SOLD: Mapleshade's best HDMI cable, the Vivilink 2 with Plus Upgrade. 2 cables for sale, 2 meters each. In very good shape.
$205 new. Asking $95 each or $175 for both shipped in CONUS, plus PayPal fees (or use no fee method or check). See my feedback here and at Audiogon, Audiomart, Audio Asylum and head-fi (highstream), and eBay (genegold99).
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"All Vivilink 2 cables are available in a Plus version, using conductors with our proprietary stress-relieved metallurgy. Plus improves picture quality, particularly shadow detail and nuanced differences between pastel colors...For both 2-channel and 7.1 audio, the Plus option yields two primary upgrades:
• Decreases brightness and grain in high frequencies, reducing edginess in the upper treble without sacrificing detail. The breathiness of singers and flutes, the metallic ring of cymbals is better articulated and less abrasive. Plus significantly reducing listening fatigue listening to music coming from a digital sourceous (i.e. Blu-Ray players, computers, and gaming consoles).
• Plus lowers the soundstage noise floor, resulting in a quieter, blacker background. This makes the most difference in dynamic passages, as a scene transitions from silent suspense to thunderous drama. For music -- held guitar or piano chords sustain longer and resonate more clearly as they fade into silence. Newly discovered details and nuances emerge from the negative space of the music on good recordings."
User reviews and discussion:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=131557.0" Watching Football right now and the picture looks so Film-Like!... :D I still can't believe what I'm seeing!! These are only CABLES for crying out loud !!"
https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/one-of-the-best-hdmi-cable"Mapleshade's wires are a little flimsy and are VERY directional, but they are still the best I have seen in my own system."
Reviews of Vivilink version 1:
Review from Audiophile Audition of Vivilink 1:
"I have to retract my previous advice on this site that with HDMI cables there is one of the few cable areas where you are getting fleeced if you pay high prices for premium high-end HDMI cables instead of getting the $10 ones online...from the cable biggies—perhaps there’s little difference. But the difference with Mapleshade’s new high-end HDMI cable was easily seen... All I say is that when I’m now watching a superb Criterion restoration of a classic film, I’m viewing nearly as good an image as I could get in Portland’s best theatrical room, plus sound that probably beats it handily."
http://audaud.com/2012/07/mapleshade-vivilink-hdmi-cable-with-plus-upgrade/From Decware audio forums:
"Then an audio friend advised me that he loved the Mapleshade Vivilink HDMI cable and the price was only 125 [non Plus version], I could return it if I didn't like it, and I decided to try one. Took about 50 hours to settle in but the picture was stunning, as good as the PS Audio at half the discounted price. I knew that eventually I would try the Mapleshade between the PWT and PWD, and I did last night and have to confess: I was shocked that it bested the PS Audio in audio quality. Just a bit more clarity, depth and dynamics from source material. I went back to the PS Audio cable for a bit and wanted to put the Mapleshade back in! So I've ordered another Mapleshade Vivilink, this time the "Plus" cryo'd version. Looking forward to having it in the system."
http://www.decware.com/cgi-bin/yabb22/YaBB.pl?num=1364055238
