25-Mar-2016, 01:15
(This post was last modified: 25-Mar-2016, 03:06 by deviousalet.)
In brief: when powered through the Shunyata Z-PC10 Digital cables my system sounds fuller, richer, and more dynamic with decreased harshness and no real downside.
The fullness or richness is the greatest improvement and is most noticeable with voices, which sound more full-throated and authentic. I listen to a lot of acoustic singer/songwriter music recorded in small rooms, and that now sounds even more intimate because the vocals aren't distanced by the relative thinness of the stock cables sound (in comparison only). I wouldn't qualify the sound as having more bass. I don't think that any instrument sound goes lower and the change is as noticeable on both frequency ranges of every instrument. The difference is more noticeable in subtraction (going back to the stock cables) than in my memory of familiar pieces. I'm not hearing everything anew as when I got my D400. When switching back to stock cables strings lose a bit of realistic bloom and resonance, piano sounds like a smaller version (say baby grand instead of concert grand), and synthetic percussion loses some slam. This is true across all frequencies, volumes, and with all music that I've tried so far.
Second to the increased fullness I notice a decrease in digital hardness. I say digital because although I use exclusively digital files I do get annoyed by a harshness, glare, or some such problem that annoys me in many digital systems but not in the analog systems that I've heard (even cheap ones with many other problems). I'm not the one to compare vinyl to anything else but I greatly appreciate a decrease in whatever hardness annoys me after listening for a while to my system (listening fatigue). I've tried filtering this out via other means, with success in USB cables and tweaks to that effect. I've also tried a Furman IT Reference 20i power conditioner which has digital filtering. I liked that filtering but disliked the decreased dynamics that I felt was a limitation of the Furman. These Shunyata cables do a better job at the filtering I want while actually increasing the dynamics.
I hear no downside, although as always a fuller sound can be perceived as a decrease in detail. However that's adjustable in my system through SAM, Dirac, etc. and I hear no loss of detail with that in mind (more the opposite in fact, although an increase in detail is not the greatest of the changes). To clarify my perception if I want ultimate detail I hook up my KEF LS50 not my B&W 802 speakers because the single co-incident drivers lacks bass but emphasizes detail (Phantoms do both, but with other problems). I prefer the full-range balance and hear as much or more detail through my full-range speakers with the Shunyata cables as with the stock cables. I do prioritize resolution and detail over "musicality" or whatever others hear on the opposite side of that spectrum, so if I heard any lack of detail I wouldn't be happy. I say that all just because the byproduct of the increased fullness is as close to a negative as I've heard in these cables.
As for the magnitude of the change: it is not as big a difference as changing speakers or anything like that, nor as much as equivalent speaker or USB cable upgrades, but more than the changes to the master-slave link cables that I've tried so far, and greater than the difference between using USB vs. AIR inputs.
The Shunyata Z-PC10 are built to fit under the Devialet cable cover and they do so. They fully insert into the power inlet of the Devialet with a solid grip (they take more force than stock cables to insert) but there is some wiggle room (as there is with the stock cables) and the additional weight of the Shunyata cables pulls their connector down a bit within the inlet (whereas the stock cables don't). The Shunyata are stiffer than the stock cables but not inconveniently stiff at all (unlike other power cables from Shunyata and others that I've handled). The wall plug (US P15 in my case) is inconveniently large but on par with most other high-end power cables that I've seen so not a concern unless you need to plug them into a cheap power strip or other device with close-spaced outlets. The Shunyata cables have a nice black braided sheath so will wear to fuzz but not scrape, and look as good to me as thick cables can (and the Z-PC10 are thinner than most other high-end power cables I've seen). The annoying buzz of my Devialet power supplies didn't change for the better or worse, and I can measure no difference in power consumption or power supply temperature (as expected for properly-made cables).
I haven't heard any other upgraded power cables in my system so can't compare to Synergistic Research or the many others out there (unless someone wants to lend me some). I don't know if the Shunyata digital filter is reducing dynamics but the cable overall improves them so I couldn't find that downside unless I had an unfiltered (or better filtered) cable of equivalent quality. Other than wishing to filter out that remaining touch of harshness I had no complaint about my stock power cords and wouldn't cry if I had to go back, but the Shunyata cables make a cost-effective upgrade to me (I paid under half of retail). I got my cables second-hand but new and I've not noticed any change in sound (burn in) during the two days I've been testing them. I'll update this if I notice any change over time, but the initial improvement over the stock cables is clear enough that I'm done with A-B testing them.
I hope that usefully answered your question about my detailed perception of the improvement. If you prefer to read specific changes within a piece of music I can try that or whatever else would help, but this was my best imitation of the professional reviews I enjoy.
The fullness or richness is the greatest improvement and is most noticeable with voices, which sound more full-throated and authentic. I listen to a lot of acoustic singer/songwriter music recorded in small rooms, and that now sounds even more intimate because the vocals aren't distanced by the relative thinness of the stock cables sound (in comparison only). I wouldn't qualify the sound as having more bass. I don't think that any instrument sound goes lower and the change is as noticeable on both frequency ranges of every instrument. The difference is more noticeable in subtraction (going back to the stock cables) than in my memory of familiar pieces. I'm not hearing everything anew as when I got my D400. When switching back to stock cables strings lose a bit of realistic bloom and resonance, piano sounds like a smaller version (say baby grand instead of concert grand), and synthetic percussion loses some slam. This is true across all frequencies, volumes, and with all music that I've tried so far.
Second to the increased fullness I notice a decrease in digital hardness. I say digital because although I use exclusively digital files I do get annoyed by a harshness, glare, or some such problem that annoys me in many digital systems but not in the analog systems that I've heard (even cheap ones with many other problems). I'm not the one to compare vinyl to anything else but I greatly appreciate a decrease in whatever hardness annoys me after listening for a while to my system (listening fatigue). I've tried filtering this out via other means, with success in USB cables and tweaks to that effect. I've also tried a Furman IT Reference 20i power conditioner which has digital filtering. I liked that filtering but disliked the decreased dynamics that I felt was a limitation of the Furman. These Shunyata cables do a better job at the filtering I want while actually increasing the dynamics.
I hear no downside, although as always a fuller sound can be perceived as a decrease in detail. However that's adjustable in my system through SAM, Dirac, etc. and I hear no loss of detail with that in mind (more the opposite in fact, although an increase in detail is not the greatest of the changes). To clarify my perception if I want ultimate detail I hook up my KEF LS50 not my B&W 802 speakers because the single co-incident drivers lacks bass but emphasizes detail (Phantoms do both, but with other problems). I prefer the full-range balance and hear as much or more detail through my full-range speakers with the Shunyata cables as with the stock cables. I do prioritize resolution and detail over "musicality" or whatever others hear on the opposite side of that spectrum, so if I heard any lack of detail I wouldn't be happy. I say that all just because the byproduct of the increased fullness is as close to a negative as I've heard in these cables.
As for the magnitude of the change: it is not as big a difference as changing speakers or anything like that, nor as much as equivalent speaker or USB cable upgrades, but more than the changes to the master-slave link cables that I've tried so far, and greater than the difference between using USB vs. AIR inputs.
The Shunyata Z-PC10 are built to fit under the Devialet cable cover and they do so. They fully insert into the power inlet of the Devialet with a solid grip (they take more force than stock cables to insert) but there is some wiggle room (as there is with the stock cables) and the additional weight of the Shunyata cables pulls their connector down a bit within the inlet (whereas the stock cables don't). The Shunyata are stiffer than the stock cables but not inconveniently stiff at all (unlike other power cables from Shunyata and others that I've handled). The wall plug (US P15 in my case) is inconveniently large but on par with most other high-end power cables that I've seen so not a concern unless you need to plug them into a cheap power strip or other device with close-spaced outlets. The Shunyata cables have a nice black braided sheath so will wear to fuzz but not scrape, and look as good to me as thick cables can (and the Z-PC10 are thinner than most other high-end power cables I've seen). The annoying buzz of my Devialet power supplies didn't change for the better or worse, and I can measure no difference in power consumption or power supply temperature (as expected for properly-made cables).
I haven't heard any other upgraded power cables in my system so can't compare to Synergistic Research or the many others out there (unless someone wants to lend me some). I don't know if the Shunyata digital filter is reducing dynamics but the cable overall improves them so I couldn't find that downside unless I had an unfiltered (or better filtered) cable of equivalent quality. Other than wishing to filter out that remaining touch of harshness I had no complaint about my stock power cords and wouldn't cry if I had to go back, but the Shunyata cables make a cost-effective upgrade to me (I paid under half of retail). I got my cables second-hand but new and I've not noticed any change in sound (burn in) during the two days I've been testing them. I'll update this if I notice any change over time, but the initial improvement over the stock cables is clear enough that I'm done with A-B testing them.
I hope that usefully answered your question about my detailed perception of the improvement. If you prefer to read specific changes within a piece of music I can try that or whatever else would help, but this was my best imitation of the professional reviews I enjoy.
