Mini Review of the Hapa Quiescence S and the Ember RCA

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golfugh

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A Tale of 2 Cables

I'll have to admit I love trying different cables.  I enjoy the break in process, and the wild changes that can occur.  Most people put them in and either it's great from the start or it stinks.  I've been guilty of that, but over time I've tried to change that philosophy.  I love to listen to what happens as changes occur, I prefer to listen to a brand new cable vice a fully burned in used set.  The main reason I enjoy the “wild and woolies” as I call them is you find out what a cable really is.  If it sounds one way at the start and never changes, well I hate to say it, that cable is not ever going to give you what you're after.  IMO!

With a new cable, one day you're saying this is the best thing ever and the next you say “OMG” what is this thing.  You get extremes with new cables from flat to bombastic.  You never really know what you're going to get.  A new cable gives you everything from the bad to the incredibles!  From my experience so far, with the Hapa Audio cables you don’t know what to expect and then you hear them and it’s an OMG moment in your listening experience.

I'd like to thank Jason once again for the opportunity to listen to his incredible creations!

I've had 2 of his cables in my system off and on for over 2 months (thanks again Jason).  I've been listening to both the Quiescence S and the Ember RCAs.  One I ended up loving, and one just didn’t work with my system...the Magicos’ can be extremely revealing, particularly in the treble due to the Beryllium tweeter.  After a period of time listening the Quiescence S and battling with the treble region Jason recommended the Ember RCA, I enthusiastically took him up on the offer.

Ok, this may sound like a slam on the Qs, that is not the case.  I loved the Qs, it's absolutely one of the best I've heard.  This cable would be incredible with a Sonus Faber or any warm to warmish speaker. Yet, with the Magicos’...it's just too much. I hope you find in my further review of the Embers that these are both exceptional cables. 

The following information applies to both cables, you just need to ensure your system can handle the silver of the Qs over the copper Embers.

I received the Embers after about a month with the Qs.  The Embers were brand new; the Qs were fully broken in upon receipt. Here is where we get into the Wild and woolies.  They started bright, then bass heavy, then what is that, then glorious and then we did it all over again.  Once settled you will hear things in recordings that you may have heard before but wondered “what is that?”  Well, with the 
Embers you know what it is...it's not just bass but it’s a Timpani...it's not a violin it’s a viola.  With the Embers you can discern everything in the back ground, whatever is there you will hear it.

To get into some specifics: the silence between notes is the best I've heard, instruments you knew were there just appear from a perfectly silent background.  Musical detail retrieval is incredible with both cables, but the Embers bring it forth with a tube-like warmth from a silent background.  I don’t feel they are that warm but that is the presentation you hear and feel.  It is a cable that provides detail, enormous sound staging, silence and the chill factor.  I cry, I never cringe, and am amazed with the overall presentation.  In my system its damn near perfect!

I don’t know what I can say other than these cables are some of the best I've ever heard.  I know I said that previously with the AeroCu and AeroAg USB cables, but these are incredible!  I bought the Ember RCAs for amp to pre!  These cables from Hapa Audio are amazing...period!

Music remains the same from my previous review on the Aero USB cables.  If you havent listened to Haevn youre missing something.

I will add one last thing that I've experienced...there is an incredible synergy as you add more of Jason’s cables, I don’t know how to describe it but more is better.

Thanks again Jason

Mark

nlitworld

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Re: Mini Review of the Hapa Quiescence S and the Ember RCA
« Reply #1 on: 22 May 2023, 12:59 am »

I will add one last thing that I've experienced...there is an incredible synergy as you add more of Jason’s cables, I don’t know how to describe it but more is better.

It is a pretty incredible thing when running a full set of cables. I've run the course on everything except the Quiescence S and they all have a slightly different feel but the family house sound is there throughout. Smooth, refined, detailed, but just a touch different in one way or another. The Ember really is great on all out merit of sound quality, then factoring in the price/quality ratio they just knock it out of the park.

Did you play around with running one from dac to pre and the other from pre to amp? If so, was there a preferred arrangement?

golfugh

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Re: Mini Review of the Hapa Quiescence S and the Ember RCA
« Reply #2 on: 22 May 2023, 01:16 am »
Currently have a 1m set of Embers DAC to pre, I normally have KCI Silkworm+ in that spot.  I will say the Ember may be better than the Silkworm+.

Pez

Re: Mini Review of the Hapa Quiescence S and the Ember RCA
« Reply #3 on: 23 May 2023, 05:08 pm »
Golfugh,
I appreciate your review! Yes indeed, this was one of those situations where synergy won the day. QS is more neutral and has better detail overall, but not according to this particular system! From what Golfugh described of the sound quality he was getting it sounded like Ember was more appropriate for his setup. I’m glad we tested that hypothesis. :thumb: thank you for the awesome review and taking the time to share the particulars of your situation.