It looks like Purist introduced a new line of cables: Proteus Provectus.  Dave Clark from “Positive Feedback” made a write up about those new cables. Hmmm… I do not like what I have read, particularly reading some things between the lines:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue36/pad_proteus.htm

I do not know Dave Clark but I do not like what he wrote, some of his comments are juts purely idiotic – what do you want from him – he needs to fulfill the duty of any audio reviewer and he uses all available for him stupidity to convince the readers “to buy”. To make people to buy - is it why any audio reviewer has any “audio thinking” to begin with? Some Dave Clark’s comments are crear foolish pearls of audio reviewing, in fact those pearls have became the Positive Feedback’s trademarks....

I am not a big admirer of the sonic direction where Purist Audio Design went after 2000-2001. The POD went for instantaneous, easy and superficially thrilling, cheap Sound (a good much for the new Lamm production) – no wonder that this “new” sound is readily embraced by the today’s audio industry and  consequentially was propelled to the admiration of the ordinary audio suckers-simpletons.

I should not be too hard on Dave Clark. He is in a way a hostage in the game that he does not understands, he just was used. Any magazine editor and smart manufacture knows how to match the misery of an audio product with ignorance, simplicity or stupidity of an audio reviewer. Anyhow, I never heard the Proteus Provectus but at this point this cable has bad signs.

First, why Dave Clark, the person who apparently has no experience with Purist Audio Design products was given to review the POD’s new cables? Does POD willing to send a message that the new cable is a complete disassociation from POD original Proteus and Dominus legacy? If so then it is very sad. In 90s the Dominus, Proteus (Rev A and Rev B, I less like Rev C) and even in some cases the inexpensive Colossus cables were so far more interesting than any other cable produced that it was laughable. The further POD products were “differed” in terms of Sound. Any person who knows the real value of the POD cable and how to use them (very important) learning about the new Proteus Provectus cable would ask: is it the same Proteus that was 10 years ago? Design-wise it is obviously different but how about Sound? What the hell Dave Clark, who just was given his first POD cable, can say? Why the review was not given to a long-time Proteus-level user?

Second. Dave Clark says that he got involved into all of it being solicited by Albert Porter. Let me teach you something.  Albert Porter is a person who has no other titles then “fuckin’ whore”. I witnessed many events where he used lies, deceptions and fraud to promote and to create idiotic excitement around various products that he was pushing at that time.  Albert is long time POD user, he is a photographer who makes POD pictures, has personal relation with POD and he is one of the army of cheerleaders that POD deploys when they need to trumpet  and to drum up the new products. I know quite a few of those people and generally they are fine. The Albert Porter however, takes his “responsibility” to extremes instead of “opinions” he spread the streams of sleazy deceit. I have seen it again and again and the only fact the Albert Porter is heavily promoting the Proteus Provectus cable make me to suspect that the cable might be garbage. I hope the Porte -motherfucker just hangs himself on those cables – it will be just a perfect waste a cable… From a different perspective what makes him different from any other Audiogon-level “dealers”?

Anyhow, If someone who are familiar with older Proteus A, B cables have a chance to listen the new Proteus Provectus then please post you opinion.

I need to note that the methods that Purist uses are superbly powerful. A few years ago, inspired by what POD does I did number experiments damping cables with liquid. It is astonishing how sound was affected with different liquids. I was running at that time a direct wire from my MC cartridge to my step up transformer and I submerged the wires in a container with different liquids. I discover for instance that Scotch whisky very superbly affective. I experimented with different brand…. It was an interning time. I told my stories at that time to POD’s Jim Aud and he told me as well that they experimented with some crazy cables liquids …

The very best sound of anything I was able to get by submerging the naked, no isolation wires into liquid silicon insulator. During those few days while the silicon was still in the liquid state the sound/harmonics from that cable were nothing short of extraordinary.

glaesemann wrote:

I think we know why Purist does not send out refill kits. For the same reason HP and Canon do not send out ink refill kits.

Moved Reply to the linked thread:

glaesemann wrote:

In the past you've referred to current loading in the context of cable length. I recently experienced this when I experimented with moving my amps. I needed to increase the IC length from 1 meter to 3 meters. The only IC I had at that length was an old Colossus. To my surprise (after settling in) the Colossus at 3 meters was more interesting than the Proteus at 1 meter. I knew that the very low output impedance of the Placette Active made it a great preamp for driving longer length RCA's, but I didn't expect it to sound more interesting. Though this is off topic from the thread, I'll try a response to your cable frustration (one that I share). Does the specific sound you are looking for exist in an IC you already own? The older Dominus or Proteus fluid Rev, A or B? By benefit of the Japanese documented Proteus dissection, we know how a Proteus Rev. B is made. The trick is the fluid, but a serious lab analysis could show the composition. They may have used an off the shelf fluid, like a brake fluid. Since they used an off the shelf inner cable (still available) for the Proteus, maybe a dissection of the Dominus would show the same thing. The Japanese have already documented the build of the cable from their dissection, so all there is left is to Cryo all of the parts and find someone to build it, like you've done with the tweeters, horns, etc. I'll suggest J.D. of Jade Audio. He builds cables of his own design in his home and is most noted for his solid gold stranded IC's. No copper and no silver. He is not a normal cable builder in one special way. He published exactly how he builds them and even has given direction to interested DYIers in the past, not to mention he is most assuredly not profit motivated. He is in very poor health and the demand for Jade cables has increased, so I can't speak to his availability, but it is worth a shot. The whole endeavor shouldn't cost too much. Purist may not be happy, but it's not your fault that they discontinued the Rev. A and B's. Tim

glaesemann wrote:

Does the specific sound you are looking for exist in an IC you already own? The older Dominus or Proteus fluid Rev, A or B?

Yes, Dominus RevA and RevB were right cables with exception of those Rev B that were converted from fluid to sand material that Purist promoted at that time. I would like to have the fluided Dominus RevA and RevB to be slightly more cables in the very lowest end, the very lowest octave, but with loosing the stunning Dominus’ midbass and everything else. I did not know any cable that can do it but late years when I went into multiamping I stopped care about it.

glaesemann wrote:

By benefit of the Japanese documented Proteus dissection, we know how a Proteus Rev. B is made.

I do not know anything about it. Can you provide a link? I have somebody who can read Japanese.

glaesemann wrote:

The trick is the fluid, but a serious lab analysis could show the composition. They may have used an off the shelf fluid, like a brake fluid.

I do not think that the fluid is a big deal. I think the fluidness of the isolation is the key, I would use different liquid. In my past I tried silicon and Scotch Whisky and the result was very good. Would it be possible to have even better sounding fluid then what Purist users? I think so. Purist puts their wires in plastic isolators and then submerges them in their fluid. I do not like it. I would like to have naked live conductors floating in fluid. Use none corrosive fluid for instance the silicon fluid in silicon tubing… I consulted with scientific-oriented person and he advised me to use different type of oil to live wires. Anyhow, although I am interested to learn what kind antifreeze of brake fluid Purist uses and even I have access to the infrared spectroscope but I would not go for analyzing the Purist’s fluid in RevA and RevB. I feel it would not be right thing to do.

glaesemann wrote:

Since they used an off the shelf inner cable (still available) for the Proteus, maybe a dissection of the Dominus would show the same thing. The Japanese have already documented the build of the cable from their dissection, so all there is left is to Cryo all of the parts and find someone to build it, like you've done with the tweeters, horns, etc. I'll suggest J.D. of Jade Audio. He builds cables of his own design in his home and is most noted for his solid gold stranded IC's. No copper and no silver. He is not a normal cable builder in one special way. He published exactly how he builds them and even has given direction to interested DYIers in the past, not to mention he is most assuredly not profit motivated. He is in very poor health and the demand for Jade cables has increased, so I can't speak to his availability, but it is worth a shot. The whole endeavor shouldn't cost too much. Purist may not be happy, but it's not your fault that they discontinued the Rev. A and B's.

Tim, it is all very interesting and I would like to learn about the Proteus’ inner wire juts for a sake of general education on the subject. However, I would not go for a duplication of what Purist did. Doing it you will save only money but there are more important in our live things then juts to save money. I would feel like shit using those duplicated Purist cables. It is not to mention that Purist is no my enemy and Jim Aud always was very cooperative with all my requests. If I build myself or if I sponsor somebody to build custom cable for me then it will not come from Purist know-how. It will be using fluid most likely but it will be all that would relate my cable with original Purist cables. 

Romy the Cat wrote:

Tim, it is all very interesting and I would like to learn about the Proteus’ inner wire juts for a sake of general education on the subject. However, I would not go for a duplication of what Purist did. Doing it you will save only money but there are more important in our live things then juts to save money.

Tim,

you see I have no specification that the cable might be built I have only requirements. I have no idea what kind cable making specifications should be consider in order a cable yield this or that sound. Purist does build custom cables but primary within the scope of what they built commercially. I afraid that what I would be asking would be beyond of what they willing to do. Purist after all is a company that in the business of cable manufacturing not in the business of walking on water….

There are two more aspects that are making me do not contact Purist with my recent cable needs.

First is the price. It is not the fact that it is expensive itself but it is expensive by topology. If Purist wish to get let say $12.000 for interconnect then I am willing to spend $12.000 for hard-binding putting my DAC with my preamp, illuminating a need for a cable all together. So, investing $12.000 into a topological modification makes more sense to me.

The second is the more important. In the end of 90s purist made Dominus, Proteus, Colossus and they symbolized for us – the Purist users and producers – some sort of reference to an agreeable command denominator of sonic quality. Later on that common mutuality understandable protocol between the Purist’s products and the actual sound from the cables was shaken and then got destroyed. Nowadays you can but some kind of strange cable that have Dominus of Proteus label but that sound like shit. Furthermore Purist themselves are lost (in my view) a feeling of what is good and what is bad. They constantly release new cables and they feel that they are superior to the old cables but it is not just true. It is not that Purist lost my credibility: I do not care about the company I care about myself. I do have two cables RevB that are dried out and that need to do refilled but I afraid to send it to Purist and they might lose the Right sound. Purist use nowadays a new liquid and go figure if that liquid make the cable to sound right. Purist said that it does but the same Purist said many other things nowadays that in my experience just are not correct.

Romy the Cat wrote:

I do not think that the fluid is a big deal. I think the fluidness of the isolation is the key, I would use different liquid. In my past I tried silicon and Scotch Whisky and the result was very good. Would it be possible to have even better sounding fluid then what Purist users? I think so. Purist puts their wires in plastic isolators and then submerges them in their fluid. I do not like it. I would like to have naked live conductors floating in fluid. Use none corrosive fluid for instance the silicon fluid in silicon tubing… I consulted with scientific-oriented person and he advised me to use different type of oil to live wires. Anyhow, although I am interested to learn what kind antifreeze of brake fluid Purist uses and even I have access to the infrared spectroscope but I would not go for analyzing the Purist’s fluid in RevA and RevB. I feel it would not be right thing to do.

I am not commenting on the sound of this cable at this point: first because the cable is too new and second because I do not want to.  I am sick from visitors of my site who run across this site and send to me those emails in search for recommendations what to buy. I inform about my play with this Chinese Proteus only as information but not as recommendation.