Is anyone using viritual dynamics armorned wire?

You might want to email Garfish if he doesn't see this thread. He has the armored bx and cryoed cb's and will give a very favorable report I know.

Hi Brouch; I haven't been spending much time on A'Gon the last few months-- been learning digital photography.

Yes, I used cryo VD armored cable between main and sub-main, and then used VD 10/3 cryo treated, but non-armored wire, from the sub-main to 4 Hubbell (5362s) dedicated outlets that were cryo treated by VD. I also used a 30 amp VD cryo treated breaker in my main panel.

First I had the wire (60 ft.) installed from main to sub-main 1st and the improvement in "musicality" was excellent, and certainly worth the modest cost. Music became much more natural sounding with an "ease" I had not heard in my system before. BTW, this 60 ft. VD armored BX replaced an old 6/3 Zaner wire-- not Romex. I have no comparison of the VD wire to regular Romex except for the 4 runs from sub-main to dedicated outlets.

The biggest improvement in my system's music came from replacing the big 6/3 Zaner wire from main to sub-main. I also added the 30 amp cryoed breaker in the main panel at this time. About a month later I had the VD cryoed wires from sub-main to dedicated outlets installed and their was some additional improvement in music but it was not nearly as dramatic as step 1. But then it took the new wires, outlets, and breakers awhile to break in, and that happened gradually. Overall, using the VD cryo treated parts provided a significant improvement in my stero system, and the VD parts + installation by an electrician was only about $1300., which is less than 1/3 the cost of my pre-amp.

I have become a total believer in a high quality dedicated AC system and consider it the foundation of any good quality stereo system. I can highly recommend the VD cryo treated wires, breakers, and outlets. Cheers. Craig

Brouch; two clarifications. 1. the 60 ft. of VD armmored wire was run through our attic from main panel to sub-main panel. 2. My sub-main panel is located on an exterior wall, so the 10/3 VD cryo treated wires from sub-main to outlets was run in plastic conduit. One conduit for each outlet. The last few inches of 10/3 wire was just heavily taped for the 4 inch wall thickness. The installation is a little ugly looking, but then it's on the backside of our house, and my wife didn't mind;>). Craig

Garfish,
Thanks for the info. I think I will give it a try, being such a cheap upgrade, it seems like a no brainer. I have been so impressed with VD powercords and I/C that the armoned wire is a must at this price point. Thanks Again
Brouch

Garfish, my main is very close to were my dedicated plugs are located and I have plenty of room on my main box, is a sub really required? Will I get the same improvement with running the 10/3 from the cyro CB to my dedicated outlets?
thanks Gerry

Craig aka Garfish:

I too would like to install the VirtDyn wire for a dedicated line in our new home, but I don't think I want to go the route/expense of a sub-main. If I do this from the main to the outlet, should I leave the armor on or not? What is the reason(s) for removing the armor?

My current system consists of an integrated 120W and matching 120W power amp (bi-amped), with a CD and tuner as sources. I would probably plug these components into a balanced power unit plugged into the dedicated line. Your recommendation about which cryoed breaker from VirtDyn to go with this configuration would be much appreciated.

And would it be more beneficial to have say 2 or 3 dedicated lines, one for amps and the other for sources and preamp? I'm thinking about going with a separate preamp and 2 power amps in the future.

I've seen your system listed here on A'gon - wow - and it seems you have foregone power conditioning and/or surge protection. Does your sub-main take care of this?

Sorry about all these questions. Any advice would be welcome and appreciated.

Thanks.

Max