I’ll be brief. I finally had the opportunity to try a Shunyata mid-range mains power cable in my system which is the Alpha-X NR. Although the listening is only for two days, the experience has proven to be a revelation.
The Alpha-X NR is currently one of the costliest mains power cable which I own and I can only imagine how much better the Sigma-X and Omega-X will be although there is no plan to go there mainly due to the cost. I would recommend these cables to anyone who has a good system. If you can borrow one to try, that would be good. The difference is immediate and easy to hear, and it will likely bring a profound impact to the system.
The Shunyata is currently on my Luxman integrated amp. Familiar music which doesn’t sound good now sounds great. The most noticeable difference is the clarity in music. Overall improved clarity especially with tracks which sounded warm and congested in the midrange. The muddiness is all gone. Previously when when turning up the volume the muddiness just got worse and there’s a limit on how loud one can go. This does not apply with the Shunyata installed. I’ve tried turning the volume up much louder than before to ridiculous levels and the sound remains crystal clear without any smearing. No exaggeration. All the notes are intact retaining their shape and the clarity and dynamics are improved as well. It’s like looking through a clearer window that has been thoroughly cleaned.
The Luxman L-590AXII isn’t as soft or wooly sounding as I thought of earlier. Who would expect that a mains power cable is restricting the full potential of the amp. I’ll try the Shunyata on one of the Naim component in due time though I would have to figure out where should I stick it since there are three components with the Naim (HicapDR on 282, 250DR and NAPSC2). Also, I hope it would transform the Gryphon Diablo 300 when it’s back from repair.
@ryder Im glad you got the opportunity to use the Shunyata in your system. It’s like a component upgrade. Almost my whole system is wired with Shunyata. Power distribution is via Shunyata. Have fun Ryder!
Thanks. Good to hear your whole system is wired with Shunyata and the power distribution is also via Shunyata. I don’t think there will be a full revamp with the power cables and distribution in my system as I’ve spent a lot of money on mains power cables previously, and I’ve got a new Furutech power distributor on the way mainly for the Naim. The single Alpha- X NR is good enough as it has brought a significant impact to the system.
I agree it’s a component upgrade with the Shunyata. Currently listening to music while typing this. Better late than never.
I use the Venom PS-10 power distributor, which comes with a built in power cord. I also have a Venom power cord, which powers my Nagra Classic Amp. My other power cord is a LFD, it powers my Lumin P1 streamer/pre.
I guess I will mention that I use an upgraded power outlet where the Venom plugs into.
This is a Synergistic Research Tesla plex outlet.
The result is quite good over the ones that come in the box, but these are not uber expensive.
That’s a shame. IIRC, the same Melco cable is also used for the JPS-100 speaker cable. To date, it’s the most similar cable I’ve come across to NAC-A5 in terms of strand count and gauge. Cost-wise, the power lead is more than a Powerline Lite but less than a Powerline.
I very much doubt it’s comparable to something more exotic like the Shunyata but it would have formed a good baseline for comparison.
Big Shunyata fan here. Have the Sigma-X XC between the wall and my Shunyata Everest 8000 and a Shunyata-X NR on my Manley Neo-Classic. Was using the latter on my 300DR but as I moved it behind the rack I had to give it my longer Atlas EOS Superior cable.
Whilst I don’t have anything so fancy in my system, I have come to the conclusion that of all cable upgrades, power cables seem to have the most effect.
I’ve done some experiments and I haven’t always liked the more expensive options but the difference is unmistakable and very significant. Even changing the power cable on a power supply on a NAS completely changed the whole sound of the system. (Naim Powerline Lite vs Chord Epic). As it happened I preferred the Powerline Lite in this case but I was still amazed.
Yes, same experience. Power cables bring the most significant impact in my system, interconnects and speaker cables not so much although the costliest cable in my system is a pair of balanced XLR interconnects.
I have to add one more super enthusiastic vote for Shunyata here. For the longest time, I thought Naim boxes were just too particular about power. I tried a lot of third-party power cables and kept going back to the Powerline out of disappointment. I even tried the Shunyata Gamma and Theta lines and wasn’t particularly impressed with them on my NC gear.
But I had the same realization when I finally moved up to the Alpha and, now, the Sigma-X. That’s when I truly appreciated what a high end power cable can do for Naim. It’s an absolutely incredible upgrade over the Powerline - at multiples of the price, of course, but entirely worth it.
The results are rather conclusive after I swapped from the Shunyata Alpha-X NR to the Furutech DPS4.1 on the Luxman integrated. Everything else remains the same. In short summary, the magic is gone. Longer summary below.
Furutech DPS4.1
Sound is more dense, less detailed, less expansive, less 3-dimensional and slightly smaller soundstage. Bass sounds slightly more punchy and impactful but magic is gone. With Ken Navarro music, there is a certain thickness causing guitars to sound like a lump of mud.
Shunyata Alpha-X NR
The opposite of the above. Overall sound is more open, more expansive, more 3-dimensional, more detailed and revealing all the layers and nuance in the music particularly in the midrange and bass. Bass sounds slightly leaner and lighter but more detailed and layered unlike the DPS4.1 lump of mud(exaggerated description) masking the detail and nuance in the music. The Shunyata made the Furutech sound slightly muddy and congested in the midrange.
A note is the DPS4.1 is already considered to be rather top in the Furutech line and is a good cable. If it’s a lower range Furutech such as TCS31 or lower, the difference would be even more remarkable as music will sound even warmer, more congested and less open and detailed (I have made the comparison several years ago).
It’s always good to have a full loom of the same make, and let the traits /DNAetc rounds from head to tail .. you will be very happy w the synergy.. and the $$ spent..
I’m not prepared to make any drastic change but the future is uncertain.
time will tell
