Voima = Power. Clean power = Graditech.
"The investments audiophiles make in their systems need not be lessened because the equipment cannot perform at its best. At Graditech we understand the need to make sure that your electronics are performing optimally. We know how important it is for getting the best playback for all of your music. Meet Voima 1, the first power cord in our new series."
Graditech made a strong impact with their Lumi Series of high-end audio speakers cables in a very short time. Lumi cables offered a distinctive and unique way of sound possibilities with the adjustable cable approach, that creates almost a mind boggling set of combinations for fine tuning your speakers and system. That was a great start in creating their mark upon the high-end audio industry.
THE FIRST IMPACT
Graditech approaches to design and manufacturing of their products with utmost seriousness and this reflects even in the first encounter with their packaging. First hands on feeling will often tell you how the certain manufacturer sees their products and how they want to be seen by the others (customers). The high quality printed card boxes approach and everything connected with packing resemble the sum feelings of my corespondency with Graditech Managing Director Sauli Liitiäinen. Straightforward, resolved, in-depth and elaborated. It shows the clear determination and universal strive to do thing right and in best the way.
"Voima, as are all Graditech cables, is hand-made in Finland. It is composed of 3 conductors each 2.5mm² wrapped in a 2-PUR insulation. Modified Furutech gold plated pure copper plugs with Furutech floating field damper optimized with nylon screws eliminates all internal RF noise and crosstalk. Unlike many power cords delivering such clean sound, Voima 1 is thin and flexible."
THE DEVIALET'S
As I had the Devialet amplifiers extendedly on my hands Sauli recommended to test and review them along with the LUMI3 also their Voima power cables. These series of power cables were developed with a strong emphasis on the performance ability to work with the French premium hybrid amplifiers as well as to perform steadily with other typed of amplifiers. As I'll reveal later in the review, they work at their best with these unique amplifiers, but impresses also when connected to the more traditional power amplifiers working in a Pure A class or AB regime.
THE VOIMA
In the development of the Voima power cables and their all line of cables in general (as told by Graditech's Sauli), they had two choices. One was to use upper range ultra expensive power plugs or invest those extra funds into the great power plugs along with better quality built in materials and technology instead. They've used industry standard high performance Furutech FI-11M-N1 Power Connectors (24k Gold plated Nonmagnetic Conductors) that both perform great and look elegant. Graditech further refined the Furutech FI-11M-N1 with the floating field damper, optimised them by adjusting their distance and changing the screws to a non conductive nylon screws. With the remaining projected funds they could added much more to the advanced technical construction and materials in the favour of musical impact. As you'll find out from my testing remarks, they succeed greatly in doing so.
Do mind, this is the Graditech Voima I series and that Voima II is already being in the works with updates on all fronts. Mono & Stereo will review them also in due time when they're ready.
DEVIALET PART TWO
Devilet's amplifiers made an impressive positive turn in the recent history of high-end audio. They set the new standards and change many minds about high-end audio in general. Devialet products didn't only found their places in the homes of music lovers and audiophiles, but also in the setups of critics and their demanding systems.
From my first experience with Devialet amplifiers I've noticed two things. They are highly specific regarding both the power cables being used and power distributor being set before them.
It's as a rule hard to find the proper match for power cables and Devialets. Usually power cables are built by de fact as universal devices as its complicated if not impossible to pin them down as the best solution to the certain kind of amplifiers. As with all things universal you can get some level of benefits, but hardly you'll meet the ultimate and perfected goal.
To often we might take things to easy. Especially when it comes not only to power cables, but to the high-end audio cables in general. There are to many factors to simply the creation of a perfect cable, but the goal of designing a specific cable is much more reachable then the quest for great performing universal cable. If we take into the consideration all the factors connected to the proper matching to the vast universe of amplifiers the practical implementations starts to look not only perplex, but mind blowing to make it work.
As written above, when used with the Devialet, power cables become more of the veins of the Devialet, then just typical power cables connecting the power. In my system I've spotted, that different power cables added or took away the Devialets authority and control over the music. This amplifier is highly acceptable and dependable on the quality of the electricity. As a must I do my top critical listening after 22.00 hours, when the electricity seems to takes its "right" pace. I can deal with the O.K. performance during the day for the initial and non critical listening, but already the difference between day and night electricity sometimes feels like a complete yin/yang phenomena. And here power cables seem to work with their "magic" or lack of.
Interestingly Graditech Voima power cables reacted differently even during the daily try out listening sessions compared to other cables. They managed to tame down the instability of usual ever going morphing nature of electricity and acted in an controllable authoritative manner. With most power cables being used with the Devialet's so far, the results were flickering and to say unstable. Voima design started to become intriguingly interesting...
With the creation of properly designed power cables there come many challenges. With few wrong twists you can easily kill the sound and make it slow, muffled and lifeless. This is why making them ready to to perform universal and at their best is never an easy task. Its a journey of technical and sound challenges. There are basic rules to be followed when it comes to the primary implementation of capacitance, inductance and resistance, but these are just an basic anchor points and guidelines to make things right from the start. When it comes to the actual performance and sound things get much more complicated. The real challenge begins! And, that is striving for the best matching of the materials being used and their practical implementation for the final desired result.
Graditech experiences with the Lumi series of cables seems to work in favour with the designing of the Voima power cable series. The result is a highly potent power cable, that finally makes the Devialets a steady performers in making them less addicted to the raw quality of electricity. Its a fact, that pureness of electricity will always be the issue, but as proven and discussed up to the infinity in past few year, last meters of cables dedicated to the electricity matters a lot and offers a working solution. Graditech team managed to follow up to the remarkable performance of their Lumi3 series with the Voima line. This points to the fact, that they controllably know what they are doing and results reflects back with practical solutions.
Voima power cables might be tailored as a refined match to the Deivalet amplifiers, yet the proven to work greatly and consistently with other types of power amplifiers. Graditech Voima power cables are not only the steady stand out performers with their strictly oriented task operating with the Devialet, but their hybrid ability and design nature makes them highly potent high performance high-end audio power cables for the general use and also wide implementation.
TECHNICAL IMPACT
With my listening notes there were few of the highlights I wanted to point out in the review. These are the general notes of Voima performing in the different setups and systems. Voima power cables managed to control the rawness of the electricity in making the sound more controlled, focused and with added natural smoothens. With both Devialet and other amplifiers background reflected as solid fact of black stillness. As a result of the controlled electricity behaviour the soundstage managed to widen into the palpable proportions and three dimensionality reflected in best attributes of the analog playback. My notes repeatedly showed up two words; liquidity and pureness.
Graditech took their time and created something that works from the technical point of view into the practical showcase. Not so often this is a reality with the power cables passing through the Mono & Stereo HQ's.
MUSICAL IMPACT
With my favourite test and listening records I've managed to quickly grasp the stand out nature of Graditech Voima power cables. From Micahel Franks's legendary bossa nova paced Sleeping Gypsy to David Oistrakh stellar Violn playing, the notes had that distinctive natural dark pureness quality. This is one of the attributes that distant the mediocre power cables from advanced ones. Voima set the clear advantage here.
There are too many attributes to mention, that are crucial in creating the grand illusion of musical replay. Natural darkens and ability of recreating the natural decays and delays as close as possible to the real ones are among the most important ones. Graditech Voima managed to embrace those refined nuances with the tact and pace that was not only noticeably involving, but musical.
CONCLUSION
Graditech really tailored their Voima power cables to suit the Devialet amplifiers at best. They were perfect match and so far the best working solution I've heard so far with the sleek shinny French beauties.
Sauli is very found of Devialet amplifiers and this brought to the creation of this refined power cables, that are a non brainer to recommend to any existing or upcoming Devialet owners. But! The story doesn't end here. Graditech team expertly evolved the dedicated refined power cable to the overall high-performance high-end audio power cable, that shows its technical and sound advantages with it's musical, smooth, controlled and natural sounding nature.
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
Measurements 1.5m @1kHz
Capacitance 68pF
Inductance 2.28uH
Resistance 0.012ohm
Website: www.graditech.fi
Contact: info@graditech.fi
Warranty: 5 years
Price: 420€ 1m