Kubala Sosna and Virtual Dynamics - Similar??


I have gone through the Forums and checked on the comments and write-ups on both brands. Both are rated highly, especially for the KS Emotion and VD Master and Revelation ranges.....

I would like to know how similar these cables are in terms of sonics for Speaker cables and Power cords...

It seems that VD is hugely popular at the moment and KS is used by a select few....

Where I am, there is no dealer available, therefore I have to rely on your comments and suggestions...KS doesnt allow international trials and have not checked with VD..

Similar Products used:
Kimber BiFocal XL
DIY PC's with Furutech Gold IEC's
Running dedicated 32 amp lines

TIA!!
teck5
Hi Clio09,

Thanks for the heads up....Boy the deals they are giving is great...Customer service is great and managed to get a pair of Revelations for my Source and Pre-amp...

Now I really have to make some choices on my CD source..

Hopefully this will work out in my system....
Hello Teck,

It looks like your system is in need of some attention at the source. Before you spend a fortune on ICs and PCs, you should try to improve the front end first otherwise I do not think you will ever be able to benefit much with any cable you purchase.

Hopefully you can borrow some cables and compare to what you currently own before you commit to the temptations of cables on "clearance". Here at A'gon, there are always great cable deals. Buying new cables brings on no benefit compared to used ones at much reduced prices.

I don't buy into the issue of "system synergy"; it all comes down to our own priorities. The tradeoff for me is to find that balance between detail and 3-dimensionality. But if tonal coherency is a mess, dynamics are compressed or the presentation is distant and flat, it's impossible to go any further with the cable evaluation.

I think we all have been guilty one time or another to go with a cable that corrects for flaws elsewhere in our system. Throwing in cables to "warm up" the sound just makes no sense. And we can get carried away with buying the higher cost cables because they get a lot of praise. It's easy to get trapped into buying such cables when so often our system is not able to take advantage of such refinements.

There have been so many claims about power cables here but it was only the last couple years where these started to make a big difference in my system. A power line conditioner (PLC) brought on such a huge improvement to my system's resolution that only then power cables made worthy contributions. And this was with top-notch gear from ARC, BAT, Wolcott, Aesthetix and CAT with Magnepan and Talon speakers. Much of this gear's capability was masked until the PLC was added. And then power and speaker cable differences became far more evident.

ICs and phono cables have always made differences for me. The link from line stage to amp has been the most critical. I currently use a 10m Purist Dominus between the line stage and amps. Long ICs are tough to find and can be very costly. Of all the long ICs I have heard here, the NBS Statement, Kubala-Sosna Emotion, MIT 350 and EVO, the Dominus is the one I prefer. Between the phono and line stages, I have played with numerous XLR cables from NBS, Kubala-Sosna, Purist and Jade, and so far the Jade Gold is wonderful here. I hope to hear the XLR Stealth Indra here soon. For RCA cables between the DAC and line stage, I use the Stealth Indra. The Jade cables are quite nice here too but I prefer the Indra with how it renders the harmonic overtones and the top octave's clarity in my system.

Power cables can be kinda strange in how they react so differently with various components like I previously described the Dream. When I went to a VD dealer last year, I also was able to directly compare the top Revelation PC to the Dominus Ferox into my Manley DAC. With the VD, the presentation was very flat, decays much reduced, the body of the instruments also clipped off. A return to the Dominus and the performance was right back there. We tried the same experiment with the dealer's Wadia CD playback setup and here the VD edged out the Dominus in portrayal of upper frequency information. But the Wadia was not at all in the same league as the Manley in terms of the 3-dimensional presentation....and this is where the Dominus was miles ahead of the VD.

John
John, thanks for looking out after my interests in this "slippery slope" and sharing your experiences...I agree with you that one should always test, test and test...

Unfortunately for me, as mentioned above, there is no international representation of these 2 companies where I live...thus the only way to "try" or to "test" in my system at times is to make a "leap of faith" based on fellow members use and recommendations.....

Of course, these recommendations are sometimes taken with a pinch of salt as there are so many variables as you pointed out in testing...so the only way is to test, test and test...which hopefully leads to synergy (pleasure to your own ears)..

Apart from getting a proper CD Source, there are two other variables that I have to take care of which I suspect is not getting me to that 3D sound.....

Room treatment and Power cords....all three things are going on at the same time which will take me a few more months to complete....

I am no acoustician (so lots of reading posts and understanding the nuances in between the lines of recommendations) and trying to get past recognizing what is being said versus "understanding" what it means...a little tough for me due to my lack of technical knowledge of understanding the different freq aspects..

As for the power cords, I stopped by the Stealth dealer yesterday and they were readily agreed to do in home loans for their cables...in fact there were ready to throw a bunch of them at me to bring home...

I didn't take them as I told them I am still in the process of evaluating my Digital source...so once that is done, I will be back...

John, I am glad that there are many great members in Audiogon, who willing to come out and voice opinions and recommendations to fellow members...this is great for guys like us who are trying to learn more...Thanks
Teck, Hi, I would be glad to share some of my personal testing with you. Please feel free to email me to exchange.
Thanks
Teck-
Since you're now down to CD source, if I follow correctly, my input is once again VD. I just replaced an Epiphany X PC on my APL-modded Denon 3910 with a VD Genesis and the difference is staggering. Much better bass and lower midrange (hearing notes not present before) as well as much more musical, dynamic and better imaging. I also have VD Revelation Sig ICs on the 3910 and yes, there is something to be said for the synergy, IMHO.

For room treatment suggestions, I would call Echo-busters. A small (relatively) package brought me a large improvement.

For a CD source, I would try to find a used APL-modded 3910. They are worth several times what you will pay for one, especially if it is tubed and recently upgraded. Again, IMHO. Good luck.