Review: Verastarr Silver Reference XLR Interconnect

Thanks so much for taking the time to write such an excellent review of the Verastarr IC’s. I would whole heartedly second your evaluation of these I.C’s but must confess that I probably would never have taken the time to express my opinions on the A’gon forum. I likewise won a pair of Verastarr’s single ended IC’s on Audiogon auction. The price was indeed right when compared to the Synergistic Designer Reference IC’s that I had throughout my system. Even on a first listen I too noticed that these IC’s were something out of the ordinary.

I did alot of comparisons between my Designer Reference IC’s and the Verastarrs. I kept trying to make up reasons why the Verastarrs didn’t sound as good as the D.R.’s. Certainly interconnects that cost more than twice what the Verastarrs did retail had to be superior. Alas I came to the conclusion that the Designer Reference’s were not superior to the Verastarrs. The Verastarrs had unbelievable inner detail but were not bright. By comparison, the D.R.s sounded a bit bloated and overdone when compared to the Verastarrs. The sound stage was wide and deep and as you observed the Verastarrs were extremely musical. They generate a tremendous bottom end...enough to rattle the walls of my house if need be, as well as outstanding mids and highs. My Magnepan’s have a full ribbon tweeter and believe me with the wrong IC’s this speaker system can sound miserable. The Verastarrs make my speakers sing beautiful music indeed.

I ended up purchasing several more pairs for my phono preamp and found that they are extremely quiet as well. Since phono stages are so susceptible to extraneous noise it is easy to tell if an IC is generating stray RF’s through a system. The Verastarrs definitely were not.

I realize that the synergy between components is very system dependent but for me I definitely have found the Verastarr I.C.’s to be a welcome surprise. They may not be a well known name in the audio community but I believe that they will be very soon. As for me, I have sold all of my Designer Reference and now have all Verastarr I.C.’s in my system!!

Associated gear
Magnepan Tympani 4a speakers with Curcio active crossover, Joule Electra LA150 preamp, Joule Electra 80 vzn OTL amp, McCormack DNA-1 amp, Shanling CD-T100, Silent Source power cords, Curcio Sarah phono preamp, VPI HWJr Mk4 turntable with JMW 10” tone arm and Dynavector 20XH cartridge, Verastarr IC’s

I also won a pair of these on an Audiogon auction. Since then I have ordered 2 more pairs from Mike. I really don't generally spend a ton of money on cables, and I would not have looked at these at the regular retail price. But since I got a great deal on a pair I was eager to try them out. Using them between a Krell KRC 2 preamp and a Krell KSA 150 amplifier I was stunned by the immediate sonic improvement. I really had no expectation that an interconnect, even a more costly one (at reatil price I mean) than any other I had tried could make so much difference. It was astounding, and I emailed Mike the next day to see about getting more.

I don't often write reviews and I am not good at describing what I hear other than to say I like it or I don't. the first thing I noticed with these interconnects was silence. There was so much less noise, especailly in breaks between songs or quiet passages, that it really blew me away. Much of what I had previously thought was noise on the recordings I listened to must have come in from my lower quality interconnects. I had already invested in a pair of very nice MIT MH 770 CVT speaker cables to my Silverline Sonata speakers. I found the weak link was my interconnects. I am now in the process of upgrading all the interconnects in my home theater system to these Verastarr SIlver Reference XLR cables. It's not a cheap upgrade, but the difference is well worth it. I can heartily recommend these cables.

Oh, and BTW, I loved the "birth certificate" that these cables come with! Very nice looking cables with terrific packaging, great customer service and fast shipping. I have bought some other brand new cables off Audiogon but nobody gave me as good of service or as fast of shipping as Mike at Verastarr.