Kubala Sosna and Virtual Dynamics - Similar??


I have gone through the Forums and checked on the comments and write-ups on both brands. Both are rated highly, especially for the KS Emotion and VD Master and Revelation ranges.....

I would like to know how similar these cables are in terms of sonics for Speaker cables and Power cords...

It seems that VD is hugely popular at the moment and KS is used by a select few....

Where I am, there is no dealer available, therefore I have to rely on your comments and suggestions...KS doesnt allow international trials and have not checked with VD..

Similar Products used:
Kimber BiFocal XL
DIY PC's with Furutech Gold IEC's
Running dedicated 32 amp lines

TIA!!
teck5
Wow, this thread is a classic example as to why we all need to try out cables in our own systems. I too had my system fully loaded with K-S Emotion cables with Joe here as we tried one cable at a time with the Manley DAC --> Aesthetix Callisto Sig. --> CAT JL-3 Sig. amps --> SoundLab A1 speakers. PLC was an AudioMagic Eclipse II.

The Kubala would be descibed as a midrange cable.
My experience with the K-S cables indicates an opposite experience. These cables are VERY tonally coherent from the bottom octave to the top ... in fact about as good as it gets in this regard. There is NO emphasis in the mids at all.

To me, with my system ,ears and music, the sound was kinda of dead in the upper frequencies.
This too was exactly the opposite here. The K-S Emotion cables had impressive resolution and detail in the trebles. If you want treble roll-off, you have to look into the Cardas, NBS and Purist lines as it's not here in the K-S.

KS cables definitely have a full, rich, smooth sound.
Full as in tonally coherent? I would say yes. Rich as in layered and textured, long decays, etc? The Purist Dominus far exceeds the K-S in this regard....it's not even close.

After I cabled my system fully with Dominus PCs and ICs, and the Opis speaker cables, I borrowed some K-S Emotion cables again and there was no doubt that the K-S had far more coverage, resolution and a blacker background that the Purist could not match. But the Purist was returned as it simply conveyed the dimensionality, fundamental note and follow through of the harmonics, absolutely stunning dynamic contrasts and even more control and extension in the low end. But I always had the K-S strengths in the back of my mind; losing that top-end detail was not easy to handle.

The dream to find a cable with the Purist AND K-S strengths finally arrived with the aptly named Stealth Dream .... and more recently the Stealth Indra. The Dream PCs on my front-end components, especially the Aesthetix Io and Rives PARC is so far beyond the other PCs. The less expensive Stealth M5000 far exceeds these others in a few links here. The Dream is quite impressive on the JL-3 as well but not to the same degree. But interestingly, at a friend's home, it did not mate well at all with his Plinius amp; it was a rather flat result .... very strange. But the Dream PC redeemed itself on his CDP and line stage. And oddly enough, the Indra did not perform well in his system either but it is absolute magic here. I now have the Purist dynamics, 3-dimensionality and the K-S top-end extension all in the one cable line here. YMMV.

Johnb
Hello John,

Thank you for your contribution...this is interesting as there is a Stealth dealer here....

I have some questions for you:

- For PC's, your recommendation is for either the Dream or M5000...
- what IC's are you using? From Pre to Power (if you are in this configuration) and from Digital source to Pre (again if you run this config)...
- what speaker cables are you using...

So far, the Kimber BiFocal XL seems to do its job...the AZ Silver Ref 2 from Source to Pre is also okay...but the "if's" in my system are:

- Pre to Power IC (Cardas Golden Ref) sounds good and tonally correct but a little thick...
- my power cords probably since they are DIY...
- my source...
- room acoustics...

For the cables, I am interested to try the KS and VD cables but since they are not sold here....it is too great a risk to buy new....

The Stealth will be interesting and I intend to pay the dealer a visit this weekend to see if they have loaners...

Purist dealer is here too...so a visit to them as well...

Thanks
Just to add my 2 cents to this great thread. As with what many have said here :
( each persons system & rooms are very different)
& don't forget we all hear & demand different sound perameters for our systems.
With that being said I have gone through the cable bergade of testing , trying, & buying many a cable. Mixing & using all the same cable too.
I have in the last 4 years tried all the so called heavy wieghts Purist, Stealth, KS, Nordost, Ect. Ect. You get my point.
With out a doubt Virtul Dynamics are best cables to make my system perform the way it should. I will save all the nuances for a later review of VD cables.
They have done more for my system than any cable, ever.
So much so, that I have installed all Virtual Dynamics cables.
VD has a customer for life .
Rick & his staff are second to none. The custome service is outstanding . They take the time to help & answer all of your questions. They go above & beyond any cable company that I have ever delt with to make sure you are satisfied .
Try for yourself, you will not be diappointed.
I don't have any connection with VD, other than I'm one very happy customer.
Grr6001
How true...for testing...unfortunately, there is no quick fix to any of this testing unless you buy BOSE...

Boy...with all the reviews on VD cables, it sounds really like an end all cable....

I have to call these guys...
Teck5 - VD was just having a sale on demo stock. Today was the last day but if you call them soon maybe they still have some pieces left over. I picked up a pair of Master ICs for a great price and wish I had acted sooner on some of the other cables they had available.

I have also purchased a set of Master speaker cables that were being traded in by a customer who is upgrading. At regular prices these cables are way over my budget, but having already owned two VD power cords (bought used) and a set of speaker jumpers, I jumped at the chance to get more at these prices. They are excellent cables, as are many others referenced in this thread. Well worth checking out, if you don't like them they are easily resold at little or no loss.