Here's where the sound chapter should start but instead of the usual profiling, let me take you through some of my playlist tracks which mapped the cable's performance and character. For contrast I had just one sparring partner, Audiomica Laboratory's Amber-modded Erys Excellence which replaced my Boenicke Audio IC3 CG. Those quick to ask why the latter didn't participate should know that it and the C-MARC Entropic Process are both made by the same Lithuanian shop. It didn't feel right to compare them.

My swaps connected one or the other cable to a LampizatOr Pacific DAC and Trilogy 915R preamp. Let's start with Eivør Pálsdóttir's track "Verð Mín" built upon a large darkish background, her finely outlined vocals supplemented by gentle bass pulses. After about a minute that landscape expands significantly. Delicate ethereal choirs step in to boost the soft dreamy atmosphere. The LessLoss rendered Eivør's voice delicate and fleshy yet distinct, precise and suspended in living breathing space. The gentle yet meticulous so not cautiously served bass line didn't skip a beat to be fully controlled. Audiomica's take was noticeably slower, grainier and more chiseled. Its syrupy bass seemed more pronounced at first but in time this glossy approach struck me as more coloured, not as resolved and certainly not as clean. The more the two products clashed, the more the Lithuanian emerged as the more evenly sorted across the bandwidth.

The same artist's "Trøllabundin" structures even simpler with a vocal line and massive omnipresent bass blows presented on a haunting landscape. Eivør's voice is the focal point but how it intersects with a large drum in that generously oxygenated spooky environment is key. This bass which follows her high calm precise singing either makes or breaks the song. If it's wobbly or bloated, everything suffers. Here the Entropic C-MARC had the lady perfectly composed, outlined and textured in a way that was fleshy and free from nervousness. Audiomica emphasized her voice as a bit higher and noticeably sharper at +80dB SPL. More importantly, its noticeably bloomier character caused smear to dilute the supplementary bass line and render it lazier. Its delayed arrival resulted in a fuzzier outcome while the lyrics yet again were excessively crisp and dry so less subtle. Moving on, at some point Eivør's voice just a hair from the microphone transitions from naturally soothing and intelligible to an ominous growl. The Audiomica cable rendered that more distant, slim and sharp, the LessLoss positioned it closer to my ears for a more realistic effect.

To follow with atmospheric minimalist fare, Carter Burwell's "Blood Trails" from the No Country for Old Men soundtrack is a particularly interesting case which brilliantly builds anxiety early on. One feels that something is about to happen but then a large chasm followed by a big calm acoustic guitar mellows everything for a more relaxed ride. With the LessLoss, the guitar's every pluck felt powerful, resonant, substantial and sustained while the Erys rendered it hollow, shorter and less impactful. Such delicate jobs require an amount of radiance and it's fair to mention that the LessLoss had less of that but didn't seem any less clear for it. Its dosage of sun and earth applied more evenly and careful but the major difference was in how it portrayed rattles and quick swishing bits heard frequently on this track. The Audiomica presented these elements as grainier and simpler, the LessLoss smoother, weightier and lingering a bit longer.