[BobRex]

This review was done using only analog.  My turntable is a TTWeights Gem rim drive with a modified Jelco 750 12" arm.  The mods were done by TTWeights and basically provide fully adjustable VTA and mass loading of the bearing housing.  The cartridge, a VDH Colibri XGP is connected to Hashimoto H3 SUTs (Choir Audio) via an Audio Sensibilities phono cable.  The SUTs are typically wired to a Herron phono stage with a Grover cable (test point 1).  From the Herron, a second Grover cable (test point 2) leads to a Vinnie Rossi LIO DHT (Shuguang Treasure 300Bs).  The integrated amp drives the mid tweeter sections of VMPS RM30s (external crossovers, TRY caps, silver wire, Powered Bass all mounted in Dayton speaker cabs) through WyWires speaker cables.  The bass section is driven by the low level outs of the LIO via a 3m Grover interconnect into Dayton 500w plate amps (test point 3).  The room is 22 x 17 with a cathedral ceiling (approx 14 ft at the peak).  One front corner has a fireplace and the other front corner is filled with a largish record/ cd rack.  System and speakers sit on the wide wall with speakers 8ft apart and 5ft from the front wall.  The system and additional record storage sit between the speakers.  A listening sofa sits about 8 inches away from the back wall, with pillows acting as absorbers at ear level.  The room is fairly clean with a peak node around 100Hz that's eq'd out via the plate amp's parametric.  With this size room. deploying the speakers on the wide walls mitigates the need for wall absorption - the reflection path is long enough that the signal is sufficiently delayed to fall outside of the critical window.

Enough of that, let's discuss the cables.  As per Jason's previous products, the cables arrived in style inside a nicely padded Ummm, travel case.  Inside the case, a Hapa fabric bag / back pack further protected everything.  Both cables are extremly flexible which helps installation and dressing.  I installed the copper sets in test points 1 and 2 and started listening.

Albums used:
Prokofieff Lt. Kije - Fritz Reiner and Chicago Symphony - RCA, the Classic Records pressing
Stravinsky Firebird and Debussy Prelude to the afternoon of a Fawn - Leinsdorf, Sheffield Records D2D
Oregon - In Performance
Paul Winter Consort - Road
Joni Mitchell - Shadows and Light
Grateful Dead - Terrapin Station - AP pressing
Pat Metheny - Travels
Assorted others.......

Liquid and organic - these were my first thoughts.  The cables are extremely quiet.  I have season tickets to the local orchestra, I sit mid-hall about 2 seats off of center.  From that position I can hear imaging queues - location of sections and depths, and the positioning of soloists are easily heard.  I expect to be able to do the same on my system, and for the most part I can.  The coppers improved on this.  The opening trumpet on Kije sounded further off stage than before and the snare drum was deep and reverberant.  The piccolo, flute, and oboe were more resolved and each was in a unique space, separate from each other, yet part of the same grainless picture.  Hall reflections were more obvious.  The bass drum had more power and its position (depth) was readily discernable.  The Sheffield yielded a slightly different picture.  The dryness of the MGM soundstage was laid bare, but everything sounded just a little cleaner than before. 

Back in the mid-seventies I discovered the music of Paul Winter through a reference in TAS.  I've been a fan ever since.  The third side of In Performance opens with the band (Oregon) in Carnegie hall.  George Schutz comes to a mic and announces the band.  When the mic is turned on, the space of the hall is there.  His voice reverberates and lights up the space.  This is followed by Colin Walcott's drum solo which is a masterpiece of color, dynamics, and spacing.  The coppers extract the nuances of the various drums more than the Grovers.  Wallcott used a cymbal tree (no other way to describe it, look at the pictures on the album jacket) and it's now possible to discern positioning when he strikes the different cymbals.  Before I'd hear the different timbres, but I've never been able identify positioning.  The coppers are very clean and fast.  This means that there is no smearing in the highs, each sound is individualized and unique.  I can hear the same thing on Winter's Road album.  That album ends with an African/Brazilian piece that is full of transients from different percussion instruments - wood blocks, maracas,  triangles, ...., each one separated in the soundfield.

The same lack of grain can be heard on Terrapin Station.  As the train "leaves the station" the band takes off and Kreutzmann and Hart go to town.  Again, each drum strike in clean and distinct, and when required - powerful.  Kreutzmann's ride cymbal (tapping out 16th notes)  is heard above the chaos and acts as an anchor.  As the piece comes back to the station and the chorus fades out, the sonic picture just fades into a deep deep background.

Vocals take on a beautiful solidity, be it Joni, or Donna G, or Garcia.  All sound as if they are in the room in front of you, with the rest of the band just a few feet behind.  When the Persuasions sing God Must be a Boogey Man, they are right there, present as can be.

Replacing the coppers with the silvers ups the performance another notch or three.  This is when you can hear the slight warmth of the copper wires.  And it is slight.  The bass is a tad leaner, and you lose some "fullness" to the lower mids.  But the gains in bass depth make up for it.  I didn't throw any real bass tests at the cables; I was more interested in how real instruments sounded.  Glen Moore's stand up, Jaco's fretless, and Lesh's Alembic all sounded full and rich with the coppers, but you gain some additional details with the silvers.

As a final test, I coupled the coppers together to make 2 long runs.  These replaced the Grovers that ran to the plate amps; the impact is only from 200Hz and down.  If anyone ever tells you that the cable running to a subwoofer doesn't matter, don't believe it.  The soundscape opened up and lower transients, as well as hall ambience improved.

All in all these are damned good cables.  Jason has been improving his cables with each iteration, if this isn't his peak, then it's gonna be real close!.

[Charles Xavier]

Nice. We have some people here that should review for a living.

[Pez]

Nice. We have some people here that should review for a living.

You ain't kidding! Bob and DonF thank you both for your well written reviews and time put in to do it! You both really hit the nail on the head for these new cables. Incredible sound quality and highly customizable for anyone's system. 

I'm adding the second leg of the tour. In fact the second leg is off to the first on the list.  I'll be in touch with everyone to let you all know more details. We still have space on the tours! Please fill out the form if you are interested.

Last but not least, I'll be listing up the new offerings on the website soon! Sneak peek of the photography.  I also updated the announcement post to show the new images! Thank you TeganK studios

[Pez]

Aero Siver RCA

Second your leg is off! We have some spots still for late comers. Sign up quick though, only a couple left!

https://forms.clickup.com/f/80txj-991/NQVL6CUSMBZCSU9BYN

[MttBsh]

My listening room with Cain & Cain Abby speakers and Fostex T900A  supertweeters. My audio system sits out of sight (Wife Acceptance Factor) on shelves in the other side of the wall. My sofa with subs on either side are farther back in the room.

I thoroughly enjoyed my week with the Hapa Aero interconnects. I’ve had the Hapa Embers (one copper, the other silver quintessence) in my system for a couple of years and they’ve been the best I’ve ever used, so I was curious if the Aeros could really best them. But as Jason promised, his latest creation is a serious upgrade, I heard improvements without having to really listen for them, they were that obvious.
 
There’s little I can share that previous reviewers haven’t already articulated much better than I could so I’ll be brief.
 
One reviewer stated that his Embers provide 95% of what the Aeros offer. My impression in my system is closer to 80%, and an extra 20% is a lot when you consider just how good the Embers are. The Aeros are so dead quiet that music is more present in the room, more holographic, allowing details like cymbal strikes and bells to be heard in more precise locations of the soundstage and then decay beautifully. Bass is tighter and deeper, in fact I was able to turn my twin subs up a couple of notches without introducing any bloat, just cleaner more subterranean bass. I felt the Aeros took the strengths of the Embers to the next level and really made a difference in my overall enjoyment of music.
 
The Aero Cu (copper) and Ag (silver) were much more alike than they were different, although as others have stated, the CU had a bit more flesh on the bones and the AG a slight edge in clarity. Because my system is all solid state including a passive pre, I felt because it added a little more body to the sound the CU sounded the best in my system.
 
I remain mystified as to how interconnects can deliver as good or better sound improvements than upgrading the audio components they connect, but hearing is believing. Jason’s passion for raising the bar on high end audio cables is really paying off. I just sent the package on to the next guy on the tour and I’m already missing the Aeros - I can think of only one solution - I’m ordering a set.

[Pez]

Mttbsh,

Awesome review my friend! I appreciate the feedback and agree with your assessment. There is something really incredible about the level of detail Aero RCA has. The copper version is particularly surprising in that it bests everything else I've created in detail and retains that warm inviting sound that's to die for. The silver version is more neutral and as you stated has more clarity. In my experience it is also more dynamically nuanced as well. All that said, I am curious, did you have a chance to mix and match? I know you mentioned you only go between preamp and amp, but perhaps you had the ability to try elsewhere?

I remain mystified as to how interconnects can deliver as good or better sound improvements than upgrading the audio components they connect, but hearing is believing.

That is the same sentiment I continuously have and I make this stuff! It is quite curious and amazing.

[MttBsh]

Mttbsh,

Awesome review my friend! I appreciate the feedback and agree with your assessment. There is something really incredible about the level of detail Aero RCA has. The copper version is particularly surprising in that it bests everything else I've created in detail and retains that warm inviting sound that's to die for. The silver version is more neutral and as you stated has more clarity. In my experience it is also more dynamically nuanced as well. All that said, I am curious, did you have a chance to mix and match? I know you mentioned you only go between preamp and amp, but perhaps you had the ability to try elsewhere?

Actually, I was able to go between my Streamer/DAC and preamp with both the Cu and Ag, but only the Cu between my preamp and amp. That's because my amp, a Stereo Maraschino, has only XLR inputs but came with RCA adapters and unfortunately the Ag's solid silver connector wouldn't fit over the RCA adapter, the Absolute Harmony connector, which is flexible, fit easily. This did limit my mix and match a bit but I was still able to distinguish the differences between the Cu and Ag, again, both superb cables!

Thank you again Jason for sending out my order for the Cu cables so quickly after my audition!   

[Pez]

Thanks for the added info! And yes, I am making the builds for this tour a priority so usually I can ship either same day or next day on any orders I get assuming less than 2–3 sets.

Quick update, I’ve been working hard with my web developer and my photographer/videographer on the new product page for Aero RCA. I think they really knocked it out of the park.

Take a look!
Aero RCA Product page

[Nick B]

Just in case anybody is wondering where the cables are, they're in Nevada about an hour north of Las Vegas. They arrived midday and the silvers are in and sounding very good, exactly as I had expected 😃👍🎶🎶.

Well, that's enough of a status.... back to listening!

[Pez]

I should have included this with the Nanuk hard cases for the tours:

I think it was a missed opportunity!

thanks for the update! The tour reviews have been AMAZING!!! I am very excited about Aero RCA.

IMO this is the MUST HAVE product from Hapa Audio. 

[billc]

Thank you Jason for the opportunity to audition your new Aero RCA cables!

To jump to the conclusion, the new interconnects are fantastic and I plan to acquire a set of copper RCAs.

My comments below are based on the sound of my system. All our systems are different, tuned to our ideas of what music should sound like when reproduced.

About a year back i purchased the Aero Ag USB digital cable, which provided a significant improvement over the silver cable I had used previously. I was hoping for similar benefit!  You can see my system here https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=185768.msg1955306#msg1955306   
I have an R2R DAC, and a tube preamp, and SS amp that are very transparent, to me. 

My evaluation was done using only a digital source. Both silver and copper cables were well broken in when they arrived. Additional burn-in time needed after arrival was about half a day.

The bottom line is that there’s little I can add to what previous reviewers haven’t already reported!

"Wide, deep soundstage with excellent tonality"  check!
"Holographic imaging, a clear, clean detailed sound without a hint of sharpness"  check!
"A major increase in bass energy was obvious with both cables"  check!
"So dead quiet that music is more present in the room, more holographic, allowing details like cymbal strikes and bells to be heard in more precise locations of the soundstage and then decay beautifully"  check!

I listened to:
Melody Gardot - My One and Only Thrill (Who will comfort me).  Exquisite voice, guitar, percussion w Aero. Great balance and tone.
Mahler: Symphonie No 4; Trevor Pinnock - Bedachtig  Wide dynamic range with Aero, instruments sound so real. With copper there was some congestion at 9 min, a loud passage with much low freq info, but Cu had better balance.
Champian Fulton - Meet Me at Birdland. Too Marvelous for Words  Excellent live performance, piano just right, sounds like when I attended this performance. Dynamics have that jump factor.
Chasing the Dragon/Mike Valentine: Untitled; Mass No 15; Ave Maria. Three tracks i use to test accuracy of tone, spatial representation, and low freq organ.  All sounded better than with past cables.
Saskia Georgini: Debussy, Images.  Astonishing timing and performance; piano sounds right there.  Aero made this glow.
Holly Cole - Temptation: Jersey Girl, One Trick Pony. Really powerful bass, with great articulation.
Chick Corea: Trilogy  Another great live performance come to life, with fun dynamics and rhythm.
Espana/Mike Valentine/National Symphony: Bizet Carmen Habanera  Full spatial depiction of hall, orchestra excellent from mid-hall, voice superb. Cu Aero brought this to life more than ever before.
Madeleine Peyroux - Let's Walk (title song).  Rhythm and pace just right, voice quintessential Madeleine.
Sera Una Noche - Nublado.  Big space around all the instruments, which have very precise location and tone w Aero.

Hapa Silver Aero RCA
The silver Aero RCA was extremely clear and clean with no sign of congestion or grain. Just precision and clarity. Both the high frequency and very low frequency reproduction seemed limitless.  But, perhaps because of the abundance of high frequency information, the midrange seemed comparatively recessed. Emphasizing that this comment is based on my system. With the silver I felt I was hearing a strong emphasis on the drums/percussion, over voice and piano.  The percussion was amazing, but perhaps took too much of my attention.
 
Hapa Copper Aero RCA
The Cu cables seemed better balanced throughout the full range of musical frequencies to me.  The midrange stood out more, with clear and dynamic presentation. This cable seemed more attuned to my preference for jazz vocal and string quartet/classical.  Some call the CU warmer. My sense was of excellent integration between low, mid, and high frequencies. The clarity, soundstage/spatial dimension, musicality, pace, all the details of the audio experience were very naturally balanced, revealing, and musical.

In summary, the copper Aero sounded wonderful, as described above, and better matched my audio taste than the silver.

Also, nice photos of the cables as posted by Jason!  They really show how nice the cables look. 

Thank you again, Jason, for the opportunity to hear Hapa's newest interconnects!  I was very favorably impressed, as I was with the USB cable.  I can't wait to get these in my system.

BillC

[tnweaver]

Review from one leg of the tour...

This review was done with my headphone gear. My main 2 channel system is under construction and mostly balanced XLR cables anyway. I needed a single ended set of RCA cables for my DAC to headphone amp so gladly joined the tour to test drive the Aeros. Thank you Jason for the opportunity.

Setup and Pics:
- Matrix Audio Dac
- 2 stage push-pull headphone tube amp i built (7308 input with 6H30P output tubes)
- Fostex TH900mk2 headphones
- High powered linux desktop running Embedded HQPlayer and Roon. UP Squared Edge device running NAA. Music upsampled to DSD512 with HQPlayer higher order encoders and filters.
- Hapa Aero copper USB





Music selection for cable comparisons:
- Dracula and Friends Pt.1 (Antoine Dufour)
- The Beat Hotel (Allan Taylor)
- One (Mike Dawes)
- Don't Weep (Josefine Cronholm)
- Handy Man (James Taylor)
- Chalk Outlines (Ren/CHINCHILLA)
- Riverboat (Stanton Moore)
- Bewitched (Laufrey/Philharmonic Orchestra)
- Swing in a Round (Antoine Dufour)

Results:
My goto RCA cables for this setup "were" the mystique Arkana RCAs. Through the years I always navigate back to these cables. I compared these to the Aero copper RCAs. Very very close sound characteristics. The Aero's slightly won the battle with slightly better bass extension and natural warmth. Then came the Aero silvers. IMMEDIATELY I could hear the delightful differences. Much more full frequency spectrum details. Horns and violins were powerful but not too shrill. Songs above with male vibrato were more distinguishable. The edgy harmonies from Chalk Outlines were distinct, 3D with added goose bumps. These cables tamed my headphones which have a reputation for deeper bass (ie. actually hear the bass guitar/contrabass).

Next steps are to acquire a pair of the Aero RCA silvers

[Pez]

Billc,
Really excellent review! I appreciate you taking the time. I agree with you, the two cables have different and distinct attributes that lend themselves favorably to some systems with copper and others with silver.

tnweaver,
You nailed it too! Thank you for taking the time to post your thoughts!

The two of you are the ideal example of how each design might shine more based on the system they’re in. It’s truly amazing how these two materials can create such a unique sonic signature. 

The tour moves on! I am so pleased with the reviews! The amount of effort to design these cables takes months of work and years of development of my overall technique. To see the folks here finally hearing them and LOVING THEM makes it all worth while. If anyone reading these insanely positive reviews are interested in purchasing, let me know via PM!

[Pez]

Some weeks are rough when you run your own business. Back office stuff, taxes, buying parts. All this sort of stuff can be very frustrating. It’s easy to lose sight of the “why” of what I do. But occasionally I get an email like this one that makes it all worth while.



Thanks for your kind words Lloyd!

[Nick B]

Sometimes life can be very difficult.... Do you choose lobster or a steak? Prefer to drive a Rolls or a Lamborghini? Live in a mansion on a secluded beach or a luxury high rise in your favorite metropolis? Such are the hazards of being a music lover and choosing between Jason's latest cable offerings.

Jason has made two great cables. I really enjoyed both the copper and silver, but I have a very clear preference. I'm happy for Jason that he's been able to automate most of the cable polishing process and save on time and labor and.... cost for his customers! I auditioned the hand polished versions of these cables some months ago and remember how good they were.

The last couple of years I've really focused on noise reduction in my system. I use the PI Audio UberBUSS AC line filter and recently bought the excellent TWL Digital American II power cord which goes from the wall to the UberBUSS. I use the very good WyWires Silver series for interconnects and speaker cables. I also have Jason's silver digital coax which is outstanding.

My system consists of:

Orchard Starkrimson Ultra amp
Hattor Big preamp
JMR Voce Grande speakers
Holo Cyan2 dac
Holo Red streamer
Hapa Aero digital coax
WyWires Silver cables
TWL Digital American II p cord
Audio Envy p cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS

..... It is reasonably priced and affordable for me. Really great bang for the buck performance. The JMR Voce Grande speakers were pricey, but I got a great deal and they are the best speakers I've owned in my 35+ years in home audio. As to subs, I have a pair of the entry level Rythmik L12, but I never put them in for the auditioning. It's a sub phobia/aversion thing.... Some months ago, I hurt my back moving one of them and then a little later one of the Rythmik had a board blow, which Rythmik fixed timely and without issue. But that sub did need to go back to Texas for repair. When my back was feeling better, I took a trip to so. California, and for no reason, my back just gave out. I cut my trip short and was able to get help just to be able to get into my car. After 5 hours of nonstop driving in the apparently perfect ergonomic driver's seat, I was able to carefully get out of the car and..... stand up straight! Ever since then, my back has felt pretty good, but I haven't wanted to mess with moving the subs and putting them back in. Beyond the back thing, low bass response really isn't important to me. I rarely play music that goes that low and when I do, the JMR Voce Grande do a real nice job. Except when I play Jennifer Warnes Way Down Deep too loud. Lesson learned....  Soon I will put them back in to test things out again as a couple of very experienced audio buddies have said using subs is very beneficial beyond the simplicity of just getting the very lowest bass response. I do believe them and soon I will know how much of an impact there will be and if it's worth it to have two big boxes in the living room with the accompanying extra cables. I'm into downsizing and the less "stuff" there is in the house and garage, the better.

Both the copper and silver provided a very clean, pure sound. Excellent resolution, wide soundstage with depth. Beautiful tonality, no smearing, no hint of graininess. The copper are a bit more rich in the mids and as was mentioned here previously, they play louder! I had to turn the volume down quite a bit. I've never experienced that phenomenon to this extent. Copper wire on steroids! What the copper didn't do for me was give me the absolute magic that the silver provided. The soundstage with copper was like rose colored 20/30 vision. With the silver, it was 20/15. Absolutely stunning! The silver was so pure and provided more air, more precision, more of a nuanced and holographic presentation. That is really what I prefer. It is why I switched from the very good Supratek Chardonnay tube preamp to the exceptional Hattor Big preamp with AMRG resistors and New Class D opamp. That 3D, pure, exceptional holographic presentation is really what I prefer. If my system weren't so quiet, noise free and resolving, it would have been a toss up between the copper and silver. I tested that by putting the Supratek tube preamp back in. Not that much difference using a tube preamp. The copper and tubes were a great combination. Luscious, rich midrange with an excellent top and bottom end. I rarely go to see live performances.... the driving, the parking, the crowds, the cost, people coughing and sneezing etc. So I'd rather listen at home, undisturbed in my castle and hear a presentation that was closer to what was recorded in the studio vs the warmth and rich tonality that I do mostly hear when I get out to the occasional live performance. We each have our preferences. A year ago I would have preferred the copper. But my system has morphed and my tastes are more dialed in now, so silver is the way to go for me!


Great job, Jason, and thanks for the opportunity to have these in my home for too brief a time.

[Pez]

Nick,
Thanks for your review! I think you nailed it on the differences between the copper and the silver. The copper Aero lends a great midrange warmth and tonality that many systems benefit from. The silvers on the other hand are dead neutral and dynamic beyond anything else I have heard. Amazing what a difference more conductivity makes!

Also, I enjoyed emailing back and forth with you. Glad we got things sorted!

[nlitworld]

Jason, sorry for the delay on this. I was kinda busy listening to music the last couple weeks...  Finally, here are my thoughts on the new Aero RCA and how they stack to the others.

So disclaimer and to make a long story short, I've liked Hapa Audio cables since day 1. They've always presented themselves as a solid improvement from what I had heard previously. Even in my older VERY MODEST gear they showed great sonic prowess and value of investment that has scaled proportionately with each improvement in gear. As time has progressed, so has the design and quality of Hapa cables. This is one of those stories.

My current setup is a mix of decent quality & diy with a sprinkle of budget friendly still there. I'm a smidge under 40 years old and working for The Man, so what can ya do. My digital source gear is a media PC streaming to a HAL MS-6 server running F2K fed to an MHDT Atlantis DAC via Aero Cu USB. My vinyl gear is a Schiit Sol turntable with Benz Micro Zebra L feeding into a maxed out Tubes4HiFi PH16 phono preamp. Both of those go into a Tubes4HiFi SP9 preamp and then to a Jolida 202a. For speakers I have GR Research NX-Studios and sealed sub. Currently cables are a mix of Hapa with Quiescence C, Ember and Breathe C.



Initial impression of the new cables: Build quality always superb. ETI connectors on the Ag cables need some space. New cables not shoestring flexible like Ember or Breathe designs. These just ooze that high quality feel and clean construction.

First off I jumped in with headphones to get a taste of the Aero Cu.

Ernest Ranglin - Below The Bassline (Flac)
Every Time I Die - Low Teens (Flac)
Stevie Wonder - Signed, Sealed, delivered (Flac)
Opeth - Ghost Reveries (Flac)



The clarity is remarkable even over BreatheC and Ember. Not glaring or bright, but super duper open and airy and smooth. Transient attack of notes and dynamics are a lot more defined. Depth of soundstage a lot clearer to the back and sets a very believable soundstage front to back. Lots of the same flavor and tone of Ember, but turned up to the max.

Next up I fired up full system to spin some vinyl and busted out the Aero Ag.

Aero Ag turntable->phono and phono->pre
Aero Cu pre->amp

Thrice - Beggars - The Weight (Vinyl)
Water drop noise during intro. WTF?
Each note is ultra delineated from each other.
Not MORE bass, but BETTER bass. All the same weight, but much better pop and transient response to it. No mud here. Dynamite, not thunder. Ultra clean through mid-bass to mid. Gives initial impression of hi-fi u-shaped response, but actually just very neutral with no flabby fat mids. No rounded sound on either frequency extreme but never brittle or harsh at all.

Mars Volta - Mars Volta - Graveyard Love (Vinyl)
Cymbals continue to sound perfect. Tangible placement in space both left/right but also forward/back. Excellent separation of instruments where there was no congestion or confusion of sound. Holy crap.



These cables far surpass my gear ability. That is actually a first, even for Hapa.

Cu vs Ag

Back and forth between the two you notice how well the Ag highlights all the last inner detail in super clean fashion. Like X-Ray vision the Ag hides nothing. Cu seems to SIMULATE depth of soundstage a tiny bit better only because a few inner details are clearly there but still hidden a little farther back while the Ag SHOWS the extent of any recorded soundstage.

Dynamics are ever so slightly softened on Cu by comparison. Still certainly better than Ember which is really saying something. The Cu are definitely better at beautifying over faults in bad recordings. Ag is a bit more lively with notes seeming to have more bounce and pop. The Ag really are truth-tellers in putting through everything AS-IS. The better the source format and recording, then it is just magical.

Piano is so much better on Ag hearing hammer impact, piano body resonance, and harmonics. Much more lively.

Overall early impressions:
These cables deserve to be an entire chain rather than just one or two tossed in the mix. They are so much better than the other designs that as soon as an Ember or Quiescence gets tossed in the mix, the magic dwindles. The clarity of the Ag is a real show stopper, but living with the cables long term I would be hard pressed to not choose the Cu (later tube adjustments proving otherwise). Having that clarity from the Ag cables would allow better tube rolling choices for something a little more lush (NOS) rather than my Gold Lions & Tele searching for extra clarity. Currently favoring a little Cu in there with the Gold Lion tubes in place I could imagine an all Cu lineup would really favor some classD gear or tubes of nos Tele, Siemens CCA or Reflektor 6H23P ultra clean and open tubes for an ultimate setup. Both tube/cable pairings will offer ultra high fidelity and one hell of a good time. Just comes down to what matches your gear/speakers/listening. My setup is unique being small and nearfield with ultra resolving speakers so I need to always keep things a little bit in check. If I were to move this stereo into the living room, I wouldn't change a thing. Heck, maybe a good combo mix of Aero Ag and Cu is really where the sweet spot is at. Truely a cable for every flavor and mood rather than a Jack of all trades but a Master of none. I know people frown on viewing cables as tuning devices, but these really allow you the choice to "season to taste" and really maximize the sound out of your current (or future) gear without sacrificing fidelity in the slightest bit.

The earlier in the chain that the silver cable is, the more articulate it becomes. Phono cable most difference, phono->pre medium and pre->amp softened the effect.

Popping Ember back in from pre->amp softened things up and made things a little more lush and romantic. Definitely showcases clean but midrange focus here by comparison with richer lower mids and smooth highs. Strings sound wonderful and it's a beautiful sound you could listen to all day but drums and piano lose some their magic. The Aero does showcase how much of a difference a full cable loom makes over just piecing together a cable or two here and there.



More testing after extended stay with the cables but this with headphones:

DAC->Headphone amp direct
First song: Vienna Tang - Eric's Song (Waking Hour)
Quiescence C 1st
The overall impression is very smooth, tidy and consistent. By comparison, commits Sin of Omission with smoothing over some inner detail but never passing gross harsh sound of lesser recordings. Very polite. Otherwise fantastic cable but we're splitting hairs here.

Ember 2nd
Bigger sound, better pickup of detail and soundstage. Still very smooth but more dynamic and slightly forward presentation of vocal which is a good thing. ULTRA flexible cable construction.

Aero Cu 3rd
Slightly stiffer (by comparison) cable construction. Easy to route but not shoestring flexible. Same big sound and slightly forward presentation as the Ember, but with even better dynamics and WAY better detail retrieval. Catches vocal sounds so much better. "s" and "th" sounds catch the mouth movement creating a massive level of reality. Very good at capturing the ambient environmental sound. A cable that is always engaging but never calling attention to itself. An absolutely fabulous cable to "set it and forget it".

Aero Ag last up
Same slightly stiffer cable construction but the connectors are a little... "husky fit". Watch it if you have older components or tight circuit board layout rca plugs. Absolute best detail retrieval of any of Jason's designs. Yes, I'd put it over the Haiku in that department. Having swapped the tube in my dac during this review to a WE396A made all the difference to bloom out in all the right places but creating a VERY believable reproduction. I would not call this cable harsh by any means, but it did show the obvious limitations in my equipment. This is the first Hapa cable I've heard that far exceeded my modest gear and I felt I needed to step up my game. The sound was absolutely fabulous hearing detail that put you right inside the recording booth. The breathing into the mic, the mouth movements and annunciation of the vocals and the movement on the actual piano keys all create an unbelievable level of realism.

Next song: David Bowie - Rock N Roll Suicide (Ziggy)
Aero Ag first.
Strings are completely articulate and distinguishable between each string during the strokes. Massive layering with the multiple guitars and violins in the background. Drums completely centered never hiding in the back and are hyper articulate. Very very good dynamics from kick drum and snare. No muddiness or flubby drums whatsoever! Soundstage depth is huge.

Still Aero Ag:
Tenacious D - Wonderboy (S/T)
Same ultra dynamic drums but you can tell they dampen the kick a little. Kick drum had punch and attack but you can hear the skins have no extra reverberating energy. Have we gotten so articulate that I can tell the drum setup between bands? Holy crap. Layering in this song is fantastic. Acoustic guitar resonant sounds are just rich and palpable.o

Still Aero Ag:
Thrice - Weight Of The World (Beggars)
My digital copy (someone else's vinyl rip) doesn't do justice compared to my Vinyl record but all the inner detail is still there with this cable. Other cables in the group can hardly pick up the little snare rim shots or the water drip sound in the intro.

Back to Ember
Bowie: sound is much rounder. Smooth but missing dynamics (by comparison). Very easy to listen, but missing excitement.

Tenacious D: Kick drum is softer and missing the leading edge immediacy to the thump. Layering is missing some clarity and separation between all the instruments.

Thrice: water drop sound still audible but bass guitar sounds wooly rather than grainy and distorted. Snare rim shots are poppy but not snappy if that makes sense.

Still with Ember:
Alice In Chains - Got Me Wrong (MTV Unplugged)
Vocal harmonics on point as you would always expect from AIC. Guitar string buzz is palpable on acoustics. Nylon strings always have a certain fuzzy smooth sound to them and it is quite noticable.

Back to Aero Ag:
AIC - Strings on acoustics have SO MUCH MORE separation and tonality. Drums really portray the immediacy and snap you'd expect to hear live. Never muddy or congested sound. Dude...... the crowd involvement with the claps and "woooo" sound like they're coming from all around you with eerie realism.

So as much as I have gone back and forth with these cables, I keep finding myself forgetting to change them back for the next track. I just get lost in the listening for several tracks extra before coming back from daydreaming and remember I have a review to do.

Finishing up I moved to speakers and put on Dave Matthew's Band The Gorge boxed set. Having been to this venue several times (highly recommend) it is a fantastic venue. I keep drifting back to the Aero Ag and just pushed play. This album was really well recorded to capture the expanse of the soundstage and the vibe of the crowd involvement very well. Yep, I'm sold.

These are not intended for a modest system, but they could be an investment for a lifetime of later upgrades around these cables. It seems counter intuitive to buy cables first then upgrade gear around it, but these prove to far surpass almost all of my gear in quality yet still show their excellent sonic traits in a modest system. My dac, headphone amp, headphones are not even the $ of a 1m of these Aero cables, but the differences are still so noticable it is hard not to plan ahead. I've said it before and will again, cables are not and should not be an afterthought.

In conclusion, if you value keeping your hard earned money, DO NOT TRY THESE CABLES. Don't even look at them. In fact, set a parental block on your router to that website address. The Ember will never disappoint and is a solid foundation to really enjoy music. BUT if you wanna see how far the rabbit hole goes, jump in. If you want a very forgiving, articulate and always enjoyable cable, pick up the Aero Cu and you'll love it. It really does perform at an elite level and can bring joy into any system. This cable would be great if you have a highly resolving system needing to bring about a little smoothness and tone. If running a delta sigma dac or all solid state system, this is your guy. Truely a set it and forget it piece to insert in your system. If you crave the ultimate in hyper performance cables that squeak out detail, tone, and everything else good, then the Aero Ag are your ticket to sonic bliss. Tube gear with the right rolling proved absolutely fabulous. But again with that cable, make sure your gear is up to the task as it will not gloss over anything. Heck I rushed a new tube purchase just to double check my theory on that and it was true. These all have very similar sonic presentation of the "Hapa house sound traits" and it was so fun to hear the similarities and differences between them all. Jason, you have seriously outdone yourself this time. I'm already writing my Christmas list.

-Lloyd

[Tyson]

I agree Lloyd, these are the best RCA cables Jason has ever made. 

[dflee]

From the Aero Ag coax to the Aero Ag RCA to the Aero Ag RCA to the Torsion SC and the Aero Ag jumpers
I am in heaven. Full loom baby!

[Pez]

Nlitworld,
Friggin incredible review! It was really nice reading your thoughts on quite a few of my cable designs. Your thoughts really do reflect what I was going for from a design standpoint. Aero being the culmination of a lot of what I’ve learned.

We are down to the last few folks for the tour! It’s been a really great experience to see how well received these new cables have been.