Cardas or Virtual Dynamics power cords? Opinions?

Ozzy,

I see in your system that you have PAD Dominus interconnects and VD Revelation speaker cables, an interesting combination indeed. Have you thought about going all one way or the other? I know Rick Schultz recommends a full VD rig. I'm sure Jim Aud of PAD feels the same way. It might be an intruiging combination of PAD and VD, assuming you get the best properties of both.

The dynamics and power of VD with the soundstage and ease of the PAD........hmmmmmm....intruiging indeed.
Of course I guess the possibility of getting the power and dynamics of the PAD and the soundstage and ease of VD is also a possibility. :(

John

Gentlemen,break in is a fact of life with VD cables and seems to be even longer with the higher level cables. Jmcgrogan2,you are on the tip of the iceberg when you consider that the REV is new and your amp is just starting to push through it.As far as soundstaging,it will take at least 400 hours before the cables start to relax and show the soundstaging they are capable of. To say that they throw a huge stage and make the speakers completely dissappear,really,doesn't tell how powerfully musical the recordings can be.The Genesis cable sets a whole new level of resolution and musicality,space that goes back way beyond the rear wall, width that completely destroys walls and height that fills cathederals organs in complete space.I am sure that PAD is an excellent cable but the VD is capable of so much more.A fully broken in system will bend your mind as well as the ear!As RJA stated "it 3-4 months for them to bloom"-Cheers Dennis

Actually Dennis, the Rev's are used, not new, at least that is what Rick and Abderrahim at VD told me. There is no way of telling how many hours have been on them, maybe 50 maybe 5000. You can't tell when buying used.

If it does indeed take 3-4 months for them to bloom, it's a shame VD only has a 45 day trial period.

Your description of the Genesis sounds similar to my take of the Dominus regarding soundstage. The speakers and walls just dissapear. There is no way that I can afford to try the Genesis though, so I'll just have to take your word on that. :)

John

Fplanner, I have a similar situation - similar in that I have a Master on my AA Capitole. The Cap sits on a double stack of Rollerblocks and the Master - if not supported - pulls the Cap off the Rollerblocks. Temporarily I have put an oak dowel tripod in place to support the Master. This fix is not ideal, and it is certainly unattractive. But the Cap remains, safely, on the RBs which are an indispensable part of my chain. Before I decide to swap the Masters for Revelations, or - should I even suggest this? - the Genesis, I'm going to have to change my rack, effectively lowering the height of the Cap.

I find the Genesis intriguing but it is out of reach for many (most?) of us. They do have a rather stiff price of admission you have to admit. But if you can handle it what the hell. They probably sound fantastic!

Islandear- thanks for sharing your experience. Where exactly did you put the dowel? I'm hopeful of using the rear wall as support and measuring the bend to both power conditioner and the CD player (about 18"). I think if I can somehow support the bottom run to the conditioner, MAYBE the rest will hold against the wall. If not, I may have to devise some sort of clamp to hold it against the upper wall near the CD player, altho I really hate to start drilling into walls for a power cord............. Maybe I'll just try super-glue.....

Fplanner, the tripod sits 6" below the level of the IEC, about a foot away, to allow the cable to span the distance between cdp and the Hydra. I had 3 36" oak dowels on hand - pine would work (perhaps another sonic consideration? LOL) - and drilled a hole through them about 6" from the top, connecting them with a 3" screw. I set the Master over the top of the tripod's crotch (is there a better choice of word here?).

Verrrrrry ugly. But it works.

Your idea of using the wall as a support might also work. Superglue would probably work too...just make sure you never want to move anything ever again... Sheesh, the things we do.

If only I were a Luddite.

Ozzy, that was very helpful information -- about the Revelations taking up to 400 hours to fully break in. I'm at about 120 hours on my Revelation speaker cables and the system is still improving noticeably.

Of course, the same applies to my cartridge and tonearm wire, which have about about 100 hours on them and my Purist Aqueous Anniversary phono cable, which has about 60 hours on it. Albert Porter tells me the Aqueous Anniversary takes about 700 hours to fully break in!

Ed

I got the Genesis PC to actually hold between my power conditioner and CD player this am. We are closing doors very gently for fear of disturbing the perfect balance. I pre-bent everything and then placed the bulk of the weight on an insulated 4" pipe about 18" long. Took me 1/2 hour to plan and prebend, 10 minutes to install - a new record for VD and me. It has been working for several hours now.....
Initial comparison with EpiphanyX it replaced - no contest - better imaging, depth and width of soundstage, musicality, and most of all, the ability to draw out the soul of the music, especially the bass, much more clearly. I realize this will only get better as the cord settles in, but so far, so good.