Synergy
The Effect Audio Cleopatra II OCTA is an excellent choice for those that want to maximize the performance of their monitors low-end in terms of quantity and dynamics.
The pairing with hybrid dynamic drivers was a stand-out aspect. For example, both the Noble Audio Viking Ragnar and the Empire Ears’ Odin low-ends sounded powerful with excellent impact.
Even BA monitors, which I find can be more conservative in bass tweaks, sounded beefier with the OCTA. TOTL all-BA IEMs such as the 64 Audio A18 was a good example of additional density and dynamics coming through on the lows with some extra roundness and girth on that very neutral A18 midrange also.
The Cleopatra II OCTA doesn’t sound as laid back as the Leonidas II OCTA for treble but it’s not a thin bright performance either. Rather, it is in focus with some additional influence on the coloration to better define notes compared to the softer 4-wire OG Cleopatra’s performance.
There is also a degree of more intimacy and aggression in the paired monitors with vocals and bass sounding fulsome and perceivably closer in their positioning.
Now, that does not mean that the monitors are congested sounding, because the Cleopatra II OCTA does very well in terms of holographic imaging and relative depth and headroom.
However, there is some enhanced thickness in their presentations whereas EA’s TOTL cables, the Chiron and Centurion, have a bit more width and air and are generally more spacious and complex sounding as a result.
The Cleopatra II OCTA will outperform the Leonidas II OCTA for bass definition and power. This is a cable I would prefer to pick for basshead pairings such as the Odin over the older cable which can give it a mellower and more laidback bass delivery.
Select Comparisons
The following select comparisons were completed using a mix of the iBasso DX320 MAX Ti, the Cayin N7, and HiBy’s RS8 as the main sources. For IEM pairings, the Noble Audio Viking Ragnar, Empire Ear’s Odin, as well as the Vision Ears Phonix were used.
Effect Audio Cleopatra (4-wire)
$699
The original Cleopatra was launched in 2019 and was part of the EA Heritage series before being recently discontinued in favor of the Cleopatra II. You can read our full review here of the Cleopatra.
Technical
The sample we have here is the 4-wire version of the original and not the older 8-wire OCTA so there will definitely be a performance difference between the two, and one that goes some way to justify the price differences also.
Both do have some high-level overlap though. The two cables focus primarily on a high-purity silver Litz wire with no exotic mixes, individually enameled, and a similar 26AWG gauge.
However, the big change is in the geometry. The original used a 7-core bundled Litz-type configuration with multi-sized stranding and a golden ratio approach for the layering of the wires within the Litz build.
The Cleopatra II OCTA also uses proprietary Litz multi-sized stranding and a septuplet bundle structure but they are split between the wires with half of them multi-sized stranding and the other half a septuplet core bundle structure.
The multi-sized stranding is for the body and warmth whereas the septuplet core bundle side is designed to enhance the cable’s performance in terms of overall clarity.
Design
The Cleopatra II OCTA is a much bigger and heavier cable than the 4-wire Cleopatra but given the additional wire count that should come as no surprise. It is also the better of the two in terms of design aesthetics and build quality and in a way, it shows how far EA has come with cable building in the last 4 years.
Gone are the original’s mesh of carbon fiber finished plugs, polished casted stainless-steel splitter barrel, and the older connector barrel design. In comes titanium throughout with a more aggressive and complex barrel design that looks premium and grips better.
Now this particular OG Cleopatra II was terminated with a 2.5mm TRRS and has no ConX, something which you can get with the detachable TermX system on the Versatility pack of the Cleopatra II OCTA.
Since this is the OFC 4.4mm Pentaconn Performance version I cannot do a like-for-like comparison of the plug. Using an OFC material will shape the Cleopatra II OCTA performance a bit more and is better suited for balanced outputs from modern DAPs which now almost exclusively use 4.4mm.
Of course, you can use an adaptor with a 2.5mm TRRS plug but you have to bear in mind the adaptor is soldered differently and may have different wiring. In some instances, I have found 3rd party adaptors to have stronger impedance and diminished performance compared to an end-to-end cable termination of the same wire.
Comfort-wise, the 4-wire jacket has stiffened over time, perhaps a reason behind the Cleopatra II OCTA’s thicker but softer Ultra Flexi jacket. Both are low for memory retention with the 4-wire slightly superior for low microphonics performance and a bit lighter on the ear.
Performance
With this comparison, I went with the iBasso Dx320 MAX Ti and the Viking Ragnar.
The most immediate difference is the dynamic range and you can put that down to Cleopatra’s 4-wire versus the OCTA’s 8-wire build. Just a better setup for conduction and you can hear that come through with just how much more immersive the soundstage is compared to the original.
The 4-wire Cleopatra does well, it’s still a great 4-wire cable but the clarity on the furthest reaches of the soundstage combined with its depth is both soft and relatively indistinct on the Ragnar compared to the Cleopatra II OCTA with the same IEM.
For the Ragnar to sound optimal you really need a setup that fills that huge soundstage with well-defined spatial cues and excellent imaging accuracy. The Cleopatra II OCTA beats the OG 4-wire with a deeper blacker holographic performance and better definition of those background sound effects and subtle cues, especially through the mids and highs.
The low-end is punchier and more detailed from the Ragnar using the Cleopatra II OCTA but I expected that to be honest making the jump to 8-wire. There is some additional power and sub-bass presence but it really again the level of definition and spacing behind and around the low-end notes that stand out more.
Both have a smooth tone to them, but not so much that they radically change Ragnar’s treble performance. If the track is bright the Ragnar will still show that with either cable. Rather, the performance Cleopatra II OCTA will just sound the more refined of the two for sibilance and not quite as edgy.
Effect Audio Leonidas II OCTA
$1999.99
One of the classic EA cables with both the 4-wire and just after the OCTA version leading the way in the Heritage series in early 2019. It follows a similar road map to the Cleopatra II OCTA with the OCTA succeeding the original Leonidas cable a few years after. You can read our full review of the Top Gear Award-winning Leonidas II OCTA here.
Technical
Compared to the Cleopatra II OCTA’s singular high-purity silver wire, the Leonidas II OCTA has a very complex material lineup and pulls from the Og Cleopatra’s geometry also.
Inside, you have a hybrid mix of 26AWG 8-wire golden ratio palladium-plated silver and Litz silver with the strands individually enameled in a woven 7-core bundled Litz-type configuration.
The Cleopatra II OCTA 26AWG 8-wire high-purity silver wiring also uses a proprietary Litz individually enameled multi-sized stranding and a 7-core bundle. However, they are both split into a new dual geometry, (4-wire each) with a specific target focus of warmth and body for the multi-sized stranding side and clarity for the 7-core bundle side.
One very obvious external technical difference between the Leonidas II OCTA sample I have here compared to the Performance Cleopatra Ii OCTA sample is length.
It seems that EA has added around 10cm more length to the new cable over the older one. It could well be that the newer Leonidas II OCTA length has also been increased over time to match.
Design
Although both are 8-wire cables, the Leonidas II OCTA is volumetrically the smaller cable.
Putting aside the additional length which might just be a product tweak over the last 4 years, the braid of the Leonidas II OCTA is the tighter of the two giving it a much slimmer appearance.
However, the Cleopatra II OCTA Ultra Flexi jacket is softer, and to get that perhaps it’s a thicker coating which should mean it will not be as firm over time as the Leonidas II OCTA’s jacket.
Aesthetically, well it’s organic’ over utilitarian with enough of that Centurion and Code 51 vibe in the Cleopatra II OCTA’s edged titanium barrels compared to patina leather-wrapped aluminum alloy barrels. The new titanium connector barrels also feel sturdier compared to the older and stubbier chrome-finished versions on the Leonidas.
You can get both in TRRS 2.5mm though with the performance version of the Cleopatra II OCTA you will receive a fixed 4.4mm OFC plug. Just remember, the Leonidas II OCTA is a fixed connector design so there is no ConX of TermX capability with the former Heritage Series flagship cable.
Both handle well for 8-wire cables, are low on microphonics, and feel very disciplined when handling though with additional weight behind the ear compared to their 4-wire counterparts. The Leonidas II OCTA has a small comfort advantage due to its slimmer shorter size but its memory sheath jacket material feels a little firmer also behind the ear.
Performance
For this matchup, I went with the Empire Ears Odin combined with the HiBy RS8 as the main source.
Since both cables are 8-wire I didn’t find any noticeable difference in volume levels when switching between them but perhaps a minor advantage for the Cleopatra II OCTA for dynamic range and the blackness of the Odin’s background during playback.
If you want a high level of their differences beyond that it really is down to the ‘sense of urgency’ and energy from each cable pairing. I like the Odin to be weighty, fast, and dynamic in its delivery but keeping a lid on the upper mids and highs and preventing them from being shouty or peaky.
Now both cables are excellent at doing that but the difference was the Leonidas II OCTA delivered everything in a more languid and laid-back manner. It lacks a little urgency with an ever so slightly softer treble performance and less chiseled bass response from the Odin lows.
The Cleopatra II OCTA seems to bring some additional clarity and space on the Odin lows. You could describe it as a little more thrust and aggressiveness, and a shade more body on the sub-bass response with the HiBy RS8 in Turbo mode.
It also has some additional extension and treble presence that does help to tighten up the mids timbre on the Odin but without it sounding sharp.
The Leonidas II OCTA is comparatively warmer, perhaps a little softer or sweeter, and though it really meshes well with the Odin upper-mids I prefer the Cleopatra II OCTA/Odin’s better dynamics on the lows.
Effect Audio Chiron
$2999
The Chiron is one of Effect Audio’s newer high-end cables launched back in early 2022 and was also our Top Gear Award winner for the same year. You can read our full review of the Chiron here.
Technical
The Chiron wire consists of a hybrid of two metals, the gold-plated silver-gold alloy used in the flagship Centurion cable, and the gold-plated silver last seen in the Horus X. The Cleopatra II OCTA is a single high-purity silver wire.
The Chiron gold-plated silver-gold alloy is also a fused single element per multi-sized strand and not a mix of strands with individual metal elements. The UP-OCC gold plated silver is a signature element used in the Hall of Fame and like the Horus X, it is 5N rated.
Both are 26AWG 8-wire geometries with multi-sized stranding but the geometry is quite different. The Chiron also uses a 7-core proprietary Litz build with similar geometry to the Centurion. It has a configuration of 6 outer bundles of gold-plated silver with the gold-plated silver-gold alloy as the central bundle.
The Cleopatra II OCTA uses the new dual-wire geometry first seen in the Signature series with a split of 4 wires of proprietary Litz multi-sized stranding and 4 wires using a 7-core bundle.
Design
The external of both cables have quite an aesthetical contrast. Before I go into that, both cables are of the same 1.2m length, unlike the Leonidas II OCTA which was a few cm shorter.
However, like the Leonidas II OCTA, the Chiron has a slimmer profile courtesy of a different style and thickness from its Ultra Flex jacket. Quite apart from the darker chocolatey aesthetics, it’s a bit thinner and rougher in texture.
The Cleopatra II OCTA jacket if softer but thicker which is the main factor in its wider girth. It is also transparent whereas the Chiron jacket is matte monotone brown so one of them shimmers with silver sparkle, and the other has a darker vibe.
That is accentuated by the barrel finishing which, by the way, is titanium on both. The Chiron round barrel finish is gunmetal-toned combined with some overlaying dark carbon fiber prints. It’s a homage to the past designs updated to suit the darker jacket of the Chiron and has quite a harmonious look to my eye.
The Cleopatra II OCTA finishing is more classic raw titanium for the barrels similar to the Centurion and Code 51 finish. It has more of an angular styling but is also much bigger for the 4.4mm OFC performance plug barrel. I have the 2.5mm version here of the Chiron so a smaller plug but you can also get it with the OFC 4.4mm plug.
The handling is somewhat similar though the Chiron might feel different due to the textured jacket finish and slimmer jacket finish. Both do not offer much difference in terms of low memory retention and microphonics, both are above average for that.
Performance
For our final comparison, the Vision Ears Phonix was selected and combined with the Cayin N7 as our main source.
I think EA has positioned both cables rather smartly in their lineup because at least with the Phonix, and to my ear, the Chiron offers a bit more in terms of imaging complexity and staging headroom compared to the Cleopatra II OCTA.
The Cleopatra II OCTA colors the Phonix timbre a little warmer, with a stronger fundamental and more aggression on the low end. However, the mids upwards has more of a rounded tone to the notes and what I would describe as a narrower and more intimate staging experience compared to the Chiron.
The Chiron adds some additional air and casts the staging out a bit wider allowing more residual spatial information to shine through.
The treble shimmer is stronger and more elaborate compared to the Cleopatra II OCTA with the Phonix giving most notes an additional cleaner element in their harmonic balance. That, in turn, ups the presence of background detail, (sparkle), with the Phonix bass also sounding a little cleaner and snappier.
Of the two, the Cleopatra II OCTA is the smoother and denser, but maybe at the expense of a slight reduction in holographic staging, or at least compared to the Chiron, which is one of EA’s most expansive cable performers to date.
Our Verdict
The Effect Audio Cleopatra II OCTA is an excellent and innovative IEM cable and is proof positive that silver does not have to mean lean and clean.
It also looks snazzy with a high level of durability in those attractively designed titanium barrels and is very flexible for connectivity with ConX and TermX.
It has excellent dynamics, more than what I was expecting, and meshes really well with monitors that have excellent bass capability. If you want your tone smooth and natural but with a bit of sparkle up top combined with excellent imaging capability then this is a good pairing.
Is it the most expansive pairing? No, Effect Audio has more open and spacious sounding offerings but they will cost you a lot more than this 8-wire creation which, to be honest, is extremely good in terms of height and depth in its own right.
I can’t tell you how much better the OCTA is over the new 4-wire Cleopatra II since I have yet to review it but compared to the original from 2019 this is a substantial improvement.
Effect Audio Cleopatra II OCTA Specifications
- Selected premium UP-OCC silver Litz
- Proprietary ‘Dual Geometric’ design
- 26 AWG 8 Wires
- Individually enameled strands
- EA UltraFlexi™ insulation
- ConX & TermX interchangeable connector/plug system
