Whoa......easy there big fella! First Tara Labs 'The Zero' and now VD Gen 1.1? That is some very pricey cables there.... well out of my league. Though from my previous experiences with cables from both companies, I'm pretty sure I would much prefer the Tara Labs over the VD cables.
A word of warning, be very careful to pre-bend those VD cables. They are very stiff, if you haven't used them before and are not used to 'stiff', you will find the definition with VD.
I still recall my first experience with VD Revelation speaker cables, I was in such a hurry to hook 'em up and listen, that I did not properly pre-bend them into shape for their route.....the result....the friggin speaker cable snapped the Cardas binding posts right off my Jeff Rowland Model 6 monoblock amp!!!!! Crickeys!!!!
I replaced the binding post, and finally listened. Big, bold flavor, similar to their power cords, but way too forward for my tastes. So I sent 'em back. I do thank Rick for letting me try 'em though.
Rja, I totally understand. $15K for cables is nuts.....I just wish I could be nuts enough to try 'em. LOL. Actually though, Tara Labs follows the same business model as many of the cable bandits. Jack up the list price to help those who need to feel that money spent = better. Most Tara Labs products can be bought brand new from an authorized dealer for 50% off list. Some companies, I won't name names, they know who they are, sell their product new for 75-85% off list price. The list price is meant for prestige sake I suppose. Some feel the need to brag that they got a great deal on a $6K cable/cord that they bought new for $900. However, look around, if every one is paying $900 for this $6K cable/cord......where the hell did this $6K number come from???? It's insane to me, but there are enough out there that need the comfort of a high price tag that these companies stay afloat....many even thrive. You'll never see CDP, amp/preamp, speaker manufacturers sell their product brand new for 75-85% off of list. This is why so many folks are so leary of the cable manufacturers.
Obviously Steve and JD, of Gabriel and Jade respectively, do not play this silly game. Which is why a $2K cable can be very competitive with a '$15K' cable.
Cheers,
John
