[Weirdcuba]

I just had an eye/ear opening afternoon with Mike Powell of Verastarr Cables (happens to be based here in Atlanta). It was a great session, particularly being able to change cables/set ups/a-b things/control volumes-tracks. Plus, Mike knows a lot more about this game than I do. I got a great boost out of a few different cables, but I think the configuration changes made a significant difference also.

First thing was to adjust the positioning of the TADs, which ended up with much less toe in. It spread the sound stage out significantly and lifted a layer from the sweet spot - the sweet spot was good before, but now it was significantly better. Instruments were spread further across the stage, and it also increased the depth of the stage (although not as much as the breadth). That was worth the time, right there.

Next thing was a power cord for the Pre. I was previously using a Wireworld Silver Electra, and replaced it with a Grand Illusion Statement (silver) and immediately noticed the increased brightness and overall speed of response of the system. It was material and worth the change, but not breathtaking. Then, we changed the power cord (same changes) on the DAC and again, more speed and dynamism in the sound - material and worth the change, but not breathtaking.

We also ran the PC for the pre directly into the wall (dedicated line) rather than through the P10 as a test, and while there was some very slight difference in mid-dynamics, I'm not sure it sounded materially better than coming from the PSAudio P10. Plus, there's just no way I'm going to run my stuff without surge protection between the wall and the system. After the house was struck by lightning two years ago (with no damage to the system thanks to the RGPC), I added whole house surge protection and re-engineered the grounding, but lightning might still strike twice (and make it through my other layers of risk mitigation).

Then, it got breathtaking. First, we moved the WW cables from the bottom connectors to the top connectors, which really helped the mids and trebles (still using the jumpers between the two sets of connectors). Then, we swapped the WW for a pair of Verastarr Grand Illusion Statements (again on the top set of connectors). That made it more detailed and smoother all at once. Then, we added the WW back to power the lower (bass) connectors (so, two sets of speaker cables running to the speakers at the same time, no jumpers). It was just amazing - seemed like I got a several dB boost out of the whole thing, and there was more bottom end and more clarity (without harshness) in the mids and highs. I had been remotely toying with the idea of a sub(s), but that idea is now put out to pasture (for I hope a good long while). At this point, it sounded like a different system - breathtakingly different and better to my ear.

The final improvement, which was sort of like throwing nitro on a fire, was changing the interconnect from the DAC to the pre from a WW Silver Eclipse XLR to a Verastarr Grand Illusion Signature XLR. Wow, it was jaw dropping. More of everything - it all just opened up and spread out, while seeming more cohesive at the same time. I'd gone from great sound, and then added wonderful sound stage enhancements (side to side and back to back), clarity (quieter backgrounds), increased separation between instruments, and much quicker overall sound - it now sounds like a chills on your neck/ reference system to my ear (while it was only damn damn good before).

At that point, I was out of money and time, so no further changes for today. I'm going to have Mike build these out for me in proper lengths, etc. and will let it burn in for a while, and then give an updated report. Really just fun fun stuff, leading to great SQ improvements.

Let me add - most importantly, this was all, to my ear, on my system, and in my opinion only. Your ears, system, and opinion may vary, of course. I love the WW cables and will continue to recommend them highly. I know why many on this forum swear by them.

I keep on having these "better than I ever thought it could be experiences." When will it end?