Review: Pure Note Epsilon Reference Interconnect


Category: Cables

I have been a supporter of the Pure Note brand of audio cables for the past year and I thought it was time to write a review of their fine cables. In this review I will focus on the Epsilon RCA interconnects.

These are no ordinary cables; the jacket is of woven metal (titanium and nickel), quite refreshing from common black braided plastic cables. They are slightly stiffer than a fat plastic jacketed cable. Wire is a bundled 7n grade silver extruded in virgin Teflon. The internal cable is air core. The cables are terminated in the Top Line WBT locking RCA’s, which are quality pieces. Build quality is superb.

Pure Note burns these cables on the AudioDharma cooker for about a day (this is the limit they have found). You will need another 100 hours plus in your system before they sound musical. I have compared these to many brands even the highly touted Nordost Valhalla. The tonal balance in my system is on the ying side, liquid and smooth. The imaging is free of hash and focused. There is no “silver edge.” I am quite pleased and of course, I own the Epsilon Reference speaker cables and their Sigma power cords, which are also excellent cables.

Pure Note offers a no hassle trial. Their prices are outstanding considering the quality and sonic presentation. See their web site for more detail: http://www.purenote.com

Associated gear
Krell

Similar products
Valhalla, Silver Audio, Acoustic Zen, Silver Smith.
sonic_genius
Sonic genius, I whole heartily agree. I also use the Pure Note Epsilon Reference IC’s and speaker cables in my system. I was very pleasantly surprised at the improvement I heard over all in the areas of bass, mid’s and highs with a SWEET timbre I never heard before. I think the Pure Note Epsilon Reference is a hidden treasure waiting to be found.

FYI, Tom shipped one of their PC to me today, which I should receive Friday. I’m anxious to hear the sonic differences it makes in my system after it breaks in.

I’m planning on a Pure Note Epsilon Reference v. HMS show down shortly. I’ll post my results. For other improvements read: http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?htech&1032915143&2&3&4&
I have been living with a couple of pairs of the Pure Note Epsilon Reference cables for about a month. Compared to others I have on hand (HMS GF, Transparent XL, Nordost Quatro-Fil), the Epsilon's are far more musical. Of course this is only one man's opinion and in my system. The cables are very quiet and focused, I can see into the stage very clearly. My other cables are hard sounding compared to these and the quality is not nearly as fine as the Epsilon. I also felt like I received a good value for the money.
Sonic, nice review on the PN's. I've had the Epsilon Reference in my system for several months and have been quite pleased with them.

Pure Note was great to deal with. My only concern is the very short 15 trial period. It's barely broken a few days before one has reached the deadline.

But still good product, company, people, and pricing. What more could one ask for?

-IMO
Has anyone compared the Pure Note ICs to the Jena Labs Symphony ICs? I am testing out some Jena Labs right now, and for me they set the bar for ICs under $2k/1M. If you have not heard the Jena Labs ICs, they are worth a shot... heh heh, especially if you can find them used. Jena Labs rarely come up on the used market because they offer such high quality sound at a sub-astronomical price (even at their $1100/3' they are worth every penny).

KF