Nostalgia Audio Lancelot Review: Golden Overhaul
Ever since the launch of Nostalgia Audio, this young Hong Kong brand has been creating inspiring products that quickly gathered the fan base. Nostalgia Audio currently has 3 tiers for their custom cable products: Entry series / Shielded series / Signature series. We’ve previously reviewed a variety of Nostalgia cables and IEMs which can be viewed here.
Today we’ll be reviewing the Lancelot, so far the only Signature series cable that has been released currently. Lancelot is priced at $1179 and positioned to be the flagship cable for Nostalgia Audio. Let’s put it to the test and see how it sounds.
Clever & Beautiful Packaging
The box has cleverly designed concept art. The outer box resembles a small frame sketched with Sir Lancelot. Sliding out the black outer sleeve reveals the full drawing and landscape of the inner package. Nostalgia Audio closely follows the story of King Arthur and Lancelot is one of the Knights of the Round Table and was the strongest among them. The Lancelot cable comes with an NA leather cable tie, a leather carrying case, and a warranty card. The black leather case has a matte finish and is roomy enough to store bigger IEMs and cables.
The Design
Lancelot has a gorgeous deep violet color for the outer sleeves. The wires are neither thin nor thick, which is still definitely comfortable for outdoor usage. The wires are also pliable so that it does not cause microphonics or behave bouncy. It has an average weight and is lighter than most fabric-based custom cables.
All components are finished with matte black, sand-blasted metal parts that give the cable a premium look and feel. The chin slider works well – which may seem odd why I would mention this, yet many cables nowadays have sliders that can’t slide or stay fixed.
Another thing I’d like to highlight is that Lancelot is only available in a 4.4mm plug. This would likely be due to the shielding structure and the sound tuning that Lancelot desires, hence 2.5mm or 3.5mm is not an option. This might be a drawback for those who don’t use 4.4mm, so keep this in mind. The IEM connectors are available in Rhodium-Plated 2pin or MMCX.
The Geometrics
As for the materials, Lancelot is comprised of Silver Alloy and Gold-Plated Silver wires. The core wires are specially silked with graphene and electrical oil for additional conductivity, which leads to better sound quality. These wires are then wrapped with Silver-Plated OFC shielding cables, preventing sonic interference from outside. This also leads to cleaner sound and background.
Further detailed specifications for Lancelot are as follows:
- Core: 25AWG Litz Gold Silver Alloy and Gold Plated Silver
- Shielding: 23AWG Sliver Plated OFC
- Special Technique: specially designed silk with Graphene and Oil on the core
- Plug and Jacks: Rhodium-plated CM/MMCX and 4.4mm plug
- Soldering: Mixed solder
Next Page: Sound Impressions / IEM matching