markl
Hangin' with the monkeys.
Member of the Trade: Lawton Audio
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2001
- Posts
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The Component That Wasn't There.... Final Thoughts
My RAM modified Sony XA9000ES now has around 500 hours of burn-in on it, RAM recommends 300-400 to reach full maturity. I would say it fully hit its stride around the 450 hour mark or so.
A week ago I switched the power cord and the ICs to Virtual Dynamics Nite II and David respectively. I'd owned many earlier Virtual Dynamics products in the past and had liked them a lot, but had upgraded and found others that worked better with my previous source. I had a hunch that the VD cables would be just the ticket with the RAM XA9000ES and I was not disappointed.
Their cables have in fact been significantly upgraded in the various iterations they've gone through since I last owned any of their stuff. As always, they are still insanely thick and inflexible, 10-gauge copper surrounded by dampening material to prevent vibration, you really have to wrestle with them to make them conform to your gear. It's well worth all the hassle, though.
Yes, VD employs a lot of, let's say, "unconventional" science in their designs, and they have lots of features that will raise eyebrows. Still, there certainly aren't any other cables on the market like them, and to what degree the magnets, the cryo treatment, the heavy guage copper etc. affects or doesn't affect the sound, I don't know. The proof is in the pudding, and these cables sound great. Natural, full-bodied, substantial, firm and solid. They strip away digital glare and leave you with a much more realistic sound, less "hi-fi" and more like reality.
Now, if I paid full retail on the cables, it would have cost close to what the used Sony with mods cost, but if you buy used, you can get them at a significant discount. VD is going to be introducing a whole new generation of products in January, too. Should be interesting to see what they pull out of their hats next.
That's a long way of saying that IMO, the VD cables are a necessary compliment to the RAM mod-ed XA900ES.
I'd like to describe the sound of the player with the VD cables at great length, but I can't. After burn-in, and properly cabled, this player just evaporates. Every time you think you have a handle on its sound-- "oh, it's too this, or not enough that", just pop in a new CD and you realize that's totally wrong and misleading. The key thing with this player is that it makes every disc sound unique and different (which it is!); you hear the recording exactly as it is. If it's too bright, you get too bright. If the vocals are recessed, you get recessed vocals. If the bass is too fat, you get too fat; too thin, you get too thin. You get the picture. There's nothing I can really pin on the player, or attribute to it; nothing that stays consistent from CD to CD.
Its downright eerie how different all my CDs/SACDs sound. This takes some getting used to. You have to re-learn everything you thought you knew like the back of your hand. This player is the Bruce Lee of digital-- "the best style is no style". It's like water, conforming to whatever vessel is carrying it.
However, it's important to point out that the RAM XA9000ES does all this without being analytical or clinical, or cold. It doesn't make everything sound inferior, or make everything sound romantically sweet or warm or lush. It just is.
Yes, it's highly resolving, and black of background, and great at soundstaging, and all that good audiophile stuff. But only so long as the recording itself provides those things. It will deliver.
Do I feel the player has any limits? That's hard to say. You don't know what you don't know. You can't know if there's more to be had from your shiny silver discs until you've actually heard it. The rest is just pure specualtion.
I can say, that for now, I'm very very satisfied with this purchase, both the player and these cables. I think it would please a lot of folks on this board. Thumbs up!
My RAM modified Sony XA9000ES now has around 500 hours of burn-in on it, RAM recommends 300-400 to reach full maturity. I would say it fully hit its stride around the 450 hour mark or so.
A week ago I switched the power cord and the ICs to Virtual Dynamics Nite II and David respectively. I'd owned many earlier Virtual Dynamics products in the past and had liked them a lot, but had upgraded and found others that worked better with my previous source. I had a hunch that the VD cables would be just the ticket with the RAM XA9000ES and I was not disappointed.
Their cables have in fact been significantly upgraded in the various iterations they've gone through since I last owned any of their stuff. As always, they are still insanely thick and inflexible, 10-gauge copper surrounded by dampening material to prevent vibration, you really have to wrestle with them to make them conform to your gear. It's well worth all the hassle, though.
Yes, VD employs a lot of, let's say, "unconventional" science in their designs, and they have lots of features that will raise eyebrows. Still, there certainly aren't any other cables on the market like them, and to what degree the magnets, the cryo treatment, the heavy guage copper etc. affects or doesn't affect the sound, I don't know. The proof is in the pudding, and these cables sound great. Natural, full-bodied, substantial, firm and solid. They strip away digital glare and leave you with a much more realistic sound, less "hi-fi" and more like reality.
Now, if I paid full retail on the cables, it would have cost close to what the used Sony with mods cost, but if you buy used, you can get them at a significant discount. VD is going to be introducing a whole new generation of products in January, too. Should be interesting to see what they pull out of their hats next.
That's a long way of saying that IMO, the VD cables are a necessary compliment to the RAM mod-ed XA900ES.
I'd like to describe the sound of the player with the VD cables at great length, but I can't. After burn-in, and properly cabled, this player just evaporates. Every time you think you have a handle on its sound-- "oh, it's too this, or not enough that", just pop in a new CD and you realize that's totally wrong and misleading. The key thing with this player is that it makes every disc sound unique and different (which it is!); you hear the recording exactly as it is. If it's too bright, you get too bright. If the vocals are recessed, you get recessed vocals. If the bass is too fat, you get too fat; too thin, you get too thin. You get the picture. There's nothing I can really pin on the player, or attribute to it; nothing that stays consistent from CD to CD.
Its downright eerie how different all my CDs/SACDs sound. This takes some getting used to. You have to re-learn everything you thought you knew like the back of your hand. This player is the Bruce Lee of digital-- "the best style is no style". It's like water, conforming to whatever vessel is carrying it.
However, it's important to point out that the RAM XA9000ES does all this without being analytical or clinical, or cold. It doesn't make everything sound inferior, or make everything sound romantically sweet or warm or lush. It just is.
Yes, it's highly resolving, and black of background, and great at soundstaging, and all that good audiophile stuff. But only so long as the recording itself provides those things. It will deliver.
Do I feel the player has any limits? That's hard to say. You don't know what you don't know. You can't know if there's more to be had from your shiny silver discs until you've actually heard it. The rest is just pure specualtion.
I can say, that for now, I'm very very satisfied with this purchase, both the player and these cables. I think it would please a lot of folks on this board. Thumbs up!
