Nihal reviews the Effect Audio Leonidas Z 8-wire variant, the debut 24AWG hybrid element cable from the company’s new Chronicles of Legends series. It is currently priced at $2699.00.
Disclaimer: This sample was sent to me in exchange for my honest opinion. Headfonics is an independent website with no affiliate links or services. I thank Effect Audio for their support.
Click here to read more about the Effect Audio products previously reviewed on Headfonics.
This article follows our current scoring guidelines, which you can read in more detail here.
Effect Audio has been on a cable-building spree and has been quite busy lately. They refreshed the Signature Series, after which they released the Horizon Series of cables with three new models: Code 23 MKII, Code 24 MKII, and Fusion 1 2025. In between, they also released their ultra-flagship cable, CENTURION II.
This time, they have released the Leonidas Z, a cable in the flagship segment, in two different versions: 4-wire and 8-wire.
The Leonidas series of cables dates back to 2018 and 2019. Marcus reviewed two cables, the Effect Audio Leonidas II and the Effect Audio Leonidas II Octa. Back in the day, the Leonidas II Octa used to be the most expensive cable in production.
The new Leonidas Z is the first model in Effect Audio’s new Chronicles of Legends series. They have created this line to revive their iconic designs. This cable is offered in 4W and 8W configurations, with our review sample being the 8W version.
Pricewise, it is positioned above the Fusion 1 2025 cable but below the CENTURION II, so it fills a significant price gap.
Material & Geometry
The Leonidas Z cable primarily mixes three materials, with silver in the majority, supported by palladium and gold.
The cable has a central core of UP-OCC Pure Silver. A solid central core ensures purer signal flow, lower resistance, and greater stability. Around it are multi-sized core bundles of UP-OCC palladium-silver alloy, UP-OCC gold-plated silver, and UP-OCC pure silver.
Palladium and silver are known for refining the upper treble, while gold plays a role in enriching the midrange and upper midrange with warmth. So, the cable aims to primarily touch upon the midrange and treble regions, along with pushing the technical aspects.
The cable also uses EA Ultra Flexi™ Insulation for flexibility and protection. It comes with a default 0.78 mm 2-pin connection and offers plenty of customization options on the product page.
Design
The Leonidas cable carries a flagship vibe, and you know it the moment you lay your hands on it. The smooth build, with a slightly glowing body and very polished premium hardware, gives it an immediate high-end appearance.
The version here with me is an 8-wire one, and it exudes a bit more of a premium touch than the 4-wire counterpart. The transparent sleeve lets the conductor shine through, not very loudly, but rather with a very subtle glow.
The hardware has a silver finish and does not seem very bulky. The Y-split is worth a mention here. It has a large geometric shape and looks nicely cut at the ends.
The body is wrapped in calfskin leather and carries a laser-engraved “Leonidas Z” name. It feels very solidly built and has a very boutique-style touch. The leather is also hand-stitched, further upping the craftsmanship shown here.
The termination adapter and the 2-pin hardware follow the same silver finish. The good thing here is that these elements have a small footprint, so the cable does not feel very bulky. The 4.4mm termination is built using Pentaconn OFC.
The Leonidas cable carries a very premium look from top to bottom. In fact, this one carries a more soothing look than their flagship CENTURION II, which has a golden appearance that looks a bit louder.
The cable also gets Effect Audio’s ConX system, which makes connector swapping easy and keeps the cable compatible with 2-pin, MMCX, and Pentaconn Ear.
Handling
I have spent a good amount of time with the Leonidas Z, and handling is one area where the cable doesn’t really bother me. Being an 8-wire build, you expect some weight and thickness, but the cable is not overly thick, so it is always easy to use.
In fact, the cable shares quite a similar build with the CENTURION II. It has the same thickness, the same weaving, and a similar weight.
The Y-split has slightly more weight, which you may feel pulling down and adding tension to the wire, but it is nothing that would really irk you, even over a long period. You do not constantly notice it when wearing the cable, and that helps a lot during longer listening sessions.
The cable always feels well-behaved. Even when you store it or use it casually, it does not tangle much. Rolling it up is easy, and so is storing it.
Overall, the handling stays stress-free, which can become troublesome with many flagship cables. The best part here is the clean and smooth build of the cable wire.
The memory hooks here are very soft and won’t bother you with their presence when you are using the cable. With a lot of cables, they press slightly from behind, and it always feels like something is sitting on your ears.
Thankfully, I don’t get that feeling with the Leonidas Z, even when I have used the cable for a couple of hours.
Packaging & Accessories
Though I did not receive the full package, just the cable for the review, I am aware that Effect Audio ships the Leonidas Z in a standard package.
It comes in a sleek, matte-black rectangular box. The box has an illustration of an ancient Greek-style warrior, resembling a Spartan, holding a large round shield and spear.
The good thing is that they include a premium-looking leather carry case, and you also get the full ConX set. None of the other lower-priced premium cables, such as Fusion 2025 and CODE 24 MK II, come with any additional accessories.
This carry case is made from high-quality, handcrafted calfskin. Overall, there is not much more you could ask for with a cable.
Performance Impressions
The following sound impressions of the Effect Audio Leonidas Z were completed using the iBasso EPITOME, PLUSSOUND SONORA SE, and Softears Enigma, alongside my main source, Lotoo’s PAW Gold Touch.
Summary
The Leonidas Z brings about the refinement you would expect from a flagship cable. The good thing is that it does not target a specific frequency region; rather, it works subtly across the entire frequency spectrum.
That gives it more room to perform across a variety of IEMs. You get a slightly warm and cozy feel with this cable rather than an ultra-clean and crisp sound. However, it still pushes clarity and detail but does so in a very different way.
The main theme here revolves around a fuller and lusher presentation with a lot of musical touch. No, it won’t add much warmth to the mix, but the way it adds more body and weight to the notes is the main party trick.
Notes are more filled in and feel extra textured. This gives a sense of scale, along with a very natural and realistic presentation. Other than that, the background feels very clean, and notes lose their extra crispiness and appear easier.
There’s plenty of air and sparkle that the cable adds, but it keeps the top end very smooth. Instruments get more breathing room, layering improves, and the overall stage feels more organized.
Timbre
The Leonidas Z is more about adding richness and extra refinement than excitement to the mix. In the low end, it adds slight thickness and warmth. You get better detail and a more distinct and layered bassline, thus providing an overall better foundation.
The low end is tighter and extends deeper, with a slightly pleasing bloom around the notes. Bass feels bigger and bolder. This goes all the way to the lower midrange, giving you more meat on the bones. Male vocals and string instruments feel cleaner.
The midrange feels extremely refined. You do not get that crisp and precise kind of midrange; it’s more about extra naturalness and a musical touch. Notes strike with better detail and sound fuller.
Thicker and more detailed notes give you that extra-engaging midrange. The clean and dark background lets the details flow more easily.
Female vocals and instruments such as pianos and violins feel more extended and more detailed. Overall, the midrange gets more definition and a warm and emotional touch.
The top end is more reserved in the sense that the focus is never on energy and detail. It feels more settled in, weighing heavily on naturalness. You get a very correct-sounding top end with a lot of air and sparkle.
Notes feel like they have extra space around them. The shimmer and tones feel wholesome. So, even in busier passages, the details do not smear or collapse into one constant noise. It doesn’t matter if you are listening to a poor recording; the treble is always well-behaved.
Staging & Imaging
The Leonidas Z does not really scream about bringing transformative changes on the technical front.
However, if you sum up how it touches and refines each of these aspects, such as staging, imaging, and separation, you get a very evolved sound out of the IEMs.
The extra air and space around the notes give the stage a very open and holographic feel. It is felt more in the way depth and height behave, almost like a complete restructuring. The layering improves, and the front-to-back arrangement feels more spaced out.
Images feel more vivid. You get clearer outlines and more stable placement of instruments. The extra detail and musical touch carried by the notes paint a musically rich picture.
You immediately hear a stronger separation and a less congested mix. Instruments and vocals are given more room to breathe. Tiny details and those little nuances feel more alive, thanks to a very clean background.
The details become more naturally audible, unlike those that are pushed aggressively forward.
This is one difference that immediately struck me when compared with PLUSSOUND’s flagship cable, called the Palladium Fusion Hybrid, where the details are extra prominent and can sound off when paired with neutral or bright IEMs.
A firmer low-end foundation also contributes directly to improved dynamics. Macrodynamics benefit from this added weight and solidity in the bass.
This particularly helps the iBasso EPITOME, where the low end can feel neutral, and the overall sound can feel a bit clinical. The enhancements that Leonidas Z brings to the EPITOME over its stock cable are massive.
By adding air, improving spatial organization, strengthening image definition, and reinforcing the low-end foundation, the Leonidas Z produces a sound that feels more open, more musical, and more lifelike.
Click on page 2 below for my recommended pairings and selected comparisons.
