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Shunyata Research
#21
(17-Aug-2016, 16:38)GuillaumeB Wrote: Check out the cable mayhem here! This will give an idea of the conductors of these "snakes":



I have one of these really irritating racks that is next to impossible to work with. Looks good, that's about it!

The Venom UK6 is so well built, one of the best looking/solid distributors I have seen actually.

Guillaume

Wow, those cables are thicker than the one that brings the main feed into my house!

>>> 1st Place Award: Devialet, last decades most disappointing technology purchase.  <<<

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#22
Fantastic photos. Those cables look to be quite flexible even though they are really thick.
Auralic Mini (Sbooster LPSU), Rega RP8, Melco N1A, Devialet D200, Devialet 400, ELAC BS314, ELAC BS312, Sonus Faber Olympica 1, Audioquest (Victoria, Yosemite, Vodka Cat7, Carbon USB) Chord Epic Master/Companion link, Wireworld Oasis 7 speaker cable, Inakustik Reference LS-803 speaker cable,Isotek premium mains cables, TCI mains cables, Atlas mains unfiltered distribution block, Supra filtered mains distribution block, and synergistic research (red/black fuse,sort kone), and vertexaq (silver-jaya).
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#23
Guillaume, have you tried your Shunyata cables directly from the Devialet to the wall? If your system sounds like mine there is a subtle improvement running direct to the wall vs. through a conditioner (Hydra Model 2 with Venom HC in my case). The conditioner is useful as a switch, surge protector, etc., but at least at my level the conditioner detracts from the sound quality a little. Maybe it is just my Venom HC being a weak link, and everything I read about current Hydra and Denali conditions are that they improve the sound quality, but I thought I'd ask you.

Confused, if only Shunyata made pylons as well as Pythons those folks in Japan could have some really solid power posts.
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#24
I used an original Hydra with valve gear a few years ago and it added a patina of grunge to the sound - but it could well be different with Devialet gear.
WTL TT / HP laptop (JRiver) / Devialet 400 / Marten Django / Crystal Cable

Sydney Australia
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#25
(18-Aug-2016, 02:56)deviousalet Wrote: Guillaume, have you tried your Shunyata cables directly from the Devialet to the wall? If your system sounds like mine there is a subtle improvement running direct to the wall vs. through a conditioner (Hydra Model 2 with Venom HC in my case). The conditioner is useful as a switch, surge protector, etc., but at least at my level the conditioner detracts from the sound quality a little. Maybe it is just my Venom HC being a weak link, and everything I read about current Hydra and Denali conditions are that they improve the sound quality, but I thought I'd ask you.

Confused, if only Shunyata made pylons as well as Pythons those folks in Japan could have some really solid power posts.

I started off with the Zitron Sigmas connected directly to the wall, so with each Devialet on separate spurs. I ran them like this for an hour or so. Then I connected them through the UK6 (which is connected to the wall via Sigma Analog). Definitely a small improvement and certainly no degradation of sound.

It could be that having the two Devialets on the same circuit is helping things, I'm not discounting this possibility.

I have a Venom HC here so I might try your experiment. At the moment I just need to get these cables run in.  Smile

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#26
(17-Aug-2016, 20:40)Confused Wrote: For the full effect, you need one of these also:

http://www.whathifi.com/news/82-year-old...und-system

I have to say that the UK6 distributor does look the part.  Does it add anything on its own?  I'm not sure I have the budget, or even the room, for those power cords!

Yes I read that! Brilliant.

The UK6 is something else. It's quite heavy too! 

Once everything is properly run in I will be able to properly evaluate what all these different bits are adding to the picture. Or subtracting as the case may well be.

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#27
Rufus has just been and gone. We both agree that we have never heard my system sound as good as this. Utterly amazing. 

I'll let Rufus post his impressions.  Smile

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#28
Great reading about your first impressions Guillaume! And I love the picture you posted, these Shunyata PC's look so cool (though a bit over the top IMO)! Smile

My "measly" (Wink) Shunyata zi-tron Alpha Digital power cord has been delivered last Tuesday. Though I'd love to have the Sigma I really can't afford it, as in I don't really want to spend €3300 on a power cable. They are rumoured to be considerably better than the Alpha's though so I guess I'll just have to live with that knowledge! First impressions of the Shunyata are favorable. It's clearly the more transparent and precise cable compared to the one it replaced (Lessloss DFPC Signature) and there's a lot more extension in the top end. I need to spend more time with it though to form more firm impressions/conclusions.

Earlier today I've also ordered a Shunyata zi-tron Anaconda Digital XLR (1,5m AES/EBU) interlink to use between the Mutec and D250. Can't wait to receive it!
PS Audio P3, Shunyata ΞTRON Alpha Digital and HC/Furutech power cables, Paul Hynes SR7EHD-MR4, DIY Roon Server & Roon Endpoint running AudioLinux Headless, Phasure Lush^2 USB cable, Audioquest Diamond RJ/E ethernet, Uptone Audio etherREGEN, Mutec MC-3+ USB, Shunyata ΞTRON Anaconda Digital XLR AES/EBU, Devialet Expert 250 Pro CI, Nordost Tyr Reference LS cables, Von Schweikert VR-5 SE Anniversary Edition, Anti-Mode Dual Core 2.0, JL Audio Fathom F112. More detail here.

The Netherlands
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#29
(19-Aug-2016, 17:03)Antoine Wrote: Great reading about your first impressions Guillaume! And I love the picture you posted, these Shunyata PC's look so cool (though a bit over the top IMO)! Smile

My "measly" (Wink) Shunyata zi-tron Alpha Digital power cord has been delivered last Tuesday. Though I'd love to have the Sigma I really can't afford it, as in I don't really want to spend €3300 on a power cable. They are rumoured to be considerably better than the Alpha's though so I guess I'll just have to live with that knowledge! First impressions of the Shunyata are favorable. It's clearly the more transparent and precise cable compared to the one it replaced (Lessloss DFPC Signature) and there's a lot more extension in the top end. I need to spend more time with it though to form more firm impressions/conclusions.

Earlier today I've also ordered a Shunyata zi-tron Anaconda Digital XLR (1,5m AES/EBU) interlink to use between the Mutec and D250. Can't wait to receive it!

I have a couple of Alpha HC cables here and am burning them in on my Linn system. In a week or so I will swap them with the Sigmas and see what they do. 

I probably should have gone the other way round but as I said earlier I am always impatient with these things!

Yes they look brilliant. It's when you look at them closely that you see the wonderful build quality, makes a lot of other aftermarket cables look shabby and "home made"!

The UK connectors are great - it's a very firm connection with the wall socket and they don't drop out as do many other audiophile ones I have evaluated. I guess it's reassuring when they stay perfectly in situ. The connection into the Devialets was perfect I have to say, although please note I am not using the backplate (and never have done).

There was a funny moment last night when the sound went a bit funny, the top end was almost fuzzy and the sound a little congested. Now everything is fine again. I expect this will happen intermittently for a few more days as things settle. 

Without a doubt the best mains cable I've ever heard in my system. Despite only having a day or so on the clock I was already exceeding the performance of my trusted Entreq Atlantis cables which are considerably more expensive. What really surprised me was the additional detail, literally hearing new things in recordings. I thought I had already reached a pretty good place in this regard, but this is a whole new level of performance. Staggering I'd say. Certainly puts a massive smile on your face!

Guillaume
Industry disclosure: UK distributor for Shunyata Research

220 PRO, totaldac d1 server with additional external power supply, totaldac d1-seven, Echole PSU for Totaldac, Wilson Audio Sasha 2, Shunyata Research cables, Shunyata Hydra Alpha A10 + DPC-6 v3, Various Entreq ground boxes and cables, Entreq Athena level 3 rack, 2 X SOtM sNH-10G with sCLK-EX + 10MHz Master Clock input + sPS-500 PSU, i5 sonicTransporter w/ 1TB SSD

UK
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#30
OK, so yesterday I went over to Guillaume's to give these Shunyata things a listen. I haven't heard his system much lately and am not that familiar with the Od'A so I was a little worried I wouldn't be able to figure what was Shunyata and what was Od'A. Well it does sound insanely good. Guillaume even let me cue up some of my 'old shit' (my words not his!) and I've never heard Beach Boys 'Surf's Up' so good. I probably blubbed a little.

Anyhow I raided the stock of booty and came back with Sigma & Venom Digital power cords and some Venom speaker cables.  The Sigma comes in a sturdy black briefcase with the 'Shunyata Research' logo on the side looking very much like it could be used in a prop in a film about deadly man-made pathogens. I felt a bit like a secret agent taking it away.
The design & build quality of all the Shunyata stuff is superb and really professional compared with much of the high-end stuff available these days. The speaker cables for instance have interchangeable plugs or several different sizes of spades, which makes a lot of sense.

I think Guillaume might've told me to try the Venom first, so being a bloke I naturally ignored that and went straight for the Sigma on my D200. It is a similar thickness cable to my Sablon power cord, i.e. verging on the ridiculous, but it's actually quite light and flexible. I think the internal shielding might be a coil so it does go round corners quite well, though as the UK plug sticks straight out of the wall I had to route the cable out the front of the rack, back under the shelf the Devialet is on and into the back. There's no chance of fitting the Dev's rear plate with this cable, which is just as well as I don't anyway.
The cable is brand new and Shunyata recommend 5-7 days (?) of running as the conductors are supposedly pretty thick.  
Enough of that already - shut up and tell us what it bloody sounds like!

Initially I couldn't hear much difference. It took about two or three songs and I realised I was hearing more bass, but far more defined and coherent.  Within half an hour-ish I started hearing more higher-frequency detail - snares where I've never heard them before, guitar lines I didn't know were there. Across the spectrum it's just giving more, but it's not harsh detail, it's really smooth and musical.  I'm afraid to say it absolutely blows my Entreq 3V out of the water, and that's the best I've heard in it's price range (otherwise I wouldn't have bought it!), though admittedly that range is nearly half the price of the Sigma.   It's easily the best power cord I have ever tried in my system, and probably the best I've heard on Guillaume's.  I realise my descriptions sound so clichéd but in this case it's true. It sounds totally 'right'.

I put the Venom on my Melco this afternoon. Not so obvious but there seems to be more of the same that the Sigma is giving. I'm going to leave it running for a bit and maybe swap out the Sigma on the Devialet and try comparing with the Venom.  Power cords in my opinion don't make a massive difference on the Melco but it's definitely sounding a bit better already.

So as usual it's the expensive cable that I couldn't afford that I'm blown away with. I was thinking to myself if this is the improvement the D200->D220Pro update would give me, I would not be displeased - it is that good. Before now I've always been a little bit underwhelmed with the sound quality increase power cords give on my system.  It would be interesting to hear Alpha on the Devialet to compare with the Sigma. If it even approaches the Sigma in character and sound quality that could be the real sweet spot in the range.
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