Shunyata rocks again
Thank you sbnx and LL21 for your comments! Well done sbnx on the test! Great test, isn't it.
The 20m? difference is easily heard because it affects the entire panel range. I was going to experiment with another 20m? increase, but the package of resistors was not delivered today, though the Post Office says it is. Oh well, I will have to wait a little longer.
Meantime, this post is going to be about Shunyata and the Venom NR V12 power cord, which offers noise reduction (per their claims) of >12dB @ 1MHz, like all the rest in the current high-end lineup.
To me, audiophile power cords are, for the most part, a scam. To consider any one of them, they must meet certain basic criteria:
1) Fully shielded
2) Extremely fast high-current delivery
3) Must trap and reduce noise
4) Must not take anything away
5) Only copper need apply
6) They must be backed by scientific evidence
So I bought one of them to plug into my heavily modified Alpha DAC, and to make a long story short, the Alpha + V12 NR + Shunyata Venom interconnects eat the Yggy2 + Shunyata CX + MIT interconnects for lunch. The power cord is the only change, and is solely responsible for elevating this Alpha DAC above the Yggy as configured, plain and simple. The increase is speed and dynamic headroom is phenomenal, quite evident with brass and drums, with micro-dynamics shockingly good and in horn territory. Let me be clear about this: the dynamic headroom alone - as evidenced by powerful drum hits - in this Alpha configuration easily surpasses the Yggy2's, which is one of its fortes. Bass is also obviously tighter, and the midrange clearer. And I am not even comparing HDCD here.
From the very first few seconds, it was quite evident that this cord does meet all the criteria, and better than the CX. The interesting thing is that it enabled me to raise the volume level on the Alpha a whole 1dB w/o additional distortion, to 52.5, where it level-matches the Yggy2 down to 1mV - therefore, I can easily A/B things in the preamp. And at that level, this modified Alpha outperforms and outclasses the Yggy2 in just about everything. The Yggy2 does maintain a little more meat on the bones in the midrange.
One obvious question is: did I swap interconnects? Yes, I did, no discernible change. The next obvious question is: did I try the V12 on the Yggy2 - not yet, I am awaiting a cord for itself, to A/B on the preamp. The hope is that it will elevate the Yggy2 higher again.
The older Shunyata CX are very good, but they have been surpassed; so I am going all-in, for all source components. Interestingly enough, I use the same CX on the Spectral amps and preamp, and they do not appear to "respond" to the V12, which means, they already reject noise really well internally.
I've always thought Shunyata are the only game in town when it comes to power, and to me, this is still the case with the current line-up, exactly because they manage noise while leaving everything else alone. Let it also be known that I was not a fan of the original ?-tron products, but that's history now. The original CX patent - by some university professor - was quite the advancement, but technology does eventually improve; and that's great.
Frankly, I never thought I would write a post about a power cord...
-ack