PAD Venustas

Thomas, to my knowledge the only difference is the addition of a flexible link plus DIN or whatever plug fits your tonearm. The purpose of the flexible link is to reduce interference with the suspension of the turntable.

My Walker table had RCA outputs on a plate (from the factory) so when I was testing I had no problem using several brands of interconnects that were factory terminated with common RCA to RCA termination.

I loved the Venustas RCA interconnect in the phono position (Walker to Aesthetix Io), but admit I never got around to testing the Aqueous there.

Hello Thomasheisig

I have a Venustas Phono RCA to RCA and the (-)signal ground is isolated from shield ground, there is a little black wire with a spade you can attach to your equipment if you need the grounding like on a din tone-arm cable.
On the regular Venustas cable, (-)signal ground and shield ground are tied together I think.

Has anyone compared the PAD Venustas or Aqueous to the Audience Au24 interconnects?

I currently own the Audience Au24 RCA interconnects and, because of an equipment upgrade, have the opportunity to move to an XLR cable. I really like the sound characteristics of the Au24...ultra smooth midrange, esp for female vocals, relaxed, smooth presentation, treble without etch or glare, wide soundstage, etc. If there was any improvement area in this cable, I would like to hear more micro-level detail (again, without etch or glare), and perhaps a stronger bass response.

After doing some research on Audiogon, it would appear that the Purist Audio Venustas might be a good match. Has anyone tried both the Audience AU24 AND the Purist Venustas and made a comparison? Should I go with the Venustas....? or should I move up to the XLR version of the Audience Au24?

I would appreciate anyone's comments or recommendations!

calgarian5355

I really like the sound characteristics of the Au24...ultra smooth midrange, esp for female vocals, relaxed, smooth presentation, treble without etch or glare, wide soundstage, etc.

I would say a couple of things. I've found with two components that I actually liked the music more with the RCAs than with the XLRs. They were the same cable, naturally, but both had the same effect of losing focus with the XLRs. YMMV, of course.

You obviously are a big fan of the AU24. I found them to be exactly as you describe, but within an hour I was really bored with the music. The Venustas have similar qualities--excellent bass as well--but in contrast to the AU24, I find the music to be enveloping and utterly engaging. My suggestion would be to pick up a used pair of Venustas, leave them in your system for 3-4 days (they may disappoint at first), and then go back to the AU24. Then you'll know which you prefer, and you could end up sticking with what you already have.

Best of luck!