Hand-built in France — usually ships in about 2 weeks.
Richard Cesari compares building a phono cable to following a recipe. You can choose the finest ingredients for a phono cable and still get it wrong, he says, while the right combination gives excellent results.
The Esprit Lumina Phono Tonearm Cable is a pair of tonearm cables from Esprit's Lumina range. Each Lumina phono cable is made by hand in Confolens, in France's Charente region, in 1.2 and 1.8 m pairs and three connection types.
Heritage
Esprit describes Lumina as an uncompromising range, designed to reach a higher level of realism and musical coherence, and the Lumina phono cable shares that brief. Esprit reinforces the shielding of its Lumina phono links, and the Lumina phono cable is one of them. Esprit's Eh 200 connectors, with their thick multilayer plating, finish the Lumina phono cable. Richard Cesari has been making cables since 1996, and the Lumina phono cable carries three decades of that work.
Made by hand in Confolens
Esprit's team designs and assembles the Lumina phono cable by hand in its workshop in Confolens, Charente. Richard Cesari insists that assembly counts as much as materials, so each Lumina phono cable is checked at every stage of the work. The first complete check of the Lumina phono cable is made by the person who built it, and nothing moves on until it has been validated.
How it sounds
Esprit describes the sound of the Lumina phono cable as more fluid, dynamic and balanced, with a more stable stage, remarkable articulation and a transparency that reveals the slightest nuance.
The Lumina phono cable combines PVC and silicone insulation: Esprit associates the firmer PVC with density and bass weight, and the softer silicone with a more fluid, open midrange and treble. Its connectors are Esprit's own Eh 200 type, built around a pure copper body and center pin with 20-micron silver plating, because Esprit designs a connector on the Lumina phono cable as an extension of the conductor itself. Esprit specifies the shielding of the Lumina phono cable as non-floating, triple shielded in pure silver copper: filtered chassis ground. Each conductor of the Lumina phono cable is made of 40 strands of 40 AWG.
Choosing your phono cable
The Lumina phono cable is level 6 of Esprit's nine, above Aura and below Eureka. The Lumina phono cable is offered RCA to RCA, DIN to RCA or DIN to XLR, in 1.2 and 1.8 m, so check the output of your tonearm and the input of your phono stage. The full Esprit collection shows the Lumina phono cable alongside the rest of the family.
Specifications
| Range |
Lumina, Generation 10 (GenX), level 6 of 9 |
| Type |
Phono Tonearm Cable |
| Sold as |
Pair |
| Lengths |
1.2 m (3.9 ft), 1.8 m (5.9 ft) |
| Connection |
RCA, DIN or XLR |
| Connectors |
Esprit Eh 200 connectors: pure copper body and center pin with 20-micron silver plating |
| Conductors |
40 strands of 40 AWG |
| Dielectric |
Asymmetrical dielectric |
| Insulation |
High-Temperature polyvinyl chloride (PVC) + Silicone |
| Shielding |
Non-floating, triple shielded in pure silver copper: filtered chassis ground |
| Plating |
20 micron copper/silver multilayer plating |
| Made in |
Confolens, France, assembled entirely by hand |
Questions
How does the Lumina phono cable differ from the Aura phono cable?
The Lumina phono cable sits one level above the Aura phono cable. Compared with the Aura phono cable, the Lumina phono cable uses Eh 200 connectors in place of Eh 100 and shielding specified as non-floating, triple shielded in pure silver copper: filtered chassis ground.
Which connectors does the Lumina phono cable use?
The Lumina phono cable uses Esprit Eh 200 connectors, which have a pure copper body and center pin with 20-micron silver plating. Esprit has developed several connector generations so that each range, the Lumina phono cable included, has an interface matched to it.
Which connection should I order for the Lumina phono cable?
The Lumina phono cable is made RCA to RCA, DIN to RCA, or DIN to XLR. Look at the socket on your tonearm base and the input on your phono stage, or send us both model names and we will confirm the right Lumina phono cable for them.
What does the Lumina phono cable cost?
The Lumina phono cable ranges from $3,499 to $4,799 per pair, depending on the options you choose. Sales tax is included in the price of the Lumina phono cable, and we deliver it free anywhere in the USA.
Where is the Lumina phono cable made, and when will it ship?
Esprit builds every Lumina phono cable by hand in its workshop in Confolens, France. The Lumina phono 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.
