Demo Hi-End Esprit Audio Cable Products:  

• Pure copper 40 micron silver-plated connectors
• Asymmetrical dielectric on air
• 720 strand pure copper conductor
• Asymmetrical strand construction
• Air layer partial screening

December 2014 - from 6 Moons Reviewer: Joël Chevassus

All Esprit cables are guaranteed for life and made by hand safe for the entry-level Linea range starting with raw copper conductors.  When cables manufacturers solicit us for review, they usually suggest their top models to achieve the very best results in absolute terms. Richard Cesari didn’t. Instead he proposed I review similarly priced products compared to the Triode Wire Labs review. Such modesty is uncommon. In France, Cesari is well known for his cables but also as the inventor of the Rendistor, a component tweak adopted by a few French loudspeaker companies. Its main principle is a dielectrically coated conductor into which electrical connectors plug from either side without any contact between them whilst creating a magnetic field to polarize the central conductor. This Rendistor invention addresses HF/RF noise.

As a result of this view, Richard Cesar early on determined the main cornerstones for Esprit Cables. These consist of a balanced scheme of high-quality long-grain copper conductors. Cesari works with rather large conductor surfaces and unbalanced dielectric geometries. Much care is devoted to his own pure copper connectors with thick silver plate of almost 40 microns to avoid the usual shortcomings of eddy currents, capacitive reactance and micro arcing when silver is applied too thinly. He views this as today's best option for high conductivity. Cesari also considers mechanical damping of all cable constituents important (conductors, shield, insulation, connectors) and believes its impact to be significant to the final result. On the shielding front, Esprit cables get highly protective shields and since the Eterna range, Cesar adds a further polarization system to reinforce it

In fact, Richard Cesari’s background isn’t limited to the manufacture of audio cables. As a passionate audiophile since the tender age of 16, he released his first product at 22 with the turntable Esprit. He worked in loudspeaker manufacturing since 1995 via design collaborations with EKLA and ARC Audio.  In 1997 he started his first studies oh cables and the first versions of Esprit cables launched as the Reference, Signature and Master. By 2002 he launched his first Esprit speaker called DB7 that would never be formally marketed. This was a very original design of a closed enclosure with a top-firing woofer and an isolated mid/hi baffle floating in front of it. The enclosure stacked wooden layers of 8cm thickness. The total weight of 127kg per unit was just as impressive as the unusual design.

Returning to today’s cable topic, Richard Cesari—who as you will have understood is very creative—considers cables to be passive components which regardless of brand or price can only incur signal losses. His approach to cable design is thus articulated for two goals. On one hand, he must reduce these losses for maximum data retention across the audible range. On the other hand, he must avoid signal alterations. He thus takes great care to do no harm, including paying attention to proper phase response.

As a result of this view, Richard Cesari early on determined the main cornerstones for Esprit Cables. These consist of a balanced scheme of high-quality long-grain copper conductors. Cesari works with rather large conductor surfaces and unbalanced dielectric geometries. Much care is devoted to his own pure copper connectors with thick silver plate of almost 40 microns to avoid the usual shortcomings of eddy currents, capacitive reactance and micro arcing when silver is applied too thinly. He views this as today’s best option for high conductivity. Cesari also considers mechanical damping of all cable constituents important (conductors, shield, insulation, connectors) and believes its impact to be significant to the final result. On the shielding front, Esprit cables get highly protective shields and since the Eterna range, Cesari adds a further polarization system to reinforce it.

Over the past 15 years, his catalogue has grown over eight generation into its current range of 9 families. The Linea range is a simple oxygen-free Teflon-shielded copper wire. Then comes the Alpha range with pure copper conductors, 40 micron silver-plated connectors and stronger shielding. The following Beta series is the topic of today to be discussed later. The Kappa range uses an asymmetrical dielectric on an air layer with partial screening and a 720-strand pure copper conductor. The Celesta line introduces balanced interconnects not available in the lower ranges and 1’120-strand pure copper conductors for each speaker cable. The Eterna range introduces a battery pack which puts the cable’s dielectric into a comparatively high-voltage field of DC. Its speaker wires are made of 1’680 pure copper strands whilst interconnects run 810-strand conductors.

The Beta interconnects are a symmetric design within an asymmetrical dielectric. They look rather pretty and their build quality is among the very best in this price range I’ve encountered. The conductors consists of 650 strands of pure long-grain copper. Richard Cesari applies progressive shielding with full optical sheets and mechanical damping.

Celesta Speaker Cables - 2M Pair Demo Cables - Current Cable in Line up

2M $1,020. New Price  1 Pair available Demo Price $695. Factory terminated in Spades.                 E-Mail: info@kaplanhtdesign.com

Esprit cables’ extreme sophistication ensures that every product that leaves our workshop is exceptional. We can answer the needs of the most demanding of audiophiles, the ones who look for reference cables made with passionate care. Insulation is guaranteed by the attention given to components, from their selection to our most pertinent manufacturing process.

AT THE HEART OF MUSIC

Esprit cables are designed to carry the musical signal inside your high fidelity system without altering it, while preserving the full quality of the recording. Our passion for music and many years of research and listening make the sound reproduction very natural and free flowing, producing a rich and detailed musical message, giving many emotions.

EXPERTISE

Esprit built its expertise through the constant evolution of its designs and manufacturing methods. We consult professionals and audiophiles who search for a life-like and natural musical experience. As the result of several years of research and a technical savoir-faire, Esprit cables offer an unmatched quality of sound.

• Pure copper 40 micron silver-plated connectors
• 1120 strand pure copper conductor
• Asymmetrical dielectric on air
• Asymmetrical strand construction
• Air layer partial screening

Pricing sold in Pairs

2M $1,020. New Price  1 Pair available Demo Price $795. Factory terminated in Spades