Here in the southern united kingdom Spring is here in full glory. This means that, in a temperate climate such as ours, wet days with grey clouds are now rivalled in number by days with real warmth in the air, blue skies, and glorious golden light in the morning and evenings. As I sit in the workshop this afternoon, listening to the many birds that inhabit the trees surrounding my home, I have even seen two young buzzards circling above. I am on the lookout for the my first Red Kite sighting of the year. Young children play distantly in another garden, bringing back not-so-distant memories that make me smile unconsciously. These thoughts and distractions please and ease me after a busy day.
This week I shall complete the final back-logged orders from my order book. I have just one overdue power cable order for which I need a plug (still waiting on that) and then there is the new MCS-80 power cables to complete. This is a something I hope to get into next week, it is just a case of keeping up the momentum.
EWA Range 25
It is most gratifying to see how many audiophiles and music lovers also love the designs Colin has made with EWA, even after they have waited in some cases for ages to hear them. The almost universal approval and good wishes toward him are a result of his extraordinary mind and abilities. As the person selling his wares, I am especially appreciative that the various ranges are not just cheapened, compromised versions of that could be accomplished. The 25 series of cables has it's place in a true high end audio system, and has seen incremental advances over the years. It really is sold far too cheaply when compared with products elsewhere that supposed to compete - but they mostly just don't. Those who cannot afford the heavy-duty designs truly do not have to miss out!
EWA range 40
The EWA 40 series is an advancement from the 25 in all but character. In a general setting, played at moderate volume, the 40 series is similar enough to pass for the 25 series as the design is similar. However, 40 goes further at the cost of value, in pursuit of performance and excellence. The articulation these cables brings to music is an extraordinary thing to experience, particularly when played at a more substantial volume than moderate. The articulation, detail and informative presentation is not just a take-it-or-leave-it affair, rather an intimate musical experience your are invited to personally share in. The loudspeaker cables are very similar indeed to their 25 brethren, except they have have almost double the conductors which allows a greater scale and control over larger soundstages, typically produced by larger loudspeakers. But with a keen ear all the additional detail information and emotion is presented by the entire 40 series even on lower powered systems or smaller monitor type speakers. This is all about the quality.
EWA range 80
The 80 series is set for a proper expansion very soon. LS-80 contains a total of 92 individually insulated conductors in each leg of cable, and that is not even hat makes it remarkable! But focusing on that for a moment, we have the benefits of large amounts of surface area for phenomenal bandwidth - this means bass, impact, scale and control. We also have shallow copper which gives us filigree detail and information retrieval. There is very much more going on, but that is for us! Shortly the IC-80 interconnects will be released with a unique triple shielded configuration and electrical damping for harmonic control. The MCS-80 incorporates a sophisticated DC blocker and mains treatment facility on a bulked up MCS-40 cable, which will be another unique design. In all the 80 series is a triumph of function over form - the designs are bulky and impractical and however hard we try to make them elegant, they just aren't. But they sound... incredible, and are for the time being our definitive statement of what EWA cables can do. And by extension, what we think can be done by anyone.
All these products are designed by Colin J. Wonfor, and somehow his work just really gets us closer to the music we love so much. I am often amazed at the ability of music to move and free us from the moment, most especially from a well-sorted audio system at home. There is something about being so close to a captured reality and the musical event that causes a thrill, one which we love in a concert hall and especially as a shared experience. But oddly even at home, alone, when the reality of that musical moment is laid out, this time just for you and for no-one else - it somehow feels like an extraordinary privilege every time. I love that, I love that sometimes, on a good audio system, all the music is just for me.
This is why ABCaudio advertises Colin's EWA cable system with tag-lines such as 'Awe Inspiring Audio' and 'experience everything'. Arguing technical merits of cable (especially cables - ) is a total waste of time, even if I had the technical knowledge to really do the subject justice. I believe it is possible to do so and I have heard Colin do so, but I know I cannot.
I am not aware of an audio system that has not benefited in some way from Colin Wonfor's EWA designs. Perhaps listener bias comes into it on some level, although we often find that listeners are comparing EWA to much more expensive cables. I have to admit myself that bias and feeling nonetheless plays an important part in how we enjoy any given experience, whether a musical moment orany other. My reality today is that I am sat here in glorious Springtime, moving from a time of darkness towards something better. All my senses are stimulated and telling me I am happy, that this is good. At moments like this music causes my spirits to soar! But other times, when I can use some comfort and consolation in my solitude, I also find the ability of music to move me just as irresistible and profound. And this experience of everything a musical piece has to offer, the entirety of a captured musical moment, the presence of the performance as a reality set before me, is so complete and believable because of the excellent design work Colin put into the EWA cable system. I can only make so much sense of capacitance, inductance, mutual magnetic coupling, skin-effect and electron drag, impulse response and bandwidth and harmonics and phase. But experiencing all of my music, feeling the intensity and the glory of it all, I can advocate for that, just like I can wax lyrical about the Springtime. If that is what we are selling, then I am even more proud.