Purist or Kubala-which to buy for entire system

I had been saving up to try a Purist Dominus power cord in my system. I was going to go for a good used one here on Audiogon, but I'm curious if anyone has contacted Purist to ask them what is the difference between the US, Japanese, and other international versions. Is there a code, color, label to ask the seller to determine what version it is? How can the US version be identified?

Mrtennis, Sure mix and match. I am using 2 Shunyata Annacondas on my Pass Labs X350.5 Amp with a Shunyata Hydra 2 in between.
On my digital, I am using a Virtual Dynamics Master from the wall to my Hydra 8.
My Purist Dominus C is from the Hydra 8 to my APL. The other Purist Dominus C is my Balanced interconnects.
I would say that is a mix and Match, wouldnt you ?

i understand the rationale for using one brand of cable from a particular manufacturer, but where is the evidence.

for each positive experience using one cable throughout, theremay be another experience of mix and match.

on the hypothesis that all cables have defects, selecting several cables with different strenths and weaknesses makes sense.

i have personally discussed this with several cable manufacturers and there is a difference of opinion on this subject.

That is correct.There are probably many in US home systems now. Perhaps that is why there is such a differance of opinion on its sonic quailites.

I agree. Makes you need to be aware when buying used.

The sound was much different, also, the cord was lighter and a little thicker than my new Dominus Ferox C.
I contacted Purist and gave them the serial number. That's where I learned the info on that particular cord and the the others made around the world.

I have tried both in a complete system except the Dominus Speaker Cables. For my system, and taste The Dominus C Ferox is much more dynamic and full range. The Kubala Emotion is warmer and powerful but would sound better in a more detailed type System. I think my system is ever so slight to the warm side.

Just recieved the Balanced Dominus C Ferox interconnects to complement the same Power cords. Right out of the box the music has so much more slam and feeling. Wow!
I am using them with Kubala Emotion Speakers cable. This combo sounds very good. I have not tried the Speaker Dominus Ferox C yet in my system.

Note: To all Dominus would be Purchasers.
I did try a Dominus Ferox Power Cord from Indonesia and found that to have a very rolled off sound, nothing like the Dominus Ferox C used in the US.
It sounds way, way different then the US version.

I am told the Japenses version is even more rolled off for the brighter type of Equipment preffered there.
Purist should add some additional labeling to identify the versions.

My system consists of APL Denon the latest version , Pass Labs x350.5 Amp and Legacy Focus Speakers.

Kubala

Hi Smilin,

Could you update us as to which cables you have chosen, and how they are working? Did you listen to both?

Also, how are the Lamm's??

Thanks,

Mark

sirspeedy, I have not updated my profile in a long time, thus, it not entirely accurate. I have actaully had 2 different pairs of the 211's in my system. Low volume low level detail was amazing, but, for some reason, I was never able to rock out with those amps, without the treble bothering me. I communicated with Dennis Had at Cary, and we could not figure it out. Maybe a lack of system synergy. I have been really enjoying a pair of Dodd 120's modded, using 8 metal base mullards, SS rectified, and 2 tungsol 5687's with a pinch waist amperex E182CC in the middle position of the driver tubes. These amps so far, have eaten the compatition, in my system. Go figure.

I am looking forward to the Lamms, though.

Smilin,I assume you are replacing the excellent Cary 211's with the wonderful Lamm's.Could you elaborate on your perceptions,as to why this change.Actually,I think the Lamms are about as good an amp as I've ever heard,but the 211's are also supposedly fabulous,and have a bit more clout.

Best!

I have ordered my Purist, and am still working on the Kubala's. I will post results after receiving. I have also bought a new amp, Lamm ML2, so my system is changing, for the better, I hope.

My comment is not about the Emotion IC's. However, I had K-S's Fascination XLR IC's running from my Synergy IIi to JRDG Model 12's and then a JRDG Model 302. I think that any of the top 3 Kubala-Sosna balanced IC's will be what you are looking for.

Considering their in-home trial, how can you go wrong? If you do not have a dealer in your area, send me an email and I will hook you up w/the best.

I'm the one that started the thread '' Kubala-Sosna Cables, I don't get it ''. I am still in the market for a balanced interconnect to go from my Rowland Synergy IIi pre-amp to my Rowland #5 Amp.The rest of the system is Purist Dominus and Venutas speaker cables. I really liked the Synergistic Absolute Reference X2 interconnects. Fast and detailed with a nice touch of warmth.... The Synergistic added some speed that I think I needed as sometimes too much of a good thing like Purist Dominus and Venustas made my system sound bloated, syrupy and sweet. So, I will throw my hat in this,,,,,how would the Kubala-Sosna Emotion sound between my amp and pre-amp. Remember, it's just your opinion.

Robert, I apologize for the above post, I did not intend to even answer the question on this thread, or any other. I thought about it, when I started writing a response, and intended to just delete it. My damn finger hit Submit, instead of preview, and wham, it was to late. Unfortunately there is no edit function on audiogon.

Robert, you have always been a REAL GENTLEMAN to deal with, and I agree, your cables were not given a real opportunity in MY system. Just one thing I would like to clear up here. I have NO agenda here. I did in Fact Talk to you on a Thursday, when we decided I would ship the Cables out to the next person, the following week. Greg Straley came over on Sunday(for the second time)Helpingme get my speakers working properly. I did in fact have about 12 hours of hearing the Poiema !!!'s. They are VERY good cables, and should be auditioned properly. I apologize for this misunderstanding, and hope that audiogon would delete my post above.

Sorry Steve. I think you finally crossed a line with me.

You paint quite a different story here than our conversations and your post here mentioning RSAD is contradictory and misleading. Almost like you have an agenda. As a result, I see some implications that come with the possibility of creating false perceptions in others.

In a phone conversation we had late January, after having the cables more than 3 weeks (you were supposed to have them only for 10 days) you told me you hadn't listened to the cabling. The next day, as per my request in that conversation, you finally sent the cables to the next participant in the audition tour we had made available. As you mention here, you told me your system was down. You say here you did listen to them. If you did, you had less than a day to listen to cold wires in a downed system. And then you come across as if the RSAD wires are not comparable? What's up with you Steve?

I've had the opportunity to actually do some direct comparison between the K-S Emotion and RSAD "P"!! Sigs in a system that is one of the most musical systems one is likely to encounter. In that system, as in our test bed here the RSAD cabling was as 3 dimensional as I've heard. That characteristic is very high on my value scale as to what I want a cable to allow. The "P" series cabling is not 2 dimensional. In that comparison, the "P"!! Sigs were preferred over the Emotions...enough so that the Gent who's system we were using for the comparison bought the Poiema cabling....for his whole system. As with all high end cabling, the Poiema is different than the Emotion but it is not in a lesser league by any stretch.

The Quote you mention was from Oct.'05 and was entirely different than the needs you mentioned to me in January. In that Quote, which we still have, the request was for enough cabling to allow for at least two different set up configurations because you told me you wanted to be able to demo different stuff for people. Sounded like a pitch to me then but nevertheless, I obliged your request back then. When we spoke in late January, you expressed to me you wanted cables cheaper(!) than our current ads were posting. I said depending on what you needed and the dollar amount, I might be able to afford a little help but I couldn't promise. I told you to post me with your current specific needs so I could take a look at it. You said you would. Based on my past experiences with you, I didn't hold my breath. I never heard back from you and you didn't receive a Quote from us for your current system as your post implies.

Further, you imply there's not much of a cost difference. Are you nuts!? LOL! Unless you're getting a very special deal on a group buy there's a substantial difference. I understand there's a ball rolling to acquire enough people for that and that's what you're in on. A sincere Good for you. When folks purchase from us they will not pay MSRP or retail either and by the same token, if someone were to arrange a group buy from us, they would pay less than our typical ads. So, rather than skew the picture Steve, please compare apples to apples.

Finally and honestly Steve, after at least four phone conversations with you and unlike virtually everyone else I've enjoyed working with whether they've bought from us or not, I've never sensed you were being straight with us here. Your post here seems to confirm that.

No sour grapes here as some will probably assume. I simply take exception when one posts something mentioning RSAD that is less than true to seemingly promote an agenda at our expense.

So, I'm done. Carry on. If the Purist or K-S cabling gets you personally closer to the music, it's good. Like I said, I've heard the Emotion and I understand it's appeal. It is good stuff for a given set of ears and system. I imagine the Purist offerings are wonderful too.

Sincerely,
Robert
RSAD

Brent, whasup, tell me buddy, which Kubala do you have now?

KS cables do in fact sound better than most new but I would have to dispute that in 2 days they max out . I have found that the last of the resolve came months into the burn in .

FWIW, Kubala Sosna claims its Emotion line of cables is 90% broken in in a day, and 100% in two days. From my experience with it, I think that's about right. Purist might take longer, I think part of it might be that there's silver in their cables(?). In any event, a cable cooker is not a bad idea at all for either of the cables.

Alan, Thanks, I will call you, cause I will not have the patience to burn these new cables in. Especially seeling the aqueous thread, wow, 300 plus hours, fuggetaboutit. When I spend that type of $$$, I want INSTANT gratification.

Gary,

I WAS going too, but, the time I spent with them, My system was not working properly. My new Epiphany's were damaged in shipping, and I was not really able to have the time to evaluate properly. Robert is a great guy, but, he quoted me 6k plus to redo my system. I remember them being very linear, accurate, but 2 dimensional, not 3. I felt if I bought them inexpensive enough, I would try them. Since then, I discovered the Purist, and Kubala. Just a different league, and really not much difference in cost, but, a GIANT difference in sonics, and resale, IMHO.

Hey Steve, what ever happened to the RS Audio cables? I thought you were working on a deal to cable your entire system with them? I have the RS Poima III Signature on my APL Denon and Poima III balanced interconnects going to my power amps and they sound incredible. I haven't sprung for Robert's speaker cables yet. That might be next. I'd really like to get your feedback on them.
Thanks!
Gary

To 711smilin....yes. To Drubin....there is nothing at risk.

alan m. kafton
audio excellence az

Why risk it?

Will an audiokharma cable cooker work with KS and Purist?

Sirspeedy: Kubala-Sosna cables do not come in a "phono" or "tonearm" design. When Joe Kubala visited my home last year, I asked this question and he told me his RCA cables would work just fine for this application. And since my Clearaudio tonearm has RCA connectors, it was easy for me to try out the K-S Emotion RCA cables. Did they work here? OH YES! No noise, no hum, no radio-station pickup, etc. The same thing goes for using regular Venustas and Dominus RCA-RCA cables into the Io phono stage. Works mighty fine!
John

Yes, cost was not a factor. As a matter of fact, the PADs on the used market at the time were less than the KS's, which were not available used. Thanks.

At this point I WAS considering replacing my Graham IC-70 phono cable with the Venustas.My friend did,but having been at that listening session/comparison,I still have reservations about the Venustas,in areas of High Freq air,and slight loss of dynamics (slight)and darkening of sound.Overall quite good,and benefits HIS system,but in my set-up,I'd die if I lost air,or darkened up my sound.I fired off an E-mail to Kubala,regarding possibly a new Phono cable,but don't know if they make one,in the two top models,or if costs are prohibitive!Also,what are the metals employed?

Thanks!You guys are a pleasure to correspond with!!!

Steve: I too have wanted to hear the SoundApplication PLCs after reading one great thing after another about these. I went out on a limb with the Audio Magic based on a lot of reading of PLCs and a recommendation by a local audiophile, Artg. When I dropped it in the system, it was phenomenol across the board. Other units like the SA, IsoClean, etc., may take the system further, but for now, what the AM has done impresses me greatly enough to be content in the PLC dept.

I am pretty sure I sent a response to another A'gon member on the differences between the Dominus B and C PCs. But it looks like that email has long since been deleted. And I do not remember the exact details so I will not even try to guess which cable rendered what sonic attribute compared to the other. I will borrow another pair of Dominus B PCs soon to try on the SoundLab A1 speakers. Before I try this, I will play the B vs. C game on the front-end again and report on this then if you are interested. Keep in mind, the Dominus B fluid cables are no longer in production.

Sirspeedy: Thanks for the support. I ramble on a lot on A'gon and have tried to do this less and less but when I saw this thread I wanted to share all that I had gone through with these two lines. Hopefully JD will see this and chime in as he would be able to provide much value to how these two chalk up to each other.

Rgs: I can fully agree with your sonic report. The CAT amps have loads and loads of energy on the top so this is perhaps why the Dominus B IC locked in so well. The K-S Emotion was not at all forward or bright here, and in fact was also wonderful. I simply loved that added weight of the initial piano note with the Dominus besides the explosive dynamic contrasts. A bit colored indeed, but oh so nice. 8-)

As for syrupy sound, this was exactly the word I used to describe the AA speaker cables when I returned them to the dealer. No other speaker cables I auditioned ever had such a fatiguing midrange hump like these. But in a system even "hotter" than mine, they too might just lock in.

John

Omconstruction, I have not tried the Kimber.

Howie, which Jena Labs do you have now, and have you ever heard the Purist, or Kubala in your system?

Sirspeedy, damn straight on John's post, I really appreciated it, and learned from his experience.

Rgs92, I was just wondering if the cost was the same, would you still have bought the Kubalas?

Thanks folks

Steve

I did a comparison in my home between the PAD Dominus B and Kubala Emotion interconnects and found the PADs a bit colored in the lower midrange, slighty syrupy, a little overdone for my tastes. The PADs also had an extremely deep, solid bass (great thump!) and a relaxed sound.
The Kubalas seemed more balanced and neutral, with the highs more extended (but still smooth) and the bass not as deep but extremely well defined. I think the PADs would be a good choice to tame a hot or whitish sounding system.

But these are quibbles. Both removed grain while preserving detail. Both are very refined and listenable, far better than the Cardas GR I had been using. Ultimately, I bought the Kubalas. (You might also try a pair of Stealth Indras, which may be the last word in neutrality.)

John,a stunning post,to me!Really interesting thoughts,and the passion behind your journey is evident.Thanks,so much,for taking the time to keyboard this.A great read!!

Interesting thread. I do believe in synergy when using the same cable brand throughout, but there really are few manufacturers who produce quality ICs/Speaker cables and powercords (although the situation seems to be improving), especially at a price that is affordable. Asking a cable manufacturer whether there's synergy in their cables produces an obvious answer IMO. But I think the comfort in using the same brand of cables is that you know it'll work. You just don't know whether it's the best bang for the buck.

I use to own VD Nites and at the time, their powercords were way ahead of their ICs and speaker cables. I now use Jena labs cabling and when I first purchased their cables their powercords were quite a bit behind their well regarded ICs and SCs. So naturally, I have never had my system fully cabled by one brand. I believe having the same brand of ICs and SCs is usually a good thing, but I'm not yet sold on the idea of having the same brand of powercords as your ICs and SCs though. I am interested in hearing others opinion on this as I think most of us use different brands of powercords.

WOW, great responses, thanks guys, it seems there is a general consensus that I do not have to stick with just 1 cable company. I really want Dominus, but, wow, it's twice the money of the Kubala. I am a bit more confused as a result of this mixing and matching, but alas, it does seem to make sense. If I stay with high end, compatable cables to tune my system, and in the fact that John states the Emotions work well with the Dominus, I guess I gotta just bite the bullit, and have some fun.

John, I do have dedicated lines, and have been thru more than 20 power conditioners. When I finally received my Sound Applications, I asked my wife(who HATES my obsession)if she heard any difference in my system, all she said was"now, it sounds like live music"I knew my power conditioner was the "right"one for me, at that point. I absolutely agree that clean power makes a HUGE difference.

I do have a question on the Dominus Fluid vs. Ferox, John, or anybody, could you explain the differences? The Ferox is a bit more expensive, but what are the sonic benefits and differences?

I really think the most difficult part of changing eq., yes, cables of these magnitudes are eq. is that it is so hard to really remember the sound, and which sounds better.

I was on a massive search, when getting into this crazy obsession to find the best digital to my ears, I would be able to A/B much easier using 2 of the same discs, and a pre-amp. Than I realized this was not even thourogh enough, cause, my APL has a built in Volume control, as did, my AA Capitole II, et. Cables are much more of a hassel to compare, but, hey, someones gotta do it.

Hi, my name is Serge from Canada. Do you have compare the Kimber palladian PK 10 power cord, with the K.S and Purist. Thanks.

Steve,

First of all I wholeheartedly agree with Drubin.

Interestingly enough, I am now a Purist owner. After hearing my system sound like never before when it was fully cabled by K-S Emotion, I had the opportunity to try a few Dominus cables in my system before I had to return the K-S cables. I was sold on the K-S Emotion and wanted to hear the Dominus before I would start commiting to purchases to replace the hodge-podge of cables I had assembled here.

After hearing the Dominus in my system, I was pretty sure the final outcome would be a mix of these two products with a few Purist to just bring on that added involvement to the music without losing the phenomenol resolution and black background of the K-S. Joe Kubala more than anyone else made it very clear to me the importance of staying with one cable brand throughout. And the more I became familiar with the K-S strengths, the more I could relate to this. I have come to agree with this at about 90%.

The cables I had here (NBS Statement, MIT 350 EVO, Coincident TRS) all had serious non-linear flaws when compared directly to the K-S. Trying to mix and match these would simply not work in the final analysis after hearing the fully-loaded K-S system. However, I quickly learned that this same conclusion did not apply to mixing with the Dominus. Notice I wrote Dominus, not Purist.

With the system fully loaded up with K-S Emotion (except speaker cables), when I switched the K-S IC to Dominus-B from Callisto to CAT JL-3s, I got a new layer of midrange textures, bottom octave coverage and dynamics....but I gave up a little bit of the ultimate in top-end openness and air. For me, the Dominus benefits here outweighed the K-S so I kept the Dominus. I was able to borrow the K-S speaker cables one final night and the results were the same....I prefered the Dominus IC from the line stage to amps.

With the fully loaded K-S system, I also tried 2 Dominus-C and 1 Dominus-B power cable one at a time on various front-end components with a K-S->Dominus->K-S swap. Each and every time the differences between the two models was the same sonic result as with the IC comparison. It's a tradeoff of DynamicContrasts/Low-end-extension/HarmonicTextures of the Dominus vs. the awesome resolution and see-through nature of the K-S Emotion. These two models are consistent in any link like no other cables I have tried here. This alone says much about their design.

I would have expected that the Dominus strengths would become too much of a good thing. But each and everytime I tried another, I kept it. Perhaps the Dominus-B IC if changed to a C would bring on a little more of the top-end extension of the K-S, but as it stands now, I have no desire to change this.

By the time I had to return the K-S set back to the factory, I had borrowed 2 Dominus ICs and 3 PCs and I ultimately kept them all. I have since borrowed 2 more Dominus PCs and another IC and had the luxury of borrowing K-S ICs and speaker cables from Jadem6 [JD] (also a huge fan of K-S). As much as I like the K-S, I still find myself drawn to the Dominus. I still need 4 more power cables and 2 ICs, so when I am ready, I will repeat this process with Dominus B and C vs. the K-S Emotion.

I have since tried Venustas RCA as a tonearm cable and was able to directly compare to JD's K-S Emotion....and later the Dominus RCA IC. The Venustas had the Dominus signature of dynamics but it indeed fell a bit short of the K-S resolution. I also tried the Venustas as an IC from DAC and Io phono stage vs. the K-S and the differences are consistent. The Venustas simply does not portray the fullness and dimensionality of the Dominus nor does it have the resolution of the K-S....but the Venustas is an awesome value.

And I have since gone with the Purist Opis speaker cable as this too was affordable until I get the opportunity to try the K-S vs Dominus. The Aqueous Anniv speaker cables were way too non-linear in my system with having too forward and unnatural midrange. This may work fine to compensate elsewhere in the system like I used to do with a mix of MIT and Coincident, but ultimately the AA would not be acceptable for me. It is way off the track of the levels brought on by the Dominus and K-S and the Opis for that matter. I still have an AA IC which seems to be not so "wild" like the speaker cables so it will be interesting how this fairs up with the Dominus XLR when I can try one of these. The AA appears to be a little bit of a shift from the Dominus/Venustas/Opis house sound.

Over the course of the above cable trials, I did take over many of these Dominus cables to JD's home and we experienced the exact sonic differences. His system sounds outstanding with a mix of the K-S Emotion and Dominus. It was too analytical when it was all K-S and too fat when all Dominus. It comes down to fine tuning to one's own preferences giving up the strengths I described above for another....just like we do with any other component in the system.

Simply trying a single cable in the chain and claiming we have great resolution or tonality, etc., does not work when you get to the level of the Dominus and K-S Emotion. Once you start replacing your cables with these, you quickly learn how flawed your cables were all this time and going back to them is impossible.

By the time I am done with this cabling project in the next few months, what I would really really like is to see Joe again and drop in the whole K-S set in one shot. The differences would be HUGE with each performance being so impressive. I think only then would I truly know the full capability of these two statement product lines.

If these lines are too rich for your blood, my gut feeling is that the next level down from K-S Emotion vs. the Purist Opis and/or Venustas would be a fascinating cable challenge.

So Steve, just go for both and take advantage of a listening opportunity that few if any others will ever have.

I'd like to ad one final note: until I got the Audio Magic PLC, cable differences were not at all to this level. I recommend that anyone first work to clean up their power before they go on the long cable journey. Dedicated lines are nice, but I have three of these for my system and still the PLC cleaned up so much and brough the noise floor way down which allows me to now hear such differences.

John

Steve, why don't you buy both and make the decision after living with each in your system over an extended period of time? Then keep the winner and sell the other set. Sounds like you're getting a deal on the way in, so you probably won't lose much on the back end. The main thing is, you won't beat yourself up second guessing whether or not you made the right choice.

Rcprince, thanks for the direction, I read the JAFox thread, and actually talked to a couple people with differing opinions. I was told from a fellow member that there definately is a synergy, using all same cables, but, when you get to this type of level of cable.....EX: like in one of the threads I was reading, all K/S with a Dominus to source for "more accurate soundstage". Man, I wish I could hear them first. I have a contact who has Tons of K/S, and is committed to "more tonal accuracy" using the much more expensive top of Jena Labs. He is just geographically out of the country, and I cannot ask him to ship on a trial basis"customs, and all" I know his cable are less than a year old, and can put a great package together.

Personnally, I like what I read about both Purist, and
K/S. I just wish I could hear them, before I buy them.
I have experience only with a Dominus PC on my conditioner. I was using an Epiphany X, which retails for HAHA $5200, and putting the much less expensive ugh, Purist was a wonderful improvement, in my system. Oh well, I gonna keep saving up for this side investment, my wife would kill me if she knew I was gonna spend this type of $$$$ on wire...I guess I will keep it to myself.

Barrelcheif, thanks for your input on the synergy just keeping within the same manufacturer. I am presently selling off a bunch of stuff not being used, and I am gonna bite the bullit on either Dominus, or Kubala. I would love to hear more from the Purist owner too.

Thanks

Steve

I have recently added a few more K-S PC's, bringing all of my cabeling to K-S. I have to completely agree with Rcprince. The days of focusing on the gear are well behind me. Now it is all about the music...and this includes some significant downsizing in my amplification.

My cabling changover has been happening in stages. I have a mix of K-S's Fascination IC's, Expression & Emotion PC's PC's & Emotion SC's. Becuase, I have kept it all in the K-S family, I have only enjoyed improvements and never any lack of synergy issues.

If you like to improvements that a Kubala-Sosna cable brings to your music playback, you'll likely love having their cables throughout your system.

I have the Purist 20th Anniv Aqueous cables and i really like them. Very smooth cables that just seems to work with my system. I do not think you have to have the same cables throughout your system. I use Acoustic Zen Silver Reference IC between my interconnetcs and Aoustic Zen Matrix Reference between my preamp and amp with very good results. The silver brings out all the detail while the matrix adds just a bit of warmth.

Rick is right, really. While you can mix and match and wind upwith good synergy if you work at it and do a lot of trial and error, I found with the Kubala Sosnas that they work well individually, but excellently as a system. You can't go wrong with either cable, in my view, but they apparently are different. The differences were described by a member (JAFox)in the Kubala Sosna--I Don't Get it thread from December, which I suggest you check. I think the bottom line was the strength of the Kubala Sosna was its neutrality (it is a cable that reproduces all of the frequency spectrum equally well, no area standing out) and, to me, its natural portrayal of music, the Purist Dominus was more vivid and perhaps had better bass reproduction (I might disagree on that, unless it's a matter of comparative excellence, as the Kubalas are excellent in my system at both deep bass retreival and getting subtle bass textures right). Depends on what you're looking for in your system. I would characterize the Kubala as a music-lover's cable--you can forget about the equipment and concentrate on the music. Can't characterize the Purist, haven't heard it in my system (except for Collossus, and that was a long time ago), though from the comments I've seen on it I'd imagine it could have the same claim made about it.

I think you would never really get a true answer unless you ab them both in "your system". Cables do make a significant contribution to your system but at the same time they react differently in each and every system.
Both brands you have chosen are top performers. I do have more audio friends who swear by the Purist line than the Kubala. It might be because Purist has been around longer. Who knows but unless you try them in your system, nobody could tell you if one is better than the other.
This hobby is a life long marathon so take your time and try them both... One more thing I dont think you must use the same brand from start to finish. Personally I combine a number of different brands for the best sound.
Nick