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Shunyata Research Designing Silent Systems for recording, film and music |
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#11
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The RGPC Power Stations were mostly added because I needed more outlets and a dealer I trusted recommended them. I never heard any benefit. Measuring them with the Ideal SureTest indicates they significantly restrict instantaneous current and the Entech says they don't do anything on the noise that it measures. They do have protection and I suspect the big inductor inside probably acts a bit as a virtual flywheel. I may use them for my incoming Sound Lab power supplies if I don't end up keeping the Shunyata. The TWL power cords were almost entirely bought based on raves from folks on Audio Circle and positive show reports. Measuring them with the SureTest indicates the large wire used is effective--there's basically no difference between plugging the SureTest into the outlet or the TWL cords. Both show >700A instantaneous current. The Entec test showed, as expected, no noise reduction with the TWL cords. I have not noticed any improvement in my system with the addition of the TWL cords with the caveat that my system sounds quite good and I don't drive a huge amount of power as I listen at moderate levels and my speakers are relatively efficient at 91 dB. The differences I'm beginning to hear (I think) with the Shunyata gear is increased emotional involvement, air, space, soundstage depth and width, tonal purity of instruments, and a solidity of instruments, ie less ethereal--the air doesn't come at the expense of solidity (if that makes any sense). I contrast this experience (and my hopes/expectations) with the AV Room Service EVP isolation pads where after I installed them under my subs there was a palpable difference in bass cleanliness and speed. Adding them under the Kefs also improved things, but not to the same degree. Putting them under amps and front end components really didn't make a noticeable difference. I've left them in place, however, because I figure they don't hurt anything. Hope this makes sense.
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Evan Sound Lab 745s, AtmaSphere MA1s, 2 Rythmik 12SE subs, 1 dual 10" DIY sub, Parasound JC2 pre, Aurender S10, Holo Audio May DAC, Oppo 105, DIY Lenco L75, Wavestream Kinetics tube phono stage, Shunyata loom |
#12
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Hearing systems a lot better than mine really helped establish a North Star for me. My questions to the owners of these systems were aimed at figuring out how they achieved what I was hearing. I wonder if people who claim they don’t believe cables matter actually try to hear systems much better than theirs. A little over a decade ago I worked at Microsoft. There were all kinds of groups we could join there. One was actually called “Microsoft Audiophiles” and was comprised of employees and contractors who considered themselves to be audiophiles. A sizable portion of the group were of the mind that cables couldn’t possibly matter. I repeatedly offered invitations to come over to my house to hear for themselves the differences. Not a single one took me up on the offer early on. This was valuable learning for me. For many, the ‘belief’ in cables is akin to a religious tenet and they simply choose not to believe and didn’t care to have their position challenged. They just wanted to believe what they wanted to believe. Eventually though one of these guys came over. He brought with him an interconnect from Blue Jeans Cables. I allowed him to acclimate to my system but then eventually substituted it for the MIT cable I was using. The look on his face was priceless. He went on to describe how the soundstage collapsed. It really had and it wasn’t subtle. We did a few more swaps and I had him tease out the differences he heard. We all hear differently so I’m always fascinated with what others pick up on. The differences in this case were easy to pick out. That BJC cable clearly showed how the weakest link could drag down the performance of a system. We both agreed that the BJC made it tough to enjoy my system. Next up I threw in a Nordost interconnect without telling him the price relative to the MIT. After a series of comparisons, he thought it also absolutely clobbered the BJC, but it at the same time fell short of the MIT. We played tracks he liked and he was able to easily call out the differences, just as he would if we swapped speakers instead. That MIT interconnect actually retailed for $3,000 while that Nordost interconnect retailed for $1000. I paid a fraction of retail for the MIT interconnect and it remained in my system until I heard a Shunyata Anaconda. This $2250 interconnect embarrassed the $3000 MIT. It was astonishing how much better it was - it simply got out of the way better. Everything opened up and became more natural. The Alpha v1 that I have now also easily beat the Anaconda by doing an even better job of getting out of the way. It just seemed one step closer to the sound of no cable at all, with less grain and better transparency. Given the pandemic, it’s not the best time obviously to go hear other systems or to invite others over to hear yours. But I think this is a very important thing to do. Nothing can build more confidence in one’s ability to hear differences than to have someone else call out a difference you are hearing at that exact moment you are also hearing it. I had no idea the BJC interconnect was going to cause the soundstage to so profoundly collapse, but that this was the first thing my friend called out rules out expectation bias as neither of us had that expectation.
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Source: Antipodes K30> Shunyata Omega USB > Gustard X26pro DAC < Shunyata Sigma v2 clock cable < Mutec REF10 SE-120 Amp & Speakers: Spectral DMA-150mk2 > Aerial 10T Foundation: Stillpoints Ultra, Shunyata Denali v1 and Typhon x1 power conditioners, Shunyata Delta v2 and QSA Lanedri power cords, QSA Lanedri Revelation XLR interconnect, MIT Matrix HD 60 speaker cables, Stillpoints Aperture panels, Quadraspire SVT rack, PGGB 256 |
#13
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Your journey is similar to mine and I'm sure others. Everytime I hear someone else's system I am reminded why I like mine, and usually hear a few things I'd like my system to do that it doesn't. This particular power journey started again when I listened to a pair of Sound Labs I was considering purchasing. The seller had an incredible system--Blowtorch preamp, Boulder 600W amp, and a lot of very expensive looking and unfamiliar power stuff (mostly Audioquest I think). His system sounded incredible--we even listened to a pair of speakers he designed and built which were much different from the Sound Labs, but still had their charm. I guess that planted the seed. Fast forward a few weeks to listening to the Sound Lad dealer's small city system with lots of Shunyata and Stillpoints, then a few weeks later listening to his large system with more and different Shunyata gear, and it got me interested enough to try out the Hydra boxes and cords. Evan
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Evan Sound Lab 745s, AtmaSphere MA1s, 2 Rythmik 12SE subs, 1 dual 10" DIY sub, Parasound JC2 pre, Aurender S10, Holo Audio May DAC, Oppo 105, DIY Lenco L75, Wavestream Kinetics tube phono stage, Shunyata loom Last edited by ACHiPo; 09-11-2021 at 04:54 AM. |
#14
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Thanks guys for documenting your experiences I am truly grateful. For me at this point it’s finding the weakest link and system synergy. I’ve been working back from the speakers and recently added the preamp.
To get back to the original post Shunyata cables are on my short list for powering the system and I’ll go “down the rabbit hole” when the time comes. I just prefer not to make the wrong additions. This hobby can be expensive enough without the wrong addition. Evan. The Halo is another short list item of mine for a DAC. Maybe pm me some time to tell me your thought about it.
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Doug 2-Channel McIntosh C2700, (2X)MC601, MEN220 Lampizator Baltic 3 Sonore opticalRendu, SGC sonicTransporter i5 (Gen 3), Roon Thorens TT TD318 B&W 803D3 JL Audio (2x)f110v2 Shunyata Denali/S v2, Alpha v2 PCs, WW Gold/Silver Eclipse Interconnects, Platinum USB Whole House Music Listening Bluesound Vault2i, PowerNode2, PulseMini2i, Pulse2, (3x)Flex 5.2 System Above using Passthru Marantz SR7012 Oppo 205, Apple TV (4th gen), Sony XBR850e65 B&W HTM2 D3 Second 5.1 System Castoffs from Upgrades LRC Paradigm Millenia 20, Velodyne MiniVee 10, KEF surrounds, DefTech AW6500 |
#15
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Wrt the turntable, it is more likely that the TT's power supply rather than its motor would put noise back into your system especially if it is a switch mode power supply (SMPS) which can gererate RF. |
#16
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My turntable is a Lenco. No SMPS, just an AC motor.
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Evan Sound Lab 745s, AtmaSphere MA1s, 2 Rythmik 12SE subs, 1 dual 10" DIY sub, Parasound JC2 pre, Aurender S10, Holo Audio May DAC, Oppo 105, DIY Lenco L75, Wavestream Kinetics tube phono stage, Shunyata loom |
#17
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Will shoot you a PM. Evan
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Evan Sound Lab 745s, AtmaSphere MA1s, 2 Rythmik 12SE subs, 1 dual 10" DIY sub, Parasound JC2 pre, Aurender S10, Holo Audio May DAC, Oppo 105, DIY Lenco L75, Wavestream Kinetics tube phono stage, Shunyata loom |
#18
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Source: Antipodes K30> Shunyata Omega USB > Gustard X26pro DAC < Shunyata Sigma v2 clock cable < Mutec REF10 SE-120 Amp & Speakers: Spectral DMA-150mk2 > Aerial 10T Foundation: Stillpoints Ultra, Shunyata Denali v1 and Typhon x1 power conditioners, Shunyata Delta v2 and QSA Lanedri power cords, QSA Lanedri Revelation XLR interconnect, MIT Matrix HD 60 speaker cables, Stillpoints Aperture panels, Quadraspire SVT rack, PGGB 256 |
#19
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The power cord from the wall to the Typhon is a Python. I know that's an older cord, and from the sound has ferrite beads inside the sheath that rattle around when it's moved. Any information on the relative performance of this cord would be appreciated. The umbilical is a Stealth Typhon, which I think is just the stock umbilical. After deciding I definitely like the Hydras in my system I moved them upstream to the amps. Like when I first installed them in the front end I noticed a very subtle improvement, but nothing earthshattering from a sound perspective. I'll give them a few days in their new location and see what I think. I'd hoped to see a reduction in noise as measured with the Entech Line Noise analyzer. I plugged the analyzer into the circuit with the Hydras removed and set the gain to 100. I installed the Hydras and powered everything up. I checked the Entech in the amp outlet and the noise dropped ~2 points. I plugged it into the Triton and it was the same. I then plugged it into the front end outlet and got about the same reading. It seems pretty bizarre not to see any measurable improvement. I did not pick up any AM, so that's a good thing I suppose. I also ordered some ferrite beads that I can clamp onto the 10awg Romex that might help reduce the noise floor more.
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Evan Sound Lab 745s, AtmaSphere MA1s, 2 Rythmik 12SE subs, 1 dual 10" DIY sub, Parasound JC2 pre, Aurender S10, Holo Audio May DAC, Oppo 105, DIY Lenco L75, Wavestream Kinetics tube phono stage, Shunyata loom |
#20
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The Python with the material you can hear when you move the cable may be an original Python VX (2006-2010 or so, I used those, Taipan and Anaconda, both VX and non-VX). It may also be a newer version of that.
I cannot comment on whether putting a VX before a TQR is detrimental but it sure is unecessary (IMHO) as those VX cords were made for DACs, transports, players, processors, CRTs, anything with a processor. A non-VX cord is a better choice for a Tv2 + TQR chain or any of the newest v1 or v2 non-NR cables. FWIW....Shunyata or others may have a better or more correct opinion. As I understand the TQR, it may take some time to reach steady state. Measure noise on line out of the Tv2 duplexes at least an hour and then again several hours later. I do not know if TQR affects the whole circuit downstream or not. That's a question for Caelin. |
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