New Cables

[blackraven]

I bought a pair of Virtue Audio Nirvana IC's and a used pair of Audio Quest Ruby IC's both off Audiogon. I will post a review in a couple of weeks. Paid $35 for the Nirvana's and $25 for the AQ's which are an older IC.

Nirvana Interconnect, 1 M pair (http://store.virtueaudio.com/product-p/vrtu-ic-nrv.htm)

[LeRoy]

Hey BR, I also have a pair of Virtue Audio Nirvana IC's that I picked up about 6 weeks ago or thereabouts. Right now I have the Nirvana's on the MiniWatt. You got a great price on those IC's! I paid the full retail price at the V.A. website. It never occurred to me to shop for them anywhere else ;(

I will be looking forward to your impressions with the V.A. in the mix.

[blackraven]

Hey BR, I also have a pair of Virtue Audio Nirvana IC's that I picked up about 6 weeks ago or thereabouts. Right now I have the Nirvana's on the MiniWatt. You got a great price on those IC's! I paid the full retail price at the V.A. website. It never occurred to me to shop for them anywhere else ;(

I will be looking forward to your impressions with the V.A. in the mix.

LeRoy, whats your opinion on the Nirvana's? The few reviews that I have read have been positive. I was looking at some Morrow IC's but they have mixed reviews and claim that they need 400hrs of burn in which is total BS.

[LeRoy]

My take on the Nirvana is positive overall. I get different results with them when matched up with the MW as opposed to the Rogue.

With my only two systems the Nirvana are best matched with the Rogue. I find the cable to present softly and very slightly but nicely on the warm side of neutral. It's kinda weird to listen to all the micro detail but nothing jumps out aggressively. I get all the bass detail and warmth too and notes are easily distinguished but yet again in a soft way. Mids are favored in the presentation and sound natural.

As best as I can try to describe how the mids are projected...it's as if the midrange is a half-turn or half-click higher on the volume knob than the bass or treble. I did not really notice this trait until after a couple of weeks of listening. In a nutshell, it delivers the goods softly, with detail, but extension on the HF and LF have a limited extension. I do like how relaxed and natural everything sounds with this cable though.

IMO, this cable is perfect for someone who has an overly bright or overly bass heavy system and needs a quick inexpensive fix.

Now I find the Nirvana to be the anti-christ on the MW. The last thing the MW needs is a reduction or softness in any part of the music spectrum.

[blackraven]

I just hooked up my Virtue Audio Nirvana IC's to my preamp out and my initial impression (comparing them to my Blue jean Cables) are that they are warmer sounding with less air, detail and smaller sound stage. Treble is smoothed over. On one of my Cd's there is some sibilance and the Nirvana's smoothed this over. Bass seems slightly less prominent but maybe a little tighter. It seems the volume is lower too. The over all tone is very good though. Now you have to take this with a grain of salt because this is only the first hour of playing. If you believe that cables need break in time then the cables should improve over then next 10-20 hours. I will report back and will also try them connected to my DAC-Pre.

[LeRoy]

Hey BR, still breaking in the V.A. cables?

[blackraven]

Hey BR, still breaking in the V.A. cables?

I have taken them out of my main system because they are way less detailed than my BJC's and Audquest Coral's and Ruby's. They do smooth things over and have a warmer overall tone and very good bass though. But on acoustic guitar the pluck of the stings is smoothed over and piano is less crisp. It could be the tubes that I am using in my preamp and DAC which are warmer and smoother tubes. I willprobably use the Nirvana's with my Luxman tuner which is a little on the bright side.

[LeRoy]

Thanks for the update BR.

I am presently expecting my order of Neko RCA/RCA IC's to come in today. It will be interesting to compare it to Neko XLR/RCA that I am currently using now. By the way, I learned from Neko that
the wire used to make the cables I bought from them is Beldon 1800F wire. I do believe BJC also uses Belden wire too but not the 1800F.

[LeRoy]

they are warmer sounding with less air, detail and smaller sound stage. Treble is smoothed over. On one of my Cd's there is some sibilance and the Nirvana's smoothed this over. Bass seems slightly less prominent but maybe a little tighter. It seems the volume is lower too. The over all tone is very good though.

I removed the Nirvana cables from the MiniWatt and placed the Neko cables (Belden wire) into play. It's just like you said above but in reverse...with the Neko I have greater micro detail, more air, larger soundstage, and a lot more what I would describe as rhythmic drive...yes, bass and volume was greater with the Neko too!

I then moved the Nirvana back into the Rogue and played it for an hour. Got some new music today from Sequoia Groove Records and put in the first disc, Achillea, Amadas Estrellas, featuring Luisa Fernandez. Well, it only took me about 20 seconds of listening through the Nirvana cables that I needed to switch the knob back to the input with the Neko cables. No contest is the verdict over here.

[blackraven]

You findings are the same as mine. The Nirvana's lack detail. I may put mine up for sale.

[LeRoy]

You findings are the same as mine. The Nirvana's lack detail. I may put mine up for sale.

My Nirvana IC's have been yanked from the Rogue. I will either pass the Nirvana's down to an audio upstart or more than likely give them to my bro-in-law as a stocking stuffer over the holidays...lol