The following Top Reader Voted Cable scores are assigned by the readers, (‘Score’) and apply only to all reviews where a slider voting system exists. This list includes all cables reviewed up until the end of 2020 that are not currently with an ‘editorial score’.
Please note the list will change dynamically as readers continue to vote. Higher scoring cables will automatically replace lower-scoring cabless. They will also continue to change as we progressively work our way through any historical reviews and add a voting system. When we hit Jan of each new year, the previous years cables will be put into this grouping.
These lists are not to be confused with our forthcoming Editorial scoring lists which are the top gear as reviewed and scored by our review team. Those lists will form the basis of our Awards at the end of the year. Once the year is completed the Editorial scores will be deleted and the ‘annual top lists’ will start over again.
For more information on how we score click here.
Top 30 cables as voted on by our readers
The Effect Audio Centurion is a dynamic, expansive, and exquisitely resolving cable pairing with just about every capable monitor I tested. Yes, it does out slam Code 51 and yes, it does widen the imaging field over the Horus X, markedly so.
9.1
Reader's Score
$3999
The Effect Audio Chiron almost feels like a direct response to the Centurion's bombastic and high contrast excitement with a more relaxed and very smooth sounding performance when paired with our tested monitors. If mids are your fourte, complete with creamy vocals and plenty of space for them to breathe then it's the perfect complimentary cable to the flagship's exuberance.
9.1
Reader's Score
$2999
The PLUSSOUND Tri-Silver is a monster of a cable if you are into soundstaging and immersive imaging. Whilst it has a slightly timbral difference to the Effect Audio Leonidas 2 I strongly suspect an 8-wire version of the Leo 2 would pretty much be heading in the same direction.
9.1
Reader's Score
$1599.99
Code 51 is a blast of energy from top to bottom and will make practically any worthwhile monitor sound the same. Particularly dynamic drive hybrids that need a mix of power and separation.
9
Reader's Score
$2388
The PLUSSOUND Hybrid+ teases out a big-sounding, vivid, and engaging quality to beefy dynamic driver setups and pushes hard on the mid-bass punch with woofer BA configurations. It's a solid mix-up of the best qualities from its sibling cables, the Copper+ and the Silver+
9
Reader's Score
$1299.99
The Effect Audio Janus is perhaps the most agreeable sounding cable I have heard in a long time. If you want a rich sweet-sounding midrange with a hint of euphony in your instrumental timbre the Janus Dynamic is supremely effective in delivering that.
9
Reader's Score
$1399
This is a very smartly 'tuned' high performing cable from PLUSSOUND. It takes the technical prowess from the Tri-Silver and adds more body, smoothness and an altogether sweeter sounding timbre. I can see this being a much more flexible choice than the Tri-Silver in terms of synergy with a wide range of monitors
9
Reader's Score
$999-$1999
This is a really engaging, and punchy sounding cable and quite remarkable in terms of the excellent power it can deliver for a 4-wire. I have heard 22.5AWG cables a few years back with less clarity and openness despite the thicker gauge which is a testimony to the performance cable companies can now pull from increasingly complex materials.
9
Reader's Score
$1399
The Astral Acoustics Reference Silver is very neutral but also a very dynamic sounding cable where the name Reference seems suitably apt.
9
Reader's Score
$750
If Leonidas II made me want to buy the Leonidas 1 to see what the original fuss was all about then the Leonidas II Octa creates a fuss that makes me want to sell the Leonidas II. This is the most technically brilliant cable I have heard from Effect Audio to date.
9
Reader's Score
$1888
The Leonidas II makes me want to buy the Leonidas I just to hear how Effect Audio made their name from the original entry. This is a true hi-fidelity sounding cable that absolutely brings out the best in terms of holographic staging and clarity in imaging with just about any monitor.
8.9
Reader's Score
$888
The Horus X is still a 'hi-fidelity' choice, a cable that loses nothing from the original Horus in terms of allowing that treble to shine through. However, it is also a slightly more natural and balanced sounding pairing. You also get some additional low-end warmth that really helps smooth out the tone and produce a more balanced staging performance.
8.9
Reader's Score
$2499
The Effect Audio Eros S is an excellent hybrid copper and silver Litz IEM cable. From the soft and supple design, all the way to its smooth and lush midrange, impressive imaging, and layering capabilities, it performed impressively with both our tested IEMs.
8.8
Reader's Score
$299
The Tri-Hybrid is one of the most balanced sounding cables I have heard to date from PLUSSOUND. It has less overt coloration than the Palladium-Plated Hybrid or the Tri-Copper and slightly smoother on the top-end compared to the Tri-Silver.
8.8
Reader's Score
From $899.99
If I had to pick one Zillion Sheep cable, it has to be the NU-1. It is the most dynamic of the cables with the best harmonic balance and the most immersive staging quality. It pairs well with just about every high-performing monitor I could pick out. The NU-2 is more niche for vocal lovers whereas the NU-3 will find joy with EDM and expansive ambient sounding synth-wave enthusiasts.
8.8
Reader's Score
¥180,000
The PLUSSOUND Copper+ is the perfect upgrade cable from the Tri-Copper EXO and for those looking for something a bit more complex and airier sounding without losing any weight or richness in their monitor tonal quality.
8.8
Reader's Score
$999
To me, the PLUSSOUND Silver+ is exactly how a good quality silver wire should sound like. Nothing is over-emphasized, with an excellent focus on detail and clarity and a specific panache for hybrid monitors using electrostatic drivers. Pure, controlled, articulate without ever sounding unnatural or edgy.
8.8
Reader's Score
$1499.99
This is an attractively built copper cable with a superbly low-microphonic performance. It has a performance synergy with our tested monitors that is natural and sweet in tone, articulate and airy with a nice focus on producing a clear sounding staging quality.
8.7
Reader's Score
$250
The quality of the Athena build, combined with this type of riveting sound signature is a serious market disruptor to the current thinking about what a palladium silver hybrid cable should cost or simply what kind of performance you can expect from any cable at this price point.
8.7
Reader's Score
$799
The Effect Audio EVO 10 is a peppy, high-impact cable that pairs really well with dynamic-sounding monitors or those with good vocal presence.
8.7
Reader's Score
$588