Medicine

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Laiv Audio Harmony and Sonnet Pasithea; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monoa on subwoofer; Headamp: Kinki Studio THR-1; Phones: HifiMan Susvara, Meze 109 Pro; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Kinki Studio Earth, Furutech; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra on all source components, Vibex One 11R on amps, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, LessLoss Firewall for loudspeakers, Furutech NCF Signal Boosters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox Loudspeakers: MonAcoustic SuperMon Mini + Dynaudio S18 sub; Power delivery: Furutech GTO 2D NCF, Akiko Audio Corelli; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Audioquest Fog Lifters; Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
Desktop system: Source: HP Z230 work station Win10/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC: iFi Pro iDSD Signature; Head/speaker amp: Enleum AMP-23R; Speakers: Acelec Model One Headphones: Final D-8000 & Sonorous X, Audeze LCD-XC, Raal-Requisite SR1a on Schiit Jotunheim R, Raal 1995 Immanis & Magna [on loan] Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail: ~€1'250/1.5m depending on headphone

Mateusz Przychodzien aka Matthew or Matt of Polish cable house Forza Audioworks has been my designated headfi wire wrangler from when I attended a particular Warsaw audio show. During it, Dawid Grzyb hung about Matt's exhibit. Then and there my most loquacious self encouraged Dawid into launching his own site. Why only cover accessories for a corporate hi-tech blog? Together with Marek Dyba, Dawid eventually launched HifiKnights. We've been collaborating ever since. And whenever I've needed an aftermarket headfi leash, I ordered it from Matt. Like once bitten twice shy in reverse, once satisfied meant coming back for seconds and thirds. Dawid and I also had excellent results with LessLoss noise filters and cables. He and Matt live in Warsaw. It was foregone conclusion that Matt would not only hear Dawid proselytize poetically over his Lithuanian loaners and owners but lay on his very own ears. That apparently involved some very real sound healing because our man at the Warsaw HeadFi embassy ordered himself a special kilometre's worth of raw LessLoss C-MARC cable to fashion into custom headphone harnesses. That's his business after all.

Got wood? Holding up the reveal were Matt's supply struggles for his wood sleeves. Obtaining parts to his standards proved challenging. Just so he could already supply me a 2.5mm/XLR4 leash to fit my HifiMan Susvara and loaner Palma Audio DHS-1 whilst I still had the LessLoss Firewall for Headphones from its review. All I'd lack were the wooden trim bits. The above ¼" prototype attaches to an XLR4 plug which Matt had made for Dawid's own review of the Firewall off his 6.3mm-only Enleum AMP-23R. Obviously my lack of wood wouldn't cause limp sonics. My photos simply wouldn't show the fully dressed look with wooden ends and splitter. Final pricing remained contingent on the cost of the pending parts. Even the formal model name was still up in the air. In the interim I'd go with TBA for both. None of it was proper cause to dismiss a rare op: compare the Firewall effect on a stock headphone cable to Matt's headphone cable amp-direct; then the combined lot for the full LessLoss hit. How much of the noise-reducing action was due to the C-MARC cable? How much credit must go to the far pricier Firewall? Could slimmer wallets split the difference with one of Matt's quad-braid cables? That surely was a lonely question looking to hook up with a sexy answer.

What makes C-MARC unique? Nelson Pass was granted US patent #5376899 for his Super-Symmetry circuit. That maximizes anti-phase distortion cancellation. "Super-Symmetry works by exploiting the complementary characteristics of precision-matched balanced circuits to differentially reject distortion and noise. It extends this symmetry to make distortion and noise virtually identical on each half of a balanced amplifying circuit. This gives as much as a 100:1 reduction in unwanted signal components without requiring the equivalent amount of negative feedback. It is simply much easier to tweak the two halves of the circuit into symmetry than to eliminate the distortion in each half of the circuit."

LessLoss' complicated 'super-symmetrical' geometry of their Litz harness does something similar for signal/power cables which secretly moonlight as noise antennae. Also, "the dual-fractal balanced cable and its proprietary Entropic Process go beyond the cryogenic treatment widely implemented in this specialty industry". Refer to their site for an in-depth explanation. Litz construction implies individually enamelled conductor hairs. To strip this enamel from each hair without breakage for a conductive solder area requires specialized equipment and skill. The conductor mass involved makes it extra challenging to fit tiny HeadFi plugs. These photos are from the bench of Louis Motek. They make the point with an XLR4's pins. Whilst raw C-MARC wire is available off the spool to DIY, it'll take the rare solder jock to do a proper job for headphone leashes.

LessLoss themselves weren't too keen on it so happy to let Matt take on that product segment.