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"I'm simply convinced... LessLoss has the answer. Best of 2021."

December, 2021, author: Srajan Ebaen
6moons has chosen the LessLoss C-MARC Entropic Process series of cables out of 106 reviewed products from various manufacturers during the year 2021 as their pick of the year!

"I'm simply convinced that for a very relaxed utterly grain-free and liquid sound, LessLoss' C-MARC Entropic range has the answer."

Product details:
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"a major win" "an arsenal of universally useful traits"

November, 2021, author: Dawid Grzyb
"The Lithuanians' goods aren't trophy-fi, but smart-fi, targeted to well-aware enthusiasts primarily focused on performance."

"voice rendered spot on, delicate and fleshy, yet distinct, precise and suspended in a breathing living space"

"supportive bass line didn't skip a beat and was fully controlled."

"evenly sorted across the entire audible range."

"perfectly composed, outlined and textured in a way that was fleshy and free from any hints of nervousness."

"more realistic"

"that instrument's every string pluck felt powerful, resonant, substantial and sustained"

"smoother, weightier and lingering in the air a bit longer."

"On dynamic range, smoothness, instrumental hydration and fine soft edges, the LessLoss clearly took the cake without second guesses."

"its in-built silencing action greatly contributed to rendering surrounding space as breathing, touchable and three-dimensional for a very pleasant "alive" feel."

"rendered the same image closer and partially bent around, to effectively surround me by it to a larger degree."

"had all outlines in check and didn't feel unclear at all."

"landed more pleasing, weightier sonics overall. That was a major win by my standards."

"more connected, coherent, heftier and nimble"

"substantial, vibrant and mighty without subtracting anything from its original character"

"scored higher on firm instrumental structures and humane artful vocal line."

"This fully-fledged C-MARC is geared for a particularly fetching silence and associated spatial blackness upon which all else blossoms."

"more than enough to elevate performance of a vast majority of setups I can think of, and keep any listening fatigue at the door."

"tonally even and safe, the risk of their counter-productive input is vanishingly low."

"In this context today's product wasn't designed to repair, but rather support a sonic outcome already achieved and to preserve and cherish its character."

"working extremely well in my main audio system."

"highly organic and resolving"

"did a splendid job."

"arsenal of universally useful traits"

"proved far less situational than most cables I've come across."

"Its wooden laser-engraved bullets turn it into one gorgeous looker"

"exceptionally slinky, so it's very easy to use."

"utmost obedient mechanical behavior."

"scored far more points on ease of delivery, detail retrieval, smoothness, color range, sensible ambience, tangibility, control and dynamic contrasts."

"superiority across pretty much the entire gamut"

"profound potency and subsequent impact"

"spatially extremely gifted, properly radiant, sensual, articulate and earthy at the same time"

"spectacular effects, simple as that."

Hifi Knights
6moons
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"best I have experienced in my system."

November, 2021, author: Ken Redmond
"it succeeded in giving me that '3 am' listening experience"

"a layer of artificiality is removed to reveal a more truthful presentation of the music and the artist's intent"

"The colors were richer, the palette was more profound, and the background canvas was calmer. Everything results in an acoustic image that is less distracting"

"Upon initial listening, I was immediately struck by the change the Firewall 640x brought to my sound."

"The tension that I associate with electronic reproduction in general and digital reproduction specifically was significantly reduced"

"It was simply easier to listen to music and allow myself to be fooled by the illusion and bath in that illusion for long periods."

"It is as if my whole body relaxes and does not feel the need to "work" to listen to the music."

"The entire performance was raised to a level I had not previously heard in my listening room"

"The performers' individuality was more outlined, and the Wah-Wah sounds of the different horns were very distinct. I could tell if the horn was directly facing me or slightly off-angle."

"the Firewall 640X takes applause to a new level of reality in my system. The individuality of the clapping hands and the character of each clap is much better distinguished. Crowd noise and whistling in the background, along
with the applause, were all the best I have experienced in my system."

"quiet details are more fully revealed and subtle notes have a bit more dynamic quality standing out against the background in more significant relief."

"The decay of notes and the sense of space is magnified, pulling you into the music. As the piece progresses to its peak, instruments remain locked in place and maintain their individuality."

"I did not sense any dynamic compression with the Firewall in place."

"I was enamored by the impact of the Firewall 640x. Piano tone and body take on greater weight, and individual notes become more easily understood. The very subtle nuances of Ms. Horn's singing were more apparent. Sighs and breaths took on a more significant role in the emotion of the song."

"Brushes on the skin of a drumhead are more detailed, and I was able to understand better the drummer 'working' the brush on the drum."

"The impact of the Firewall 640x was not subtle, and it was quickly apparent in my system. Many types of information were more readily revealed, the space the recording was made in, the reverberation trail of the instruments, the individual components of harmony, subtle inflections of the artist on their instrument. Voices and instruments have a more truthful timbre and occupy a more believable space and yield more dynamic expression within that space. All of this led me to feel more connected with the music as it sounded less reproduced and more accurate. I will say this 'connection to the music' was more consistently present in my system throughout the day and night than has been in the past."

"I will tell you now that I will be adding the LessLoss Firewall 640x C-MARC to my list of 'waypoint' products that have reset my expectations in a product category."
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C-MARC Entropic Process RCA interconnect: "This is cable stuff which moist dreams are built on."

October, 2021, author: Srajan Ebaen
"...richer deeper tone."

"...more enhanced sense of spaciousness."

"...thicker and richer"

"...the antidote to forwardness and grain."

"...a fat compliment to the Lithuanian."

"like + like = like2"

"In my book, that makes these latest LessLoss cables a very advanced proposition."

"...it was all give no take."

"...infused by uncut treble"

"...made it go deeper and eliminated any ambiguity or conditionality."

"...a truly excellent sonic adventure."

"This is cable stuff which moist dreams are built on."
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"At the top of my list."

September, 2021, author: Dawid Grzyb
[First, on the C-MARC standard version power cable]

"The LessLoss C-MARC power cable was their first product reviewed at this site, and awarded with our Victor badge on top of that. Three years ago I knew of no better solution, which is why two of these cords have been on duty under my roof ever since, and their use time can be counted in thousands of hours by now."

"LessLoss C-MARC's delivery was fully free from any excessive shine, itchiness, tension, nervousness and metallic tint, but at no cost paid by diluting the message or making it dull. Their approach took some edge off music without making it prettier than it was."

"...managed to blend clarity, transparency and backdrop blackness with tone, saturation and roundness, but in such a way that any biases towards any specific trait were kept in check. This evenness and polish were the clear sign of a higher-tiered, more mature performance."

"...C-MARCs rendered the same view deeper, wider, filled with more subtleties and higher oxygen content, which translated into more precisely outlined and articulate sound sources with no harm done to their humane textural fill."

"...multi-layered, breathing and utmost dark canvas sealed the deal. All in all, I've found the original C-MARCs very easygoing, relaxed, refined and meticulously balanced, and three years later my take on them didn't change."


[and on the C-MARC Entropic Process power cable]

"Now, moving on from the first C-MARC generation of power cables, their entropic-processed sibling is alike-profiled at its core and there's no question about it, but at the same time it offers substantially more."

"Although similar to the original, the latest C-MARC isn't just its slightly better version. On several counts it's a noticeably different product that also quickly revealed itself as far better by my standards."

"...both compared C-MARCs, quite identical in appearance, had me in for a big surprise. I first imagined that noticing any firm distinctions between them should take at least several days with enforced yet helpful breaks along the road, but that wasn't the case at all. [...] where the latest LessLoss positioned itself had revealed itself to me within minutes, and that I truly didn't expect."

"The newcomer C-MARC's take on the usual repertoire was quicker, more oxygenated, direct and immediate, just as if its general meta took a firm turn towards the hi-res route."

"...more articulate and speedier..."

"...perfectly clean."

"How my setup staged was the biggest difference of them all."

"The entropic-processed C-MARC located me inside that highly potent huge aural illusion even closer to sound sources than its kin, so it secured more points for their visibility and sensible physical feel."

"...packed more punch to net a substantially more elastic, sportier and tactile outcome, and had voices less chunky, yet more organic and articulate in comparison."

"Potency was the key word yet again."

"...pushed my rig's performance more. ...it simply became better."

"Considering how LessLoss' newly processed power cord presented itself against its very accomplished previous version, and how much this design progressed over the last three years in general, its price increase is fully justified in my book."

"Now the C-MARC Entropic Process power cord joins it at the top of my list."

"When I get to choose between penning a story about, say, a DAC and power cable, the former seems the far more appealing route in most cases but not today."

"LessLoss' noise-silencing technology is its most interesting and important work."

"...quite an unexpected surprise that this latest incarnation offers."

"My tip of the hat to team LessLoss for improving their own C-MARC game this meaningfully, and not charging an arm and leg for that progress."

Hifi Knights
6moons
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Firewall 640x provides "next level insight" - "the best aspects get even better"

June, 2021, author: Werner Ero
[This article appears in original Dutch language in Music Emotion print magazine.]

"...a very different and special product."

"...a startling increase in ease, tranquility, fluency, relaxation and integrity."

"...you are closer to the actual intent of the music itself and much less concerned with reproduction."

"Significant strides have clearly been made here."

"The Firewall 640x shows very well that the blow with the brushes on the snare drum and the bass lines played by John Illsley sound completely natural and more importantly, that all band members really audibly playing together!"

"With the Firewall 640x really new insights arise. It sounds more intimate, involved and colorful and when I equip all the devices in my chain with these wooden devices, there really is next level insight into this beautiful album. Magnificent."

"...being able to disconnect even further from so-called 'hi-fi' listening and thus make even better contact with the intention of the performers."

"...the almost complete disappearance of the previously observed rounding that strikes me the most."

"This Firewall 640x makes music anything but soft and soft. No, what I mean has more to do with the observation that most hi-fi equipment applies a subtle (or less subtle) 'hard' edge along the contours. Think of it as a make-up eye-liner. The Lessloss 640x removes this line and thus shows the person or in this case the music in a more natural way."

"The mains pollution is dealt with in a more natural way and as a result you can get closer to the performers. As far as I'm concerned, the strength of this product lies in more and deeper musical satisfaction in the long term."

"It is downright clever and intriguing how Louis Motek and his team time and time again, with almost insatiable hunger, an increasing level of knowledge and enormous motivation, manage to improve their existing designs time and time again. Anyone who has been acquainted with Lessloss products before will immediately recognize the hand of the master here as well. But on a much higher and more refined level."

"This is another one of those rare products where you miss them when you take them off the chain."

"It is also clearly a long-term solution that you will appreciate more and more and where the 'magic' takes more and more possession of the user, as it were. A fact which is caused on the one hand because the audio set will perform more easily and smoothly, but also because of the increased naturalness with fewer artefacts that invites longer listening sessions."

"The beloved reproduction of your own beloved audio system remains completely intact and recognizable. Only then further stripped of clutter in the mains and in terms of tuning with an intriguing ear for the best aspects that get even better."


Original review in Dutch
Automated English language translation
Republished review in FWD magazine
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"Onset of treble glare native to your system will delay or disappear altogether."

April, 2021, author: Srajan Ebaen
"Sven Boenicke of the eponymous speaker house and Martin Gateley of sound|kaos have embraced LessLoss Firewall tech by optionally installing it inside their speakers. That's quite an endorsement of its efficacy."

"Clear changes."

"Made the sound darker, softer, denser, moved it forward then dialed up contrast."

"An unusual twosome, namely higher contrast plus softer darker density. Those don't often go together. Here they do."

"Without losing resolution but rather gaining separation, the treble feels smoother, less lit up"

"Contrast/resolution improves."

"The progression from zero to four 640X to four C-Marc Entropic was one of growing wood. That's not a lame locker-room quip but a description of how cello and piano transformed from metallic strings to resonant tone-wood bodies."

"Taking the [multiple Firewall 640x'es] out again was - really bad by comparison."

"The overall sound acquired lengthier decays for richer tone and removed the edge burrs."

"More density whose gravitational aspect also felt darker."

"More audible decay action whose overlap with following transients wrapped them in fine reverb gossamer to seem softer. Simultaneously subtle venue cues floated up into awareness."

"A cleaner purer treble followed the same trend."

"Worked like a massage therapist honing in on trouble spots."

"It became dead obvious: microdynamic range had expanded."

"Gave melodic arcs more expression."

"The instrumentalist's or singer's small inflections and accents registered as deeper so had more wiggly life and less flat-lined dynamic evenness.
As you play really loud, the onset of treble glare native to your system will delay as well or disappear altogether."

"A pair of [C-MARC Entropic Process Firewall 640x] on the first connection strikes me as similarly potent as a Firewall for Loudspeakers on each speaker. So it's fair to say that the Firewall 640X C-Marc Entropic is equally effective to grandfather into the earlier award."

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"The most analog type of its kind I'm aware of"

March, 2021, author: Dawid Grzyb
"Although it's no news that sonic results scale up along with signal clarity, I'm aware of no other company as fanatical on this specific count as LessLoss."

"LessLoss Echo's End Reference isn't a regular DAC but the most minimalist hassle-free machine of this particular sort"



On the Echo's End Original version:

"Music presented in effortless, fluent and organic fashion emerged as the Original's highly valuable key attractor, but additionally augmented via generously euphonic expressiveness and enjoyable freedom from digital tint and harshness, which back then I took as its very much vinyl-like charm."

"wasn't overly thick, sluggish or bloated, but pleasantly earthy, organic"

"emotionally engaging and focused on quality, sensuality and maturity instead of quantity, exposure and abnormal twitchiness, which led to a fatigue-free pleasurable ride."

"always felt pleasantly gravitational and cohesive but never overdone or extreme in any way."

"its enchanting, calm, euphonic and composed voice was free from fuzz and dilution"

"tastefully executed pleasant undisturbed music flow"



On the Echo's End Reference version:

"These extra muscles effectively position today's DAC far higher on counts relevant not to expressiveness or charm but sheer power, RPM, elasticity and insight. Speaking cars, think of this product as a large safe SUV that just underwent a major engine rework to net twice the horsepower. The ride's as comfy as ever, but now that sleeper disguised as a family drive can do 0-60 times fast enough to leave many sporty sedans in the rear-view mirror."

"The Lithuanian was very capable on bass reach and control, but also managed to inject extra weight and roundness into this range without penalizing its agility or might"

"This DAC knew well how to charm and slam at the same time, and that's one of main reasons why I see it as substantially more composed and clearly better versus the Echo's End Original."

"The Echo's End Reference rendered virtual sources inside smaller more distant frames, was a fair bit denser and had its backdrop darker to elevate ambience, to accordingly feel more atmospheric and invite me there to its own place."

"The LessLoss had the highs suspended about a row deeper yet pleasantly substantial, lingering in air for long and all the while perfectly visibly, which was quite the achievement considering its natural aspiration for chocolaty flavor."

"...more sedate, mature, calmer and picturesque."

"Clarity, accuracy, tonal generosity and substance are traits that don't usually match in equal proportions, let alone having them all this pronounced. Neither the Echo's End Original, nor AMR DP-777SE, Lampizator Golden Gate or any other DAC I'm aware of managed to blend all these features just the way today's Reference specimen did. I strongly think that its ability to do so this potently and have bass in check to slam hard upon demand is its highest most unique trait. After all, how often do we get to hear a naturally earthy D/A machine that's also very capable on articulation and dynamic might?"

"this DAC is the most analog type of its kind I'm aware of, it has a very strong personality of its own"

"...injects that particularly captivating sonic moisture, elegance and maturity into setups without compromising on clarity and agility. If you fit that profile and financially can swing it, then the LessLoss Echo's End Reference might be the last DAC you'll ever buy."



Hifi Knights
6moons
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"Improved the sound of every speaker I used during the review period."

March, 2021, author: Mark Blackmore, music educator
"By removing a previously unnoticed noise intruding on the music, there was now a quietness, a focus, a relaxation to the sound that was instantly recognizable, even when heard from another room."

"With the Firewalls installed, familiar recordings displayed newfound reverberation trails around instruments; treble notes were purer yet still exciting, and percussive attacks were quicker, with increased force. Instruments and voices that I had previously thought of as well reproduced by my system were now more truthful in timbre, their image placement on the soundstage was clearly drawn, and ambience was greatly enhanced."

"Before installing the Firewalls, I had assumed that the treble range would be affected the most, but in my system the midrange also benefitted from the Firewall's noise reduction."

"better recognition of lyrics."

"saxophone tone was also improved"

"I could now easily follow his clarinet"

"and have a newfound admiration for his performance."

"When a product makes such an immediate and obvious difference in my system, I'm curious to hear if that is due simply to synergy with my gear or if the results can be duplicated in other systems. So I arranged to listen to the Firewalls in two friends' systems."

"After the Firewalls were installed, the applause at the beginning of the track had more definition, with individual claps apparent instead of a wash of sounds."

"The Firewalls eliminated the added harshness from his voice, but kept the treble true to the microphone's sonic signature. The resulting sound was much closer to what I imagine is the recording's true sound, more like listening to the feed from the mixing board and less like hearing it through the PA. This was a great improvement to an already fine system."

"the Firewalls did a fine job of cleaning up the treble and improving the separation and clarity"

"After connecting the Firewalls, not only was the sound more clearly heard, but the improved clarity revealed that it also panned from left to right in a straight line."

"the Firewalls improved the focus and clarity for a clearer picture of the performers."

"The Firewalls delivered full frequency response without dulling or blunting the leading edge of treble attacks, and that held true with every speaker I heard."

"this track now sounded like a well-engineered studio recording with lots of layering and spotlighting of solo instruments."

"the Firewalls produced a more accurate representation of the recording"

"the treble was considerably cleaner."

"there was greater differentiation between each singer, as a unique voice in the recording's mix."

"The LessLoss conditioners took this system up quite a few notches in that respect. Later that night, Chris texted that with the Firewalls removed, the tracks we had listened to had lost their 'reference quality.'"

"In each case, the Firewalls improved resolution in the upper midrange and lower treble. I was able to follow complex musical lines more easily and have discovered new low-level information in material I thought knew very well."

"the Firewalls can be daisy-chained in series for even better performance, and that proved to be true. The soundstage grew deeper and wider, with the treble becoming even smoother and sweeter."

"it produces an addictive result."

"It needs to be viewed as an important addition to an audio system, and it improved the sound of every speaker I used during the review period."

"always musically significant, accompanied by greater resolution that extended well into the midrange. The LessLoss Firewalls ensured that I heard all the music my system was capable of."
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