Support Head-Fi.org by
starting all of your
Amazon.com shopping by
clicking here.
____________________________________________________________________
Today's Featured Head-Fi Blog: Jude's Blog
____________________________________________________________________
Please help
support Head-Fi by becoming a Contributing Member
CLICK
HERE -- Contributing Members, thank you
for your generous support! --
Headphoneus Supremus: Hangin' with the monkeys. Member of the Trade: markl Mods
While I'm not an expert in VDs cables, and I don't want to speak for them, I have spent a bit of time with Rick describing the design of his cables. I had called complaining of the weight and the stiffness, only to be informed that this was central to their design and plays a large role in the superiority of their sound vs. other after-market cords. Indeed, it is the "pixie dust" and the heavy-ness of the cord itself that is the "secret sauce" of these cables. It does all have to do with removing vibrations, but I'm in no position to describe it accurately.
I've e-mailed Rick at VD to let him know about this thread. I've invited him to register and to make any comments here that he'd like. I'm sure he's better able to discuss their technology than I can.
And as far as build quality goes, it *is* a $35 cable, marketing hyperbole or no. I wouldn't expect the build quality to compare to the $500 ICs you've cut open or to the build quality of your $350 Acoustic Zen Tsunami, and it's a bit unfair to make such a comparison. I think their claims relate more to sound quality than build quality. Their manufacturing costs are no less than any other manufacturer (well maybe 20% less-- they are in Canada!) , so you shouldn't expect solid gold conductors with diamond tipped IEC prongs.
Mark
__________________
Click on my user name and send me an e-mail.
Headphoneus Supremus: May one day invent Bose-cancelling headphones.
Markl: I think the arguments stems from the fact that from our first impression, it seems like this power cord is little different than one from your neighborhood homedepot.
Headphoneus Supremus: Hangin' with the monkeys. Member of the Trade: markl Mods
No, it seems quite different from the average cable from Home Depot. Wildly different, almost alien. If nothing else, the copper in the Basic is at a much higher purity than the cable you buy at Home Depot. Plus it has the "Dynamic Filtering" provided by the "magic pixie dust" and connectors that are better quality than that provided on the $5 Home Depot cable, making them weigh so much more, apparently adding to their sound quality. So are they different? Yes, they're quite different. Even at a mere $35.
Again, for $35 what was Jude expecting? I think he now owes it to intellectual honesty to compare a $350 VD cable such as the Audition to his current $350 power cable. At the very least, Jude should look at and listen to a Power 1 ($199.00 list, but available at much less) before dismissing the whole VD line, although he did say the Basic cable was better than stock.
What do you say, Jude? I'm sure Rick would be more than happy to lend you any cable of theirs youd like, but again I don't speak for VD in any way shape or form.
Mark
__________________
Click on my user name and send me an e-mail.
I don't see why Jude owes anything in the name of intellectual honesty after such a thorough post, including detailed descriptions and detailed and telling photographs. The Home Depot cable might not have as high-purity copper (which I strongly doubt) and may not even have connectors that are as good (of which I am also skeptical). But you can get a 12-gauge power cord for $10, whereas the Basic is an 18-gauge power cord. As we could see, much money was likely spent on the pretty coverings which might account for much of the cost. Furthermore, I don't think that the production line is as efficient at Virtual Dynamics as at whatever company manufactures power cords for Home Depot. We also saw that much of this damping doesn't make a difference, as the actual wires inside touch the metallic sheath covering.
Comparing the $35 cable to a $350 cable seems to make sense considering that this $35 cable is touted as being able to compete handily with $500 cables. In terms of construction, it does not. And according to Jude's ears, it does not rival this $350 cable sonically, either. Maybe it competes with the glue-filled Electraglide cables?
) , so you shouldn't expect solid gold conductors with diamond tipped IEC prongs. 
Linear Mode
