Vermillion

Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial interests: click here
Main system: Sources: Retina 5K 27" iMac (i5, 256GB SSD, 40GB RAM, Sonoma 14), 4TB external SSD with Thunderbolt 3, Audirvana Studio, Qobuz Sublime, Singxer SU-6 USB bridge, LHY Audio SW-8 & SW-6 switch, Sonnet Pasithea, COS Engineering D1, Laiv Audio Harmony; Active filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Power amplifiers: Kinki Studio EX-B7 monos & Gold Note monos on subwoofer; Headamp: Enleum AMP-23R; Phones: Raal 1995 Immanis; Loudspeakers: Qualio IQ [on loan] Cables: Exact Express Flame, Furutech; Power delivery: 2 x Kinki/Vinshine Tai Hang on amps and source stack, Furutech DPS-4.1 between wall and conditioners; Equipment rack: Artesanía Audio Exoteryc double-wide 3-tier with optional glass shelves, Exoteryc amp stands; Sundry accessories: Acoustic System resonators, AudioQuest FogLifters; Room: 6 x 8m with open door behind listening seat; Room treatment: 2 x PSI Audio AVAA C214 active bass traps
2nd system: Source: FiiO R7 into Soundaware D300Ref SD transport to Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Preamp/filter: Lifesaver Audio Gradient Box 2; Amplifier: Kinki Studio EX-M7; Loudspeakers: ModalAkustik MusikBoxx + Dynaudio S18 sub; Cable loom: Exact Express Earth; Power delivery: Vibex Granada/Alhambra, Akiko Audio Corelli Corundum & Castello Solo; Equipment rack: Hifistay Mythology Transform X-Frame [on extended loan]; Sundry accessories: Furutech cable lifts, Furutech NFC Clear Lines; Room: ~3.5 x 8m
2nd headfi system: DAC: Cen.Grand DSDAC 1.0 Deluxe with POW; Headamp: Cen.Grand Silver Fox; Headphones: Raal 1995 Magna, HifiMan Susvara
Desktop system: Source: HP Z2 work station Win11/64; USB bridge: Singxer SU-2; DAC/headamp: iFi iDSD Pro Signature; Amplifiers: Topping B200; Speakers: Virtual Hifi Viper; Headphones: Final D-8000, aune SR7000
Upstairs headfi system: FiiO R7; Headphones: Meze 109 Pro, Fiio FT3
2-channel video system: Source: Oppo BDP-105; All-in-One: Gold Note IS-1000 Deluxe; Loudspeakers: Zu Soul VI; Subwoofer: Zu Submission; Power delivery: Furutech eTP-8, Room: ~6x4m
Review component retail ex VAT: €694/1m/pr RCA, €707/1m/pr XLR, €916/2.5m/pr Spark, €1'529/2.5/pr Flame

"I've finalized XLR and RCA interconnects which I developed over the past two years. Unlike the industry standard diameter of 0.4–0.6mm, mine use a 1mm solid alloy of 99% silver and 1% gold. I've tested them against far costlier competition many times over and they consistently deliver exceptional results. The sonic character is exactly what you'd expect from me: dynamic, holographic, with stunning midrange and excellent bass." That was Grzegorz Rulka, sole nozzle cleaner at Polish microbrand Virtual Hifi. There he doesn't just wrangle the ultra monitors Viper and Cobra and a small armada of 3D printers. He now also wrestles wires. His first Virtual product was the 3D-printed Vibron isolation footer. Prior to launching his solo venture, we saw him at Cube Audio then Qualio Audio. There he still partners with Marek Kostrzynski of Polish speaker house Pylon who also moonlights on projects for other brands like Horn Acoustic. Promoting a silver/gold alloy wherein smaller gold molecules fill surface gaps in silver's lattice structure to improve conductivity, Siltech then Crystal might have been first to do it on a large scale. Now Greg champions a related recipe for his own links. My main systems run 6-metre XLR pairs between their source and amp stacks. Past the outboard analogue crossover, downstairs services four mono amps. That’s a lot of cables. So I suggested my far simpler office system. There a 1-metre XLR between iFi iDSD Pro Signature DAC/pre and Topping B200 monos does the job. Grzegorz agreed. A single short XLR pair would dispatch from Poznan/Poland. Seeing how I listen to his Qualio IQ speakers in the main system; how these Viper monitors are his design and build; how he owns the same pair of amps in black—his DAC is a German T+A—for his cables there'd be zero surprise in my office. My current XLR links there were upscale Furutech, the speaker leads Zu Event. Outside the office, I use either Exact Express Flame or Earth looms.

Win11/64 w. Audirvana Studio and Qobuz Sublime ⇒ Singxer SU-2 ⇒ iFi iDSD Pro Signature ⇒ Topping B200 ⇒ Viper

I usually don't review single cables. I prefer looms. They insure front-to-back consistency. They avoid arbitrary non-representational interactions between mismatched wires. In today's instance I agreed because Grzegorz had already hit two out of two for Virtual; and at least another four out of four with various earlier Cube and Qualio assignments. When someone is on an obvious streak, it inspires me. Here it overwrote my usual cable conniptions and wire woes. Unless we do wireless streaming actives, all of us acknowledge that no cables means no sound. Yet most of us think electronics and speakers far more interesting than wires. In restaurant reviews, how many foodies bother with the quality of the water served? Yet stop drinking water for just three days and see what happens. Did Grzegorz have a crafty name for his new cables? "They are named Vermillion. They use Mundorf solid-core conductors in Teflon insulation. The RCA terminates in WBT Nextgen silver plugs, the XLR in Viborg silver. Each cable includes additional copper shielding with a directional layout and a silicone tube for mechanical elasticity." It's a clever product name where nobody will overlook the free million included. Talk about 6-zeros purity. Surely that’s more transparent than six nines!

From Mundorf: "The use of this conductor can be condensed into the simple formula of 99% silver + 1% gold = 100% music. The ultra-pure gold (typically 99.99%) changes silver's crystalline structure to maximize its very good electrical conductivity. Crystal clear on one hand, playback is lively and warm on the other. It embeds in a delicately differentiated picture and steeps in musical beauty. Elegance, tonal purity and lively dynamics make this exquisite material stand out from all others. Its mix had already proven itself as a coating for our MCap Supreme SilverGold capacitors. The sonic experience was so convincing that the idea was born to use this alloy also for the wiring of electronic devices." It’s already Grzegorz's hookup wiring of choice for Mundorf's larger dipole AMT tweeter on his Cobra monitor. Meanwhile the Qualio IQ's 'Ultra' version runs Mundorf Angelique hookup wiring. That’s a copper-based mix also with silver+gold inclusions. This page breaks down the actual costs of Vermillion's build. It's the pauper's platform to emulate Siltech though any tie-in over similar metallurgy can't predict how an actual A/B might fare. Just so, we who salute nervously from this silver/gold lane are made to feel good. If we DIY'd Vermillion with the exact same parts at civilian not Greg’s volume-discount costs, we'd spend nearly the same. Where 'nearly' isn't good enough, solder irons get busy. Wherever turnkey convenience wins out, Vermillion has it. As Grzegorz puns, "it's a cable without the snake oil". It's why he couldn't follow up his Viper and Cobra speakers with Mamba or Krait wires. He also calls cables virtual commodities to take heated aim at typical 10 x markups. For Vermillion Mundorf already financed all R&D and alloy outsourcing. Greg just adds terminations and physical assembly. For that he charges a flat €100 fee. Elsewhere engorged python margins shed crocodile tears yet continue to conduct deep-margin commerce as usual. About that, Viper's engraved rear panel reads "High-End Sound without High-End Nonsense". Vermillion manifests that in maximum value squeezed from these silver/gold grapes. Those still tasting sour grapes can pursue Mogami or Sommer copper conductors with Amphenol plugs and roll at ~€100 or less. With the cable sector's infamous multiplier, the retail cost of a 1m XLR Vermillion pair would be €5'740. Instead Virtual Hifi bills us €707 incl. worldwide shipping. To that the European Union adds VAT from 17% in Luxembourg to 27% in Hungary. In the US it’s the Trumpian tariffs which do the biting. Australia and Japan add 10%.

Conductive cross sections: left 1mm² Vermillion, right the 0.4mm² industry standard.

Loomsters wonder already. Can a Vermillion speaker cable be far behind to form a union and strike out together? Mundorf make an equivalent 1.5mm conductor poised for purpose; and parallel runs could combine for even lower impedance and greater current-carrying chops. “Vermillion will certainly include speaker cables. They’re basically ready. I just need to finalize their appearance. There will be two versions. The Mundorf Silver/Gold will run the same conductor as the Vermillion interconnects. To get the performance I want, each channel needs 2 x 1mm² for each of its legs so we arrive at a total 4mm² for the combined ‘+’ and ‘-‘ runs per side. That of course makes the cable quite costly rather quickly; not outrageously so but certainly on the expensive side. The Duelund tinned copper version uses the same conductor which wires up Viper and Cobra internally. It's inspired¹ by the vintage Western Electric approach. For some reason it has a very organic, musical and natural sound. I really like it. For these speaker cables I use two Duelund runs per leg. Being copper, their price is far more attractive than the Mundorf, making it the more budget-friendly option. But I plan to use WBT silver bananas or spades on either conductor. I thoroughly tested them against many others during R&D and really like the WBT sound signature on both the Mundorf silver/gold and Duelund copper." I agreed to add a 1.5m/pr of Duelund speaker cables to this assignment. On my desktop, this would equate to a complete analog loom. If logic ruled, it should create more Vermillion dominance over this system's voicing than running just the XLR or just the speaker cable.
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¹ As it turns out, the inspiration is also far more recent via 6moons alum Jeff Day. From Duelund: "At the heart of our Duelund tinned copper cotton in oil cables lies inspiration drawn from the meticulous research of Jeff Day, renowned Positive Feedback reviewer. Jeff's relentless pursuit of vintage audio qualities that resonate with audiophiles worldwide has paved the way for these cables' development. By studying and analyzing the characteristics that make vintage audio components so coveted, Jeff has guided us in crafting cables that capture the essence of that golden era of sound."