I really like purist cables, but with the amazing amount of cables produced in Europe, why not buy something made closer to home with a return policy? And there the issue of shipping back to the US if something breaks or something. Not worth it, IMO.
Careful if buying Purist Audio Neptune fluid cables.
About two and half years ago I bought the 3 meter pair RCAs Neptune new from an authorized dealer.
Recently the cables develop the following. First, they are both now 2/3 empty, though they appear to still sound the same. Except, second, they now give me quite a pronounced background noise heard thru both speakers and independent of the volume. I compared them regarding the noise with Tchernov Reference MKII and WyWires Platinum RCAs, the former are 1 meter pair and the latter are 4 feet pair. They both also give me some noise but it is five-ten times lower in intensity and below the level of either vinyl playback or tape. Tchernov and Wywires gave exactly the same noise level.
I even ran deck directly to power amp to eliminate the preamp and additional cable, the results were exactly the same.
Though the Neptune is 3 meters long, I don't think it should do this, and I don't think that it should lose so much fluid so quickly. When the fluid is gone, and I suspect it will happen soon enough, things will become worse. I talked to the dealer I bought it from, he said that the Neptune was designed to work normally even if there was almost no fluid left. Maybe. But what happens when there is no fluid at all ? I don't want to wait and find out. And this strong background noise should not be there.
I sent a message to Jim Aud, designer and owner of Purist Audio Design, and asked him to take care of it. I will post his reply if and when I get one.
The dealer was of no real help, he did offer me upgrade to Purist Corvus 1 meter pair for $1075 plus my Neptune as a trade-in. I paid enough for the Neptune and not going to pay a cent more, except shipping to Purist if I have a chance.
Recently the cables develop the following. First, they are both now 2/3 empty, though they appear to still sound the same. Except, second, they now give me quite a pronounced background noise heard thru both speakers and independent of the volume. I compared them regarding the noise with Tchernov Reference MKII and WyWires Platinum RCAs, the former are 1 meter pair and the latter are 4 feet pair. They both also give me some noise but it is five-ten times lower in intensity and below the level of either vinyl playback or tape. Tchernov and Wywires gave exactly the same noise level.
I even ran deck directly to power amp to eliminate the preamp and additional cable, the results were exactly the same.
Though the Neptune is 3 meters long, I don't think it should do this, and I don't think that it should lose so much fluid so quickly. When the fluid is gone, and I suspect it will happen soon enough, things will become worse. I talked to the dealer I bought it from, he said that the Neptune was designed to work normally even if there was almost no fluid left. Maybe. But what happens when there is no fluid at all ? I don't want to wait and find out. And this strong background noise should not be there.
I sent a message to Jim Aud, designer and owner of Purist Audio Design, and asked him to take care of it. I will post his reply if and when I get one.
The dealer was of no real help, he did offer me upgrade to Purist Corvus 1 meter pair for $1075 plus my Neptune as a trade-in. I paid enough for the Neptune and not going to pay a cent more, except shipping to Purist if I have a chance.
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Thanks, @lyh0121 . Maybe I'll return to the UK dealer and see if he can lend me a pair of the Poseidons. He won't accept returns as they're special order. Saying that, I'm something like 100 hours into a pair of Duelund SCs, and they're terrific. Rich, dark and wonderfully musical, and a fraction of the cost of other cables. I'm not sure I see any need now to throw more money at this. Time, perhaps, to just sit back and enjoy. |
New to this forum/thread. Lollypopguild, I have had PAD Poseidon SC (7.5m) and ICs for over a year and a half with no problems. In my system they provided the perfect match of musicality, resolution and detail. I was so impressed with the Purist designs and sound that I had to try the Neptune line. First the ICs and then the SCs. A definite but pricey upgrade. Soundstaging and 3d presentation are so lifelike now. Losing a lot of sleep because I just want to listen more and more. The biggest bang I got was from the IC upgrade, the SC a more subtle improvement, but in combination, a worthwhile spend to me. The Poseidon’s were the best in my system for the price, but the Neptunes are a level up. Worth twice the price? Only you can decide that. |
Thanks @chayro . By chance, have you heard the Neptunes too? They have the same fluid dampening, but are twice the price. I don't doubt they're better, but I wouldn't want it at the cost of losing the Poseidon's warmth |
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As I‘ve read more than once here in this thread that „Jim is a great guy..“ I just want to report from an email conversation from two days ago. ...I have two Dominus Rev.B and one 20th Anniversary AC power cords in my chain (just FYI).I sent a mail to PAD asking if the Canorus pc is technically actually the same as the 20th Anniversary I have: I was quite a bit surprised that I got a response from Jim himself....BUT this „great guy“ was really short with me and didn’t really answer my question to my content so I waited three days (maybe he had a bad day last time) and asked for a bit more explanation and detail...and again he was very short questioning me why I do not make a comparison in my chain between the Anniversary and the Canorus to find out what has better synergy....Thanks for the information and for the poor customer service!! He only said that the metallurgy of them is supposedly different but nothing a bit more concrete and nothing to my question which is the higher rated cable etc. I get the feeling that this „great guy“ doesn’t really make listening tests (any more? If ever?) and doesn’t give a sh** about his punters. Though I really like the powercords I currently have! The thing is those cables have a suggested 250 to 300 hours burn in time and here in Germany the dealers are pretty rare and if at all they have the cable you ask for...it is not burned in, so comparison? Not really! |
Purist Audio has a lifetime warranty if you register the cables on their website. Purist Audio also request the user to contact them directly regarding warranty claims. The Dealer could have avoided a negative experience by merely reminding the owner of the lifetime warranty and politely informing the owner to contact Purist. |
While I understand taking the "high road" and not mentioning the dealer's name, it does present a problem for those of us who have no local Purist Audio dealer for if we go to make a purchase of cables, and we inadvertently make contact with your troubled dealer, then there will be others who might suffer what you did and it could be avoided; something like saying I know that there is a bridge out ahead and I talked with the engineers who said it might be fixed and yet it might not be so take your chances. If I knew of a problem dealer and you told me you were headed there to spend a buttload of money, would you not want a word of caution? |
So I recently got the cables back. Fixed. Noise is gone and they are seemingly full with fluid. Purist changed the fluid color from blue to transparent, you can't see the fluid level now. Quite convenient, not to the owner, though. It took them almost two months and a few reminders to do the job, and I asked for quicker turnaround. Overall, average service, I'd say. |
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@inna "I talked to the dealer I bought it from, he said that the Neptune was designed to work normally even if there was almost no fluid left." This is a sure-fire bet the dealer is just looking out for himself. And his "offer of an upgrade" to sell you a new cable just shows their lack of integrity. Run. Deal direct. Hope you get this resolved in a way that is beneficial to you. Maybe the manufacturer will do the right thing and earn himself some internet credibility in the process. |
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Well, I won't deny that the current $1900 retail 1 M pair RCA is a lot for cables and I can't afford that. I was lucky to get mine for $992, it was a special order by someone who then backed out of the deal and the dealer couldn't sell them for what he intended to. Still, it was very expensive for me..and worth every cent of it. |
It would not be a problem for me to have the cables refilled every five-seven years for a moderate charge, but not new cables after less than three years. No, I will not communicate with that dealer again let alone buy from him. I decided not to reveal his name but I think this is a debatable issue. People buying high end, whatever it is, expect much better performance and attitude, and they are right, we don't want money takers and box movers. The Neptune has been packed for a trip and I already miss it. WyWires Platinum on preamp and Tchernov on the source sound nice but not like when the Neptune is on preamp and WyWires and Tchernov on two sources. I usually have WyWires on the tape deck and Tchernov on the phono but it can be reversed, no big difference, still I slightly prefer WyWires Platinum, though Tchernov has just a little more poweful delivery. I simply listen to deck more often, and I record everything with Neptune cables, of course. |
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I talked to Jim a few times in the past. The last two times he actually steered me away from buying two of his cables. First time I was thinking about replacing my Dominus RevB Ferox power cord with used Canorus Contego. He said it wouldn't be worth it because it would sound virtually the same. And the second time I was thinking of replacing my over 20 years old Colossus fluid speaker cables with the newest Aqueous Contego Luminist. I asked him if the Aqueous would be better in every respect. He said : " I wouldn't say in every respect, depends on taste, but Aqueous is a great cable ". So I decided not to make this move, at least not yet. Anyone compared Neptune with older Dominus fluid ? That's something that I would like to do. I would also compare Dominus fluid with WyWires Platinum that I currently have on the source. In my system Neptune works great everywhere but best between preamp and amp. But I have Purist fluid speaker cables ans Dominus cord on the amp so there is a Purist continuity down the chain from the middle. |
I hope your fluid problem is fixed asap as Purist makes wonderful cables.Jim Aud has always worked with me 100%.I am using Dominus power cables,Venustas interconnect and Venustas phono cable etc.Jim has also broken in all my cables before they shipped.Again Purist has wonderful customer service and I’m sure everything will turn out great in the end.Again good luck!! |
Well, so far manufacturer positive 1 and the dealer negative 1, that's less than zero. He did nothing to assist me and suggested I spend over $1k more on a very questionable upgrade. He offered Corvus, which is the same conductor with Ferox instead of fluid. It would give a slightly higher resolution and frequencies extension but highly unlikely the same incredible soundstage and midrange sophistication. I did try Purist Ferox before but not Corvus. Purist also has Contego cables, a kind of mixture of fluid and Ferox, I didn't try that. |
Jim just replied to my message and will test the cables when he gets them from me. He didn't say if he would replace the fluid in any case. Clearly the cables had not been sealed well in the first place. My Colossus speaker cables are full after eight years. It appears to be a bloody lottery with fluid cables. But they sound so good when in order. |
