Best cable for Graham 2.2

Since this topic has interested me greatly I decided to call Purist last week.I have long considered whether it would be worth moving away from the ic-70(which was far superior to the ic-30,in my set-up).As M Fremer has had the ic-70,for a while,and still uses the Hovland,I figured there might something there,yet the Purist stuff IS supposed to be great.My conversation was basically me,asking to be given a good reason to move away from my ic-70.

Basically the gentleman started by trying to sell me on the Dominus,which was claimed to be better,and weighing in at 10 lbs,for 1.2 meters.He claimed to have my arm and cartridge,yet kept proclaiming the benefit of the SIX THOUSAND DOMINUS.

I indicated that I could not afford the Dominus,as I did not win the Jersey Lottery,of 250 million,on Friday.Drats!!At that point he switched by stating the Venustas was "95% as good as the Dominus"!Yet he also stated that it was originally designed for digital,but made a fine arm connect.

Truthfully,I wanted a reason to convince myself to start becoming interested in the Purist stuff,yet after being given NO quantifiable reason to develope any interest,I just let it go.

There is NO reason any cable of 1.2 meters can justify "six thou".I have a client who is a large mfgr of cabling,and I won't repeat his sentiments,here.

My take is that all these cables are good,yet to make any move means an A/B comparison.Also,I figure Graham wants to sell his cabling,and would not make "dreck" to mate with his arms.

Just my opinion!!sirspeedy70680@earthlink.net

Speedy, here's some prices on (new) Purist phonos:

Phono Cables (1.2m DIN-90/RCA)

Venustas w/Ferox-$1150.00
Dominus w/Ferox-$3300.00

email me if interested, and I'll connect you.
I've not heard the Dominus, as I said, but the
Venustas tops everything I have heard. Duffydawg
compared it w/ the Silver Breeze (which I almost bought)
and decided on the Venustas.

I know I am entering this debate a bit late, but I now use Discovery Essential phono cable. This was significantly more neutral than the XLO 3.1 that preceeded it, and more musical (not as hyperdetailed) as a silver cable that I tried.

Hi SirSpeedy,

I have owned my Linn turntable from 1979, and now have a Graham 2.2 arm on it. I bought my cartridge from Brooks Berdan, and have listened to most of his Graham equiped tables and the Cardas cables. The Silver Audio Silver Breeze cable is as good as any I have heard for detail retrieval, harmonics and soundstage. The Venustas that I switched to is better, with the same qualities but more smoothness and the music emerges from a very black background.

I would not have been able to afford the prices you are talking about either, but these cables are available used through the Cable Company form time to time. I bought mine new through Albert Porter (a regular on Audiogon). Speedy, I believe you at your word that this topic is of great interest to you, as I have read your contributions on other issues analog. If you are near Los Angeles, you are welcome to have a listen. If not, the Cable Company can let you try one.

Best regards,

DuffyDawg

Nsgarsh,and Duffydawg---Thanks so much for your attentiveness,and good natured responses.I truly believe you,regarding your perceptions,related here.While I would love to see if I can squeeze a bit more performance from my analog rig,I do have to admit to being very happy,at the moment(which means nothing in this hobby).

This past weekend,and after thinking through the "record clamp/weight" article written in Stereophile,I decided to do a little tweaking(just out of curiosity)to my Sota Reflex Clamp(for my Cosmos).I had accidentally flicked my finger on it,a few days ago,and noticed a ping (not the golf clubs),which sounded like a wine glass being struck.I went to Home Depot and got some self adhesive,thin cork liner(I thought about stuff like sorbothane,but did not want too much damping,or any real damping,just a better interface).This,I cut to match the bottom of my clamp(which I use as a weight,not as a clamp,since once the vacuum takes hold there is a small gap between the record and clamp,basically the clamp is doing nothing,at this point,so to use it as a weight makes real sense,to me).

My pal is "hot to trot"(he has same table/arm cart)to spend Shun Mook bucks,for their weight(which they claim is no longer being made),yet I am concerned as to NOT adding anymore weight to the bearing,hence my mod.

Well I am either crazy or the Chardonnay was too strong,but the SOTA clamp must have been creating some feedback,which my cartridge was picking up.

I was able to effectively voice my arm/cartridge to a much better "timbre",and found a clearly audible improvement across the board from a "Little, thought provoking tweak",hence my wanting to re-visit the arm cabling issue,which is probably capable of yielding a nice change in sound.My only problem is--How much improvement over the ic-70,in MY system,and as I'm really getting "tweaked out"( trust me,my knees and back are feeling it all),is it worth looking into.Even with the "trials" by Cable Co.,and the very appealing offer by YOU Nsgarsh(you already know I respect your opinions),it is a really tough decision,though my pal may be interested.Also,when I spoke to the guy at Purist(he WAS a very nice fellow,BTW),he related the Venustas vs Graham review(written in Pos feedback).As I did read it,the review is useless,since the reviewer was comparing the Venustas to the ic-30,which is NO match to the ic-70.Believe me,I'm not hitching my car to the ic-70,yet I need more effective evidence.This will probably have to come in the form of a trial,in my own system.This,also,will probably not happen soon.

Only time,and the condition of my back,will tell!!

Best regards to all,and sorry for the lengthly diatribe!!