he AC power cord from VERICTUM called Demiurg was the most expensive cable of this type from the Polish producer I listened to in my system. The price tag of 34,000 PLN for a product of a then unknown company from the country on the periphery of Europe is a lot of money and even if it was one of the best cables I listened to, it does not change the fact that the name Verictum is a new name in the audio world. Perhaps, however, Mr. Marek Stajndor and Paweł Czubryt, its owners and designers, are right when they claim that the top quality comes with a price.

Unlike in case of many other manufacturers, Verictum developed its products using actual research and technologies. All the tests I performed of their products plus the experience of auditioning together with them their full power and EMI / RFI noise reduction system convinced me, that these guys know what they are doing. Let me also remind you that from the first review on I've been using their X Block passive filters in my reference system.

| Arbiter

The latest Arbiter power cord will cost you exactly half the price of Demiurg (in Poland, as the price is higher abroad). Apart from a simpler box it looks very similar - it's a thick, quite flexible cable in a black mesh sleeve and with a characteristic box in the middle of its length. This is its most important element - this is how I see it at least – as it contains the results of designers' main effort. In this wooden box with the company's logo and the name of the cable engraved using CNC machines, there is a passive filter which in no way interrupts wire strands. The box itself was made of selected, exotic merbau wood, that is particularly durable.

To achieve its full potential, this filter requires that power cable is plugged in at least twelve hours prior to listening. However, the powered device must be turned on and not in sleep mode. It is also important that the box with the filter and the cable itself are placed at least 20 cm away from other cables in the system. As it is emphasized in the company materials, "especially the box must not be placed close to other cables, but in a minimum required distance of 20 cm".

The cable features high quality plugs - Furutech FI-28(G)/FI-38(G). Their contact areas are made of pure copper, gold-plated and then undergo a lengthy cryogenic process called α (Alpha). Their bodies are composed of nylon and glass fiber with some carbon particles. This composition was chosen for its vibration damping properties.

MAREK STAJNDOR & PAWEŁ CZUBRYT
Owners

Since the launch of our top power cable, Demiurg more than a year has already passed. At that time, a concept of a new model was born. To be clear - we always try to ensure that our lineup is not artificially increased. We prefer to offer the best possible sound quality in one great product rather than to offer dozens of mediocre ones that do not bring anything valuable. Therefore, the main assumption during the creation of the Arbiter was to create a product that preserves our uncompromising approach, but with an exceptional price/sound quality ratio.

The development process lasted several months. Prototypes at each stage were verified in home audio systems - both advanced and entry-level ones. We wanted the Arbiter not to be the tone equalizer, or a medicine for the system's problems, but to be a factor that would trigger the potential of the device powered with it. At the same time, we wanted the future Arbiter' owners to enjoy performance improvement without wondering about the (sonic) cost, elements they “lost” while improving several others.

The Arbiter is a different cable compared to Demiurg, yet offering a high-class, colorful sound that denies stereotypes about silver cables. It is made of cryogenized 4N silver, which is produced for us according to our specification regarding metallurgy that is so important for the sound, or in other words we do not use off-the-shelf wires. Demiurg and Arbiter feature conductors made in lengths our cables are offered in. The cryogenization process has been developed and selected specifically for the design of this cable. The metallurgical process, which translates later into particular, important for us sonic values, makes it necessary to produce only short sections of wires, so we can't really make long runs.

The Arbiter is equipped with our passive EMI / RFI filter. This filter has unique filtering properties tuned perfectly for a consistent sound concept presented by the Arbiter. This system has been developed specifically for this cable and is one of many important elements of its tuning. Thanks to advanced shielding and passive filtration, the current delivered by the Arbiter is free from noise and granularity/impurity caused by interference. The Arbiter cable is hand-made from scratch.

You can read more about company's philosophy and their other products in the article “The Magic of a System” – Verictum COGITARI + DEMIURG + X BLOCK + X BULK.

The Arbiter's sound is smooth, very smooth. It arranges the presentation so that it is unfolded before listener like a silk sheet. Thus, sound exhibits properties known from tube devices and - generally - analog devices. So it is: coherent, fluid and has depth. Especially for this test I chose recordings that sound this way, but not because I knew upfront how the new Verictum cable sounded like, but because I like such recording best.

The Polish cable does not break down the music into prime factors. It is resolving, differentiates recordings quite well, but not by showing emphasizing details, attack, or extra-musical details. All these elements combine into a coherent performance, i.e. a finished story, which we do not need to merge from separate fragments, because it is already whole. It gets involved in it and fuses with it - it is not so easy to say where its interference ends, and where the recording's own nature begins. And all this happens, let me say that again, with amazing smoothness.

Which make it similar to the reference Siltech - and it's only one of similarities. I do not know if that's what it was about, or is it just a common goal for some designers, but with the Arbiter the “pressure” is released from recordings. The Acoustic Revive cable compared with it, in itself perfect, is more strongly focused on the contour, on dynamizing the presentation by accentuating the attack energy. It's also darker, darker than Demiurg, so we're not talking about emphasizing the attack in the sense that it's not accenting the edges. This Japanese cable energizes the entire attack, without sharpening or emphasizing edges.

As I say, the Verictum cable smoothly goes into the recording. It is not as contoured as Acoustic Revive, which makes it more similar to Siltech. And it is the Dutch top model that is the best reference for it, because it offers a similar character of the performance. Both the tonal balance and the way of shaping the dynamics of the presentation are similar here. Siltech is more resolving, it differentiates better and better presents the recordings themselves, signaling its presence with "analog" sound, but also the Arbiter does something similar, only on a different level.

This is very interesting, because all the cables from this price range, that I know, try to increase the resolution by boosting dynamics and energy, sometimes in the treble, sometimes in bass range. This is a good method and works well with both the more contoured Acoustic Revive cable and the softer but deeper Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500. I like it so much the Siltech Triple Crown because, among other things, it corrects it, and yet its resolution, the ability to cast a large image in front of the listener, a deep perspective, are incomparably better.

The Polish cable does not go that far, it rounds the edges a bit, making the bodies less clear. I could hear it also in comparison with the other two cables. But only in comparison with them and it is not a favorable comparison for them. Acrolink delivers a warmer sound, in which the depth of the stage is better shaped to a certain extent, and the "sound events", i.e. the instruments themselves and their interactions, as well as the accompanying acoustics are more clearly depicted. But the Arbiter seems to better follow the rhythm, the drama, though, as I said many times already, it sounds very, very smooth.

There is a reason why I go so deeply into the details of the sound and its nuances. Differences between these three cables from the same price range - up to 20,000 PLN - are clear and each of them has something interesting to offer. However, the Polish cable is following the same direction as Siltech - for good and for bad, I am not saying that this is the only possible and at the same time the only valuable direction. There are also, for example, Shunyata Research cables, the most neutral and analytical ones, most faithfully drawing details, which makes them suitable for other systems and for other recipients with their sense of aesthetics, taste and requirements.

So who is the Arbiter for? It does not contour the sound, so it is not very suitable for systems in which the rhythm is a superior element and in which the preferred music is that of, for example Yello. But not because its performance is poor. It will extract a lot of density and velvetiness that are there, but covered by more attractive (for an ear) elements. But it will also smooth everything out, will calm the presentation down, and this type of music does not need it at all. It will be more suitable for systems playing mostly jazz and classical music.

That's where it will show its character. It is a cable playing presenting a wide stage, with nice bass extension, without emphasizing this sub-range, but delivering it with good resolution. The foreground is most important here, although it is not push forward toward listener - it depends on the recording. If it's close, like on the album of guitarists, Joe Pass and Herby Ellis, it's presented really close, and if it's a little behind the line connecting the speakers, like on the Dave Brubeck album, it will begin behind this line. But everything down the stage is presented a bit closer, it is bigger and has higher energy than - for example - with Siltech.

Summary

It is no coincidence that I compared the Arbiter directly with my reference cables, including three-and-half times more expensive Siltech Triple Crown. Although it is the same level as Acoustic Revive Reference Power Triple-C and Acrolink Mexcel 7N-PC9500, it's sonic character is closer to the Dutch reference chord. It's smooth, silky, well organized and with a wide band. It offers proper pulse and drive, although these aspects are signaled subcutaneously here, being a base of bigger events, and not creating accurate, contouring accents.

It is not as resolving as the Siltech, as energetic and open at the top as the Acoustic Revive, nor does it show such a beautiful black background as Acrolink. It has its own set of features. There are no accidental result when product are prepared by companies that know what they do and understand the tools they use. Verictum has worked out their own sound strategy and knows how to do it. Believe me, there are not many such companies on the market, therefore, the greater respect I have for the crew of this Polish brand.

Technical specification (according to manufacturer)

Conductor: cryogenized silver 4N
Ground wire: cryogenized silver 4N
Cross-section: multi-strand solid core
Effective cross-section: 3 mm2
Plugs: FI-E38G i FI-28G + Americium's cryo process
Length: 180 cm