Comparing Virtual Dynamics and Tranparent Audio

Brian, thanks for your overview. It really is very helpful to know what else a person has tried, even if it wasn't a direct A-B, and even if they didn't try one's own favorite cable! The Purist Dominus is the best I've ever heard on my amp, even better than the Purist Venustas, although they're both 10 AWG. So maybe I will give the VD Master a try.

IMO, power amps are the acid test for power cords. Or to put it a different way: If placing a particular power cord on the power amp doesn't improve the sonics of your system -- specifically: tighter bass, better center fill of the soundstage, better transients and blacker noise floor and (belive it) louder volume at a given preamp setting, then it probably won't do anything special elsewhere in your system (where differences are sometimes a little harder to identify.)

Thanks again for the details.

Neil

Neil
PAD and VD are fabulous and their power cords are easy to show differences. Just try VD .....and tell us.
Also don't underestimate what a good pc cord can do to a preamp.

George.

I,ve used various VD cables throughout my system., I stared with NiteII, Master and now own the Revelation PC, IC and speaker. I have a Wadia/CAT/Dunlavy system and without reservation believe that these cords are one of the best I've tried. I have tried various products over the years and each one has made marginal but positive improvmnents. My last set was the Synergistic Research Designers Ref X2 with Active sheieding. The Mater totally blew away these. I didn't think the Revelation series could do much better than the Master but I was totally surprised.These are a major step forward.

I haven't heard the David's, but you will not understand how much better the Rev/Master cords are until you try them. This is where the VD cables really outdistance themselves from the competing brands at similar price points.

I would rank the benefits of the Rev and Master cords by saying that thye produced as much, if not more, benefit from replacing my Krell FPB600 with a Convergent Audio JL2. The difference and benefit was that big. No other cables I tried have even come close to this level of change.

With regard to Transparent, Ken Stevens from CAT has had experience with both. He shows with VD Revelation, but he admits that as good as the VD cable is, it doesn't "blow away" the high end Transparent cables which he uses in his system.

I can't say since I haven't made the direct comparison. But what I will tell you is that the VD Revelation has been just that...a total revelation! I will never replace these cables. If you get them, you would be wasting money and time trying to better them. Money better spent on front ends at that point.

An important point is that you need to try the complete VD system. Until then, you will not really know what these cables can do.

Also, the Revelation PC transformed my Wadia CD player.

Key strengths of the REvelation is POWER, detail/resolution, tonal accuracy, soundstage etc. These are high energy cables without ever sounding bright or edgy. They are the most natural cables I've used by a longshot.

In all of the equipment I've fooled arounfd with, I consider these cables as the best investment I've made. I no longer have any interest in trying anything else.

I agree with the other posts in that you should give Rick a call. Try them and be prepared to want to purchase them.

Andrew

Nsgarch: I completely disagree with your powercord over-generalization. Different cords yield different characteristics, as least in my system. For example, Elrod Statements are on my back end (wall to conditioner, conditioner to amps), while Electraglide Epiphanies are on my front end. Each cord is best where it currently is and swapping them was nowhere near as effective as their current positions. That is why, for example, Elrod and others differentiate between front end(Sig II) and back-end(Sig I) powercords.

I am also about to receive a VD Revelation PC from Rick S. who said I would hear the most change with the cord on the front end. Does that mean its no good to my amp? Probably not, just that he designed it as more of a "front end" cord.
I currently also have a VD Revelation Signature IC from my CD player to preamp and a pair of Bi-wired Revelation speaker cables driving Legacy Whisper speakers. The system is very resolving as well as dynamic, thanks in large part to the proper matching of power cables to components, IMO.

Fplanner, your experience or experiments may have led you to your particular conclusions. Mine have led elsewhere.

My conclusion about power cords (and I'm sticking to it) is that it's all about power transfer -- the higher and faster the better. I have discovered that certain shielding configurations (when shielding is even used) may yield subtle variations with some front end stuff (especially CDP, CDT, and DACs) but my conclusion is otherwise the same.

Power transfer, of course, is affected by many factors in addition to wire size, but that's still the biggest single parameter IMO.