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Shunyata Research Designing Silent Systems for recording, film and music |
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Shunyata OMEGA QR power cable looking back and current day impressions....
Originally posted in November 2019:
Shunyata OMEGA QR Power cord (15-amp) recent listening impressions: *This is a long post, thanks for the patience to read it through,… Going back almost 15 years and rolling forward with my 2004-2009 hybrid 7.1 HT and 2-channel setup which was by my standards at least, monstrous in size, complexity and expense using dual-subs, full range speakers in 4 out 7 positions and near full-range in the other 3, Esoteric 3-box stack (P-03U, D-03, G-0s), high-end video, video EQ (Lumagen, etc...) and all the trimmings, I've owned a LOT of Shunyata products in the Hydra8 and Anaconda/Anaconda VX timeline so I am no stranger to Shunyata's approach, quality, value for the money, customer service and attention to detail in all that they do. Roll the clock forward ten years plus; the HT setup is gone,….I love music listening far more than even the best HT setups I’ve ever had and have heard and no longer want the ever-changing formats, pre- and post-processing standards for video, audio, etc…crazy complexity, crazy expense and the feeling of being behind the times ever after the most major of upgrades. In short, I’ve been working to maximize my 2-channel playback sans going after vinyl which I always loved but again, cost, scale, complexity, storage requirements, etc…are all something I did not want to take on again. This is a every long-winded way of saying that I’ve put all my time, money and effort into pushing the envelope as we all do to get the most realistic musical playback possible out of my D->A system. I have no time for non-full range speakers, one to a few inch-wide sweet spots, laser sighting or satellite + GPS needed for speaker setup (obviously joking!!), speakers that are precise, revealing, ultra-expensive with fan-attracting names but not able to play all the music I like musically, realistically and without fatigue even when played 4, 6, 8, 10+ hours per day while I work, or critically listen, or simply relax in the house. Two to 3 years ago I thought I’d squeezed all I could out of the system with 02-level Esoteric separates, preamp and amp, 10 MHz OP21 level Type2 master clock, SOTA speakers and many great digital and analog interconnects and speaker cables plus a UK company’s 2-box power conditioner that was the finest I’d heard in 20 years of chasing the dragon as it were for power. Enter Shunyata <again>…due in part to posts about the benefit of high quality word and master clocking external/other devices in the D-to-A playback chain, I was asked to participate in a group of 5 anonymous testers all with different equipment over a multi-month period to do double-blind testing of 50-ohm and 75-ohm clock cables for Shunyata. That began it all…1-2 years later and a lot of great testing and learning later all digital cables (SIGMA 50-ohm clock and AES/EBU), several SIGMA and Anaconda Zitron/KPIP analog XLRs and all my power conditioning is now and shall remain Shunyata. Part and parcel of this was the TRITON V3 which quickly displaced a 2-box SOTA setup from another vendor. I heard thee most musical sounds out of my systems that I’d ever heard out of any system I’d built. Then came the TYPHON QR. The result that occurred when putting the TYPHON QR into the system in front of the TRITON V3 is one that won’t be forgotten. I remember calling Caelin and dropping all the audiophile crazy words and hyperbole and saying ‘my system just sounds like live music!’ and asking how exactly he pulled that off in one passive box coupled to another. Anyone who has taken TRITON V3, TYPHON QR, SIGMA, Alpha or Delta cables into their system of any kind and now the Denali 6000/S v2, know what I’m taking about when I say that I believe Caelin and the team at Shunyata are ‘on a roll’ doing what I would say is the best work of their careers, no b.s. , no exaggeration. ENTER THE OMEGA QR Power cord: In all my demo time with the TRITON V3 and then the TYPHON QR in combo with it, and all the time after purchasing them, I have found that they absolutely excel at improving the quality of playback and performance of any front-end component all the way thru the chain. For me that is; Transport, DAC, Master clock, Preamp, LPSU for active RoomEQ, Crossover and A->D->A components for my Active speaker setup…. Plugging my SOTA Stereo amp (Esoteric A-02) into the combo and all the digital amps in my active speaker full-range Setup (5 in all) also sounded great but frankly plugging any amplifier into a properly done dedicated circuit straight to the wall as always performed better regardless of what power conditioning I had in the system at any point in time.. I had the good fortune about 2 weeks ago to be given a chance to spend 5 days with an new Shunyat OMEGA QR power cord. The fit, finish and build quality (including a new SOTA wire-type internally) are truly world-class and eclipse even the best from Shunyata thus far which is no easy task. The bespoke connectors, use of high grade carbon, flexibility of the cable are all on a brand new level of excellence! I’m told these improvements will be studied for their application to future cables as well. The aesthetic is to my eyes, beautiful to look at as well. In short, the impact of using this cord is truly, no b.s., no exaggeration was mind-blowing to me….this cord is tailor made for any amplifier, even digital (ICEpower2, etc…) with more modest current draw requirements but easily will maximize the performance ff any amplifier, Tube, Solid State or Digital (IMHO). It certainly did that here with respect to all the various amp connects to the wall in my setup that I tried. I don’t know the topology or the innards of this cable except what has been circulated online thus far. To my listening tests from the first hour forward out of the box, every single aspects of playback anywhere I plugged it in improved. As a kicker, I also tried it on the LPSU for my Wavelet Active Crossover & RoomEQ and then on my DAC as well and heard similar advances. In every single case, particular and more striking differences for any amplifier and the LPSU for Wavelet, I heard; - dramatic increase in sound stage definition and size in 3-dimensions - rock-solid and dramatic increase in imaging performance top to bottom (floor to ceiling) and left to right - deepening of the sound stage even further behind the walls and out into the room - better performance and pacing of all playback, more immediacy and realism in the presentation of the most subtle to the most demanding dynamics in all sorts of music - improved tonal correctness and ‘color of sound’ (hearing the different materials for drum heads, stick and mallet types, brushes, bows, etc….gold/silver/brass/no finish on trumpet, sax, etc…guitar, piano, violin and bass (double and electric) all rendered in an utterly real and transparent/correct way - immediacy and pacing of the music; ultra-correct and realistic - tightness and correctness of the image and improved ability to locate instruments, voices, etc….both individually and in ensemble and have them be what seems to see to be a more correct sizing Frankly, I expected improvement, bigger in some areas than in othheers but what I heard amazed me as this cord pushed so many areas up on the scale of playback quality simply through attaching it to one device at a time that I was and still am, shocked by what I heard. From a ‘power conditioner’ point of view, this has just the right amount of QR/BB for noise elimination the right amount of current flow and increased dynamic ability for current draw and whatever else amps and LPSUs need to sound their absolute best. In short, the most amazing single power cord + conditioning all in one cable for current-draw needs for amps of all kinds (Even digital amps embedded in active speakers by the way) and LPSUs driving other core components. The effects and sound quality improvements are not subtle and you won’t have to wait to hear them. The only way to equal it or better would be to be fortunate enough to have individual TYPHON QRs for each amplifier you have and go 1:1 as is the case with a good friend here who has 3 TYPHON QRs believe it or not (1 to drive his TRITON V3 and 1 each for his mono blocks) and is very fortunate and flying in very rarefied airspace as it were !!! Obvious questions answered: Going forward at least until Caelin beats the combination, the TRITON V3 and TYPHON QR for transport, DAC, master clock and pre-amp/processors to me is still the bar for top performance for non-amplifier and non-LPSU devices The OMEGA is excellent when powering these devices however to my ears I will keep front-end devices plugged into the TRITON V3 and TYPHON QR. For amplifiers of all types and LPSUs, the OMEGA QR is the cable to beat at its price point and much higher one for direct-to-wall connections. I will be watching for the cascade of lessons learned in perfecting this OMEGA QR power cord to be brought to future releases of other cords at more moderate price points rumored to be in the brainstorming process. One word not the price of the OMEGA QR: yes, it a new price range for Shunyata for a pc; having heard many others at equal and even higher price points, all of those vendors should be quite worried about what Caelin and team have packed into this OMEGA QR and the Uber-musical results at a high, but responsible price. Caelin and the team at Shunyata are ‘on a roll’ doing what I would say and I have heard in musical result is the best work of their careers! I am grateful I had the opportunity to demo this cord for a few days. It was truly painful to put it in the box and ship it off to the next destination!!! |
#2
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And bringing things up to the current day...
Circling back on the original write-up I did on Omega QR pre-production "first article" review and having had the good fortune to obtain a production version of the cable several months ago and be living with it ever since, I repeated all prior component, amplifier, processor and pre-amp testing configurations for several weeks at a time with the latest Omega QR power cable. The original impressions and detailed listening results I perceived are still accurate and what I've found after several months this cable delivers in ample amounts across the entire listening spectrum. I've not had the good fortune to be able to move to an Omega XC for my Typhon QR with matching Omega XC umbilical but an hoping to move up from Sigma umbilical, etc...soon! Many months later, the following are still my leading perceptions compared to all prior and current Shunyata Alpha and Sigma v1 and v2 cables, across every genre of music in my collection ; - dramatic increase in sound stage definition and size in 3-dimensions - rock-solid and dramatic increase in imaging performance top to bottom (floor to ceiling) and left to right - deepening of the sound stage even further behind the walls and out into the room than ever before - dead quiet, ultra-black backgrounds.... - better performance and pacing of all playback, more immediacy and realism in the presentation of the most subtle to the most demanding dynamics in all sorts of music - improved tonal correctness and ‘color of sound’ (hearing the different materials for drum heads, stick and mallet types, brushes, bows, etc….gold/silver/brass/no finish on trumpet, sax, etc…guitar, piano, violin and bass (double and electric) all rendered in an utterly real and transparent/correct way - immediacy and pacing of the music; ultra-correct and realistic - tightness and correctness of the image and improved ability to locate instruments, voices, etc….both individually and in ensemble and have them be what seems to see to be a more correct sizing - "simply sounds like great music", most audiophile hyperbole/typical wording no longer needed A fantastic cable!!! |
#3
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Thanks for a great write up!
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McIntosh MA12000, Hifi Rose RS150B Streamer, Roon Nucleus + Server, JBL Classic L100 Classic 75s, REL S812s (x2), Pioneer PL-630 Vintage TT with Hana SL cart. |
#4
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Well done Mark!
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Main Equipment: Kharma Elegance dB11-S, JL Audio F113v2 X 2, Block Audio Line & Mono SE Amplification, Bricasti M21 DAC, Antipodes Kala K-50 Server, Clearaudio Performance SE. Satisfy tonearm & Maestro Wood MM cartridge. Power: Shunyata Everest 8000, Sigma XC v2, Sigma NR v2, Block Audio PCs, Defender, ADDPowr Wizard Grounding: Shunyata Altaira CGS - 4 X Alpha CGS cables, Network : Supra Cat 8+, Twin (Nenon) Modified Buffalo GS2016 Switches, Keces P3 LPSU, Cables: Wireworld Platinum 8 USB, Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 8 Speaker cables, 6M & 1M Tubulus Concentus ICs, Other:Two PSI Audio AVAA C20, Multiple GIK products, Stillpoint Apertures, Stillpoint Minis and Ultra SS, Three 20 Amp lines, Furutech GTX - Gold outlets, Adona Rack |
#5
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Thank you guys!
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#6
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Excellent write up Mark! Well done.
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#7
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Great reports Mark.
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Tony D'Agostino Momentum S250 MxV & HD pre; Linn Klimax Organik DSM, SonicTransporter, EtherRegen; Acoustic Signature Typhoon Neo, Koetsu RSP, Boulder 1108; Sf Il Cremonese; Shunyata Everest, Altaira, Sigma & Alpha v2 |
#8
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Thanks guys...it continues to be a great performing cable!
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#9
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Quote:
It also looks very cool with the silver carbon fiber plug....
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components. Last edited by Puma Cat; 03-01-2021 at 10:57 AM. |
#10
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Quote:
If you have the means, you should try out the Omega QR-S on your Esoteric D-D2 DAC. Thinner and easier to route than the Omega QR, it's the perfect Omega QR PC for source components. It brings all the attributes and qualities you describe for the Omega QR for amps, etc., to source components e.g. DACs, phono stages, etc. Really amazing and "totally bad-*ss" as all the Omega series of cables are.
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Lumin P1 streamer/DAC/preamp, Constellation Inspiration integrated TT: Michell Gyro SE MkII, SME V, Koetsu Urushi Vermilion, EAR324. Harbeth 30.2s, REL R-305, Shunyata Alpha V2 ICs, Alpha V2 SPs, Sigma XC, Sigma NRv2, Omega QR-s & Alpha NRv2 PCs, segmented Altaira SG stack w/ Alpha & Omega CGCs, Everest 8000 PD. Remote Server Room: Uptone EtherREGEN, AfterDark Master Clock & LPS, Alita, Battle Angel, (Akasa NUC Roon Core), iFi DC Purifiers (for SMPS used for Alita & router), Shunyata Gemini combo power distributor & Altaira-type CG GP-NR hub, Venom & Alpha CGCs, Shunyata NRv14 power cords for digital components. |
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