Shunyata Interconnects

[Sampajanna]

This will come as no surprise to many here. I recently moved my Horizon to a new, higher shelf to make room for my new turntable. This is my first foray into analogue and am loving it so far, but that is another story…. I shoot directly out of the Horizon dac into my mono amps. After moving the Horizon, my shunyata interconnects were too short. I ordered longer ones (Sigma). In the meantime, I got some pur silver Audioquest interconnects a dealer had at the right price/length. I noticed some change in sound making this shift, but was so engaged with dialing in analogue/vinyl I let that stay in the background. Cut forward a week or two and the Sigma interconnects came. A buddy was visiting who is NOT an audiophile at all but will listen. We installed the Shunyata and he exclaimed “That is not a small difference.” The all silver AUdioquest cables were so, so much leaner. They did perhaps have a bit more clarity but were significantly leaner, with less bloom and a much smaller soundstage. The difference was indeed not small at all. The Shunyata are lush, bold and have thicker bass and a much bigger soundstage—truly moving the posts about a perceptual .5 meter… In my system the Shunyata were the clear winners and they aren’t even broken in yet….

 

[Lee]

You should hear the Omega line. OMG.

 

[Sampajanna]

Would love to. A little outside my spending priorities atm. I am sure they are epic though. I just have some other fish to fry first. Sigma seems to be a relative sweet spot. I use lots of alpha power cables as well for some gear and that also seems to be a price/performance sweet spot

 

[MusicFellow]

Would love to. A little outside my spending priorities atm. I am sure they are epic though. I just have some other fish to fry first. Sigma seems to be a relative sweet spot. I use lots of alpha power cables as well for some gear and that also seems to be a price/performance sweet spot

Hi there,

I have a Sigma v2 XLR between DAC and preamp. A really excellent cable - in general and also value for the money. I also had the privilege to try out the Omega XLRs a couple of weeks ago and well … yeahhh.. how shall I put it: They are clearly better (different league even): More presence, more energy, less grainy / harsh (also it‘s a bit bold to call the Sigmas grainy). I will order those once I have the necessary funds and move the Sigma v2 between preamp and monos.

So if you can afford to wait a bit and save the extra funds it‘s highly recommended in my view to swing for the Omegas!

PS: I also have both Sigma v2 and Omega power cords and would say that the difference between the two lines is even more profound with the XLRs than the powercords.

 

[Sampajanna]

Thanks for the advice! I will try to get some at some point to try

 

[SCAudiophile]

I own a QR-S powercord and will be adding a second this year. I also have owned the two Sigma v2 AES, then two Omega AES, plus three each of Sigma v1 and later v2 Clock-50 cables. I upgraded to three Omega Clock-50 cables when they came out after a few great years with the Sigma v1 and v2 Clock-50...

I also have had Alpha v2, Sigma v1 and v2 powercords in the system for extended periods of time. At each price point they are fiercely competitive and excellent.

I recently demoed a pair of Shunyata Omega XLRs and frankly they are excellent and quite possibly the most linear, neutral analog XLR cable I've ever run in over 30 years. Like the Sigma and especially Omega digital line, just plain wow/outstanding...

I am contemplating a 6m and 1.5m pair of the Omega XLR to enter the system later this year however; need to replenish sheckles first, as late 2020, and then 21, 22 and 23 have all seen alot of spend on the system and the music collection. The wallet is a cryin' !!!

 

[MusicFellow]

I own a QR-S powercord and will be adding a second this year. I also have owned the two Sigma v2 AES, then two Omega AES, plus three each of Sigma v1 and later v2 Clock-50 cables. I upgraded to three Omega Clock-50 cables when they came out after a few great years with the Sigma v1 and v2 Clock-50...

I also have had Alpha v2, Sigma v1 and v2 powercords in the system for extended periods of time. At each price point they are fiercely competitive and excellent.

I recently demoed a pair of Shunyata Omega XLRs and frankly they are excellent and quite possibly the most linear, neutral analog XLR cable I've ever run in over 30 years. Like the Sigma and especially Omega digital line, just plain wow/outstanding...

I am contemplating a 6m and 1.5m pair of the Omega XLR to enter the system later this year however; need to replenish sheckles first, as late 2020, and then 21, 22 and 23 have all seen alot of spend on the system and the music collection. The wallet is a cryin' !!!

I feel for you regarding the funds necessary to upgrade to Omega XLRs. Although, with those you should be well equipped for at least the next 5 years with SOTA performance and comparing to other upgrades including expensive components I think they are outstanding value for the money despite being rather pricey!
So, if you are contemplating about buying two pairs, consider me the angel (or was it the devil?!) on your shoulder that whispers: Do it, DOOOO IT!! Worked for me…

 

[craigr]

I learned something last week regarding Shunyata interconnects that I found interesting and reflective of the care and attention to "detail" that Galen employs in his designs. In considering a potential "upgrade" to my preamp, I looked at a used D'Agostino Momentum preamp. This preamp has ONLY XLR connections. My phono amp is single ended (RCA). I spoke with Richard at Shunyata asking whether they could "re-terminate" my existing Omega RCA phono amp interconnect to accommodate an XLR at one end. Richard said "no", and continued to explain that they could not even make a RCA->XLR cable because Galen uses "different conductors" for the RCA vs XLR cables, even within the same series, e.g. alpha, sigma, omega Apparently, Galen felt that to achieve the best sound, he needed to "match" the conductor (not just the gauge or type of wire although Richard did not specify exactly what differed) with the "connector". Perhaps this "special sauce" is why Shunyata cables are so outstanding in terms of their sound and presentation. Just a thought and interesting "fact."

 

[MarkusBarkus]

...impedance matching?

 

[SCAudiophile]

I learned something last week regarding Shunyata interconnects that I found interesting and reflective of the care and attention to "detail" that Galen employs in his designs. In considering a potential "upgrade" to my preamp, I looked at a used D'Agostino Momentum preamp. This preamp has ONLY XLR connections. My phono amp is single ended (RCA). I spoke with Richard at Shunyata asking whether they could "re-terminate" my existing Omega RCA phono amp interconnect to accommodate an XLR at one end. Richard said "no", and continued to explain that they could not even make a RCA->XLR cable because Galen uses "different conductors" for the RCA vs XLR cables, even within the same series, e.g. alpha, sigma, omega Apparently, Galen felt that to achieve the best sound, he needed to "match" the conductor (not just the gauge or type of wire although Richard did not specify exactly what differed) with the "connector". Perhaps this "special sauce" is why Shunyata cables are so outstanding in terms of their sound and presentation. Just a thought and interesting "fact."

Great post and I definitely agree...

Caelin is very particular and chases down every thing that will make a difference...

 

[SCAudiophile]

I feel for you regarding the funds necessary to upgrade to Omega XLRs. Although, with those you should be well equipped for at least the next 5 years with SOTA performance and comparing to other upgrades including expensive components I think they are outstanding value for the money despite being rather pricey!
So, if you are contemplating about buying two pairs, consider me the angel (or was it the devil?!) on your shoulder that whispers: Do it, DOOOO IT!! Worked for me…

Thanks.....I think the old adage about an angel on one shoulder whispering and a devil on the other also whispering applies!

 

[Jpspock]

I would like to test a bnc Omega cable, but it seems that burn in is very long, more than 400h… is it true ? And burn in is it progressive, or do you have back and forward ?

 

[SCAudiophile]

I would like to test a bnc Omega cable, but it seems that burn in is very long, more than 400h… is it true ? And burn in is it progressive, or do you have back and forward ?

Burn in for me was progressive and I don't recall any setbacks/regressions. Due to the KPIP process helping the initial hours of break in, they will sound quite good out of the box (if brand new) and then start to manifest themselves more after 1-4 days (what happened here, others may differ in opinion). There were consistent improvements day over day for the first 100 or so hours and then it was more subtle. Somewhere between 275-325 hours or so the cable seemed to reach its full potential. Others may differ with this and this is only what I experienced here with the power cords, XLR interconnects, AES and CLOCK-50s to a greater or lesser degree each. The CLOCK-50s seemed to mature more quickly however there is no way to put a numeric amount to that as it's been awhile since i bought those.

 

[Jpspock]

Many thanks for your explanations. I hope to have soon the possibility to try one. As I know you are a clock specialist , and other things too, can you tell what are the main characteristics that push your choice to Omega ?

 

[SCAudiophile]

I've owned a long list of high-end 50-ohm and in the distant past, 75-ohm cables for clock connections, additionally more 75-ohm S/PDIF and 110-ohm AES cables for both HT and 2ch purposes.

Omega has given me, hands down, the most musically accurate, natural, tonally accurate and dynamic results while also checking every audiophile box I know of for imaging, soundstaging, etc.

I'm sure there may be other great 50-ohm cables out there (or 110-ohm AES) that I have not tried that are equally excellent, however, of a very long list of medium to high priced contenders that I know well, these are top of the list.