Verastarr Grand Illusion Series II Power Cord

Category: Cables

I had the opportunity to spend some time with the new Verastarr Grand Illusion Series II Power Cord over the last week. I’d like to share my thoughts on this great product.

As a very “tube-oriented” music lover, I was interested to see how the Grand Illusion Series II affected the sound of my Sonic Frontiers DAC, which as you probably know is tube-based on its front end. We replaced the Sonic Frontiers power cord with the Grand Illusion Series II and let it warm up for about an hour. I noticed first and foremost that a little warm-up time is important.

As to the effect, let me say that my audio system is extremely detailed and musical, with a very deep soundstage. I was accompanied by my buddy Jerry, whose ears I trust even more than my own.

Our first observation was a prompt improvement in musicality as evidenced by a slight increase in mid-range, resulting in a smoother frequency response from low to high. Detail was definitely clearer, extending the sound-stage back even further. We regularly use the Atlanta Symphony Faure and Durufle Requiems to assess for musicality of solo voice, clarity of depth of soundstage, and solidity of bass response. In all of these areas a palpable difference was felt with the Grand Illusion. The voices of the choir back near the rear of the stage in Atlanta’s Symphony Hall – especially in the A Capella portion of the end of the second movement of the Faure – gained a much more detailed presentation, allowing a much finer separation of the voices of the members of the choir. I would add, I actually was present for the concert from which this recording would be made two days later, including the same soloists. I would also add, I sat in the front row, ten feet from the soloists. So, I have a very clear perspective of what these folk actually sounded like for this performance and recording.

If I had to pick a single word that is the reason to purchase this cable for your system, that word would be “effortlessness”. The massive copper cabling in these cords allows an astonishing amount of instantaneous current to be drawn. You wouldn’t think that a DAC would need this, but clearly – and obviously – it does.

When we experimented with the cord taken back out of the system, we reverted to a more “primitive sound” - much less "real", less pretty, losing fine detail and definition - and after A-B’ing for awhile, we knew that the Grand Illusion Series II had to stay. I am excited to begin adding the Grand Illusion Series II to other components in the system!

In summary, highly recommended, well worth the money, and for all the improvements that I have made to my system, this one might be the best bang for the buck. I can’t wait to try the Silver (Signature) version!

System:
Alon V Mark III Speakers
VTL MB-225 Monoblock Amplifiers
Sonic Frontiers DAC
Teac CD Transport (heavily modified) with optical interconnect
Convergent Audio Design Pre-amp
Van den Hul First Utimate Interconnects from DAC to Pre-amp
Van den Hul MC-Gold Interconnect from Pre-amp to VTL