Virtual Dynamics original Master Series
Category: Cables
So... I just added new interconnects, Virtual Dynamics Master Series. To quote Neo... 'whoa'. These were such a huge step up from my previous Cardas GPs. While I am sure the Cardas are great cables in their own right, when I put the Masters in the system I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. It was like opening the floodgates, the music just flows forth. They do all the audiophile things that I now realize the cardas were not doing in my system and everything (bass, detail, body, depth, width, imaging, PRaT, highs, mids, etc..) all greatly improved. The amount of detail they present is amazing, the highs are sweet and extended and now I can actually hear and feel bass instead of barely hearing it. The music has such emotion now, and fluid warmth, I can't pull myself away! I ended up listening for several hours deep into the night, something I never do, even to CDs I never really liked and all without any fatigue.
The swap also made me realize a few things about the Ayre/cardas combo and I'm wondering if this is what leads to some people calling Ayre cool, dry and emotionless after a demo. With the cardas GPs in place I would barely stand to sit and listen to even my favorite CDs for more than 20 minutes. Not that the sound was bad, it was just meh... like something was missing, I was getting bored and or fatigued quickly. The cardas in my system were on the dry and cool side, but attempted warmth via a boosted midrange. Highs sometimes grated on my nerves (and ears) and I'd end up with a massive headache.
The Master series cables are very open and fluid and have a natural warmth much like real instruments and voices have but without artificially boosting any particular range. They have a great musical ease to them but they also have a wonderful intensity and attack when called for. The musical and emotional swell when an orchestra ramps up after a plaintive violin solo is so palpable you can practically ride it.
A word on the soundstage. Before everything was well laid back and placed along the back wall without much depth. The VDs really brought the soundstage forward without being a forward cable. Lead singers and instruments at the front of the stage are no longer back against the wall with the drummer and background singers, but they aren't 'in your face' either. Instruments and singers that were out to the side no longer emanate directly from the speakers now but from a solid spot on the stage behind the speaker. The maggies just disappear.
Now I understand what all the excitement is about with the VDs. They really brought my system and music alive and made it sing.
*plots to upgrade to VD speaker cables and PCs*
