Vertere is a new company, barely a year old. The driving force behind it is Touraj Moghaddam, founder of Roksan Audio, and for the moment it specialises in audio cables, though there are a number of digital and analogue components in development.
The company has taken a back-to-basics approach, examining the exact job a cable has to do and how a signal travels through it – its intriguing designs are the result of that research.
Multi-stranded conductors
In the Pulse-B interconnect, the signal is sent down two sets of silver-plated high-purity copper conductors.
Each set is made up of three multi-stranded Teflon-insulated conductors: two are tightly twisted; the third has 50 per cent larger strands and a less severe twist.
The other conduction path is made up of a much larger-diameter insulated copper conductor.
This conductor has a slow twist and is PVC coated. The Pulse B is shielded, and configurable for use as a line level interconnect, tonearm cable or for use between a preamp and power amp.
Some may complain that the Pulse B doesn't look very expensive. The cable's made well, but doesn't exude any glitz or glamour. Start listening, however, and that simply won’t matter.
Fine performers with everything
We used this premium interconnect over a number of months, trying it with everything from budget systems based around Marantz 6004 kit (around £310 a pop) up to some tasty set-ups including the likes of Burmester’s £50,000 077/911 MkIII monobloc combination, Naim’s CDS3 and NDX streamer (with 555PS outboard power supplies) and ATC SCM 50 speakers. We also combined it with the company's Pulse-X speaker cable.
The cables’ sonic signature remained truly consistent throughout.
Cables, of course, can make the music signal only worse, never better. The best cable is the one that degrades the signal least, and this Vertere is all about preservation of musical energy.
In every system we tried, their effect is the same. The leading edges of notes are as sharply defined as you like, and pack a mighty punch when the music demands.
More than that, the sound delivered is timed immaculately. This means not only that the hard-charging rhythms of Radiohead’s Kid A are punched out in all their glory, but also that the interplay between instruments is preserved and easy to appreciate.
These cable majors on control, insight and agility, not on making things sound nicer. It will help a system communicate the drive and enthusiasm in a piece – it’s all about communicating the drama and passion of music.
Some will never be able to get past the price of this interconnect, and we can respect that. Those who can should try to hear the Pulse-B in an appropriate system. If our experience is anything to go by, we think they’ll be mightily impressed.
