When I rang The Vinyl Adventure to order to order a new tone arm cable I was disappointed to learn that it might take some weeks for the cable to arrive. As my previous cable had failed and I had visitors the following day, I asked David Brook if he could lend me a cable until the new one came. He said that he would ‘put something in the post’. I had no idea at this stage what the cable might be, but DB was as good as his word and the loan cable arrived the following day.
It came in very unprepossessing packaging but when I opened the packet and took the cable out it looked interesting (better than I expected) with very good quality RCA phono plugs and a nice metal bodied right angle DIN plug to go into my SME Model V. The cable itself was very well constructed using pure silver cores and with an attractive black nylon sheath to keep the twin cables together. I plugged it in and played it for a few hours as background music to give the cable a chance to settle in before doing any serious listening.
For the listening sessions I used three records. The first was a lovely Decca digital recording of Poulenc Piano music from 1987 with Pascal Roge. The second was the Syd Lawrence Orchestra on a record produced by Chasing the Dragon from 2014, recorded at Air Studios in Hampstead. The final disc was another Chandos big band recording this time of the Don Lusher Big Band from 1979 a very good analogue recording.
I was pleasantly surprised by the listening sessions. After a few hours of use the Vinyl Adventure Corvette cable really began to sing. The Poulenc Piano recording sounded beautifully clear and rounded. The sound was very full with thunderous bass from the left hand and lovely shimmering highs in the treble without a trace of hardness. Leading edges of noted were very precise as was the spacial presentation and imaging. Rhythms were beautifully pointed and the sound had both delicacy and weight when the music demanded.
The Syd Lawrence record was very satisfying with excellent detail and real power. No matter how big the climaxes, the Corvette handled them with aplomb. In recent times this direct cut record has become something of a reference disc and I have never heard it better than it sound with the Vinyl Adventure cable in my system. The Don Lusher recording was presented very well indeed with great presence and detail but with no edge to the sound whatsoever but bags of detail and when required generous quantities of raw power. Dynamics were impressive on all recordings. Subsequent listening sessions with vocal recording were equally satisfying and best of all for me was the price.
With prices from £94.95, this cable represents very good value making my normal cable, at 3 times its price, sound rather ordinary. I must say that I am not normally a fan of silver cables which can sound a tad bright for my taste. Perhaps the biggest compliment I can pay therefore is that I would not have known that it was silver from listening had DB not told me. All in all The Corvette tonearm cable provided a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Buy with confidence.
