anyone compare grover UR to VHaudio pulsar?

hi, i ordered grover UR2 interconnects last month, i recently was informed the UR3 will be shipping which i am very pleased about.

ive read incredible impressions of the grovers, especially for the 150$ price point, the VHaudio pulsars are also around that price but i have not read much positive feedback about them... has anyone heard both brands? i'd really like to hear to some comments on the pulsars.

i am ordering a flavor1 powercord for my source after being satisfied with the improvement from adding flavor2 to my headphone amp. im considering a set of pulsars too for comparison purpose. im a sucker for combining shipping costs, esp when VHaudio offers 30day trial period.
thanks for reading,

ian

near future like tomorrow?

thats going to be great i cant wait to read it. any initial impressions on the pulsars?

i was browsing vhaudio last night and to DIY the pulsars 1meter pair only costs around $70 with eichmann gold bullets. the cryo wire is $5/foot and bullet plugs are $35.

the price on the premade pulsar interconnectd went up to $160 for one meter pair, i thought it was $130 a couple weeks ago.

anyway i placed the order for the flavor1 so ill wait on the pulsars untill i find more info on other sites. ill just build them myself if i decide to try them.

thanks Sean thats exactly the type of impression i was hoping for.

i am using wooaudio3 tube amp with senn 650, the lowend and midrange is already very prominent and the flavor2 powercord upgrade for the amp brought out some bass punch. i am trying to find good deal on meridian 588 which ive never heard described as being bright at all.

following your impressions it would seem the grover ur2 would suit me better, but people are suggesting the ur3 also relieved some of the brighness or shrillness of the ur2 and also tightened the bass. UR3 may sound closer to how you are describing the pulsar.

at any rate if i get some free time after my source situation is resolved ill DIY some pulsars and see how they sound in comparison to UR3. for 70$ if they are favorable(even comparable) to the UR3 these pulsar will be a real bargain. thanks again

ian

another huge thanks to rectsar for a great description, i guess its just going to come down to how my system synergy ultimately works out. its premature to make any decisions considering a significant source upgrade hopefully coming asap.

as of now your description of the grover seems to fall right in line with what i need my setup to do at this point, its alittle indistinct. not bloated bass like i hear so many people describe the 650, i dont think the bass quantity is bloated, but it needs to tighten. it blooms alot but the result is that is melts together.

same overall feeling for the soundstage, its very broad and while i cant feel it behind my head it does extend below and behind my ears... however the imaging is not as sharp as i'd like. and it can be difficult hear instrument seperation.

the grover UR4 arrived today and they are exactly as people are describing them.

first of all they are incredibly, insanely, precise and focused. instrument seperation is incredible. although instruments are clear and fast they are also distant, im finding the soundstage to be too linear in front of my face.
headphones usually give me the feeling of being immersed in the music while now i am having the feeling of watching the music being played in front of me.

there really feels as if there is no bloom anywhere, very neutral and clinical. however, im finding the highs to be greasy. not bright or overly harsh, certainly not recessed either, just a sheen to them that seems to be blocking clarity. a typical complaint for silver interconnects? these characteristics add up to certain lack of emotion and leanness.

finally there is no fogivness for a less than ideal recording, they are so distant and compressed sounding, literally between my eyes and in front of my nose.

the differences between these and the radioshack gold series is so obvious id be willing to bet my life i could distinguish in DBT. the radioshack have a fuller and more engaging sound, but the seperation and resolution is nowhere close to the grovers. instrument seperation is muddled, bass is not tight enough and actually hints at distortion on some recordings that the grovers handled extrememly well.

so in conclusion i am going to hang onto these grovers and continue to listen as they burn in, but im also ordering a pair of the vhaudio pulsars to compare. from the desrciptions in this thread they seem to fit right inbetween the grovers and radio shack. if the engagement and dimension of the radioshack could be blended with the resolution and seperation of the grovers that would be the perfect solution for me. it would be a sound that is all around my head but at the same time not blended together in a way that loosens it up. id be standing in the middle of the soundstage so to speak, not out in the audience.

then again the pulsar might not be what im looking for either, i will have to sedate myself if comes down to odering a pair of 500$ wolff interconnects.

i received the pulsars today

first of all ive put about 20 hours on the grovers and they have not changed character, but i have become more used to the sound. i'd still describe them as front sounding and somewhat distant, especially in vocal presentation.

ive realized that the bass is not tight and punchy b/c its not blooming, it SOUNDS tight and punchy because there is an entire low end of frequencies literally absent. so what is heard is midbass without deep bass to give the illusion that its sloppy.

this effect works two-fold with the grovers, it sounds like the bass is tighter and its contributing to the seperation and front "stage feel" the grovers display.

for me low frequency serves as a foundation for the music, it gives the music presence. low frequencies slip into my subcounscious and create an aura of sound behind and under me that im not focusing on, but its constantly giving the music feeling while i listen to the dynamics being produced in front and around me.

i really feel the grovers have completely missed this dimension. all the sound is in front of me and im ALWAYS aware of every sound within the recording. as if im looking at the sound and everything is in focus, rather than hearing it around me with my ears.

im finding the pulsar just about the polar opposite of the grover and much more similar to the radio shack interconnects i described in the above posts.

the pulsars sound thick, there is amazing low frequency extension, and this creates that aura and feeling that i am experiencing the music, like its being created within my head but not trapped inside my head... but id say its about 10% too thick, the highs are really good with bloom and broad presence, i dont think they are literally rolled off but they do sound alittle rolled off b.c the sound is 10% biased toward the low end, it overpowers slightly

the mids are more engaging, vocals, horns, and guitar solos are more articulate and they sound fuller, i can hear nuances and tones better. vocals sound like they are actually in my presence. these sounds feel about 20% closer to me in comparison to the grover. the highs are definately a smoother and more liquid sound with literally no harshness, i have not winced, but they dont have that laser placement i can pinpoint with the grovers, this may be the lowend on the pulsar acting more as a filler sound, so there is not blackness between instruments, but instead an aura of MUSIC.

these pulsars are more fatiguing than the grovers even though the highs sound alittle rolled off, the thickness of the music fills my head and after awhile can feel like a throbbing

in comparison to the pulsar the radioshack have some of that same feeling and engagment, but they are not wide enough, there is less bias towards lowend but its very difficult to place a soundstage, the tones sound alittle off and highs dont merge and bloom enough. overall though for 15$ you really cant go wrong.

so im almost satisfied with the cryo pulsar with gold bullet plugs. i bought these premade but im going to assemble another set with silver bullets to see if that changes the sound at all, im hoping it will shift bias away from the lows and it will stabilize. im going to contact chris vennhaus first though to see what i can expect after these pulsars burn in more. the construction of theses pulsar is a solid copper center conductor, shielded in foil and silver braid, the silver braid is twisted and used as return. vhaudio gives the silver return credit for keeeping some the high frequncy sparkle.

i have another driver tube coming thursday if it changes the character of either intercoonect or the relative relationship between them i will post some more impressions.

if youve read this far i think youre really sexy