Does anyone own or use Verastarr Grand Illusion Speaker cables. Or ,does anyone have experience with them . I know that they are all copper, but cannot find a lot of reviews on them.
Give Mike a call and he will be happy to walk you through the upgrade path. You don’t have to buy all at once.
I own whole loom of his cables for over 3 years now and have no desire to look anywhere or upgrade. They are absolutely the best silver foil cables I’ve heard in my system.
I also have a full loom of Silver Verastarr Grand Illusion Statement, GI Sig III, GI Sig I PC, IC and SC; these are the best cables I have heard in my system; big soundstage, life-like dynamics/shading with unbelievable presence in imaging, soundstaging and musicality is off the Charts...
To improve your system immediately start with power cords. I’ve tried many brands, The most significant and noticeable was Verastarr Grand Illusion. I first changed the power cable on my Oppo Blu-ray player. It improved the bass performance and sound stage. It started my journey to change , power cables, interconnects and speaker cable all to Verastarr. They improve the performance on even moderately priced components. I loaned my friend a Verastarr Grand Illusion Power Cable for his Sony receiver he was amazed at the upgrade in sound. As previously stated you should contact Mike Powell from Verastarr
Labtec, thanks for your thoughtful response and wise advice. I have most of my system dialed in except for my speakers (they have to be 10" off the wall so not many options). I have been trying out different power cords in the meantime trying to feed the best possible signal and am impressed by the copper Verastarr PC so far. And yes, my system is modest.
I'll update this thread with my impressions later if I purchase any more or anything significant changes.
@mmcentyre I have the Grand Illusion Sig II - High Current power cord. Before providing my two cents, let me provide some context because too often people jump into "fanboy" or "hater" camps with primitive advice and conclusions.
First, I've had tons of power cords in my system for over 20 years...even a Vans Evers Pandora tune-able power cord...so I've seen and heard a lot.
First thing I would say is save cabling to the very last thing you should upgrade. I'm not a 100% cable denier or 100% advocate. However, many people make the mistake of trying to fix poor gear or mismatches in equipment with cabling. That will lead you to disappointment no matter what brand or how much you spend on cabling.
If you've TRULY maxed out on the equipment side, then cabling can be a worthwhile upgrade, but even then...don't get crazy with expectations.
Personally, I would start with power cords over interconnects or speaker cables. (The one exception is if you are using something like Spectral amps and need to use MIT speaker cables. Those matches can make a big difference.)
It's especially best to ignore interconnects if you are using XLRs. I haven't found much differences. If you do find a difference, it's likely due to improved connectors. IMO, that's where most of the performance gains can be heard/measured so look for cables with the very best connectors (Furutech/Bocchino/etc).
Getting back to power cords...Let's get this out of the way first...Most are overpriced and/or snake oil. The price to performance ratio is extremely poor.
Generally speaking, the better your power supply...the less a power cord will impact performance. That being said...most power supplies are not perfect and even if you reduce the inductance in the last 6 feet before entering your equipment, it can measurably reduce the total inductance and resistance including the romex in your wall. When you combine that with better connectors, it makes the case even more compelling for a power cord THEORETICALLY helping things.
Theory is different from reality though. Just because something measures better doesn't mean it will be audible (or audible in a positive manner).
In my case, the Verastarr cable was a slight upgrade sonically. Same is true for a friend of mine who bought some too. We both had max level gear already (he had full Ayon gear and used 3 of their power cords and noticed the biggest improvement). I had similar notes of improvement in more refined/articulate bass performance.
On the flip side, we loaned the cables to a friend with a more modest system and different type of amp (SET), and he found his performance actually diminished in the bass.
Will it improve your system? Is it worth the money? Unfortunately, I can't give you a categoric answer. I can say I haven't returned or sold mine...neither has my friend.
For those of you with the Signature and Statement power cords, did you start with the regular Grand Illusion and then later move up? Was the difference that significant?
I bought one GI III (I’m pretty sure Mike called it a version III), and with 40 hours on it in front of a Wireworld power strip I’m hearing a little more depth and detail than my previous cord. Not a huge difference but noticeable.
I can really only afford the base copper model if I buy 3 more for my components. I’m also skeptical about silver in power cords, even though I’ve had some nice silver USB and SPDIF cables. Just wondering if other owners have an opinion on the different power cords Verastarr offers. Thanks.
Wow .The Verastarr Grand Illusion Speaker cables that i got from Mike Powell @ Verastarr, are Fantastic.I had a slight brightness problem before i ordered them.I was using Voodoo Audio Reference Speaker cables and thought that was the problem, turns out it was a setting in my MX151 . I am also using the Rogue Audio ST-100 amp.I found that the combination of settings and a switch to the Mullard 1950s long plates 12AX7 tubes worked wonders. I was ready to blame the cables, and even called Mike Powell and told him about my issue.and that I wasn’t sure about his Grand Illusion cables, But BOY I was wrong!!. He was patient with me about the whole situation. I think he pretty much new it was not his cables causing the issue. I actually had the voicing set to Movies and not Music on the MX151...big mistake. After I made adjustments (Mx151) and rolled tubes I have Killer Bass with great Detail and liquid Midrange.
The Grand Illusion Speaker Cables are helping with all of this. It was definitely not the Grand Illusion, They are fabulous...some of the best that i have heard. Thanks Mike Powell
The Statement Hybrid is a combination of gold and silver combining the attributes of both. Contact Mike Powell at Verastarr to get a detailed explanation.
I also am running the GI's in my rig. It shares similar amplification with yours, not balanced but it's a Rogue Magnum 2 with KT120s.> Maggie 1.7s. Mine have the mods so they are fuse delete. The room is warmer and more open. They are also very well crafted and complement the clean look in their cable elevators. I will likely upgrade many things down the road but the cables will stay. Good luck!
I put a Hybrid Statement power cord on my PSA Directstream DAC. It was a revelation. The music became much fuller and the soundstage expanded in width and depth. The music just went into a full blossom. It was as if I spent $10k more on a dac or amp. Best power cord that I have ever purchased, and I have had some that cost a lot more than the Statement.
They are very balanced the Verastarr cable . For example I was using a SS amp son of Ampzilla -2 , very well balanced slightly warm , and a Canary CA- 306 - 300B amp very balanced not to heavy but rich. the beauty is you can also add Silver to a interconnect. HisSilver is very detailed and very neutral not bite your head off bright like many silver cables . he uses special RF disks and other things under the jackets which BTW are beautiful. The foils are all slow Deep Cryo treated which absolutely has something to do with the uniform presentation . Give them a solid 150 hours to shine.
I also have my Pure Audio Project Speakers all wired with the CopperVerastarr foil cables from each driver to the crossover. By far the best speaker wiring I have ever had .
I picked up a pair of the Verastarr Grand Illusion Sig ICs (silver ribbons) this week, and while I do not have a whole lot of time on them in my system yet, I can tell you that they are fast and dynamic, but they do NOT have that sizzly glare in the upper mids / lower treble, which is also what I have been trying to tame. I don't feel them to be lean either, but again, I don't have much time with them in my system.
McIntosh Mx151 with Lyngdorf Room Correction (the best room correction i have ever heard.) I still have PAD HDMI from my JRiver PC to the MX151. Pad Dominus Fluid on the Mx151 and The Rogue Audio St-100. Pad Dominus Fluid XLR from MX151 to Rogue. I sold my Pad Dominus Fluid speaker cables and bought the Tekton Double Impact speakers with the money. I had the Voodoo Audio cables for a while. They were ok with the Warm 2268 speakers , but they are too hot and sizzly with the Tekton
Thanks for the replies. I guess i'll find out as i have ordered the Grand Illusion (All copper) speaker cables . I just hope that they are not too fast and or lean and Sizzley I have the Tekton Double Impact speakers I am currently using Voodoo Audio Reference speaker cables , which is silver coated copper .They are very fast and revealing , great dynamics , but can be a little sizzling in the upper mids. This could be in part , due to the Rogue ..?? I am also using a Rogue Audio St-100 with 1960s Telefunken ribbed plates. The output tubes are KT120s
I'd never heard of Verastarr or their cables until a month ago, when my brother in-law sent me a pair of the grand illusions for Christmas. I swapped them out my old audioquest type 4 cables. The difference in sound for me was pretty dramatic. I love them. I have Magnepan MMG type speakers with a couple of custom mods and they sound amazing. I have not switched cables back and forth, so that's about all I can say, but I really like them.
I pretty much own the whole loom of Verastarr Grand Illusion Statement and Signature II cables. The cables are made from their proprietary high purity metal foils both copper and silver.
I found their cable ‘sound’ extremely articulate, open, airy and spacious. They are easily the smoothest silver cables I have heard in my system. The appearance is very exquisite and build quality is top notch.
If you have any further questions, call Mike Powell at 404-764-6233.
You must have a verified phone number and physical address in order to post in the Audiogon Forums. Please return to Audiogon.com and complete this step. If you have any questions please contact Support.
