Purist Audio, Venustas or Aqueous

First a comment about power cords: Dominus is essential for amps and (believe it or not) DACs. You can get away with other fine PCs (Venustas, etc.) elsewhere.

All my ICs are Venustas. I don't think there would be any discernable any sonic difference between Venustas and Aqueous since the only physical difference is in the jacket (not the conductors.) And personally, I feel that the 100% Ferox jacket (Venustas, Dominus) provides better shielding -- with comparable mechanical isolation to the Ferox/fluid combo (Aqueous, Purist Anniversary)

Finally (and this may not concern you, I don't know) the Anniversary Purist and Aqueous products will only be made this year and then discontinued. Whereas the Musaeus, Venustas, and Dominus will continue in production. And generally, discontinued products don't hold their resale value as well as current models.

I don't think there would be any discernable any sonic difference between Venustas and Aqueous

There is a huge difference between the two. I own both, and would suggest that Raytebeest would prefer the Aqueous IC's, as they are closer to the above-listed criteria than are the Venustas. As far as the speaker cables are concerned, we use the Aqueous in our system, which are sonically equivalent to the IC's. I have not heard the Venustas.

Boa2, since you have both, I assume you made A-B comparisons. What are these "huge" differences?

The Purist Anniversary & Aqueous Anniversary at first were going to be just made this year. But according to Jim at Purist the Dealers have told him that if he stop the line they would hit over the head. So the Purist & Aqueous will not stop.

ok thank you all for you input. I just talked to Jim and he to thinks I should go for the Aqueous. But if there are more people who did an a/b compare please respons here

Boa2, since you have both, I assume you made A-B comparisons. What are these "huge" differences?

In this thread from last week, I posted my impressions concerning the differences between the two.

Boa2, thanks, I just read that other thread. I can only conclude that in my (very articulate) system, the Venustas probably sound just like the Aqueous does in your system.

In any case, I certainly wouldn't want any further high end extension; the bass is very fast and plentiful with the Depth sub. So perhaps the Anniversary series would work better with most systems.

What I'd really like is to A-B a Dominus phono cable with my Venustas. I can't imagine it's that much better, but many people seem to think so. Except if it is, then I'll want to hear the Siltech before I write a check . . . . . . . . ha ha!

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Boa2, thanks, I just read that other thread. I can only conclude that in my (very articulate) system, the Venustas probably sound just like the Aqueous does in your system.

I wouldn't know, other than to say that I thought the Venustas were extended and transparent until I heard the Aqueous.

so has one of you compared the Dominus PC to the Aqueous ? Since I've some money left not buying the Venustas ic en spkr I might spend it on the pc's. Same thing goes. I don't need more baseslam but I want the best overall performance and balance. What would it be ? Dominus pc of Aqueous pc ?

Raytebeest: I have not heard the Aqueous Anniv (AA) PC's but I have 7 Dominus B & C PCs throughout my system. The Dominus PCs regularly sell on A'gon in the $800-900 range for lengths of 1m, 1.5m and 2m. And considering this is $100-200 less than the new AA PCs being sold here, the price difference is minimal IF the Dominus is truly the performer. Only a direct comparison of the two at each component could answer that question for you. But I would not assume that the AA is your only option...just keep your eyes out for Dominus PCs here. The Opis PC might also be worthy of trial. A lot of people shift their components around and need a longer or shorter length.

As for sonic differences of AA and Venustas ICs and speaker cables, many A'gon threads have covered this subject. I find the AA more vivid and tonally rich but I would not describe them as any more transparent or extended than the Venustas. The Venustas has more of a mellow presentation vs. the out-into-the-room presentation of the AA. A direct comparison of these from my Manley DAC or Io phono stage to the Callisto was consistent with this observation. There's no right or wrong answer as you have to try them out for yourself in your system. otherwise you will forever be wondering if you made the "right" choice.

Nsgarch: I recently played again between the Dominus Phono vs. Venustas from my Clearaudio Accurate cartridge to Io. The Dominus brings on so much more midrange body to strings and voice. The Venustas is quite impressive, but once you hear the Dominus, you know why it is sooooooo much more $$.

Ray - I have done the comparison that you asked about (Purist AQ Anniversary vs Venustas)and here are my conclusions:
The Venustas gives a more "back of the hall" presentation than the Aq Anniv, which is more like being in the 5th row. The Venustas is a bit softer in transients throughout the music bandwidth, while the AQ Anniv is mellow in the midrange but has greater extensions at the frequency extremes. Neither cable suffers from brightness of any kind and both have very natural note decay. Both have great soundstaging when broken in - wide, tall, and deep. Both are excellent with ss as well as tube gear. The AQ Anniv is more prone to need to settle down for 3-4 hours after moving it than the Venustas, because of the combination Ferox/fluid. My preference with my system is/was the Aq Anniversary, but you certainly wouldn't regret going with either.

I now have the Dominus Rev C Power cords on my APL 3910 and Balanced 2M Dominus C Interconnects going to my Pass X350.5 Amp. The Rev C has a fantastic high end,(I was suprised by that)and a huge soundstage!..

My speaker cables need upgrading. I am presently using a silver ribbon bi-wire and though it has many good qualities, I believe I could do better especially in bass depth and quality. I cant afford the Dominus bi-wire Speaker cables.

I have been unable to trial either the Venustas or the Aqueous Speaker cable (even from the Cable Co).
I am so tired of waiting.

So,if I was to blindly buy one 2.5M Bi-wire Speaker Cable for my Legacy Focus Speakers which one do you guys reccomend?

The Aqueous or the Venustas ???.

I second the Venustas, and I wonder if I have the same reasons as Tvad though. The objective differences are as follows, and come right out of the Purist catalog bi-wire spkr cab. for ea. product:

1.) Venustas effective ga. = 8AWG
Aqueous effective ga. = 12AWG (2 sizes smaller)

2.) Venustas metal = copper/silver
Aqueous metal = copper/gold

3.) Venustas = 100% Ferrox Shielding (cable dia. = 1-1/8")
Aqueous = Foil with drain wire (cable dia. = 3/4")

4.) Venustas shock damping = Ferrox, 1-1/8" dia.
Aqueous shock damping = Contego, 3/4" dia.

Subjective differences (mine ;--)) would be

1.) The Venustas has much better current carrying capacity due to larger wire and the fact that silver is a better conductor than gold.

2.) The huge Ferrox jacket represents not only a better RFI and (especially) EMI shield, but also a much more sbstantial shock absorber than the fluid at approx. half the diameter.

3.) In the Aqueous, if you look at the cutaway drawing on the Purist site (vs. the Venustas drawing) you will see that the Venustas bi-wire cable consists of TWO PAIRS of 8 ga cable, while the Aqueous the two pairs TOGETHER add up to the specified (and smaller) 12 ga.

My conclusion -- the Venustas is (physically at least) twice the cable. If you want to better the Venustas, you'd have to get either the Dominus Ferrox Rev. C (8 AWG) or the 20th Anniversary Purist (7 AWG) -- both outrageously expensive.

Tvad, any other thoughts. . . . . ?
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Thanks, For the opinions. I needed that !

I've not had the chance to try out the Dominus power cords, but I have tried out numerous pc's on my Krell KRC-HR, so I thought you might be interested in this. By far and away the best pc I've mated with the KRC-HR is the Cardas Golden Reference. It totally opens up the soundstage in all dimensions and images within the stage are correctly sized and proportioned. Even much more expensive cords like the Kimber Palladian (PK-10?) and Aregento Powercord 1 just didnt seem to energise the music like the Cardas did. Before you lay down some big green for the Dominus, try out the Cardas.

Another comment I might add is that you may be very surprised by trying out a current generation CD player. I have the Krell SACD Standard now and it leaves the old generation Krells in the dust. I spent a long time and lots of money on cables (incl Purist Musaeus, Venustas, and currently the A.K. Limited) trying to squeeze the last drop of performance from my system. I replaced the old Krell 300CD with the SACD Standard, and wow! All the qualities that were incrementally improved by the cable changes were suddenly there in spades. Just something to think about...
Cheers
Mick

Some more food for thought. I to have tried many of pc's ,
Interconnects , & SC's. To add to the last thread the Cardas
G.Ref. is a very nice pc & would do many of system justice & is worthy of one of the best.
But, in my system the Purist Dominus & Anniversary are my hands down favorite. If you can , I would recommend you try them in your system, you may be suprised.
As it goes, each system is different & everyone has an opinion.
Good luck in your search

Hi, very nice system, to be alike to my electronic ,
I m KPS-20 t, Reference64, two KBL dual mono & Krell 300S
My speakers is Sonus Faber, Extrema, Im to sell Purist in
Argentina
My recomedation is Dominus IC or Aqueous IC , Im used one
Dominus for KBL y KSA300s and one Aqueous for DAC and Transport, my power cords is Purist20 Anniversary for KSA300S and Aqueous for Reference 64 I replaced is power cord, next week I coment to improve.
Good luck , plese to wait to ask

Sorry for sliding in on a banana peel;)
I am looking for both interconnect and loudspeaker wire.
I am most certain, a set up that is calm, giving a bettter body in the upper mid and upper bass, paired with a sense of remoteness soothing down a quite forward top end.
Am i assuming correct, that Venustas could be an something to check in?
Any other recommendations of models and brand of cables?

Inpieces -- to your question, a tentative 'yes', but it would help to know what your system consists of.

So many seem to recommend aqueous but, is the bass not better with venustas? also, I was told it is a more musical cable...that should count for something. And what if you have forward sounding speakers like I have (Elacs) seems Venustas would be perfect.

I own Elac 208A's and use the Aqueous Praesto speaker cables and they pair very, very well. They're perhaps a warmer side of neutral that the Elac's mate well with. They're very smooth sounding making vocal's very nice to listen to. ANd reveal a depth in the bass that is hard to find in speaker wire. Also, present a nice deep soundstage and black background. I like them better then Golden Ref in terms of musicality, smoothness, weight of tonality, and timber. But if you want really open, higher end detail, and soundstage forwardness that trades for a bit of leanness, then the Cardas GR are better there. Purist: richness, depth, warmth, natural. Cardas: sparkle, openness, detailing, big wide soundstage but a little lean in character vs Purist.

interesting...I own a pair Elac FS 68 speakers, using Musaeus praesto speaker cable and Elementa Advance IC's. Musaeus power cords on amp and cdp. I would not change anything at the moment. I made a short video of my system on Youtube. I know you can go much higher in the purist line but for me I think there is little incentive to, the sound I am getting now is just unreal. The elacs love the Musaeus...was told venustas speaker would be even better but ouch!!!! mega $$$$$$!!!! FYI new praesto EA is a steal!

Think of the Venustas as a "Dominus Lite" ;--) It has the sonic character of the Dominus, just a tiny bit less. Or, if it makes you feel better, you can think of the Dominus as Venustas on steroids!

My point is that the original "Ferox Trinity", Musaeus, Venustas and Dominus, represented THE watershed moment in Purist's cable development. Their incredible definition, and unbelievable silent background surpassed (and still surpasses) almost everything else available, including most of the great names (like Transparent, and such) Purist cables do have a couple of genuine rivals IMO: Siltech, Aural Symphonics, Stereovox, and Stealth included. But when you factor in price, Purist is still (don't choke!) the best value of the group;--)

Everything before the "Trinity" products, like the Elementa, Colossus (I think it was) hinted at the direction their designs were going but never quite 'got there'. Also, Musaeus is a bit ordinary sounding unfortunately. probably due to the fact there's just not quite enough 'stuff', conductor size and Ferox volume, to put them over the top sonically -- so although they're considered 'entry level' (cheaper) they don't represent a great VALUE, and you can find many other products that do as well for less money IMO. Venustas and Dominus however, even the original versions, offer (IMO) at least 80% - 90% of the performance of any of the various products/versions that came later (to stimulate sales, naturally). That's not a criticism, but the reality is that VERY FEW systems have the resolving capability to allow comparisons between the Dominus and anything further up the line -- excepting Provectus, which is Purist's first solid core conductor product, if you need solid core (like for ultra low capacitance speaker cables mated with electrostats) and now they're in a class by themselves since Virtual Dynamics crashed!

I couldn't afford to use Dominus system wide, so my system is all-Venustas -- except for the Dominus PC's, which have a well-deserved, almost a 'cult following', all their own!

It should be mentioned that when using any of the ultra sophisticated design, ultra expensive cable brands, the special benefits they all can provide are not realized by sticking a Purist here, and a Siltech there. You really need to (eventually ;--) use a given brand/model throughout your system. That's because in this realm, each brand is so unique (you might even say 'peculiar') in both design and construction, that all the cables together can become a component in themselves. Think of it as one LONG cable connecting everything in your system!
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Nsgarch, wouldn't that then make the Musaeus the "Venustas lite"? Musaeus, Venustas and Dominus are the only three cables in the PAD line to mix silver and copper conductors.

Hi J Mc -
As I tried to express in my previous, the Musaeus model, although made of the same "stuff" as Venustas and Dominus, just doesn't provide the same qualities (even in lesser amounts) as its two more expensive brothers. Many people feel (and I still do) that the Venustas line represents the best price/performance tradeoff of all the high priced cables available. It's one of those products where you'd truly have to (at least) double what you spend just to get a 10% performance increase -- and then only if your system (or hearing) is resolving enough to hear the improvement ;~)

There are some other little exceptions too: for instance the Dominous Power cords are in a class by themselves -- which is to say that in my (ever humble ;~) opinion, nothing else I've tried comes close (not even the
Venustas.) For high power applications/devices, it's in a class by itself; which, considering its cost, makes it a (relative) bargain ;~))

While I am not disagreeing how good the Venustas is, it is 4X's the price of the Musaeus. You are right, the ancilllary equipment should dictate which would work best. I don't see Venustas cables making sense in a $10K system.

All I'm saying is that yes, the Venustas is a nice option for those that cannot afford to wire a system with all Dominus. Similarly, the Musaeus is a nice option for folks who can't afford to wire a system with all Venustas.

I do agree with you about the Dominus power cords, they are a classic.

Aqueous Powercables are great for amps. For sources I have my doubts. I used it a few times and compared it with the Valhalla of Nordost. This one was in resolution superior. At poweramps the Aqueous was superior. At the end of this week I will get the new Purist Audio LE powercable for my Pass x250.5. I am very curious what it will bring. Purist Audio powercables are stunning in low freq, much more open mid's compared to other powercables. And a lot of depth and black.