Herron VTPH 2--what cables are you using?

Thanks bpoletti. I also think the vtph2 sounds great with the Herron cables; however, I was recently speaking with a professional in the business who has owned the vtph2 and found that different cables for the vtph2 made a big difference in his system. That conversation sparked this question.  If I put the new cables in and hear no difference or a diminution in performance, I will send them back. But I figure I have to try it at least. Have you compared any other cables in your all-Herron system (which I am sure sounds great)? Thanks.

For my VTPH-2, I've tried grover interconnects, Morrow MA-1, and anti-cables but I kept coming back to the Herron interconnect. Then, last December I installed a .9 meter pair of the TEO Audio Game Changer "liquid metal" interconnects.  Jim Jordan of Vaughn Loudspeakers recommended them. At that time you could buy the interconnects as a special here on Audiogon, but they've disappeared since then. They were $400.  Now you have to go to their website and contact them to get prices. Once those cables broke in, they were in a class by themselves.  The most noticeable cable improvement I've ever made. Silky is the first word that comes to mind.  There's sort of a naturalness to them.  Completely non-fatiguing.  Detailed, but unforced detail.  At the time I put them in, I was using a Lyra Delos.  Since then I've switched to a SS Zephyr MIMC and had Keith upgrade my phono stage.  Once I got the Zephyr azimuth, VTA and tracking weight dialed in on my ET 2.5 tonearm, the system achieved a level of transparency and resolution that was way beyond what it had been. The Zephyr pulls a disappearing act.  I understand now what "freedom from mechanical artifacts" means. It's more like to listening to a master tape. If it was a tad warmer, that would be fine, but that's nitpicking. I had a party a week ago, and the most telling indication is that my wife was talking to a friend in the listening room while the music played quite loudly, and she didn't ask me to turn it down. That requires near zero distortion.  The new interconnect, the upgrade to the VTPH-2, and especially the Zephyr, make for a stellar combination, but since I installed the TEO interconnect first, pre-upgrade, while still using the Delos, I'm confident in my observations about it.   Arsh - if you wouldn't mind, could you describe what improvements you see going from the Zephyr to the Paua?  I'm considering that upgrade. 

Mkiser,

Long time fan of Keith’s VTPH-2 myself. What upgrades did Keith perform on your VTPH-2?

Thanks,

Tim

BTW, I've got a Nordost Frey 2 interconnect between my VTPH-2 and my Belles Aria integrated amplifier.

Beatlebum,

I honestly don't know the details of the upgrade.  It was $325 including shipping, so not a lot of the really expensive parts.  My takeaway is more "punch".  The technical term I suppose would be macrodynamics.  The noise floor is lower.  It took about 20 hours to break in.  Well worth it, but again it was in the context of a cartridge change and cable change.

Mkiser, the Zephyr is a great cartridge. The Paua adds a lower noise floor, and more resolution and refinement. I love them both, but the Paua is better. Hope this helps. And Keith upgraded my VTPH2 as well; I think most of the work was on the power supply.