For my VTPH-2, I've tried grover interconnects, Morrow MA-1, and anti-cables but I kept coming back to the Herron interconnect. Then, last December I installed a .9 meter pair of the TEO Audio Game Changer "liquid metal" interconnects. Jim Jordan of Vaughn Loudspeakers recommended them. At that time you could buy the interconnects as a special here on Audiogon, but they've disappeared since then. They were $400. Now you have to go to their website and contact them to get prices. Once those cables broke in, they were in a class by themselves. The most noticeable cable improvement I've ever made.
Silky is the first word that comes to mind. There's sort of a naturalness to them. Completely non-fatiguing. Detailed, but unforced detail. At the time I put them in, I was using a Lyra Delos. Since then I've switched to a SS Zephyr MIMC and had Keith upgrade my phono stage. Once I got the Zephyr azimuth, VTA and tracking weight dialed in on my ET 2.5 tonearm, the system achieved a level of transparency and resolution that was way beyond what it had been. The Zephyr pulls a disappearing act. I understand now what "freedom from mechanical artifacts" means. It's more like to listening to a master tape. If it was a tad warmer, that would be fine, but that's nitpicking. I had a party a week ago, and the most telling indication is that my wife was talking to a friend in the listening room while the music played quite loudly, and she didn't ask me to turn it down. That requires near zero distortion. The new interconnect, the upgrade to the VTPH-2, and especially the Zephyr, make for a stellar combination, but since I installed the TEO interconnect first, pre-upgrade, while still using the Delos, I'm confident in my observations about it. Arsh - if you wouldn't mind, could you describe what improvements you see going from the Zephyr to the Paua? I'm considering that upgrade.
Herron VTPH 2--what cables are you using?
I am curious about what cables are being used between your Herron VTPH 2 phono stage and your preamp/integrated amp. I am using Herron interconnects, but the rest of my cables are Transparent Reference MM2 level. I have stuck with Herron cables for the Herron phono stage because I have been advised that it is generally ideal to use cables made by the manufacturer of the component in question, if they make cables. However, I know that there is disagreement on this issue. I would like to know which cables have been used with the VTPH2, and with what results? Comparisons with Herron interconnects would be particularly illuminating. Thanks in advance for sharing your experiences.