Have you had 1000h each on them yet?
The Shunyatas? They claim they donāt need burn in. But these are the store demo ones so they have a lot of hours. This is a store that has sold a lot of Shunyata.
Ok so here goes
We started with the Shunyata Omega as last leg from the modified PN to the streamer instead of the Neotech. The difference was immense. Everything got smaller and choked but in an even way. It sounded nice. I suspect this is an effect of the filters and this cable seem to filter in an even way. Everything is subdued but sounds very nice. I think this is a really good cable. Next up was the Sigma. It has the same choked up sound that doesnāt let the music out entirely and it still sounds good. However this cable doesnāt filter as efficiently as the Omega and lets the upper midrange become a bit more energetic than the Omega. The Sigma renders it a bit rough and it lose some of the Omegas body to the sound. The upper midrange can become too much making it a bit uncomfortable to listen to. Both cables share a trait, namely the choking of the sound which can make them sound a bit lacking in warmth and they sound subdued. They donāt let the tones ring as long as the Neotech does. They are stiffer if that makes any sense. The Theta is very rough in comparison and doesnāt sound as good as the Sigma and and Omega.
Both the Sigma and Omega are very good cables but with an exceptionally capable switch such as the one I have they really donāt stand a chance against the Neotech which is much more open sounding. With more flow and natural sound. More air and breath and more energy in all the frequency spectrum. All sounds from voices to instruments sound more lifelike. It is more realistic sounding. The soundstage is also not as subdued as with the Shunyatas.
I also tried the Omega and Sigma from wall to switch and both sound good in that position. However the Omega with its flow, body, blackness and beautiful natural sound made my system sound better than it ever has. A caveat is that I donāt have 2 Neotech and I have a feeling the Neotech is even better since itās better as last leg.
The worst combination was Omega from wall to switch and Sigma from switch to streamer. This combination turned out to make the sound sibilant and very choked.
Sounds like a good partner to Naca5
Geko has SL speaker cables and Dunc?
Which do you prefer? Remember Iām testing the Theta against its more competent siblings so not really fair. It never had a chance.
If Iām reading and understanding correctly,.both you @Lucifer and @Dunc and someone else in the thread are doing it completely wrongā¦
You forget the important āSettle-Timeā with every change of cable.
You must have 100% the same test methodology at every cable changeā¦!!
It is not possible to just change the cable,.start listening immediately, AND think that you will get a 100 percent result from that cableā¦
Itās ridiculous,.it will never happenā¦!!
The cable does not get the right conditions to perform at its optimal level.
Let me take an example of the importance of āSettle-Timeā.
I have a very good and high definition headphone system,.I have been listening to my Sennheiser HD 800S for a few days.
This afternoon I would switch to my Hifiman HE 1000 SE instead.
Both headphones are good,.but the HE 1000SE plays at a significantly higher level in terms of resolution, dynamics, etc.
I switched and started listening right away just to test.
I barely heard any difference between HD 800S and HE 1000SE.
I stopped listening and gave the HE 1000SE a āSettle-Timeā of one hour.
When I came back after an hour and started listening,.it was a completely different level on my HE 1000SE.
The HE 1000 SE was completely superior to my HD 800Sā¦
So much does āSettle-Timeā mean,.and this applies to all cabling in a music system.
Conclusion:
I,.who read these comparisons, cannot draw any conclusions, this as none of the cables have had the opportunity to deliver 100 percent under their optimal conditions.
NOTE: Ideally the āsettle-timeā should be as long as until the next dayā¦
YES,.the difference is heard the next day.
Above just a little tip .
Sure they get better when they have settled. I know this and some cables more than others perhaps. However I think when it comes to Ethernet cables itās less important. It will still settle but the difference shouldnāt be so big so the possibility to change between these cables and still get a valid result I think is quite good. Donāt you agree?
I agree on āSettle-Timeā which I believe is both mechanical and brain settling in. Normally a day is what I prefer at a very minimum to understand the differences between cables (and other equipment). It is easy to draw conclusions to fast otherwise from my experience. I also believe that one listen in a very wrong way when being in āanalyseā mode focusing on say midrange and such. I try to let go of the analyse mode and ālive withā the cable just listening to music. Normally I find the good and bad things with a cable then which I rarely would hear in an analyse mode when your ears can get stuck listening to say only a bass drum and cannot hear the full range and presentation. The difference can often also be more clear if you listen to a cable for 3-4 days before switching back because then your ears are fully used to a certain presentation so when it changes it is much easier to hear what has changed. Often it is not what you expected from the very first AB tests made and Iāve had moments when it was totally different from what I heard when I just switched the cable.
I generally agree but the Omega is massively good in its position from wall to switch and it has been there for a few hours and sounded like this from the start.
I find that with both the Sigma and Omega they sound a bit stressed the first song or something like that. After that all is good. They might improve more if left but sound superb after that initial time and donāt change much the coming hour or so, at least not to my ears.
Peder,
Dunc is waiting for you at home. You will explain him the settle necessity.
But be careful, itās windy today.
What a surprise that Neotech beats omega and sigma
In your system omega / sigma are rough and in duncās system the Neotech is. Nothing rough in my system or gekos ā¦
Iām not sure I understand? Do you mean to say my results are somehow less valid than other results. Iāve now done what I should have done from the beginning. Tested the Sigma and the Omega. They are very good cables and work exemplary from wall to switch but the Neotech is better from switch to streamer.
No offense - but to say that you are not Neotech biased is a bit risky
But your results are fully valid - as are the others.
No the Omega isnāt rough. The Sigma seem to not filter as evenly as the Omega making the upper midrange a bit prominent.
And these (upper midrange) was missing before in my system - why I liked so much with SBL. Sigma brought it backā¦ balance.
What would be in it for me to be Neotech biased. The Neotech cable is a very good cable but needs a better switch than a standard PN and certainly better than an EE8. If anything my result should surprise since I have used Goldnote electronics which are supposed to be laid back, polite and so on.
Yes itās always about balancing different kit and cable to make it sound the way one wants.
I am sure Dan will probably add something.
But i did a 3 cable test today on 3 very different tracks.
Dan or his lad didnāt have a clue what cable was what, and guess what in every test (9 plays) the neotech came last today from them both.
Take as that as you will.
Cheers dunc
Come onā¦ your admiration for this cable is really prominentā¦
So your system or the 6 ears (yours, dans und his lads) must be noisy
Sorry for being bad