Topic: Leegeddy vs. VH Audio Pulsar cable review...finally

[scervin]

It has been over a month now that I've had these cables in my system and this past Sunday I had a fair amount of time to spend comparing the two.  I had hoped to do this at a mini MI GTG, but that kinda fell through and we will try and set something up in the fall so this review may get corrected at that time. Both have now had ample time to "break in" (100+ hours),  but the pulsars have maybe 10-20 more hours on them.  The VH Audio Pulsars and leegeddy silvers were connected from the SP-1000 to my Marantz receiver.  The inputs were checked to make sure they were at the same volume.

Construction 
VH Audio Pulsar- these are a well constructed cable as many of you can imagine.  The ordered the 1M with silver bullet plugs.  These connects were a total bitch to get on!  The fit was quite snug.  The cable was not too stiff, but not as weak as the cables that are usually included with a cheap Sony DVD player.  The tech flex makes it look like a nice cable.  It is pretty thick stuff as well, easily has the same dia as an RCA connect.  Overall, best looking cable I own today. This cable is a hybrid type cable with copper center and silver shield.

Leegeddy-  When I first got these I was surprised with how stiff they were!  The solder connection was great and so was the heat shrink job.  These cables have a very small dia.  The tech flex is a nice touch as well, but is does not have the substance of the other.  It is more "see through".  I was afraid it was going to catch on something and tear, but never happened so all is well.  Again this is a very stiff cable! As far as I know this is a pure silver wire.

Sound
For the sound testing I used a disc I have put together with a variety of music to try and capture as many different things as possible (great image, large soundstage, etc).  To start off I began with A. Krauss and Union Station.  The pulsars give a very nice presentation.  Very clear and crisp w/o fatigue issues.  THe highs are really extended compared to cables I've used in the past and the bass was nice and tight.  I was really getting into these new cables.  I never really thought cables of the same material would sound different, but these blow away a free set of Monster Cables I've had since my Circuit City days (5 yrs back).  Overall it was a very refined cable and I can honestly say there wasn't anything I didn't like about it as they do a great job in opening up and extending the sound of well recorded material.

After 15 minutes of flipping through various tracks I switched inputs to the silver cables.  There was a noticable difference in the sound.  The highs became very crisp while most everything else stayed the same.  I had to say most, as there was something that happened to the vocals.  It almost seems as if the dynamic range of the vocal track was slightly compressed.  I have no go way to explain it and that is my best stab at it.  It was something that I feel is noticable right when you switch over, just like a film or something is laid on the vocals.  The total presentation also seemed a little more constrained an not as open.  I gave it more time to settle in, but not much had changed.  They were just a tad harsh as time went on.

Conclusion
After it was all said and done I went upstairs and had my wife cyclec through the different inputs without me knowing which was which.  I was correct in picking the cable 9 out of ten tracks, which was a more hip-hop type tune.  I guessed pulsar and it was the leegeddy cables.  To be honest I would have to say that in my solid state system my ears prefer the copper sound.  I've heard silver does wonder for tube based systems, which most everyone on this board leans to.  Again, the pulsars were just a little more "refined" and that is what one should get for 3X the cost of the cables Marc makes.  That said, the legeddy cables are a great value!  GREAT VALUE!  However, I'm not so sure these are the giant killers some have made them out to be, but they are pretty darn nice!  I will also say that these types of test are almost too subjective so YMMV

[Tim]

Thanks for the review Scott... much appreciated!

fwiw - I'm a tube guy and I love my Leegeddy Silver's... I've got some more of mac's cables here (power cable, interconnects, and some "newer" speaker cable) that I'm looking forward to evaluating...

[radioboy1977]

please keep in mind that you need to spend at least 100 hours or so burning in the silver clad cables before you can hear what they're truly capable of.

nevermind.  i need to learn how to read.

[leegeddy]

scott;

thanks for the fine review. it's an honour being mentioned in the same breath as VH products. i've heard great things about his products, so i'm definitely not disappointed.

marc

[scervin]

scott;

thanks for the fine review. it's an honour being mentioned in the same breath as VH products. i've heard great things about his products, so i'm definitely not disappointed.

marc

BTW, the cables will be side by side in the system for a long time to come.  I'm using your cables on the video and MC audio side.  Don't be surprised to see and order again in the fall when my "extra" cash is spent on audio stuff.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

scott, are you interested in repeating the test?

I picked up a pair of VH pulsars with the copper bullets for very little money.  I heard all the things you describe but I found that I was having soem fatigue due to the extension.  Chris said they need to be in the system for a while. Well, I didn't wait and instead sent them to chris to be cryo'd with his next batch.  I would be willing to send you the pulsars to see what you think of them compared to marcs cables and the pulsars with the silver bullets.

I would be interested to know if you find the pulsars with the copper bullets to be a closer match to marc's or do marc's cables best these.

[scervin]

scott, are you interested in repeating the test?

I picked up a pair of VH pulsars with the copper bullets for very little money.  I heard all the things you describe but I found that I was having soem fatigue due to the extension.  Chris said they need to be in the system for a while. Well, I didn't wait and instead sent them to chris to be cryo'd with his next batch.  I would be willing to send you the pulsars to see what you think of them compared to marcs cables and the pulsars with the silver bullets.

I would be interested to know if you find the pulsars with the copper bullets to be a closer match to marc's or do marc's cables best these.

I would be, but I'm not sure the wife would!     Like I said, in a few months I will try and do this again.  Are you thinking the copper bullet plugs will be more similar to the copper RCA's Marc used to terminate the cables?

sc.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

I would be, but I'm not sure the wife would!     Like I said, in a few months I will try and do this again.  Are you thinking the copper bullet plugs will be more similar to the copper RCA's Marc used to terminate the cables?

sc.

Yes, and also I'm interested in the difference between the copper and silver bullets.

I've got everything in my rack pretty well settled now and I'm turning my attention to wiring.  Like I mentioned, I found a pair of Z-Squared AUAU cables for a decent price.  If I had not just commited to those, I would get the two pair of Audience AU24 on agon today.  He has a 1M and 0.5M pairs are a very good price compared to the others listed.  I want to test a bunch of wires before I do anything else like the DAC or bi-amp that would change the sound of my current rig. 

The thing about the pulsars that bothered me a little is that they are somewhat forward and the seperation was so apparent that it was a little fatiguing after an hour of listening.  I've read that the cryo'd version is smother and also that these take at least 200 hours to settle.  So I'm going to try them again when I get them back and burned in on my cable box audio outs for a week.

I swapped the pulsars in place of some cardas 300B.  The difference was like day and dusk.  The pulsars were incredibly clear and the seperation between placement of sounds was stark.  Originally I liked the warmth of the 300Bs but after hearing the pulsars I could not go back to the lesser detail wires.  The 300B is a very well respected entry level cable, but the entry level pulsar just blew it out of the water.


I can understand that is might seem natural to mix silver and some tube amps like the CJ MV50 with EL34s that was very warm.  But others like the Premier 11A with 6550s is very transparent and sounds much more like the CJ solid state MF2300A than the MV50.  So if one didn't like the HF extension of some silver wires, not all tube amps would mate well.


Edit:
BTW, thanks very much for posting the review.  If you mention here before you try your comparison again, I can send you a few different wires to try in the next test.

[Tim]

so perhaps I'm not crazy for using bare wire after all.....

[scervin]

I would be, but I'm not sure the wife would!     Like I said, in a few months I will try and do this again.  Are you thinking the copper bullet plugs will be more similar to the copper RCA's Marc used to terminate the cables?

sc.

Yes, and also I'm interested in the difference between the copper and silver bullets.

I've got everything in my rack pretty well settled now and I'm turning my attention to wiring.  Like I mentioned, I found a pair of Z-Squared AUAU cables for a decent price.  If I had not just commited to those, I would get the two pair of Audience AU24 on agon today.  He has a 1M and 0.5M pairs are a very good price compared to the others listed.  I want to test a bunch of wires before I do anything else like the DAC or bi-amp that would change the sound of my current rig. 

The thing about the pulsars that bothered me a little is that they are somewhat forward and the seperation was so apparent that it was a little fatiguing after an hour of listening.  I've read that the cryo'd version is smother and also that these take at least 200 hours to settle.  So I'm going to try them again when I get them back and burned in on my cable box audio outs for a week.

I swapped the pulsars in place of some cardas 300B.  The difference was like day and dusk.  The pulsars were incredibly clear and the seperation between placement of sounds was stark.  Originally I liked the warmth of the 300Bs but after hearing the pulsars I could not go back to the lesser detail wires.  The 300B is a very well respected entry level cable, but the entry level pulsar just blew it out of the water.


I can understand that is might seem natural to mix silver and some tube amps like the CJ MV50 with EL34s that was very warm.  But others like the Premier 11A with 6550s is very transparent and sounds much more like the CJ solid state MF2300A than the MV50.  So if one didn't like the HF extension of some silver wires, not all tube amps would mate well.


Edit:
BTW, thanks very much for posting the review.  If you mention here before you try your comparison again, I can send you a few different wires to try in the next test.

I just saw those AU24's!!!  However, I've read a few reviews where the person opted for the Pulsars.  I didn't feel the cryo'd wire would make a differece, but I've heard the same as you in regards to a smoother sound.  Are you using silk dome tweets or metal??  I've got the vifa ring radiator's and love the sound.  I can't handle metal tweeters.

sc.

[Lil Kim Jong-Il]

The VR4JRs have silk tweeters.  Since I got the VR4JRs, playing with wires has become much more interesting.  I can hear differences now that I could not hear with the 20year old Thiels.

We've probably read some of the same reviews.  I think Chris's webpage has a review in which the Pulsar beat the AU24.  I've never tried anything that was cryo'd so I'm very eager to hear how they sound.  In place of the Pulsars I'm using some vampire ofc-silver wires with WBTs.  They sound very much like the pulsars but they aren't as forward and a bit less detailed.

[BobW]

I have my reservations regarding spc. it is also noted in further reading that the dissimilar metals react and cause a "cancer" in the cable that if I recall correctly, might be called "red oxidation"? (It's been a long while since I read that, and I dont recall the proper name for the oxidation condition though).

more reading bits (and this might help in explaining Scotts comment of a "film over the vocals" ((a paraphrase)):

At audio frequencies, otherwise small differences in simple DC resistance significantly alters impedance. Therefore, the presence of both silver and copper in the signal path is capable of creating two different, frequency dependant, conductive pathways to the signal which is a non-linearity that NO audio cable should be causing, especially not a "high-end" audio cable![/url]

I hold great reservation on the "technical opinion" held by infommercials and sales websites.

I'd like an independent lab and some science, please !   

[BobW]

so perhaps I'm not crazy for using bare wire after all.....

Twisted, low-gauge, formvar-varnished magnet wire deserves a listen, as well.
Just check for shorts before connecting ! 

[Tim]

so perhaps I'm not crazy for using bare wire after all.....

Twisted, low-gauge, formvar-varnished magnet wire deserves a listen, as well.
Just check for shorts before connecting !

yes, I am *very* careful about the stray cable strands

[BCostigan]

Moke I agree with your premise but I think we're missing a piece of the puzzle somewhere.  Metals do react to each other that is for sure.  As an electrician I'm well versed in the problems than can occur when putting aluminum and copper together.

I think they key thing to remember about metals being "incompatible" is that they are "incompatible" when oxidation occurs....meaning they both help greatly accelerate each others oxidation.  Oxidation, of course, requires air to take place.  With the cable in question (silver coated copper) there is no air between the silver and copper except at the very tip of each end of wire.  If there is no oxidation possible the metals will coexist quite nicely.  If that is the case than all the other stuff about trace voltage etc  become a moot point as they are the result of oxidation.

That's my take anyway.....dunno if it's right or not.  Hopefully we get some of our in house EEs in here.