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Review: Verastarr Grand Illusion Series Power cord

Category: Cables

My musical tastes are varied, but I listen to mostly (in order of frequency): acoustic jazz, progressive jazz, folk/rock, small ensemble classical, and symphonic. The disks used for this review include:

o Michael Wolf / Intoxicate
o Maria Bethehia / Ambar
o Erik Truffaz / The Mask; and
o Sidsel Endresen / Undertow

Emotional involvement is my #1 goal in integrating a system. I can tolerate some crimes of omission, such as lack of bottom-octave punch are imaging "air." However, "crimes of commission" - AKA distortions - drive me nuts.

Now on to the review...

My first encounter with the Verastarr PC's came at a local Head-Fi Meet. While there, I visited a demo set up by John Beavers, an audio reviewer who specializes in cables. "Mighty big ribbon IC's you have there," I said. "No, these are PC's," he deadpanned in response. He then added, "They are the best I've ever heard."

Do tell. He went on to describe the introductory special that Verastarr is running - $600 each for the first 10 copies. I listened to his system, chatted with him some more, and order four the next day - two for my digital sources and two for my monoblocs.

The cables arrived about a week later. Initial impressions were quite favorable - they had been well-packed, looked well made, and felt both sturdy and manageably flexible. While by no means lightweight, I knew that I (thankfully) would not have to add ballast to keep the components stably on the shelf.

So I queued the hard drive to Intoxicate (track 3) and hit go. Whoa - where'd that bass definition come from? As in most of my encounters with quality power delivery enhancements, the bass improvement was the easiest change to notice. Second was treble, with just a touch more definition in the cymbals.

In my experience, midrange tightening often follows a better bass foundation. Same thing here - images were just a bit more locked in.

These improvements were so easy to discern, that several days after my first listen, I ordered a 5th cable - this to go between the wall and my power conditioner.

I believe that the most natural competitors for the Verastarr's are the LessLoss (less expensive) and the Nordost Valhalla (more expensive).

In summary, the Verastarr cables gave me an easily-noticeable refinement in sonic quality. They were definitely on a par with IC's in terms of enhancement value. I very highly recommend them, especially at their $600 intro price. That's still lots of coin, but these cables sing.

Like many of you, my reference system has taken years to put together. It is revealing, unveiled, and dynamic. Distortion is low, transparency is high. The largest remaining weakness is relative lack of bottom-end slam and extension.

Note: I will be doing a head-to-head comparison with 4 LessLoss PC's from a friend soon. (I'll update this review when complete.)

Associated gear
SlimDevices Transporter
Custom Oritek 24/176 DAC/Preamp
Manley EL34 "Signature" Monoblocs
Oritek "X-2" IC's and SC's
Electric Bamboo Power Conditioner
Usher Dancers CP-8571 w/custom xover and silver/teflon wire

Similar products
Nordost Valhalla
Bybee (Model Unknown)
Less Loss PC
Shunyata PC
More...
128x128objex
objex's avatar
objex OP
8 posts
 
UPDATE:

I just received the Verastarr PC that I ordered to connect my power conditioner to the wall.

I must admit that I was a bit skeptical that I'd hear more improvement. The thing is on the OTHER side of the conditioner, and I was using a decent Shunyata cord for that task.

Anyway, I installed it and fired up "Ambar."

Yikes! The first 10 sec of Track 1 feature several deep bass notes. By the third or fourth one I was convinced. Clear improvement in both power of the attack and depth.

Great stuff....

Bob
sherod
1,690 posts
 
I wonder why they haven't mentioned these yet in their website? They do look remarkably like the old Electraglide cords. Maybe Scott Hall had a hand in their development. Both companies are in very close proximity to each other. Perhaps the designer can enlighten us a bit. I'm happy for you, Bob. Enjoy your new power cords. I also have some ribbon/foil-type cords made by Fusion Audio in my own system and I'm very happy with their performance.
mikepowellaudio's avatar
mikepowellaudio
138 posts
 
Hello everyone. Thanks for your interest in our newest development. First off these cables are still in pre-launch and therefore not up on our site yet. We are taking this time to get them into the hands of Audiophiles like yourselves before formal launch. This review was posted by the president of an Audiophile Society in a major US city. We also have cords out to audio reviewers as well.
Noticing Scott as a pioneer in exotic power cord technology was very astute. Many other companies have followed his lead with the EG designs. We have shared ideas with him and created a power cord that betters anything previously created by Electra Glide or Verastarr. This cable is actually very different than the legacy designs. We invite you to try this cord against your favorites and be ready to re think what a top level power cord sounds like. The price aforementioned was only for industry professionals and is sold out. Even at $1899 this power cord is a bargain considering the likely transformation that will occur in your system. Frankly, we were blown away after hearing the final prototypes. We have made refinements since then and truly think this is a power cord to better anything you have heard. In fact we guarantee it, or your money back.
Thanks again for your interest and feel free to contact me directly with any questions or comments.

Happy listening !

Mike Powell - CEO, Verastarr
chris56
1 posts
 
Sorry Guys, first let me pick up my jaw from the floor and close my mouth!!!! Okay...that feels better. It's what happens when I listen to my system with these power cords.

Initially I read about the Grand Illusion on this thread, and was too curious to pass it up. I contacted Mike and had him ship 2 of them out to me.

Living with the Grand Illusion pc's for almost a month now, I still cannot believe their performance. Thirty-two years in this hobby means I went through a lot of excitement and disappointment and I can say this is one of the best, if not the best experience in my audiophile years. The change these cables made in my system was nothing but stunning from top to bottom, side to side and front to back. It was the most natural see through sound I have ever heard. Being that I already use high quality pc's I did not expect to hear this much improvement.

Because of the dramatic difference in my personal system, I was curious to hear it on other high end systems as well. I followed through with more testing and had the exact same results. The next step was to put it against an Audiophile reference pc like the Nordost Valhalla which was mentioned in the first review.

I called a friend of mine I have known for over twenty years who is a high end audio dealer. He prepped the system in his best sound room to try the Grand Illusion pc's in an A/B comparison with the Valhalla. ($3800) The system he set up was roughly $125,000. We first listened to the Valhalla, and it sounded as expected. (The music we listened to was jazz and classical.) We then switched to the Grand Illusion. I find it hard to put into words what we experienced. Complete transformation. We were dumbfounded. Everything opened up. There was much greater space between instruments. The sound stage was blacker, wider and deeper. We felt it was just the musicians and us with nothing in between. Instruments and voices sounded sweet and natural with accurate weight and texture. The music became untangled and effortlessly flowed with the Grand Illusion. We looked at each other in stunned silence because we didn't expect to hear that much of a difference. We decided it was best to listen to the Valhalla again for posterity, and when we did we felt we were listening to a regular stock pc. (Nothing against the Valhalla, but I can't help it after what I heard.) The equipment involved in the testing was both tube and solid state.

After hearing these power cords trounce the Valhalla, I contacted Mike for 2 more Grand Illusions.

In my opinion, I believe it is a real winner for only $1,899.

Excellent job Verastarr!!!!!!!!!!!
twablt
2 posts
 
I used two of Mike's creations in an all EAR/Marten system and the results were immediate & ASTOUNDING!!
We had an EAR Acute cd, EAR 868 pre-amp, EAR 890 amp & Marten BIRD spkrs.
The GI's were on the cd & pre-amp (Mike sent me source power cords) ALL the audiophile buzz words apply. The soundstage became HUGE! WELL beyond the sides and depth like never before. The air around instruments and voices and seperation of same were "lifelike".Bass slam and non-fatiguing highs were amazing!
In a more modest priced system, break-in is longer but the results are the same, so hang in there it's worth it!
Go BUY these power cords NOW before the word is out and price doubles; as well it could & should considering the audible results and craftsmanship of this stellar power cords.
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