Upgrade to Shunyata Cable Loom, or?
 

Hi there,

Ever since I started my audio journey some 12 years ago, I always had in my different iterations of my system some Shunyata power cords along with Kimber Kable for everything else. Call it a paradigm if you will but I have always been pleased with the results.

What triggered my interest in Shunyata IC cables is the fact that I am looking to replace my digital cable between my Bryston BDP-2 and BDA-3. Right now, I have a Kimber KS-2436-Ag USB. I read some articles indicating that AES/EBU sounds better (cable dependant, off course) than USB so I am leaning to this connection for my next cable. This brings me to the Shunyata Alpha AES/EBU. I cannot swing for the v2 with everything going on in my life now so v1 would do just fine. And also after reading some glorious reviews of the Sigma IC loom, there is a consensus that it is best to have a complete loom of the same series for full effect. So, I am looking at the Alpha altogheter.

I would like to know if a Shunyata Alpha loom would be a significant upgrade, or just a side step. Cannot swing for the Sigma either. Here is what my cabling consists now:

Kimber KS-3033 speaker
Kimber KS-1016 RCA
Kimber KS-2436-Ag USB
Kimber KS-9033 jumper cables

Here is what I am considering:

Shunyata Alpha AES/EBU
Shunyata Alpha IC RCA
Shunyata Alpha SP

I said "or" in my title, because I have another option that I am looking at.
Upgrade my speaker cables to Kimber KS-6063 and upgrade my USB cable to the JCAT Signature USB (had one before, and foolishly sold it). Both the Shunyata route or Kimber route would be similar in cost.

Going with Shunyata Alpha would be quite a departure for me but I am open to it if the performance gap is significant enough.

Thanks for your inputs.

Yes, you will find upgrading to Alpha V2 loom a significant upgrade. It will be a 1+1+1=10 level upgrade. Additionally, the Kimber speaker cables you are considering upgrading to do not have the Shunyata HARP technology. This technology is a breakthrough with respect to speaker cables.

If you want to upgrade your USB cable, get the Alpha USB cable as well.

I suggest you rent the Shunyata Speaker cables and test them in your system before purchasing.

In my experience versus WireWorld cables, they are likely to sound different in your system but that may or may not be better.

Renting in before purchase is always a great idea. :thumbsup:

Of course leaving your system as is instead of chasing a slightly "different" at best presentation is also an option (sometimes) :D

Kimber cables are always musical and it doesn't even matter which level. Listening to a pair of Kimber Hero ICs as we speak and they sound just as good as anything I have had in the system overall.

There is no "better" because there is no gauge to go by. Better is only what sounds better to your ears but that is often just "different" at best if there is a difference at all.

Just my opinion on the open question and it will not cost you anything. :D

Agree. Whatever you decide I think you should keep the cost of the upgrade in line with the rest of your gear unless you are planning to upgrade it also or maybe you already have. KK is an excellent company and the gear they make competitive. Ditto Shunyata.

It's the sound that best suits/pleases your ears. Folks that say a piece of gear is superior to another and leave out that it sounds better to their ears ignore the fact that there are no absolutes in this hobby. That's about the only absolute is that there are none. It's what floats your boat that matters.:yes:

Best

Charles

p.s. and your budget

Agreed. If there was only a standard or a gauge. Not even a 0-60 in this hobby... :D My ears are not your ears and "best" to you may by something totally different to me.

You like Rock, I like Jazz, someone else likes the Ukulele...

I like a slightly slower, warm and meaty presentation, with analog like bass qualities, you like yours with crisp transients and take your BASS tight as a drum...

The I think "this speaker, amp, cable is best" threads are complete nonsense.

What is best, is the system that will give you goosebumps and keep you listening for hours on end. :music:

Oh and by the way, the only boat that actually floats (when cut in half) is a Boston Whaler :D

Back to the OP’s question, I think as Stephen says the latest Alpha v2 would be a meaningful upgrade. The latest noise reduction technology employed by Shunyata does its job well. If that’s not in the budget, I don’t think you’d gain by buying used Alpha v1.

As for brand synergy, my experience has been that this can be good with analog signal cables, i.e. speaker and interconnect, since they can have an impact on tonal balance, but it’s less important that you go with the same brand for digital and power as you do analog signal. Just my opinion of course, even though I’m all Shunyata.

If it were me, I’d start with the Shunyata digital cable, but find a way to swing the Alpha v2. The next step would be ICs, then SCs, and here I think you’d do well with either the Kimber or Shunyata upgrade. And as Craig points out, rental or some sort of trial first is a great way to approach this. In the price range you’re considering, it’s always good to try before you buy.

Tony's provided some good advice and insights, but a key advantage of going with a full Alpha loom is that it is a true system. You will get the key Shunyata Research noise mitigation technologies TAP, HARP, and CMode for IC, SP and digital, respectively, and NR for power cords. Until you've heard a system with a full Alpha loom so that you're getting the benefit of each of these core technologies for each cable type, you won't experience (nor understand) the synerigistic benefits they bring as a system.

And renting in the respective cable types is a great way to evaluate these as a system.

Lots of great tips and advices, thanks to everyone. I believe the only way to know for sure to find out if I will like it is to at least start with the Alpha AES/EBU. From my own experience with 5 different cables (USB and AES/EBU) between the BDP-2 & the BDA-3, this is where I can get the best bang for the buck, if I can put it this way.

From the Audio Beat review of the Sigma :

Before I dove into a full-system installation, I decided to try the Sigma AES/EBU cable just to hear how it would stack up to my reference Anaconda cable, no slouch at taming ones and zeros. Fellow TAB writer Mark Blackmore happened to be in the neighborhood, so we put Rickie Lee Jones’s Pop Pop CD [Geffen GEFD-24426] in my PS Audio PerfectWave transport and played a few tracks before the Sigma’s installation. Then we returned to those tracks after the new cable was in place. Blackmore shook his head and said, "You can hear the difference in three bars." The difference was a smoother, less grainy presentation of the high frequencies, meatier, weightier bass, and a more layered soundstage. All in all, the sound was far less "digital." Not bad for one cable. As accomplished as the Shunyata Anaconda AES/EBU cable had been, the Sigma lapped it-- twice.

After Blackmore left, I continued to listen and noticed more depth and space in Blossom Dearie’s delightful Soubrette: Sings Broadway Hits [Verve MG VS-62133]. The Sigma AES/EBU delivered a far more relaxed, natural and realistic representation of instruments in the Russel Garcia Orchestra. I could hear the internal resonances within a bassoon as it accented a line, more bell tone from a trumpet. When I returned to the Anaconda, it was clear that it was not conveying as truthful a version of those sounds, which resulted in a presentation that was less present and convincing.

The Sigma AES/EBU is the first digital cable I’ve heard that significantly narrows the gap between analog and digital.

Knowing this is the Sigma, one can extrapolate to the Alpha as it is said to be 85% of the performance of the Sigma (that's for the USB though). I am not totally decided yet but I think I will buy the Alpha AES/EBU to see if I like it. If yes, then I will go full Alpha loom. Stay tuned..