OK folks, I just received my cryo'd Audition Package yesterday. First off, I must note that I was missing part of my order. My order consisted of two pairs of ICs, one digital IC, a biwired pair of SCs and four PCs. I was missing 3 PCs, but after a quick call to Brett, I was assured that the other three would be built and shipped to me ASAP. Brett was very apologetic. The folks at Virtual Dynamics are the nicest people in the world, and because of the buzz surrounding there products they're also among the busiest. I have complete confidence in their service.
I've been sitting idle for about three weeks without any music at all, because I sold both pairs of Analysis Plus Oval 9s I had. So the first thing I did last night was to hook up the biwired Audition SCs and try to make an aural comparison through memory. I opted for the WBT bananas instead of the standard WBT spades. When I placed my order, Rick said that WBT Topline bananas were optional at no extra charge. Well I was pretty darn surprised when I realized he had placed the more expensive 0645 angled Safety locking bananas on them. Thanks!! Initially, I was a bit apprehensive because the VD cables are so stiff, and running four separate conductors to my little ProAcs could potentially create flying/suspended Tab 50s! To my relief, all VD cables while being stiff, are also very bendable. I found it easy to bend all the cables into any twist or shape. Try and imagine big expensive pipe cleaners. Once you bend them, they stay put.
Even cold out of the box I can tell the cryo'd Audition speaker cables are very good. Overall very smooth and at the same time satisfyingly [for me] detailed. From what I can remember these beat the the AP9s as far as soundstage width and depth, but right now the VD's focus is out of wack. Instruments such as pianos and guitars are decently placed, but Ana Caram sounds as if she's standing at a 45° angle to me and singing to the guy standing by the back door. I'm sure this will be resolved as they break-in.
I hooked up the digital cable, interconnects and the one power cord this morning. One thing I noticed was that the digital cable was not differentiated from the other ICs. This leads me to believe that it may not be a true 75 ohm design. Please correct me if I'm wrong. Also the biwired SCs have the Virtual Dynamics logo on the terminator jacket on the source end while the speaker end is blank, so I arranged all my ICs in the same manner. The interconnects come with locking WBT RCA jacks just like the ones Harmonic Technology uses, but these are gun metal grey. Oooohh. The ICs have the same bend characteristics as the SCs.
With all the VD cables and cords installed, I sat around for a couple hours this morning listening to music I'm very familiar with. After running brand new Virtual Dynamics cables for only a few hours, I will say that they are very smooth. I'm not sure if this is an effect of the cryogenic freezing, but I'm pretty impressed. The background is blacker and quieter than before. While still a bit unfocused, the soundstage is larger than I've ever experienced in my system, and there's more air around the instruments as well. Right now my system lacks the romance it had with my other cables, but hopefully that will change with time and break in. And if not, that's something I can address with some tube rolling.
I'm playing a CD on repeat while I'm at work, so I'll have a chance to see if there are any improvements when I get home. I realize the full break-in may take one to two months though. I'll write again when I have something significant to report.
