[Marbles]

Summits.

These are my preliminary thoughts.

Keep in mind the Pulsars only have about 200 hours and need over 300 to sound their best.

Bolder Summits $500 w/gold Nextgens
Cryotweaks Sale $400 after sale $529
Chris VH Pulsars (cryo'd) $170 base plus Nextgen Gold RCA's $100 ($270 total)


All three are very close in performance and sound qualities.  On an absolute basis I like the Summits the best, followed closely by the Silver MKII's, followed closely by the Pulsars.

The Pulsars are a flat out bargain at their price.

They are not quite as smooth or as focused (yet, keep in mind the break in thing mentioned above) as the Silver MKII's, but they are close and for some systems that are too analytical(sp?) these could be just the ticket.

The MKII's are a little more full sounding then the Summits which are a bit on the analytical side, but the Summits are the closest thing to not having IC's in my system that I've heard.  

All three IC's seem to have a similar sound to them.  

I really could live with any of these 3 quite happily.

It is highly recommended that you try all 3 of these cables in your own system.  Your tastes or system might think one of the others is better.

I will need to send the Silver MKII's back in about a week, but I will try to update this thread as I compare them some more, and the Pulsars break in a bit more.

So far these have been some of the best IC's I have heard (as a group).

My tastes run more toward the revealing than to the musical side if that helps you in your decision making process.

Edited to reflect correct (new) pricing for Summits......

[Marbles]

All IC's have been used between my amp and pre.
I've only used my analog system for this evaluation.

A Nitro IC was used between my phono pre and my pre when evaling the MKII's and the Summits, the Summit was used between the phono pre and pre when evaling the Pulsars VS MKII's.

All tests were sighted with me being the only listener.

[vpolineni]

rob, have you heard the pulsars with the wbt nextgen silver rca plugs?

[Marbles]

rob, have you heard the pulsars with the wbt nextgen silver rca plugs?

No, only the gold

[zybar]

Thanks for the initial thoughts.

Keep the hours cranking and let us know if anything improves.

George

[byteme]

Excellent input.  I'm seriously leaning towards the Pulsar w/ Silver nextgens cryo'd for a digital cable.  I'm very interested to see how/if things continue with yours as it gets closer to full break in.

BTW:  Congrats on your daughter!

[Marbles]

Excellent input.  I'm seriously leaning towards the Pulsar w/ Silver nextgens cryo'd for a digital cable.  I'm very interested to see how/if things continue with yours as it gets closer to full break in.

BTW:  Congrats on your daughter!

Thanks

 

BTW, I have a pulsar digicable w/Gold Nextgen's that is not broken in at all.

I hope to listen to it in about a week.

[byteme]

Excellent input.  I'm seriously leaning towards the Pulsar w/ Silver nextgens cryo'd for a digital cable.  I'm very interested to see how/if things continue with yours as it gets closer to full break in.

BTW:  Congrats on your daughter!

Thanks

 

BTW, I have a pulsar digicable w/Gold Nextgen's that is not broken in at all.

I hope to listen to it in about a week.

Hmmm, maybe I'll wait with a decision until I get my tubedac back from Empirical - and hear your comments.

[zybar]

Excellent input.  I'm seriously leaning towards the Pulsar w/ Silver nextgens cryo'd for a digital cable.  I'm very interested to see how/if things continue with yours as it gets closer to full break in.

BTW:  Congrats on your daughter!

Byteme,

Over the previous months I have been comparing the various versions of the Pulsar (from non-cryo'd to cryo'd, to cryo'd with Silver Eichmanns to cryo'd with Gold NextGen -  still waiting on the Silver NextGen version).

As of right now, I like the Silver Eichmann version the best.

These ic's really do need 300-400 hours before they stop improving.

That being said, I haven't heard a better digital ic in my system (I have tried Empirical, WireWorld, Acoustic Zen, Stereovox, RSA, Siltech, Soundstring, Argent Audio, and Cardas just to name a few).

I hope to write up a detailed comparison of the various flavors in the near future.

George

[byteme]

George,

I've had 5-6 of those through my system too.  I really do like the HV, and that was with gold bullets.  Once I get everything set back up I'm going to go that way I'm sure.

[StevenACNJ]

Byteme,

Over the previous months I have been comparing the various versions of the Pulsar (from non-cryo'd to cryo'd, to cryo'd with Silver Eichmanns to cryo'd with Gold NextGen -  still waiting on the Silver NextGen version).

As of right now, I like the Silver Eichmann version the best.

These ic's really do need 300-400 hours before they stop improving.

That being said, I haven't heard a better digital ic in my system (I have tried Empirical, WireWorld, Acoustic Zen, Stereovox, RSA, Siltech, So ...

Thanks for that update.

I am currently in the process of making up 3 digital & 5 analog IC's from cryo Pulsar wire. Had Eichman Silver Bullet Plug RCA's cryo treated to finish them off. Also purchased VH Audio new metal barrels for the Bullet Plugs.

Cant wait to hear them now!

[Marbles]

I've been burning the Pulsars for almost another 100 hours and just tried them again in direct comparison to the Silver MKII's.

The Pulsars have smoothed out.

In comparison to the MKII's, they are slightly warmer.  They also have more information coming from the out side of the speakers, or I'm noticing it more.  The soundstage seems slightly bigger in all directions too.

The Pulsars have pulled ahead of the MKII's in my system.

I have not compared them to the Summits since putting them back in my system.

Keep in mind that the MKII's are what I consider a great IC.  My system sounded a bit thin and anylitical and the Pulsars seem to be a better fit to warm it up, but as mentioned before, I could easily see why someone would preffer the MKII's.

Once again I will say that the Pulsars are a bargain, and a year ago I would have said that IC's that cost that much could never be put in the bargain catagory.

The Summits and the MKII's are what I consider expensive IC's, but damn they are nice.  If you can afford them, I highly recommend trying all 3 in your system to see which one(s) work best for you.

I will try to do a Summit vs Pulsar comparison over this coming weekend.

[zybar]

Thanks for the update Rob.

I am looking forward to how they compare to the Summit (another excellent ic).

George

[satfrat]

I've been burning the Pulsars for almost another 100 hours and just tried them again in direct comparison to the Silver MKII's.

The Pulsars have smoothed out.

In comparison to the MKII's, they are slightly warmer.  They also have more information coming from the out side of the speakers, or I'm noticing it more.  The soundstage seems slightly bigger in all directions too.

The Pulsars have pulled ahead of the MKII's in my system.

I have not compared them to the Summits since putting them back in  ...

                                                                                                                      I think you'll find that after you get more hours on that Pulsar(300-400hrs), you're going to notice more detail coming thru, at least I did. My Pulsar digital didn't really start to impress me til after 200 hours. I too will be looking forward to your continuing comments Marbles.   Regards, Robin

[Sa-dono]

Byteme,

Over the previous months I have been comparing the various versions of the Pulsar (from non-cryo'd to cryo'd, to cryo'd with Silver Eichmanns to cryo'd with Gold NextGen -  still waiting on the Silver NextGen version).

As of right now, I like the Silver Eichmann version the best.

Definitely get the cables with the Silver nextgen connectors, when you can. They are just on another level, as far as transparency, in comparison to the Silver Eichmann BP's, IMO.

[zybar]

Byteme,

Over the previous months I have been comparing the various versions of the Pulsar (from non-cryo'd to cryo'd, to cryo'd with Silver Eichmanns to cryo'd with Gold NextGen -  still waiting on the Silver NextGen version).

As of right now, I like the Silver Eichmann version the best.

Definitely get the cables with the Silver nextgen connectors, when you can. They are just on another level, as far as transparency, in comparison to the Silver Eichmann BP's, IMO.

Thanks.  I will be getting the Silver NextGen in next week.

Did you ever compare the Gold vs. Silver NextGen?  What were the differences?

George

[Sa-dono]

Thanks.  I will be getting the Silver NextGen in next week.

Did you ever compare the Gold vs. Silver NextGen?  What were the differences?

George

Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to hear the Gold/Copper nextgen connectors, yet...and my direct comparisons of connectors has involved WBT Toplines, Eichmann Silver BP's, and nextgen silvers. The majority of people I have talked to have found the nextgen Silvers to offer more transparency than the Gold/Copper ones.


On another note, does anyone know if VH does the cryo process pre or post completion of the cable?

[vpolineni]

marbles wrote

I will try to do a Summit vs Pulsar comparison over this coming weekend.

Rob,
  did you compare the summits to the pulsars?

[guest1632]

marbles wrote

I will try to do a Summit vs Pulsar comparison over this coming weekend.

Rob,
  did you compare the summits to the pulsars?

[Marbles]

No I haven't.  I'm so happy with the Pulsar/Summit combo that I haven't taken the time or energy to do so.

To make things more complicated, I got my P3a DAC back from Empirical Audio with even more mods done.

So far I have listened to digital since tuesday.  I immeadiately put the Summits from the DAC to the pre, with the Pulsars from pre to amp.

This has not changed since then.

I did order another pair of Summits though.  At the least they will go from my phono pre to my pre.

The Pulsars are a bargain.  The Cryotweaks are a great cable.  The Summits are as close to no cable as I've heard.  They can be a bit to clinical with two in the signal path though.

The combo of the Pulsars and Summits does it for me and my system.