ModWright Transporter Cabling......!

modwright · « **on:** 1 Jun 2008, 08:19 pm »

There has been so much debate and sharing on this subject, and I have been asked to create a 'sticky' thread that will remain at the top, so here it is! Thanks to all of you who have supported us with our business and continued your support by sharing your experiences and discoveries with our new ModWright Modified Transporter.

Sincerely,

Dan Wright.

zybar · « **Reply #1 on:** 8 Jun 2008, 04:08 pm »

Ok gang, where are the posts?

George

ted_b · « **Reply #2 on:** 8 Jun 2008, 05:26 pm »

Hmmm...never saw this one till now. Thanks Dan for the sticky; thanks George for the heads up.

IC's:
I've tried many, both XLR and RCA, but my favorite, simply for its beautiful midrange quality, is the Stealth Nanofiber RCA. If I had that cable in an XLR version i\I would be there...to me the XLR would win all ties due to the TP's natural balanced topology. But it's close enough that the cable dictates the choice, not the connection. The great actively powered Synergistic Tesla Series XLR's were demo'd on the TP (Accelerator, Acoustic Reference, to name two) but the detail they retrieved was not up to the tonality of the Nanonfiber's midrange. The Tesla's as speaker cables however...now we're talking.

PC's:
Again, I've tried a few, namely Lessloss, Black Sands Violet Z1, Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler, Michael Wolff Carbon. The Black Sands is my favorite..but only as long as the Lessloss is on the Modwright 36.5.

With my 36.5 front-end at Dan's currently, I use the Lessloss on the TP with my passive pre. I like the smoothness of the Lessloss, but prefer it at the pre, with the nice balance and slightly more aggressive style of the Violet Z1 on the TP. But then again, with certain tubes rolled in to the equation, who knows.

Too many variables, not enough time.

rydenfan · « **Reply #3 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 01:40 am »

So my Spectron Musician III SE amp should be showing up the end of the week. I plan on moving my LessLoss PC from the Transporter to the Spectron as I think that will be a good fit. I have a Black Sands Violet I could use on the TP? But I am totally open to other suggestions as well.

zybar · « **Reply #4 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 02:31 am »

I have been going back and forth between a Black Sand Silver Ref Mk V and a Black Sand Violet II.

George

mr_bill · « **Reply #5 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 02:37 am »

Quote from: zybar on 8 Jul 2008, 02:31 am

I have been going back and forth between a Black Sand Silver Ref Mk V and a Black Sand Violet II.

George

George,
Do you have a ModWright Transporter?

zybar · « **Reply #6 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 02:38 am »

Quote from: mr_bill on 8 Jul 2008, 02:37 am

Quote from: zybar on 8 Jul 2008, 02:31 am
I have been going back and forth between a Black Sand Silver Ref Mk V and a Black Sand Violet II.

George

George,
Do you have a ModWright Transporter?

Yes.

ted_b · « **Reply #7 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 02:54 am »

Quote from: rydenfan on 8 Jul 2008, 01:40 am

So my Spectron Musician III SE amp should be showing up the end of the week. I plan on moving my LessLoss PC from the Transporter to the Spectron as I think that will be a good fit. I have a Black Sands Violet I could use on the TP? But I am totally open to other suggestions as well.

Wow, how freaking weird, David, that you posted this today.

As you know I have had my Spectron powered by an ancient Syn Res AC Master Coupler (the original pc that started the 3rd party audiophile replacement power cord industry back when), with the Lessloss on the TP (posted a month ago that I liked it on the 36.5 but changed my mind based on new tube combo). Well, over the last couple of nights I've moved them around and first ran the Black Sands Violet Z1 on the Spectron (lessloss staying on TP). It was too bright for me, losing a little bass impact too (compared to the SR cable). Hmmmm...so before bed last night threw on the Lessloss on the Spectron and moved the AC Master Coupler to the TP. I let it settle in and then fired it up tonight. Bass impact was back in spades, but lost some detail and overall PRAT. Hmmmmmm. One more change, I simply pulled out the SR AC Master Coupler and replaced it with the Violet Z1. So now....the Black Sands Violet Z1 is on the TP and the Lessloss on the Spectron. It took 5 seconds to figure out this was a very very very nice combo, (yet didn't work with same cords on opposite ends). I love it. I think I love it more than the original setup...but will wait for the 36.5 to arrive (which will use my other Violet Z1 as always). It has nice tone, great detail, great midrange warmth, and bass impact..not boomy, just right. So, synergy isn't just about the magical combination of parts, it's about getting them in the right order too. Sheesh!!!!

rpf · « **Reply #8 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 03:53 am »

Ted, David (and whomever), the Violet ZIIs are much better than the ZIs and replaced AirSines in my system (only wish I could afford more of them). My ZIIs have the ATL Gold connectors; my ZIs have Oyaide and Furutech Gold connectors. I haven't been able to write a detailed comparison yet because a lot of gear has been going through my system.

George, what are your thoughts on the ZIIs?

rydenfan · « **Reply #9 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 12:12 pm »

When did the ZII's come out? My Violet is probably less than 3 months old...

Ted, that is crazy! Wierd the way things work sometimes

I guess that is the combo I will start with then.

IronLion · « **Reply #10 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 12:15 pm »

The Violet ZII's still haven't been publicly released yet, though I think John at Black Sand has been selling them occasionally on Audiogon since early May, when I got mine with upgraded connectors. Check on Audiogon periodically for a ZII auction if you want one.

zybar · « **Reply #11 on:** 8 Jul 2008, 12:19 pm »

Quote from: rpf on 8 Jul 2008, 03:53 am

Ted, David (and whomever), the Violet ZIIs are much better than the ZIs and replaced AirSines in my system (only wish I could afford more of them). My ZIIs have the ATL Gold connectors; my ZIs have Oyaide and Furutech Gold connectors. I haven't been able to write a detailed comparison yet because a lot of gear has been going through my system.

George, what are your thoughts on the ZIIs?

Mine is a prototype and I will need to check back with John on how close it is to the "current" ZII.

George

rpf · « **Reply #12 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 12:50 am »

Quote from: rydenfan on 8 Jul 2008, 12:12 pm

When did the ZII's come out? My Violet is probably less than 3 months old...

Ted, that is crazy! Wierd the way things work sometimes I guess that is the combo I will start with then.

I received an email from John a couple of months ago announcing the ZIIs and ordered one soon thereafter. Upon hearing it, I immediately ordered another. John thinks the new ATL connectors he's carrying equal anything out there and I ordered my cords with them (gold version at extra cost). So how much improvement is from the new cord and how much from the new connectors, I don't know.

This is what John said about the ZII:

Some of the key changes from the VZ1 to the VZII are:

- 6NU Copper is now being used
- Strand count for each conductor has been increased / Ground is
also now slightly larger than the other two conductors
- Shielding has been slightly reduced
- ATL ETP-320CU & ETP-850CU are stock with VZII

He is not discontinuing the ZIs however.

rydenfan · « **Reply #13 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 01:01 am »

thanks Rob. Here is what John said to me today:

"The Violet ZII will be available with a few unique termination options:

1 – 300 Series (Copper)

2 – SG Series (Copper & Gold)

3 – RH Series (Gold & Silver finished off with 4 layers of direct Rhodium)

The Violet ZII when compared directly to the original Violet ZI are similar but the Violet ZII uses less shielding, higher purity conductors, wire awg has been slightly increased, insulation is a single Teflon wrap, and a few other tweaks here and there including terminating the cord exclusively with ATL terminations which rival Oyaide in terms of quality. The terminations I use are built for me by ATL and look exactly like there own offering but are built to my specs."

I think I am going to order the ZII with the RH series terminations to try on the TP...

IronLion · « **Reply #14 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 01:07 am »

I have a ZII with the RH on my Transporter, I like it.

Though I can't compare it to much, I bought it specifically for the TP.

rpf · « **Reply #15 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 01:59 am »

FWIW, I find Rhodium to be very forward and to add a "glaze" to the sound. This experience has held with PCs, ICs, Spkr. cables and outlets. YMMV.

rydenfan · « **Reply #16 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 01:27 pm »

Quote from: rpf on 9 Jul 2008, 01:59 am

FWIW, I find Rhodium to be very forward and to add a "glaze" to the sound. This experience has held with PCs, ICs, Spkr. cables and outlets. YMMV.

hhhmmm. Thanks Rob. So do you have the SG series? the copper and gold combination?

zybar · « **Reply #17 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 01:35 pm »

Quote from: zybar on 8 Jul 2008, 12:19 pm

Quote from: rpf on 8 Jul 2008, 03:53 am
Ted, David (and whomever), the Violet ZIIs are much better than the ZIs and replaced AirSines in my system (only wish I could afford more of them). My ZIIs have the ATL Gold connectors; my ZIs have Oyaide and Furutech Gold connectors. I haven't been able to write a detailed comparison yet because a lot of gear has been going through my system.

George, what are your thoughts on the ZIIs?

Mine is a prototype and I will need to check back with John on how close it is to the "current" ZII.

George

I "talked" to John yesterday and my prototype is pretty much the final version.

While the ZII is a good cord, I don't believe it will surpass the Silver Reference of Statement One when used on the TP. I will come back with a comparison in the next few weeks.

George

rydenfan · « **Reply #18 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 02:32 pm »

Geez George, I was all set to try out the new ZII till you go and say something like that

zybar · « **Reply #19 on:** 9 Jul 2008, 02:35 pm »

Quote from: rydenfan on 9 Jul 2008, 02:32 pm

Geez George, I was all set to try out the new ZII till you go and say something like that

Don't let my comment stop you.

The different cords are at different price points and I would expect them to sound different.

However, if money wasn't an issue, all of my cords would be Statement One.

George