After running the amp for the last 6 hrs, the difference was obvious from the start (my roommate could hear big improvements sitting in the adjacent dinning room). I’ve died and gone to audio heaven! Unbelievable is all I can say, Shunyata was made for tubes! 3D is an understatement here, and talk about clean sound. Sounds like a whole different system! I’m listening to everything all over again in a more real-like soundstage with articulation and low level information that I didn’t know was there. All my CD’s sound completely different… And I really understand the PaceSetter name. You were right, I found my self tapping my foot to the music, the attack on each note was quick, and clean, and… real.
Jim
Having both the TAIPAN ALPHA and PYTHON ALPHA in my system (along with a HYDRA MODEL-8) I can tell you that I have not experienced such a predictable, consistent and reproducible result from any product-line in my experience. When I add a Shunyata product I have a reasonable idea how it will perform in the context of the system before it is inserted. This makes it much easier to achieve the sonic qualities one values most, kind of like haute cuisine; knowing how ingredients interact as well as the science of food chemistry makes one a superior chef.
Please extend my appreciation to all involved in their production.
I never in my wildest dreams could imagine what in the world a $700 or even worse a $1200 power cord could make in a system. Its like I am hearing the system for the very first time. It and they (PowerSnakes) are great! I will definatley order another for the preamp. Thanks Shunyata!
After over a month of having the VENOM PS8, ALPHA HC 20 amp, ALPHA HC 15 amp and VENOM HC in my system, I am compelled to share some of my thoughts and observations. Without question, these components have raised my humble system to a level that I never thought possible. I will avoid the usual audiophile speak in describing my listening experience as these terms are so over used and subjective. Your cables and power components have by far had the greatest impact on my system. In a world of so much hype, your products are true and honest and allow an audio system to blossom. I now hear details like I have never heard before. I thought I knew what my system sounded like until I added Shunyata products. Up to this point I was hearing a lie, but now the truth has been revealed. In this regard I would highly recommend any Shunyata product to anyone that is serious about their audio system. Thank you for creating such wonderful products.
Stunning sonic, speed, an dynamics improvements in my audio system with your PaceSetter and Noise Reduction powercables. Very pleased with the value of my investment.
I recently replaced all of my PS Audio power cords with Shunyata cords, and sold my Richard Gray Power Center in order to run the HYDRA MODEL-4. Wow. I’d always thought that adding clarity involved sacrificing musicality, particularly with rock recordings. No more. The Shunyata gear, across the board, broadened the soundstage, deepened and distinguished the images, and lowered the noise floor, and that translated into remarkable gains in musicality. And just to make sure I wasn’t crazy, I carted the cords off to some other systems, only to find the same kind of improvements. For example, vocal harmonies, whether two part, five part, or spread across double choirs, now arrive like real voices in dialogue with one another. Similarly, saxaphone choruses, even without harmonies, now greet me less as a wall than as distinct instruments playing together. And with orchestral, performances, well, it’s like hearing them for the first time — conversations within conversations, laid out and palpably present. And yet, with all this added detail, I’ve never encountered added grain or edginess. In fact, quite the reverse. My system sounds significantly more relaxed and natural. In a favorite rock recording, Sparklehorse’s *It’s A Wonderful Life,* once abrasive bells now ring true with a startling degree of three-dimensionality. And on the low end, acoustic bass notes, plucked or bowed, unfold with melodic precision and decay with ambient details I hadn’t heard before. I was happy as a clam with my previous cords and line conditioner, but I had no idea what my system was capable of until I added the Shunyata gear. Now I’m even happier than a clam.
Thanks Richard, this is all very informative and I’m pleased to know that I’m getting the best you folks have to offer.
As I think I may have mentioned previously, I’m using the King Cobra AC cords with my power amp and the V-Ray II (and now the Triton), Aurora balanced interconnects for both my amplifier and CD/SACD player, Stratos IC interconnects for a McIntosh headphone amp I purchased recently and Stratos SP speaker cables for my speakers.
I don’t think I have to tell you that utilizing these products has made a huge and truly pleasurable difference within my Hi-Fi system.
I’ve been working in the Consumer Electronics industry and have been an “audiophile” for over 45 years, but Shunyata products are by far, the finest I’ve ever encountered, period!
I’ve now had this phenomenal Anaconda Digital cable in my system for 300 hours (as of tonight). To say I am completely blown away is an understatement.
I thought the ΞTRON® PYTHON DIGITAL XLR was the cats meow. Wrong, dead wrong! As you said to me a few weeks ago, the difference is NOT subtle. Boy were you right! Amazingly “analog” to say the least. Not only that, it sounds “right” as in musicians, vocals, etc. all being “right” as in live musicians in your room.
Images have blossomed to life sized events. Small recorded venues sound like you are in the room with the audience. At times, the naturally recorded ambience envelops you as if you were in a surround 7.1 setup. Blows my mind. To say I am just shocked is the best word, I guess.
This is truly amazing. What Caelin has wrought with this can only be described as “game changer”. Wow.
Many thanks for getting this beast out to me quickly upon completion of construction. Man, I am bowled over. Digital does not sound like digital. Even RBCD sounds gorgeously airy on material where it should be there. It is uncanny in its ability to pull out everything that’s there I thought already was with the PYTHON.
I can’t say enough superlatives other than to say, as per above, it just sounds “right”.
Anyone who thinks all digital cables are the same, sending 1’s and 0’s up the line is flat out deaf if they can’t hear this. My many thanks for Caelen’s genius.
I just wanted to thank you for all you have done for those of us who enjoy listening to music.
Over the past year I was introduced to Shunyata Research through Music Direct. I acquired ΞTRON® COBRA Power Cords to improve power delivery and the VENOM DEFENDER, DARKFIELD CABLE ELEVATOR’s and MINI’s to minimize EMI. I was so impressed by the dramatic effect these additions had in my system. The sound quality was transformed. It now resembles that of a live performance. There is such beauty in the highly resolved music I am hearing.
Thanks to you and your company for developing such advanced technology as “ΞTRON® ” and for manufacturing so many value products. I feel privileged to have benefitted from your hard work.
I believe rotating the cable 45 degrees will do the trick. The area behind my 3 stereo stands will look like the jungle when I have 1 PYTHON and 3 or 4 COBRA’s. I will call the area the snake pit. Feel free to post my comments on your website. The staff at Sound Hounds are very exited about your products as well. I can’t wait to get the COBRA ΞTRON® power cables and hopefully your speaker cable. I will order one every couple of months. The sound through my Simaudio Moon equipment and B&W 804 S speakers will be even more fantastic.
Your work is truly bringing us all into a new age. Just maybe the sound puzzle we have been working on all our lives is nearing completion.
I just received the PYTHON ordered from you by Sound Hounds in Victoria, BC. It is a bit hard to install unless I twist the cable so it will lie in a reasonable position and still hook up from my Oyaide outlet to my PS Audio Premier regenerator. How much can it be twisted to make the connections line up. Sound Hounds say just don’t kink it and twist as needed. I just want be sure as it is far more money than I have ever spent on a cable. I replaced a new VENOM HC with it. The VENOM was a great improvement. My wife and I are still trying to describe the difference the PYTHON has made. We installed it last night. We can feel much greater sound pressure at about 70 db. We have a concrete carpeted floor but the leather couch cushions were vibrating with Jack Johnson at 70 or so db. The VENOM HC did not do that but improved the sound immensely. We have only listened for 45 minutes so we will see as burn-in continues. I think the PYTHON will improve the openness, soundstage and add dimensions and detail when compared to the awesome VENOM HC. We are planning to use COBRA ΞTRON® for our other power cords and Shunyata speaker wire. I love what you are doing. Bringing great products to the market that a person can justify buying. I have spent most of my life trying to get vinyl and cd’s to sound good without going broke. I can finally say at 61 years old I am almost there.
I just connected the PYTHON ΞTRON® DIGITAL cable after about 200 hours of break in. I am usually pleased with a new component if there is some incremental revelation of new information. I have to say that with this cable in my pro studio monitoring system, a whole new LEVEL of information became apparent. Fantastic product.
Thank you Richard, I appreciate the outstanding service. I always thought Shunyata was some of the best out there….. your new line may be the best! I soon will be purchasing a set of your jumpers and sometime next year a TRITON power conditioner.
You spoke with me a couple of weeks ago concerning the peculiar break-in characteristics of the COBRA interconnects. Just letting you know that I had a chance to listen this weekend since talking. It wasn’t so much of a more-this-and-that thing as much as it was a reflexive response. I sat leaning forward anticipating the audiophile thrill ride and when the music started playing I just leaned back into the sofa and experienced it. The music just flowed with a naturalness that made me forget all the usual expectations one is accustomed to looking for when trying new gear. Yes, the clarity was remarkable as well. Drums sound more insistent and present. Horns, especially trumpet, now had more body and “horn”. Rather than wincing and running for the volume on loud passages, those horns had a buttery warmth that somehow escaped me previously. Piano is always such a difficult instrument to get just right. While there is such wide variability to miking and production from one recording to the next, you just know it when you got it right. I swear, I could almost hear the felt on the hammers striking the strings. And what is even more remarkable is that I am hearing this from a $250 Emotiva XDA-1 DAC/preamp! I sure don’t feel the need to go out shopping as soon as I thought looking for a “better DAC” right now.
I look forward to seeing what a set of ΞTRON® speaker cables could do. Thanks for the ride…
Remember when I waxed so poetic after I installed my PYTHON ΞTRON® IC’s and SC’s? Well, I’ve run out of adjectives for this new XLR digital cable. Holy Moley. Slap me silly and call me Susan. I really don’t know what to say. A friend of mine who owns one has been crazy about it, but I was still skeptical that it could be *this* good. Ok, I’ll try to convey what I hear after about 100 hours.
The PYTHON digital cable has converted my digital transport and dac into a world-class analog rig. This is the most natural, realistic, organic sound I’ve ever heard from a digital device. The timbre is true, the pacing is musical and the soundstage is three-dimensional. Good Redbook recordings sound like 24/96 masters and some high resolution recordings can sound truly live. DAC’s now have the equivalent of a top-of-the-line Dynavector arm and stylus.
These impressions were made AFTER I upgraded my Perfect Wave DAC to the the new MKII digital board, which is world-class, btw. This cable kills my custom made Harmonic Tech HDMI cable into the DAC’s I2S input…which theoreitcally should not be possible. The I2S connection has been preferred by every reviewer of this DAC. Two other PWD owners who have bought the PYTHON concur with me as to it’s revoultionary sound, so I KNOW it’s not in my head.
If people knew how good this PYTHON sounds, they’d think twice about spending big bucks on a USB cable. Are you guys gonna try one of those?
Please tell Caelin how much I appreciate his work. He hit this one way out into the bay.
Any company, manufacturer, etc.etc. is only as good…as viable…as secure in its’ standing…as the quality of the “customer service” provided to its’ customers.
Shunyata’s products are among the very best available…
I was a bit skeptical as I waited for my new PYTHON signal cables. I’ve tried a number of high end cables and, while they have all had a very distinct impact on my system, I would not judge any as equal to a component or speaker upgrade. So, I was completely unprepared for what I have experienced over the last week. I’ve replaced speakers, preamps, DACs, transports and power cords. All of these changes helped but none of them have so transformed my listening experience as these Powersnake cables.
If I were reading this, I would be skeptical of such a bold statement. Let me clarify; the PYTHON interconnects and speaker cables have brought me closer to the essence of the recorded music than I ever thought possible. Guitars sound more like guitars; the pace, rhythm and timing are just right; the soundstage is now a three-dimensional space in and out of which performers move as never before; I am constantly pulled back into the music by instruments I’ve never noticed in recordings or qualities in the performance that I had never appreciated. This is true of every single recording I have played since hooking up the cables.
For the first time in my many years of listening, my system sounds like MUSIC. I couldn’t ask for more.
I just wanted to thank you for a truly eye opening experience with the Shunyata AURORA interconnects and speaker cables.
I had just upgraded my DAC from a Stello DA220 MK II to the Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC. This change produced some effects that seemed paradoxical and unexpected. Compared to the Stello the Alpha DAC is much more analog like while simultaneously retaining the deep level of resolution I have come to enjoy through the Stello. Strangely the result this had on sound of my current set up was a softer less focused picture with an overall decrease is dynamics and immediacy.
First I replaced my reference level VH Audio Symmetry silver interconnects with the AURORA interconnects. This change produced a larger sound stage with greater immediacy and dynamic contrasts. I was not prepared for what was to happen next. When I replaced my Cardas Golden Reference speaker cables with the Shunyata AURORA speaker cables, there was a giant leap forward in all aspects of the sound. The sound took on an effortless hugely open expansiveness which was larger than I had ever heard on my system previously. The background was relieved of what I can only describe as a layer of grain that I had not really noticed until it was gone. This lack of grain allowed me to see deeper into the mix as never before. The system also gained a level of top to bottom phase coherence which revealed shimmering ethereal highs as well as subterranean lows in both the macro and micro domains. The tonal balance was also a significant beneficiary of the incredible phase coherence of the AURORA cables. Gone were any hints of phase induced harshness or listener fatigue. The soundstage also benefitted through greater structural integrity and palpability. There was an obvious synergistic benefit to using the AURORA Speaker cable in conjunction with the AURORA interconnects.
In order to sort out what changes I was hearing were attributable to the AURORAs and which were related to switch to the Berkeley Audio I put the Stello DAC back in. The Berkeley Audio’s contribution was immediately announced by the relative lack of harmonic richness and warmth. The sound also lost the fatigue free quality at higher listening levels. The AURORAs can be ruthlessly revealing of lesser quality components. These observations should be viewed within the context of component compatibility and synergy.
In fairness to the Stello and my other reference cables, I must say that I have used these products for the last 3 years with great musical satisfaction. They have endowed my system with all of the most sought after qualities that make listening to music enjoyable. This is no small achievement when listening to Avantgarde Trios which expose the smallest flaws in downstream components. This to me simply points to the importance of the synergy that various cables can provide to different combinations of components.
This experience has demonstrated to me what kinds of colorations and modulations my reference cables were imbuing on my system as a whole. Inserting the Shunyata AURORA Cables offered a clear window from which to better judge the essential qualities and shortcomings of the downstream components.
It may be of interest to note that on my system with either DAC or cables I preferred the sound with the Audiopax Model 5 preamp in place versus listening to the Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC playing straight into the amplifiers. The direct feed produced a sound that was very accurate but to my ears not as musical as when played through the preamp. The Preamp added more harmonic texture and sense of communion between the instruments that was otherwise missing. These attributes help me to immerse myself in the music and not be distracted by what I perceive to be artifacts of the HIFI reproduction process.
Associated Equipment:
Avantgarde Trios: (Main Speakers)
Avantgarde Basshorns: (Sub-Woofers)
Audiopax Model 88 MK II Mono blocks: (Amplifiers)
Audiopax Model 5: (Pre-Amplifier)
Stello DA220 MK II (DAC)
Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC (DAC)
Qsonix 100 (Music Server)
I have sent my Shunyata ARIES S (bought second hand) for repair to you. The former owner had done some bad soldering. The repair was done under warranty (yes, for a long discontinued product). And it was returned to me in a bright new Shunyata box with the best care (sealed and cushioned).
The repair (resoldering the XLR-contacts) was excellent done and the communication (with Cassandra) through Email was spot on and pleasant.
Thank you all, for the great aftersale service.
Greatings from Holland, Land of Amsterdam, wooden shoes, tullips and a very satisfied owner of an ARIES S.
Rene K.
Holland
The difference was obvious from the start
Please extend my appreciation
Having both the TAIPAN ALPHA and PYTHON ALPHA in my system (along with a HYDRA MODEL-8) I can tell you that I have not experienced such a predictable, consistent and reproducible result from any product-line in my experience. When I add a Shunyata product I have a reasonable idea how it will perform in the context of the system before it is inserted. This makes it much easier to achieve the sonic qualities one values most, kind of like haute cuisine; knowing how ingredients interact as well as the science of food chemistry makes one a superior chef.
Please extend my appreciation to all involved in their production.
Matt K.
It and they (PowerSnakes) are great!
I never in my wildest dreams could imagine what in the world a $700 or even worse a $1200 power cord could make in a system. Its like I am hearing the system for the very first time. It and they (PowerSnakes) are great! I will definatley order another for the preamp. Thanks Shunyata!
(Product: BLACK MAMBA, COBRA)
Bryan Anderson
The truth has been revealed…
Dear fellow audiophiles,
After over a month of having the VENOM PS8, ALPHA HC 20 amp, ALPHA HC 15 amp and VENOM HC in my system, I am compelled to share some of my thoughts and observations. Without question, these components have raised my humble system to a level that I never thought possible. I will avoid the usual audiophile speak in describing my listening experience as these terms are so over used and subjective. Your cables and power components have by far had the greatest impact on my system. In a world of so much hype, your products are true and honest and allow an audio system to blossom. I now hear details like I have never heard before. I thought I knew what my system sounded like until I added Shunyata products. Up to this point I was hearing a lie, but now the truth has been revealed. In this regard I would highly recommend any Shunyata product to anyone that is serious about their audio system. Thank you for creating such wonderful products.
Respectfully,
Darrell M. Chappelle
Very pleased with the value of my investment
Stunning sonic, speed, an dynamics improvements in my audio system with your PaceSetter and Noise Reduction powercables. Very pleased with the value of my investment.
Steve W.
My system sounds significantly more relaxed and natural
I recently replaced all of my PS Audio power cords with Shunyata cords, and sold my Richard Gray Power Center in order to run the HYDRA MODEL-4. Wow. I’d always thought that adding clarity involved sacrificing musicality, particularly with rock recordings. No more. The Shunyata gear, across the board, broadened the soundstage, deepened and distinguished the images, and lowered the noise floor, and that translated into remarkable gains in musicality. And just to make sure I wasn’t crazy, I carted the cords off to some other systems, only to find the same kind of improvements. For example, vocal harmonies, whether two part, five part, or spread across double choirs, now arrive like real voices in dialogue with one another. Similarly, saxaphone choruses, even without harmonies, now greet me less as a wall than as distinct instruments playing together. And with orchestral, performances, well, it’s like hearing them for the first time — conversations within conversations, laid out and palpably present. And yet, with all this added detail, I’ve never encountered added grain or edginess. In fact, quite the reverse. My system sounds significantly more relaxed and natural. In a favorite rock recording, Sparklehorse’s *It’s A Wonderful Life,* once abrasive bells now ring true with a startling degree of three-dimensionality. And on the low end, acoustic bass notes, plucked or bowed, unfold with melodic precision and decay with ambient details I hadn’t heard before. I was happy as a clam with my previous cords and line conditioner, but I had no idea what my system was capable of until I added the Shunyata gear. Now I’m even happier than a clam.
John Lysaker
The Best I’ve Ever Encountered, Period!
Thanks Richard, this is all very informative and I’m pleased to know that I’m getting the best you folks have to offer.
As I think I may have mentioned previously, I’m using the King Cobra AC cords with my power amp and the V-Ray II (and now the Triton), Aurora balanced interconnects for both my amplifier and CD/SACD player, Stratos IC interconnects for a McIntosh headphone amp I purchased recently and Stratos SP speaker cables for my speakers.
I don’t think I have to tell you that utilizing these products has made a huge and truly pleasurable difference within my Hi-Fi system.
I’ve been working in the Consumer Electronics industry and have been an “audiophile” for over 45 years, but Shunyata products are by far, the finest I’ve ever encountered, period!
Stephen L. Ramsey
NJ
To say I am completely blown away is an understatement
I’ve now had this phenomenal Anaconda Digital cable in my system for 300 hours (as of tonight). To say I am completely blown away is an understatement.
I thought the ΞTRON® PYTHON DIGITAL XLR was the cats meow. Wrong, dead wrong! As you said to me a few weeks ago, the difference is NOT subtle. Boy were you right! Amazingly “analog” to say the least. Not only that, it sounds “right” as in musicians, vocals, etc. all being “right” as in live musicians in your room.
Images have blossomed to life sized events. Small recorded venues sound like you are in the room with the audience. At times, the naturally recorded ambience envelops you as if you were in a surround 7.1 setup. Blows my mind. To say I am just shocked is the best word, I guess.
This is truly amazing. What Caelin has wrought with this can only be described as “game changer”. Wow.
Many thanks for getting this beast out to me quickly upon completion of construction. Man, I am bowled over. Digital does not sound like digital. Even RBCD sounds gorgeously airy on material where it should be there. It is uncanny in its ability to pull out everything that’s there I thought already was with the PYTHON.
I can’t say enough superlatives other than to say, as per above, it just sounds “right”.
Anyone who thinks all digital cables are the same, sending 1’s and 0’s up the line is flat out deaf if they can’t hear this. My many thanks for Caelen’s genius.
Best Regards,
Richard B.
USA
The sound quality was transformed
Dear Caelin,
I just wanted to thank you for all you have done for those of us who enjoy listening to music.
Over the past year I was introduced to Shunyata Research through Music Direct. I acquired ΞTRON® COBRA Power Cords to improve power delivery and the VENOM DEFENDER, DARKFIELD CABLE ELEVATOR’s and MINI’s to minimize EMI. I was so impressed by the dramatic effect these additions had in my system. The sound quality was transformed. It now resembles that of a live performance. There is such beauty in the highly resolved music I am hearing.
Thanks to you and your company for developing such advanced technology as “ΞTRON® ” and for manufacturing so many value products. I feel privileged to have benefitted from your hard work.
Harlan M.
Man, I am bowled over
Hi Richard,
I believe rotating the cable 45 degrees will do the trick. The area behind my 3 stereo stands will look like the jungle when I have 1 PYTHON and 3 or 4 COBRA’s. I will call the area the snake pit. Feel free to post my comments on your website. The staff at Sound Hounds are very exited about your products as well. I can’t wait to get the COBRA ΞTRON® power cables and hopefully your speaker cable. I will order one every couple of months. The sound through my Simaudio Moon equipment and B&W 804 S speakers will be even more fantastic.
Your work is truly bringing us all into a new age. Just maybe the sound puzzle we have been working on all our lives is nearing completion.
Mike M.
Victoria, BC
Much greater sound
Hi,
I just received the PYTHON ordered from you by Sound Hounds in Victoria, BC. It is a bit hard to install unless I twist the cable so it will lie in a reasonable position and still hook up from my Oyaide outlet to my PS Audio Premier regenerator. How much can it be twisted to make the connections line up. Sound Hounds say just don’t kink it and twist as needed. I just want be sure as it is far more money than I have ever spent on a cable. I replaced a new VENOM HC with it. The VENOM was a great improvement. My wife and I are still trying to describe the difference the PYTHON has made. We installed it last night. We can feel much greater sound pressure at about 70 db. We have a concrete carpeted floor but the leather couch cushions were vibrating with Jack Johnson at 70 or so db. The VENOM HC did not do that but improved the sound immensely. We have only listened for 45 minutes so we will see as burn-in continues. I think the PYTHON will improve the openness, soundstage and add dimensions and detail when compared to the awesome VENOM HC. We are planning to use COBRA ΞTRON® for our other power cords and Shunyata speaker wire. I love what you are doing. Bringing great products to the market that a person can justify buying. I have spent most of my life trying to get vinyl and cd’s to sound good without going broke. I can finally say at 61 years old I am almost there.
Mike M.
Victoria, BC
Fantastic product
I just connected the PYTHON ΞTRON® DIGITAL cable after about 200 hours of break in. I am usually pleased with a new component if there is some incremental revelation of new information. I have to say that with this cable in my pro studio monitoring system, a whole new LEVEL of information became apparent. Fantastic product.
Rob G.
I appreciate the outstanding service
Thank you Richard, I appreciate the outstanding service. I always thought Shunyata was some of the best out there….. your new line may be the best! I soon will be purchasing a set of your jumpers and sometime next year a TRITON power conditioner.
Bill
Thanks for the ride…
Grant,
You spoke with me a couple of weeks ago concerning the peculiar break-in characteristics of the COBRA interconnects. Just letting you know that I had a chance to listen this weekend since talking. It wasn’t so much of a more-this-and-that thing as much as it was a reflexive response. I sat leaning forward anticipating the audiophile thrill ride and when the music started playing I just leaned back into the sofa and experienced it. The music just flowed with a naturalness that made me forget all the usual expectations one is accustomed to looking for when trying new gear. Yes, the clarity was remarkable as well. Drums sound more insistent and present. Horns, especially trumpet, now had more body and “horn”. Rather than wincing and running for the volume on loud passages, those horns had a buttery warmth that somehow escaped me previously. Piano is always such a difficult instrument to get just right. While there is such wide variability to miking and production from one recording to the next, you just know it when you got it right. I swear, I could almost hear the felt on the hammers striking the strings. And what is even more remarkable is that I am hearing this from a $250 Emotiva XDA-1 DAC/preamp! I sure don’t feel the need to go out shopping as soon as I thought looking for a “better DAC” right now.
I look forward to seeing what a set of ΞTRON® speaker cables could do. Thanks for the ride…
Jon
I’ve run out of adjectives for this new XLR digital cable. Holy Moley.
Grant,
Remember when I waxed so poetic after I installed my PYTHON ΞTRON® IC’s and SC’s? Well, I’ve run out of adjectives for this new XLR digital cable. Holy Moley. Slap me silly and call me Susan. I really don’t know what to say. A friend of mine who owns one has been crazy about it, but I was still skeptical that it could be *this* good. Ok, I’ll try to convey what I hear after about 100 hours.
The PYTHON digital cable has converted my digital transport and dac into a world-class analog rig. This is the most natural, realistic, organic sound I’ve ever heard from a digital device. The timbre is true, the pacing is musical and the soundstage is three-dimensional. Good Redbook recordings sound like 24/96 masters and some high resolution recordings can sound truly live. DAC’s now have the equivalent of a top-of-the-line Dynavector arm and stylus.
These impressions were made AFTER I upgraded my Perfect Wave DAC to the the new MKII digital board, which is world-class, btw. This cable kills my custom made Harmonic Tech HDMI cable into the DAC’s I2S input…which theoreitcally should not be possible. The I2S connection has been preferred by every reviewer of this DAC. Two other PWD owners who have bought the PYTHON concur with me as to it’s revoultionary sound, so I KNOW it’s not in my head.
If people knew how good this PYTHON sounds, they’d think twice about spending big bucks on a USB cable. Are you guys gonna try one of those?
Please tell Caelin how much I appreciate his work. He hit this one way out into the bay.
Vance
Shunyata’s customer service is without peer
Hello Richard!!
Thanks you for your help and consideration.
Any company, manufacturer, etc.etc. is only as good…as viable…as secure in its’ standing…as the quality of the “customer service” provided to its’ customers.
Shunyata’s products are among the very best available…
Shunyata’s customer service is without peer.
Best!
Thom
Have brought me closer to the essence of the recorded music
Grant,
I was a bit skeptical as I waited for my new PYTHON signal cables. I’ve tried a number of high end cables and, while they have all had a very distinct impact on my system, I would not judge any as equal to a component or speaker upgrade. So, I was completely unprepared for what I have experienced over the last week. I’ve replaced speakers, preamps, DACs, transports and power cords. All of these changes helped but none of them have so transformed my listening experience as these Powersnake cables.
If I were reading this, I would be skeptical of such a bold statement. Let me clarify; the PYTHON interconnects and speaker cables have brought me closer to the essence of the recorded music than I ever thought possible. Guitars sound more like guitars; the pace, rhythm and timing are just right; the soundstage is now a three-dimensional space in and out of which performers move as never before; I am constantly pulled back into the music by instruments I’ve never noticed in recordings or qualities in the performance that I had never appreciated. This is true of every single recording I have played since hooking up the cables.
For the first time in my many years of listening, my system sounds like MUSIC. I couldn’t ask for more.
Vance H.
St. Louis, MO
There was an obvious synergistic benefit to using the AURORA…
I just wanted to thank you for a truly eye opening experience with the Shunyata AURORA interconnects and speaker cables.
I had just upgraded my DAC from a Stello DA220 MK II to the Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC. This change produced some effects that seemed paradoxical and unexpected. Compared to the Stello the Alpha DAC is much more analog like while simultaneously retaining the deep level of resolution I have come to enjoy through the Stello. Strangely the result this had on sound of my current set up was a softer less focused picture with an overall decrease is dynamics and immediacy.
First I replaced my reference level VH Audio Symmetry silver interconnects with the AURORA interconnects. This change produced a larger sound stage with greater immediacy and dynamic contrasts. I was not prepared for what was to happen next. When I replaced my Cardas Golden Reference speaker cables with the Shunyata AURORA speaker cables, there was a giant leap forward in all aspects of the sound. The sound took on an effortless hugely open expansiveness which was larger than I had ever heard on my system previously. The background was relieved of what I can only describe as a layer of grain that I had not really noticed until it was gone. This lack of grain allowed me to see deeper into the mix as never before. The system also gained a level of top to bottom phase coherence which revealed shimmering ethereal highs as well as subterranean lows in both the macro and micro domains. The tonal balance was also a significant beneficiary of the incredible phase coherence of the AURORA cables. Gone were any hints of phase induced harshness or listener fatigue. The soundstage also benefitted through greater structural integrity and palpability. There was an obvious synergistic benefit to using the AURORA Speaker cable in conjunction with the AURORA interconnects.
In order to sort out what changes I was hearing were attributable to the AURORAs and which were related to switch to the Berkeley Audio I put the Stello DAC back in. The Berkeley Audio’s contribution was immediately announced by the relative lack of harmonic richness and warmth. The sound also lost the fatigue free quality at higher listening levels. The AURORAs can be ruthlessly revealing of lesser quality components. These observations should be viewed within the context of component compatibility and synergy.
In fairness to the Stello and my other reference cables, I must say that I have used these products for the last 3 years with great musical satisfaction. They have endowed my system with all of the most sought after qualities that make listening to music enjoyable. This is no small achievement when listening to Avantgarde Trios which expose the smallest flaws in downstream components. This to me simply points to the importance of the synergy that various cables can provide to different combinations of components.
This experience has demonstrated to me what kinds of colorations and modulations my reference cables were imbuing on my system as a whole. Inserting the Shunyata AURORA Cables offered a clear window from which to better judge the essential qualities and shortcomings of the downstream components.
It may be of interest to note that on my system with either DAC or cables I preferred the sound with the Audiopax Model 5 preamp in place versus listening to the Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC playing straight into the amplifiers. The direct feed produced a sound that was very accurate but to my ears not as musical as when played through the preamp. The Preamp added more harmonic texture and sense of communion between the instruments that was otherwise missing. These attributes help me to immerse myself in the music and not be distracted by what I perceive to be artifacts of the HIFI reproduction process.
Associated Equipment:
Avantgarde Trios: (Main Speakers)
Avantgarde Basshorns: (Sub-Woofers)
Audiopax Model 88 MK II Mono blocks: (Amplifiers)
Audiopax Model 5: (Pre-Amplifier)
Stello DA220 MK II (DAC)
Berkeley Audio Alpha DAC (DAC)
Qsonix 100 (Music Server)
Joshua J. Wright
Great aftersale service
A big THANK YOU to all the people at Shunyata!
I have sent my Shunyata ARIES S (bought second hand) for repair to you. The former owner had done some bad soldering. The repair was done under warranty (yes, for a long discontinued product). And it was returned to me in a bright new Shunyata box with the best care (sealed and cushioned).
The repair (resoldering the XLR-contacts) was excellent done and the communication (with Cassandra) through Email was spot on and pleasant.
Thank you all, for the great aftersale service.
Greatings from Holland, Land of Amsterdam, wooden shoes, tullips and a very satisfied owner of an ARIES S.
Rene K.
Holland