[auricgoldfinger]

Everyone loves talking about their equipment and tubes. No one talks much about cables because they’re just not terribly sexy. That said, I’d like to mention the solid core silver interconnects that I just added between the Stratus and my DAC.

Recently, I spent a lot of time researching solid core silver wire for a DIY headphone cable project, and eventually, I stumbled upon VH Audio.

From the VH Audio site:

VH Audio's UniCrystal™ OCC (Ohno Continuous Cast) Silver wire is meticulously drawn through special dies, dead soft annealed in an inert nitrogen atmosphere, and follows special handling protocols to minimize any surface marring, before the insulation process begins. Our unique AirLok™ insulation is a proprietary form of foamed/cellular Fluoropolymer that achieves a dielectric constant of less than 1.45! By comparison, the dielectric constant of solid fluoropolymers, such as DuPont™PTFE, FEP, and PFA (referred to as Teflon®, when licensed from DuPont) is 2.1. A perfect vacuum is 1.0.

I asked how the lower dielectric constant manifests itself in terms of sound quality, and here was the reply:

“It’s faster, and more neutral. The lower the dielectric constant, the less dielectric involvement to color the sound. Also, the dissipation factor of the dielectric means the dielectric is less prone to ‘soak up’ signal, and re-release the energy.”

I noticed that VH Audio sells interconnects using that same wire. Furthermore, they offer a 60-day trial period with a 100% refund if not satisfied. I decided to take the risk-free opportunity to try their Pulsar Ag interconnect cables, which consist of ONE 24 AWG solid core silver wire. If the cable sounded good, I would plan to buy the same wire for my custom headphone cable.

I only listened to a few bars of Led Zeppelin in 96/24 before I was completely blown away by the sound. There is a dramatic improvement in transparency and openness, detail, imaging, and soundstage. Timbre is beautiful. Decay is outstanding.

I am using WBT NextGen RCA terminations, but there are less expensive options. If you’re interested, talk to Chris about the differences.

Those of you using SPDIF cables may want to consider having one made from this wire. I’m pretty confident you will like it.

 

[Peti]

Gentlemen,

as a Stratus owner I was wondering about the improvements of the upgrade for the Stratus. I'm not sure how it's called but your original Stratus can be sent back to Donald to do this "upgrade". Maybe its not called as such, but I could not come up with a better word. So what sonic differences I can expect for my HD800? Anyone?

 

[bigfatpaulie]

What version to what version? There really are (from what I can surmise) 3... The original Strauts, I think SN's < 20 ish is V1. I don't know when V3 was rolled out but I think pretty recent, maybe be SN >50? Also some V1's and V2's were upgraded along the way.

It is more confusing than vintage Rolex!

 

[Peti]

When I see bigfatpaulie commenting here I always expect a thorough Stellaris vs Stratus comparison.

But I have Nr35 and I was told that you can send it back to the factory to do the upgrade. That's all I now. Sorrodje described it as facelift in private message to me.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

Haha. Sorry to disappoint!

You almost for sure have a V2 then - which was the same version I had. Apparently the V3 is more like the Stellaris in that it is tighter and more resolving than the V3. A proverbial veil is lifted and everything is more resolved. I haven't heard a V3 Stratus so I am just telling you what I've heard... Mostly from @Sorrodje as well.

That said, you can place a great deal of faith in what he says. The man knows what he is talking about.

 

[Peti]

I concur, he is a good, Super and helpful AudioFriend. But I have had no info on what to expect from the upgrade, that's why I have inquired. Thanks for your remarks Paulie.

 

[DMck2000]

Haha. Sorry to disappoint!

You almost for sure have a V2 then - which was the same version I had. Apparently the V3 is more like the Stellaris in that it is tighter and more resolving than the V3. A proverbial veil is lifted and everything is more resolved. I haven't heard a V3 Stratus so I am just telling you what I've heard... Mostly from @Sorrodje as well.

That said, you can place a great deal of faith in what he says. The man knows what he is talking about.

Would all Stratuses (Strati?) ordered during November be a V3? Just wondering because that's when I ordered mine haha.

 

[Sorrodje]

Donald would be more helpful than me to tell you when the last upgrades have been implemented. Those upgrades are for sure the biggest since the beginning and it induced a price upgrade as well. All Stratus delivered since the beginning of the year include last upgrades I think.

I didn"t compared directly because I sent my amplifier for a repair and Donald proposed me to apply the last upgrades. So I didn"t have a chance to do proper A/B comparison. Take my impressions with a grain of salt then .

That been said. I really think those upgrades worth every penny and makes the Stratus sound much closer to the Stellaris ( heard it twice last year ) than the the previous iteration. Gain in clarity and transparency is imo obvious enough . To be honest , I put an order on a Stellaris last year and cancelled it after I received my upgraded Stratus. First reason is I definitely won't be able to safely fund the big brother without serious damage for my family savings but how the upgraded stratus sounds made me happy enough.

People who are still fond of tube bloom may be cautious though. The "old" Stratus is definitely warmer in my opinion... More on the tubey side. So the last upgrade could disappoint a few of us who are after warmer sound. Things are always easy to mitigate with various tubes though.

I'm definitely a happy camper with my RME ADI2 pro/Stratus/HD800(modded + a little EQ applied) combo . I feel like I'm quite close to End-game and I tried/owned almost all TOTL headphones out there. I still have a SR009 itch though. I need to experiment the Stax at home . Fortunately I have a Stat rig which will help to make comparison and a final choice between a complete Stat Rig and a complete Dynamic rig. I have only two ears and I promised a vey nice travel to my daughter so I'll have to make choices .

Another headphone I'm eagerly waiting to officially appear is n3rdling's Orpheus Clone. Hands down the best headphone ( at least for my ears) I had the pleasure to hear.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

I agree: Donald is the best source. I'm just taking guesses based on what I hear here and there. He would know with absolution.

 

[DMck2000]

Donald would be more helpful than me to tell you when the last upgrades have been implemented. Those upgrades are for sure the biggest since the beginning and it induced a price upgrade as well. All Stratus delivered since the beginning of the year include last upgrades I think.

I didn"t compared directly because I sent my amplifier for a repair and Donald proposed me to apply the last upgrades. So I didn"t have a chance to do proper A/B comparison. Take my impressions with a grain of salt then .

That been said. I really think those upgrades worth every penny and makes the Stratus sound much closer to the Stellaris ( heard it twice last year ) than the the previous iteration. Gain in clarity and transparency is imo obvious enough . To be honest , I put an order on a Stellaris last year and cancelled it after I received my upgraded Stratus. First reason is I definitely won't be able to safely fund the big brother without serious damage for my family savings but how the upgraded stratus sounds made me happy enough.

People who are still fond of tube bloom may be cautious though. The "old" Stratus is definitely warmer in my opinion... More on the tubey side. So the last upgrade could disappoint a few of us who are after warmer sound. Things are always easy to mitigate with various tubes though.

I'm definitely a happy camper with my RME ADI2 pro/Stratus/HD800(modded + a little EQ applied) combo . I feel like I'm quite close to End-game and I tried/owned almost all TOTL headphones out there. I still have a SR009 itch though. I need to experiment the Stax at home . Fortunately I have a Stat rig which will help to make comparison and a final choice between a complete Stat Rig and a complete Dynamic rig. I have only two ears and I promised a vey nice travel to my daughter so I'll have to make choices .

Another headphone I'm eagerly waiting to officially appear is n3rdling's Orpheus Clone. Hands down the best headphone ( at least for my ears) I had the pleasure to hear.

Thanks for the info on the V3 Stratus. Is the V3 still an amazing amp with the HD800 (stock or modded), or do you prefer the previous iterations of the amp with these cans?

 

[Peti]

That's exactly the answer I'm after, but it's unlikely that anyone can have both amps (one upgraded and another sans upgrade) around to reliably compare them, maybe with the exception of Donald. I'm leaning towards the upgrade but I have a pair of HD800, too.

 

[auricgoldfinger]

At the risk of making a gross oversimplification...

@bigfatpaulie seems to enjoy his HD800S with the Stellaris, which is, among other things, a more transparent version of the Stratus. If that is true, it seems like other HD800 owners might enjoy the upgraded Stratus, which offers greater transparency and elevated performance relative to the previous versions. Of course, as with all things head-fi, YMMV.

 

[Sorrodje]

Thanks for the info on the V3 Stratus. Is the V3 still an amazing amp with the HD800 (stock or modded), or do you prefer the previous iterations of the amp with these cans?

I prefer the new one but please remember I'm long time HD800 fan. I can see people prefer warm or more tubey amplifiers with the Sennheiser. I personaly like tube amplifiers for their clarity and holographic presentation and the hin of tube liquidity that makes me enjoy more my music. I'm not after warm tube amplifiers. I also heard some of the sharpest tubes amplifiers ( EC Studio) for example and I still prefer DNA amplifiers because they provide a very special balance between technicalities and tube goodness. The Stellaris sounded the best for me and the Stratus V3 is likely in line with what the Stellaris offers.

@bigfatpaulie is using like me a modded HD800 with the Superdupont mod. I even add a little bit of EQ thks to my the RME ADI2 pro. Even with EQ applied and compared to the very good Headphone amplifier of the RME soundcard, I still prefer using my Stratus.

 

[bigfatpaulie]

Well, I had the V2 Stratus but I never had it side by side with the Stellaris, so that this with a grain of salt.

When I received the DAVE I actually stopped listening to the Stratus. As enjoyable as it was (Stratus+DAVE), I preferred listening to DAVE directly. The Stratus glossed over too much now and I was well aware of what I missing. I didn't need the added voice that the Stratus offered anymore because the sound via DAVE was so clean and pure that is didn't need any part of it hidden or fixed.

I was cautious when the Stellaris arrived: I was worried it would offer me nothing over DAVE directly. Fortunately, my fears were unfounded. The Stellaris added a bit more separation and air, the stage became much deeper and it added just a hint of that spine tingling tube magic. If there is a loss of resolution it is so slight I can't perceive it, or the HD800/Utopias aren't resolving enough to reveal it. I am, obviously, thrilled with the Stellaris. I should also add that for the Stellaris to really come into it's own, better glass is ideal. It sounds great out of the box, but it scales significantly with the right tubes. The tonality of the amp, along with texture really get ramped up. The stock tubes are a bit flat sounding and a little unengaging.

I go back and forth with EQ (via ROON). Right now I have it off, but I had it on for a month or so. In both cases, I was happy. But I was unsing very minor EQ'ing: I know some people go crazy here.

 

[Sorrodje]

Yea. I'm using minor EQ as well. not more than 4db more or less here or there. I saw some other drastic settings elsewhere that let me skeptical.