Hand-built in France — usually ships in about 2 weeks.
Richard Cesari, who founded Esprit, thinks of a hi-fi system as a chain, and an AES/EBU cable is one of its links. A beautiful source and a fine amplifier can still lose the essential, he says, if the signal is harmed on its way through an AES/EBU cable.
The Esprit Gaia AES/EBU Digital Cable is a 110 ohm digital cable from Esprit's Gaia range. The Gaia AES/EBU cable is assembled by hand at Esprit's workshop in Confolens, in 1 and 1.5 m.
Heritage
Esprit calls Gaia the culmination of the technologies it has developed, its most advanced architectures at their highest maturity, and the Gaia AES/EBU cable is made in that spirit. Conductor density in the range is very high, built from pure copper strands of differentiated sections and, on some links, solid silver, and the Gaia AES/EBU cable draws on that work. Esprit describes the shielding of the Gaia AES/EBU cable as exceptional, with filtering intended to keep only its beneficial properties.
By hand, in Charente
In Confolens, Charente, the Gaia AES/EBU cable is made the way Esprit has always worked, entirely by hand. Esprit says this hand method lets it control every step of making the Gaia AES/EBU cable and keep each one consistent. Each Gaia AES/EBU cable then passes two complete inspections, one by its assembler and one at final packing, before it leaves the workshop. It is unhurried work, and the Gaia AES/EBU cable is made at its pace.
What you hear
Esprit speaks of extreme transparency, a three-dimensional stage and impressive stability from the Gaia AES/EBU cable. Its own summary of the Gaia sound is the finesse of the studio joined to the organic intensity of live music, an aim the Gaia AES/EBU cable is built to serve.
Its connectors are Esprit's own Eh Ag type, built around a pure copper body with a solid silver center pin and 20-micron silver plating, because Esprit designs a connector on the Gaia AES/EBU cable as an extension of the conductor itself. Inside, the Gaia AES/EBU cable uses a five core shielded plus pure silver plus pure copper plus Nomex construction, insulated in polyamide imide rated to thermal class 200°. Esprit specifies the shielding of the Gaia AES/EBU cable as multilayer full shielding, non-floating progressive shielding.
Finding your place in the range
The Gaia AES/EBU cable is level 8 of Esprit's nine, above Eureka and below L'Esprit. The Gaia AES/EBU cable is a 110 ohm cable with XLR connectors, offered in 1 and 1.5 m. You can see the Gaia AES/EBU cable beside the other Esprit ranges in our Esprit collection.
Specifications
| Range |
Gaia, Generation 10 (GenX), level 8 of 9 |
| Type |
AES/EBU 110 Ohm Digital Cable |
| Sold as |
Single cable |
| Lengths |
1 m (3.3 ft), 1.5 m (4.9 ft) |
| Connection |
XLR (AES/EBU) |
| Connectors |
Esprit Eh Ag connectors: pure copper body with a solid silver center pin and 20-micron silver plating |
| Impedance |
110 ohm |
| Geometry |
Five core shielded + pure silver + pure copper + nomex |
| Conductors |
Pure silver and pure copper |
| Insulation |
Polyamide imide insulation thermal class 200° + Double Nomex |
| Shielding |
Multilayer full shielding, non-floating progressive shielding |
| Plating |
20 micron copper/silver multilayer plating + center pin in Pure silver |
| Made in |
Confolens, France, assembled entirely by hand |
Questions
How does the Gaia AES/EBU cable differ from the Eureka AES/EBU cable?
The Gaia AES/EBU cable sits one level above the Eureka AES/EBU cable. Compared with the Eureka AES/EBU cable, the Gaia AES/EBU cable uses Eh Ag connectors in place of Eh 200, a five core shielded plus pure silver plus pure copper plus Nomex geometry and polyamide imide insulation thermal class 200° plus double Nomex insulation.
Which connectors does the Gaia AES/EBU cable use?
The Gaia AES/EBU cable uses Esprit Eh Ag connectors, which have a pure copper body with a solid silver center pin and 20-micron silver plating. Esprit has developed several connector generations so that each range, the Gaia AES/EBU cable included, has an interface matched to it.
What is the Gaia AES/EBU cable used for?
The Gaia AES/EBU cable carries an AES/EBU digital signal between components with XLR digital sockets, such as a transport or streamer and a DAC. The Gaia AES/EBU cable is a 110 ohm cable, the impedance Esprit specifies for this link.
What does the Gaia AES/EBU cable cost?
The Gaia AES/EBU cable is $8,499 for 1 m and $10,999 for 1.5 m. Sales tax is included in the price of the Gaia AES/EBU cable, and we deliver it free anywhere in the USA.
Where is the Gaia AES/EBU cable made, and when will it ship?
Esprit builds every Gaia AES/EBU cable by hand in its workshop in Confolens, France. The Gaia AES/EBU cable usually ships in about 2 weeks, with free delivery anywhere in the USA and sales tax included in the price.
From our boutique to your listening room
HiFi Boutique is an authorized Esprit dealer. Delivery is free anywhere in the USA, and sales tax is included in the price. Hand-built in France — usually ships in about 2 weeks.
