I just compared the Shunyata Antares, to Transparent Reference w. XL tech as interconnects between a VTL 7.5 preamp & MB 750 amp. I used different CDs/SACDs for the comparison & did it by switching cables back & forth repeatedly. I am very familiar w. both cables but the Shunyata have about 100 hours on them, maybe more. The transparent were in my system for years & now have been sold to a friend. The comparison did more to prove similarities than differences. If you were to just say what percent difference they have between each other I would say they are maybe 30% different. They are both excellent cables and do some very special things.
The Transparent has more weight in the bass & more dimensionality to images. The treble is a little dry / brittle. The body of the instruments and the sense of space is well communicated. The sense of space of the recording is well communicated.
The Shunyata Antares has a tad more speed but just a tad. The treble is more natural and has a sweetness that compares to silver in many ways. The instruments are a little smaller and the bass is a little lean - but just a little.
On the whole I would say I prefer..... probably the next level up in Transparent w. the MM tech. I might not have noticed all of the benefits of the Shunyata cables in my system as my speaker cables are Transparent Reference XL w. MM tech. It might have limited certain aspects of the reproduction. My system is full range so I can hear full bass delineation etc.
As for Transparent, the newer line w. MM tech has improved treble and a more natural sound. Taking into account the differences between my MM tech speaker cables compared to the earlier versions I would expect the upper level Transparent to be very very good.
Now for the final question, just how do Siltech and Purist compare at the top end. After that I am done w. my shoot outs and settle on final choices. If you choose the Shunyata you get one of the world best cables, especially for the price. Transparent gets component specific at the upper levels. Something I don't like as it stops my endless merry go round of component switching, or at least complicates it. On a final note, I still feel power cables make more of a difference than interconnects. At least in my system.
