Hello Richard
I put the Sigma clock cables in Saturday mid-day. Now, I’d heard from some industry sources and retail sales reps that clock cables might just be the most important digital cables in the system. And one expert was kind enough to recommend some inexpensive, high-performing clock cables as a starter set over the OEM cables supplied with my clock. He was right about those — they are much better than what came with my clock.
But he also said the bad news is there is a lot more room for improvement over the inexpensive cables.
Well, intellectually I’ve found I can acknowledge something, but I still retain a little skepticism until I experience it for myself. . .
All I can say is, “Wow!”.
Big, big improvement with the Sigma clock cables. I am amazed at the sense of effortlessness and natural expansiveness the Sigma clock cables bring to digital. Perhaps it’s the better timing integrity allowing phase and timing cues to be more unambiguous and less smeared, but stereo phenomena such as image solidity and weight, and sound-stage dimensionality are enhanced. Transients also seem quicker to start and quicker to die down without being over-emphasized or hyped, just as they are in nature. All in all, the Sigma clock cables are getting me even closer to the real thing. I consider them money very well spent.
Great stuff, and I’m very pleased with the results. Caelin is some kind of genius — but I guess you knew that already.
Thanks again for the cables!
-An experienced music enthusiast!
I recently completed a home audition of the Venom NR-V10 and Venom NR-V12. The effect on my system was incredible.
I used the Venom NR-V10 on the power conditioner with great results. I tried the Venom NR-V12 on the preamp and DAC also with great results. I thought my system sounded great before I tried the power cables. The increased performance in sound staging, resolution and bass were remarkable. My wife is not an audiophile but she even noticed the improvement. I will start replacing the other power cords as soon as possible. Thanks again.
As a long time Shunyata Research customer I just wanted to recognize you for your outstanding customer service.
You have been exceedingly gracious with your time and candor in evaluating the myriad of possible upgrade paths and what would make meaningful and cost effective upgrades.
We went through many more exchanges than I wound have anticipated but you always responded promptly and thoughtfully.
Shunyata produces top notch products and I am happy to experience the equally impressive advice and customer service.
With the two Sigma Ethernet cables in my system along with the new Uptone EtherREGEN switch I thought to borrow another Sigma and test whether or not using the Transparent Plug-In would do any more to helping with any residual noise in the system.
Here’s what I found (and the connections I’m using):
The result was that the plug degraded the sound with less “focus”, a loss of the sonic decay from instruments, etc. as well as dynamics. And I was no longer getting a truly black background as without its use. And even moving the Transparent’s position before the switch, though not as bad a result, still was worse than keeping it out of the system altogether.
I’ve no clue what is happening though I’m guessing that the plug is either messing with timing or picking up problems with the AC ground and passing that along, which may not be anything the Sigma would normally handle.
Funny that it was the guys at dCS that suggested using the Transparent device to mitigate noise when connecting up streaming devices ahead of their products. But granted, that was before both Shunyata and Uptone delivered new products.
Sorry to bombard you with this, but figured it might prove helpful with other customers using this collection of gear.
I just purchased your new Sigma USB cable, replacing a top-rated one from a different brand, and was amazed at the improvement in my system’s sound quality. Outstanding job!
I have just bought a 6000Sv2 through your Turkish Dealer, Lotus Concept.
I should tell you that this is one of the most important updates in my Gryphon based and Harbeth speakers. The soundstage, clarity and imaging!!
Please accept my congratulations for this great product. I recommend it to everyone.
I want to thank you again for all your help. I love the cable. You work for a company that makes incredibly good product. I am certain, Shunyata is also proud of dedicated staff that goes the extra mile such as yourself.
Bottom line in business, it is all about people and customer satisfaction. All good follows.
I thought I’d share my experience with adding the new Venom V14 Digital power cord to my system.
In short, adding this cord to power my Oppo 105d (being used as a transport only in a 2 channel system) had an unbelievable performance gain to the overall system!! Pure magic. Easily supports your statement regarding this new power cord as being the finest value cord Shunyata has offered.
I currently use your Venom HC power cord along with your earlier version Venom Digital power cord, Venom speaker cables, Venom Digital S/PIDF, Venom Defenders, etc. All have been great additions to my system, however , the new V14 Digital power cord really took me by surprise ……. the greatest single ‘OMG’ moment from the minute I plugged it in. Great product guys!!
Thank you again for creating wonderful audio products
The Typhon arrived today and I hope I’ll get to install in tomorrow evening.
As with all things Shunyata, packing and visual quality were immaculate and I am sure that the revisions and invisible quality are just the same.
My thanks to you for managing my case through the system – and please pass on my thanks to all those involved in the work.
There aren’t, in my opinion, many faultless organizations which I come across in the audio field – one can probably count them on the fingers of one hand – and within that group Shunyata would be first on the list.
Hi,
Over the past 2 – 3 years I have gone from upgrading 4 of my audio cables to greedily upgrading every single cable, including my speaker cables to the Shunyata Zitron Anaconda cables – and have been on the most wonderful musical journey since then. Then I purchased the Triton power conditioner – and that has brought another tsunami of sonic improvement. Everyday I hear new sounds emerging from familiar music, sounds that I had no idea existed within that music. So thank you for continuing to shower this acoustical bliss on us, and working tirelessly on tweaking and improving an already perfect product, especially at a time when when many other companies have simply moved on to greener pastures.
I agree with everything I have read about Sigma NR. It is a fabulous cable. The End.
No, seriously, I have nothing to complain about. Absolutely nothing. It sounded great direct out of the box when I plugged it in (from wall to Triton V3) and keeps sounding better and better every day now with no ”hang over” what so ever on day 4-7!
I thought Triton V3 had an eerie silence, but this is ever more eerie. I honestly didn’t recognized some songs that I have listened to for years (probably getting used to a certain degree of noise over the years) when the intro started!
If I would describe the cable with three words it would be: Silence, musicality and truth. Nothing stands out in a bad way. Nothing!
Female voices like Lana Del Rey or Tanya Donnelly (non-audiophile music for sure!) sounds so real. Scary real. For the first time in 10+ years I have started to think of new speakers. And not because it sounds bad, but because it sounds so freakin’ good! It’s FUN to listen to music now!
I wish I could write more but I don’t know what to write! I am just so happy. 17 days and 90 hours of just pure music and magic in my house. But we all know how this is going to end, the REF 5se wants a Sigma NR before Christmas….
Good luck to Caelin to beat this cable in the future! (though I’m pretty sure he WILL do it, that man is a genius!)
I will send you a note when I have tried the Delta CGC cables in a few weeks time…
Hi Richard,
You were 100% right as to how the Denali had improve my whole system! I wish you and your team great success in bringing Shunyata Research to the next level.
Dear Shunyata Research,
In the approximately four months since first learning about Shunyata Research as part of my research into speaker cables, I’ve very much come to appreciate the need for good cables throughout all of my home theater and 2-channel audio systems. Consequently, I’ve invested approximately $13,000 in power conditioning/distribution products (Denali 6000T, two MPC-12C units, two Venom Defenders, one Sigma NR power cord, three Alpha NR power cords, two Venom HC power cords, a Venom USB cable and a host of Venom HDMI cables). I’ve yet to pick up that set of speaker cables that I’d initially been interested in….I’ll likely need to wait until next year to make that purchase.
Thank you again for your products and customer service – they are very much appreciated.
Hi! Richard, I pray this email finds you well. I’ve been wanting to write and brag on the Venom phono cables for several months. I am 61 years old and have never written to a manufacturer in my life. I research what I buy and I expect it to meet or exceed my expectations. I’ve listened to, played and recorded music all my life and consider myself to have very discerning ears. I’m not big into “gear”. I’m into music. I added a dedicated listening room to the house and am very pleased with its acoustics. My system consists of a VPI Classic and Soundsmith Zephyr feeding a Sutherland 20/20 which in turn feeds a low-wattage SET pushing a pair of high-efficiency drivers and a pair of REL subwoofers. My last component upgrade was the Sutherland which I added about 4 years ago. At the same time I bought a pair of $1000 phono cables which sounded exquisite, but were accompanied by a low-level 60 hz hum. After quite a bit a tweaking and experimenting, I determined that my system requires a fully shielded phono cable and that the phono cable must be grounded to the RCA plugs at both ends. Otherwise it will hum. I paid several hundred dollars and bought the only phono cables I could find in my price range that met the criteria. The hum was gone, but the cables lacked the detail and transparency of the $1000 cables. They weren’t bad, and I learned to live with them, but I knew they were the limiting component in my system. Fast forward 4 years. I had surgery in March and knew I was going to be down for a few weeks and would be listening to music a lot. I decided to treat myself to a system upgrade and the obvious target was the phono cables. After a couple weeks of research I concluded that the Shunyata Venoms were my best bet. You were good enough to confirm that the Venoms were fully shielded and that the shielding was designed as a conductor between the RCAs. I ordered them and they arrived a week before the surgery. My hope was that they would have some of the transparency of the $1000 cables. I was not prepared for what I heard. Right out of the box they were an incremental improvement over the old cables, but within the span of 2 or 3 LPs they were in another league. By the time they had 20 or 30 hours on them they were just as transparent as I remembered the $1000 cables to be. On excellent recordings, complex orchestral passages are fully sorted out. A dozen violins is no longer a mass of sound, but 12 violins. But there’s more. The Venoms are quiet. As quiet as I thought my system was, the silences in music were now startling. Microdynamics and macrodynamics are noticeably more dynamic. And because of the lower noise floor and improved resolution, imaging is noticeably more holistic. I am not generally a big fan of superlatives, but the Venoms, at $400, have proven to be one of the great bargains in my system, and I consider all my components to be high-value components. They represent an upgrade at least on a par with the turntable and the cartridge and the phono pre-amp at many times the price. They really are that good. I can hardly say enough about them. I just wanted to thank you for the outstanding customer service I received from you and for the remarkable Venom phono cables.
I haven’t bought me a second Alpha IC yet. Sometimes things don’t go as planned… 😉
Recently I was ”forced” to buy me a pair of Alpha SP, and my GOD what a great cable this is. Way better then the (great) old Anaconda SP. Rock hard bass and magical 3D. Just love it!!
I ended up selling my Triton V1 and then I was without a Triton, and what does a Snakehead do?? Start looking for a used Triton V2, of course. But I couldn’t find anyone here in Europe, so I had to buy a V3!! 🙂
The V1 was really, really good. But the V3 is in another league. I actually didn’t think it could get much better then the V1 (feels like we have pretty good electricity here) but I was wrong. Direct out of the box I was disappointed. Bright and harsh sounding. But after a few hours in the garage with fans and lamps it sounds fantastic! This is just pure magic! Almost eerie quiet between the tracks now.
It actually sounds like my ARC REF 75 is more powerful with the V3 then with the V1. Like the amp has gone up from 75W to 150W. And when I connected my Typhon the real magic arrived!! WOW!!
My name is David Braun, and i am a freelance concert organizer in Maribor, Slovenia, focusing mainly on contemporary jazz and world music. Music has always held a prominent role in my life, something i cannot imagine being without, perhaps it is even an obsession….
On the other hand, hi-fi systems have never been a real priority, more a necessary means to get to the music, and very often »in the way«…i am not the person who has the need to constantly fumble with its own stereo, buy and sell or let alone spend millions on “sound”. Nevertheless, over the years i have managed – finances permitting – to build up a reasonable system for which i believe that it suits me, that it gets me to the “essence of music.” By that I mean that I find listening to music over a hi-fi system “an illusion”, and am happiest when it reminds me of feelings I have while listening to live (often acoustic or semi-acoustic) music, which I do a lot, being a concert organizer. Still, my friends – your official distributors in Slovenia – have persuaded me that i should use power cables from Shunyata, something i accepted with a fair amount of skepticism.
Now i am a happy user of the Venom power-cable on every component i own, and a very happy owner of a Delta NR power cable and a Venom interconnect on my CD player. I wish I could afford a power distributor, but that is probably not within my reach.
Amazing, truly stunning and astonishing what you have achieved with these products!!! I still find it hard to believe (this is probably due to my lack of technical knowledge) how much influence the power cables have on the music that is being played – and in a way that i feel is »in line« with how i perceive music. Everything is so palpable, present in space, almost speaker-less and on the other hand suddenly sounds completely effortless and spontaneous. It reminds me of how an acoustic instrument, say a violin, would sound in a room. These products seriously help transporting the “magic” that lies in a lot of music.
I would hereby like to congratulate you on your achievements; Shunyata’s products have made me very happy and have further strengthened my love and enthusiasm for music and brought many hours of very enjoyable listening – with many more to come. Also, I would like to mention the fact that I got a very competent advice from your distributors in Slovenia, the Intek company, including technical explanations and recommendations tailor-made for my specific desires and needs.
Great service from everyone and completely overwhelming products from Shunyata! You guys seriously rock!
I just had to tell you how wonderful the Zitron pc is. I’ve been listening to a few tracks I’m familiar with after a day of letting the cable settle in my system. The pc I was using previously sounded hazy in comparison and the notes were scattered and somewhat jumbled in their space, though this wasn’t apparent till I switched to the Zitron. The Zitron is pin-point precise, neutral and lush. The background is dead quiet. I find that I can turn the volume up another 4-5 dbs from my reference volume without any glare or digital harshness. I wouldn’t call it polite because I feel it doesn’t exaggerate or add anything artificial to give it that initial “wow” factor that so many cables do. It just sounds right. I’m sure you’ve heard all this before. I do feel that while the soundstage is somewhat wider and deeper, it’s not as high or tall as what I’m previously used to. I suppose that makes more sense since all the instruments are at ground level. Maybe it’ll open up a bit more after a few days though I’m sure the pc was well broken in by the previous owner.
The only negative is that I will now have to upgrade all my PCs, so I won’t be eating out for a while :). If one cable can improve my system dramatically, I’m excited to hear what more can do. I just have to decide whether to go with the Delta NRs or to try to find Alpha HCs from my outlet to my 2 power strips. I would probably go with the Deltas for my amp and preamp since they are still in production. I would love to try the Alphas but 5 PCs are just way beyond my budget.
Thanks again for making a great product, and I’ll stay in touch to let you know how it all works out.
Just want to give feed back on the Amp-1 Venom conditioner. It’s a great product and really does a phenomenal job filtering and regulating power. It offers a black background of music to my headphones, plugged in series with an amplifier and then the AMP-1 Venom to the wall…. Ultimate clarity for natural sounds as well. It’s very pleasing and gracious to see very high end audio products offered at consumer prices for intimate sessions or smaller studios. Good quality as well.
Now that I have had some time to engage with your components, I have reached a few conclusions. I had expected some very subtle improvements in my system. I was wrong. The changes are far from subtle — especially when playing vinyl. The Venom PS8/Defender combination has been a game changer for me.
As a documentary filmmaker, a visual analogy comes to mind. It’s like switching from an LCD television monitor to an OLED one. On LCD sets, black is achieved by masking white pixels. But there are always light leaks, so the blacks look muddy. On an OLED set, black is truly the absence of light: pixels are actually turned off and hence go black.
Listening to music with the Venom PS8/Defender combination delivers the sonic equivalent of “true black”. The drop in the noise floor and the increased clarity are dramatic — the latter especially at lower listening levels. It’s like someone flipped a magic “loudness” switch — one that truly conveys the music itself rather than crudely boost the bass. By faithfully rendering the spaces in between the notes — the true blacks — I’m feeling a greater emotional connectedness to everything I’m listening to, which right now, is Thundercat’s ethereal, beautiful “A Hard Time”.
Arthur C. Clarke famously observed that “[a]ny sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” That’s how I feel about your technology. I have no idea of how it works, but I know that it works!
Sigma Clock Cables – Wow!
Venom NR power cords
I recently completed a home audition of the Venom NR-V10 and Venom NR-V12. The effect on my system was incredible.
I used the Venom NR-V10 on the power conditioner with great results. I tried the Venom NR-V12 on the preamp and DAC also with great results. I thought my system sounded great before I tried the power cables. The increased performance in sound staging, resolution and bass were remarkable. My wife is not an audiophile but she even noticed the improvement. I will start replacing the other power cords as soon as possible. Thanks again.
Mike D.
Thanks and Commendations
Richard
As a long time Shunyata Research customer I just wanted to recognize you for your outstanding customer service.
You have been exceedingly gracious with your time and candor in evaluating the myriad of possible upgrade paths and what would make meaningful and cost effective upgrades.
We went through many more exchanges than I wound have anticipated but you always responded promptly and thoughtfully.
Shunyata produces top notch products and I am happy to experience the equally impressive advice and customer service.
Best Regards
Scott D
Interesting Discovery
Hi Richard,
With the two Sigma Ethernet cables in my system along with the new Uptone EtherREGEN switch I thought to borrow another Sigma and test whether or not using the Transparent Plug-In would do any more to helping with any residual noise in the system.
Here’s what I found (and the connections I’m using):
Roon Nucleus – Sigma – EtherREGEN – Sigma – Transparent – Sigma – dCS Upsampler/DAC
The result was that the plug degraded the sound with less “focus”, a loss of the sonic decay from instruments, etc. as well as dynamics. And I was no longer getting a truly black background as without its use. And even moving the Transparent’s position before the switch, though not as bad a result, still was worse than keeping it out of the system altogether.
I’ve no clue what is happening though I’m guessing that the plug is either messing with timing or picking up problems with the AC ground and passing that along, which may not be anything the Sigma would normally handle.
Funny that it was the guys at dCS that suggested using the Transparent device to mitigate noise when connecting up streaming devices ahead of their products. But granted, that was before both Shunyata and Uptone delivered new products.
Sorry to bombard you with this, but figured it might prove helpful with other customers using this collection of gear.
-Anonymous by request
Outstanding Job!
Dear Shunyata,
I just purchased your new Sigma USB cable, replacing a top-rated one from a different brand, and was amazed at the improvement in my system’s sound quality. Outstanding job!
Thank you,
-ABJ
6 Star Rating!
Hi Richard,
Good day.
Allow me to express my heartfelt thanks for your HONEST, STRAIGHT FORWARD and EXTENSIVE explanation.
If you have a rating form, I would be most willing to give you a SIX star (not just five star).
Again, thank you and MORE POWER to Shunyata research.
Best regards,
Mr. Florete – Philippines
Denali 6000/S v2 recommended
Dear Sir,
I have just bought a 6000Sv2 through your Turkish Dealer, Lotus Concept.
I should tell you that this is one of the most important updates in my Gryphon based and Harbeth speakers. The soundstage, clarity and imaging!!
Please accept my congratulations for this great product. I recommend it to everyone.
Nuri-Turkey
Thank you for all your help
Good morning Richard,
I want to thank you again for all your help. I love the cable. You work for a company that makes incredibly good product. I am certain, Shunyata is also proud of dedicated staff that goes the extra mile such as yourself.
Bottom line in business, it is all about people and customer satisfaction. All good follows.
Warmest regards,
-VZ
Venom V14 Digital
I thought I’d share my experience with adding the new Venom V14 Digital power cord to my system.
In short, adding this cord to power my Oppo 105d (being used as a transport only in a 2 channel system) had an unbelievable performance gain to the overall system!! Pure magic. Easily supports your statement regarding this new power cord as being the finest value cord Shunyata has offered.
I currently use your Venom HC power cord along with your earlier version Venom Digital power cord, Venom speaker cables, Venom Digital S/PIDF, Venom Defenders, etc. All have been great additions to my system, however , the new V14 Digital power cord really took me by surprise ……. the greatest single ‘OMG’ moment from the minute I plugged it in. Great product guys!!
Thank you again for creating wonderful audio products
Best regards
Steve
Hydra Typhon QR in the UK
Hi Richard
The Typhon arrived today and I hope I’ll get to install in tomorrow evening.
As with all things Shunyata, packing and visual quality were immaculate and I am sure that the revisions and invisible quality are just the same.
My thanks to you for managing my case through the system – and please pass on my thanks to all those involved in the work.
There aren’t, in my opinion, many faultless organizations which I come across in the audio field – one can probably count them on the fingers of one hand – and within that group Shunyata would be first on the list.
Best wishes,
Ian-UK
Acoustical Bliss
Hi,
Over the past 2 – 3 years I have gone from upgrading 4 of my audio cables to greedily upgrading every single cable, including my speaker cables to the Shunyata Zitron Anaconda cables – and have been on the most wonderful musical journey since then. Then I purchased the Triton power conditioner – and that has brought another tsunami of sonic improvement. Everyday I hear new sounds emerging from familiar music, sounds that I had no idea existed within that music. So thank you for continuing to shower this acoustical bliss on us, and working tirelessly on tweaking and improving an already perfect product, especially at a time when when many other companies have simply moved on to greener pastures.
Thank you very much.
Rima B.
Great Falls, VA
Triton v3 and Sigma NR
Hi again Richard,
I agree with everything I have read about Sigma NR. It is a fabulous cable. The End.
No, seriously, I have nothing to complain about. Absolutely nothing. It sounded great direct out of the box when I plugged it in (from wall to Triton V3) and keeps sounding better and better every day now with no ”hang over” what so ever on day 4-7!
I thought Triton V3 had an eerie silence, but this is ever more eerie. I honestly didn’t recognized some songs that I have listened to for years (probably getting used to a certain degree of noise over the years) when the intro started!
If I would describe the cable with three words it would be: Silence, musicality and truth. Nothing stands out in a bad way. Nothing!
Female voices like Lana Del Rey or Tanya Donnelly (non-audiophile music for sure!) sounds so real. Scary real. For the first time in 10+ years I have started to think of new speakers. And not because it sounds bad, but because it sounds so freakin’ good! It’s FUN to listen to music now!
I wish I could write more but I don’t know what to write! I am just so happy. 17 days and 90 hours of just pure music and magic in my house. But we all know how this is going to end, the REF 5se wants a Sigma NR before Christmas….
Good luck to Caelin to beat this cable in the future! (though I’m pretty sure he WILL do it, that man is a genius!)
I will send you a note when I have tried the Delta CGC cables in a few weeks time…
All the best to all of you over there!
Best Regards,
Stefan-Sweden
Denali Power Distributor
Hi Richard,
You were 100% right as to how the Denali had improve my whole system! I wish you and your team great success in bringing Shunyata Research to the next level.
Greetings from the tiny island of Singapore!
R. Lim
Denali 6000/T, Sigma & Alpha NR etc.
Richard
Dear Shunyata Research,
In the approximately four months since first learning about Shunyata Research as part of my research into speaker cables, I’ve very much come to appreciate the need for good cables throughout all of my home theater and 2-channel audio systems. Consequently, I’ve invested approximately $13,000 in power conditioning/distribution products (Denali 6000T, two MPC-12C units, two Venom Defenders, one Sigma NR power cord, three Alpha NR power cords, two Venom HC power cords, a Venom USB cable and a host of Venom HDMI cables). I’ve yet to pick up that set of speaker cables that I’d initially been interested in….I’ll likely need to wait until next year to make that purchase.
Thank you again for your products and customer service – they are very much appreciated.
Michael Z. Troy, MI
Venom Phono Cables
Hi! Richard, I pray this email finds you well. I’ve been wanting to write and brag on the Venom phono cables for several months. I am 61 years old and have never written to a manufacturer in my life. I research what I buy and I expect it to meet or exceed my expectations. I’ve listened to, played and recorded music all my life and consider myself to have very discerning ears. I’m not big into “gear”. I’m into music. I added a dedicated listening room to the house and am very pleased with its acoustics. My system consists of a VPI Classic and Soundsmith Zephyr feeding a Sutherland 20/20 which in turn feeds a low-wattage SET pushing a pair of high-efficiency drivers and a pair of REL subwoofers. My last component upgrade was the Sutherland which I added about 4 years ago. At the same time I bought a pair of $1000 phono cables which sounded exquisite, but were accompanied by a low-level 60 hz hum. After quite a bit a tweaking and experimenting, I determined that my system requires a fully shielded phono cable and that the phono cable must be grounded to the RCA plugs at both ends. Otherwise it will hum. I paid several hundred dollars and bought the only phono cables I could find in my price range that met the criteria. The hum was gone, but the cables lacked the detail and transparency of the $1000 cables. They weren’t bad, and I learned to live with them, but I knew they were the limiting component in my system. Fast forward 4 years. I had surgery in March and knew I was going to be down for a few weeks and would be listening to music a lot. I decided to treat myself to a system upgrade and the obvious target was the phono cables. After a couple weeks of research I concluded that the Shunyata Venoms were my best bet. You were good enough to confirm that the Venoms were fully shielded and that the shielding was designed as a conductor between the RCAs. I ordered them and they arrived a week before the surgery. My hope was that they would have some of the transparency of the $1000 cables. I was not prepared for what I heard. Right out of the box they were an incremental improvement over the old cables, but within the span of 2 or 3 LPs they were in another league. By the time they had 20 or 30 hours on them they were just as transparent as I remembered the $1000 cables to be. On excellent recordings, complex orchestral passages are fully sorted out. A dozen violins is no longer a mass of sound, but 12 violins. But there’s more. The Venoms are quiet. As quiet as I thought my system was, the silences in music were now startling. Microdynamics and macrodynamics are noticeably more dynamic. And because of the lower noise floor and improved resolution, imaging is noticeably more holistic. I am not generally a big fan of superlatives, but the Venoms, at $400, have proven to be one of the great bargains in my system, and I consider all my components to be high-value components. They represent an upgrade at least on a par with the turntable and the cartridge and the phono pre-amp at many times the price. They really are that good. I can hardly say enough about them. I just wanted to thank you for the outstanding customer service I received from you and for the remarkable Venom phono cables.
Sincerely, Ted in Texas
Hydra Triton v3 & Alpha SP
Hi again Richard,
I haven’t bought me a second Alpha IC yet. Sometimes things don’t go as planned… 😉
Recently I was ”forced” to buy me a pair of Alpha SP, and my GOD what a great cable this is. Way better then the (great) old Anaconda SP. Rock hard bass and magical 3D. Just love it!!
I ended up selling my Triton V1 and then I was without a Triton, and what does a Snakehead do?? Start looking for a used Triton V2, of course. But I couldn’t find anyone here in Europe, so I had to buy a V3!! 🙂
The V1 was really, really good. But the V3 is in another league. I actually didn’t think it could get much better then the V1 (feels like we have pretty good electricity here) but I was wrong. Direct out of the box I was disappointed. Bright and harsh sounding. But after a few hours in the garage with fans and lamps it sounds fantastic! This is just pure magic! Almost eerie quiet between the tracks now.
It actually sounds like my ARC REF 75 is more powerful with the V3 then with the V1. Like the amp has gone up from 75W to 150W. And when I connected my Typhon the real magic arrived!! WOW!!
Thanks to all of you!
Best Regards,
Stefan
Shunyata rocks!
Dear everyone at Shunyata research,
My name is David Braun, and i am a freelance concert organizer in Maribor, Slovenia, focusing mainly on contemporary jazz and world music. Music has always held a prominent role in my life, something i cannot imagine being without, perhaps it is even an obsession….
On the other hand, hi-fi systems have never been a real priority, more a necessary means to get to the music, and very often »in the way«…i am not the person who has the need to constantly fumble with its own stereo, buy and sell or let alone spend millions on “sound”. Nevertheless, over the years i have managed – finances permitting – to build up a reasonable system for which i believe that it suits me, that it gets me to the “essence of music.” By that I mean that I find listening to music over a hi-fi system “an illusion”, and am happiest when it reminds me of feelings I have while listening to live (often acoustic or semi-acoustic) music, which I do a lot, being a concert organizer. Still, my friends – your official distributors in Slovenia – have persuaded me that i should use power cables from Shunyata, something i accepted with a fair amount of skepticism.
Now i am a happy user of the Venom power-cable on every component i own, and a very happy owner of a Delta NR power cable and a Venom interconnect on my CD player. I wish I could afford a power distributor, but that is probably not within my reach.
Amazing, truly stunning and astonishing what you have achieved with these products!!! I still find it hard to believe (this is probably due to my lack of technical knowledge) how much influence the power cables have on the music that is being played – and in a way that i feel is »in line« with how i perceive music. Everything is so palpable, present in space, almost speaker-less and on the other hand suddenly sounds completely effortless and spontaneous. It reminds me of how an acoustic instrument, say a violin, would sound in a room. These products seriously help transporting the “magic” that lies in a lot of music.
I would hereby like to congratulate you on your achievements; Shunyata’s products have made me very happy and have further strengthened my love and enthusiasm for music and brought many hours of very enjoyable listening – with many more to come. Also, I would like to mention the fact that I got a very competent advice from your distributors in Slovenia, the Intek company, including technical explanations and recommendations tailor-made for my specific desires and needs.
Great service from everyone and completely overwhelming products from Shunyata! You guys seriously rock!
Best regards,
David B.
I just had to tell you how wonderful the Zitron pc is
Hi Richard,
I just had to tell you how wonderful the Zitron pc is. I’ve been listening to a few tracks I’m familiar with after a day of letting the cable settle in my system. The pc I was using previously sounded hazy in comparison and the notes were scattered and somewhat jumbled in their space, though this wasn’t apparent till I switched to the Zitron. The Zitron is pin-point precise, neutral and lush. The background is dead quiet. I find that I can turn the volume up another 4-5 dbs from my reference volume without any glare or digital harshness. I wouldn’t call it polite because I feel it doesn’t exaggerate or add anything artificial to give it that initial “wow” factor that so many cables do. It just sounds right. I’m sure you’ve heard all this before. I do feel that while the soundstage is somewhat wider and deeper, it’s not as high or tall as what I’m previously used to. I suppose that makes more sense since all the instruments are at ground level. Maybe it’ll open up a bit more after a few days though I’m sure the pc was well broken in by the previous owner.
The only negative is that I will now have to upgrade all my PCs, so I won’t be eating out for a while :). If one cable can improve my system dramatically, I’m excited to hear what more can do. I just have to decide whether to go with the Delta NRs or to try to find Alpha HCs from my outlet to my 2 power strips. I would probably go with the Deltas for my amp and preamp since they are still in production. I would love to try the Alphas but 5 PCs are just way beyond my budget.
Thanks again for making a great product, and I’ll stay in touch to let you know how it all works out.
Best,
-Jose S.
Venom AMP-1
Hello,
Just want to give feed back on the Amp-1 Venom conditioner. It’s a great product and really does a phenomenal job filtering and regulating power. It offers a black background of music to my headphones, plugged in series with an amplifier and then the AMP-1 Venom to the wall…. Ultimate clarity for natural sounds as well. It’s very pleasing and gracious to see very high end audio products offered at consumer prices for intimate sessions or smaller studios. Good quality as well.
Good work!
Jacoub S.
The Venom PS8/Defender combination has been a game changer for me
Now that I have had some time to engage with your components, I have reached a few conclusions. I had expected some very subtle improvements in my system. I was wrong. The changes are far from subtle — especially when playing vinyl. The Venom PS8/Defender combination has been a game changer for me.
As a documentary filmmaker, a visual analogy comes to mind. It’s like switching from an LCD television monitor to an OLED one. On LCD sets, black is achieved by masking white pixels. But there are always light leaks, so the blacks look muddy. On an OLED set, black is truly the absence of light: pixels are actually turned off and hence go black.
Listening to music with the Venom PS8/Defender combination delivers the sonic equivalent of “true black”. The drop in the noise floor and the increased clarity are dramatic — the latter especially at lower listening levels. It’s like someone flipped a magic “loudness” switch — one that truly conveys the music itself rather than crudely boost the bass. By faithfully rendering the spaces in between the notes — the true blacks — I’m feeling a greater emotional connectedness to everything I’m listening to, which right now, is Thundercat’s ethereal, beautiful “A Hard Time”.
Arthur C. Clarke famously observed that “[a]ny sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” That’s how I feel about your technology. I have no idea of how it works, but I know that it works!
E Halpern.