
Manufacturer’s Website: https://dekoniaudio.com/dekoni-ensemble-cables/
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