Bwhite said:
In order to explain I have to first say that I tried countless cables in my system before settling on Audio Note Kondo KSL-LP (which is the newer doubled version of the old Kondo AN-Vz between my source and my preamp), NBS Statement between my preamp and amp and Audio Note Kondo KSL for my speakers.
I read a review from Hi-Fi Review Magazine, which said the following:
"After using AN-Vx for more than 2 years, I decide to upgrade my system by borrowing a pair of AN-Vz balanced cable from the Elephant Holdings Ltd. (Each pair worth $19,000/m"
Are you saying that you have the doubled version of this interconnect? What does this monster cost? For anywhere close to this price, it had better be one of the all-time best! :)
Bwhite said:
With the VD cables in my system, the first thing I noticed was the added "sledge hammer" bass and a "gimmicky" sound quality. I had worked very hard to make my system as organic as I could with the cables I owned (and NOS tubes I selected) but for whatever reason the VD and the NBS didn't mesh well together. It brought on a harshness to the sound so I pulled out the NBS and inserted the Kondo and the sound was more livable but still not right. I felt that the harmonics were inaccurate in my system and the bass was overloaded. The highs were shimmery & like a school of fish I could never predict where they were going next. It was a bit more coherent in that setup but certainly not an improvement over where I was before VD.
This past month, I bought a new VD Nite PC for my Electrocompaniet EMC-1 MKII and a pair of Nite IC's to connect my Spectral amps and preamp. All of my other cables are from the VD Audition cryo'd line. The latest Nite line of VD cables is a substantial improvement over anything they have previously produced. It is as if you are peering further into the soundstage and their transient response is the best I have heard in my system. Still, it took about 200 hours even after Rick cable-cooked them to have them settle into my system. I agree that they can sound somewhat bright and forward before they are fully broken in, but in my system they settled down and opened up after the break-in period.
Bwhite said:
Even though my experience with the VD cables wasn't all that spectacular, I cannot say its a bad cable. In fact, they have qualities which would be pretty good in the right system.
Not that price guarantees performance, but any cable might have a hard time competing with the doubled version of your Kondo AN-Vz cables.
Bwhite said:
While I only spent 72 hours with the VD in my home and even less time listening to them, I heard the VD as a pretty dynamic cable which was more ready to kick ass than it was to give me a kiss on the cheek...but I must say, in a nice way of course, that problems I found in the cables were more in regard to my preferences & system than to the cables themselves.
The first thing I noticed when plugging in the VD cables was the increase in dynamics over other cables I have tried. It was only after the long break-in period that dynamics were no longer the dominant characteristic, and their other qualities came into balance.
I sent the Signature power cord back to JC Audio and sold the interconnects three days later. But.. I kept the low end cable and ripped it open to find out what Rick does inside there to make them tick.
The low end VD cables are completely different in construction from the high end VD cables, lacking some of their proprietary materials and technology, which put them in a different league from the VD Nite cables.
Bwhite said:
Another thing I didn't mention is that the VD power cords replaced a pair of more refined yet anything but transparent Shunyata King Cobra V1 power cord and an ElectraGlide FatMan K. The Shunyata ads a surreal quality to the digital front end and the Electraglide adds a vividness to the texture and a smooth seamless intensity to the dynamics. Whether or not the VD's were broken in, I do not know but they certainly lacked the refinement of these two cables.
After a lengthy break-in, the VD cables become much more refined in my system, particularly with the Nite series. But that's in my system, and everyone's mileage may vary.
