DH Labs - Shunyata Cable Comparison

Here's a good Audiogon thread read from 2017:  Recording engineers - cable?

One correction from my post.

I don’t mean to suggest that simply being young means that people haven’t heard - or aren’t interested in - listening carefully (although it certainly sounds that way on re-reading it). I’m saying there are fewer opportunities to hear live music that isn’t amplified in some way, in a way that was never an issue 50 or 60 years ago, when I was in high school. You’d go to a friend’s house and he had piano practice, or tuba lessons (back then, I used to feel sorry for buddies who had to learn to play tuba). But many of us from that era knew one or two people whose parents forced them into music lessons, so sometimes you heard them playing piano from 10 feet away. We got a LOT more exposure to acoustic music and instruments (there wasn’t much else back then!) than nowadays.

I also respect megabyte’s comments, because he’s actually listened. He says he just didn’t hear it in the cables, and I believe him. I can respect anyone who has done the work and THEN says, I couldn’t hear it, but most of the time, on these forums, that is not the case. (Just ask someone challenging you about cables, what type of music they listen to, and it seems that it is rarely acoustic music (which includes rock!).People just seem to prefer to believe the entire field is snake oil (and that we can’t hear, which I find hilarious since I’m old and yet, I can still hear overtone structures of, say, pianos or harpsichords) , and those same people make disparaging comments, but again, without ANY experience. I have ZERO respect for those comments and the people behind those comments (but only on this subject).

My husband told me last year that he had no idea what ’dynamic range’ was until I took him to the symphony and we heard Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and another weekend, Stravinsky’s Firebird. After that, he got it when I explained that, in audio, some equipment will play only the medium-loud notes, but when it comes to softer notes (Piano to pianissimo), or even the big crescendos, the equipment can’t deliver.

And actually, classical music wasn’t something he’d been exposed to all that much. Once we started going to the symphony, that changed, and I would point out certain things, like staccato or legato (after the symphony, not during it!). Now he understands what I mean when I say I want to hear a piece of music at the symphony, and he’s begun to enjoy going to it.

The audiophile stuff (e.g. imaging, soundstage, specificity of image) are not things he’ll get, since he doesn’t listen to music that often at home, but the musical part of music? He can appreciate that, and appreciates our home system more. And that’s good enough for me.

And, finally, an anecdote about cables.

Back in 2013, when I bought Nordost’s Tyr 2 inteconnect and upgraded the speaker cable, a friend of mine came through on his way to Boston. He’s a conductor for a major symphony orchestra (not saying which one, because I’m not dragging him into it). He listened to my system and then turned to me - unprompted - and said that the hadn’t heard this much harmonic information from my system prior to now. That was strictly the Nordost interconnects and Shunyata’s speaker cable. He heard the improvements clearly, even though he had no idea what had changed, and he hadn’t heard my system in year or two. But he’s got very well-trained ears, I think we can agree.

So, a lot of this is down to experience and knowledge. Just like in any field where someone is required to know a subject in depth before passing judgement on it.

OP: teach me something here. Don't your electronics hugely overmatch your little Harbeths? You did call this a "bakground" system -- does this mean you also maintain a separate "monster" system?

@hickamore 

I didn’t say it was a background system. I said as background I am specifying the system. 
 

The Harbeths are certainly not overmatched. It is recommended that you give them as much power as possible. They are neutral, very smooth in the upper frequencies and the most life like in the presentation of acoustic and vocal music. Plus they deliver excellent low end response as they are only down 3db at 45 hz. I sold my two REL subs. Also  my room is not large and I sit about 8 feet from the speakers 

@jfrmusic 

I enjoyed reading your findings and thanks for posting. DH Labs offers good performance at reasonable prices. As I recall, DH Labs was my first aftermarket power cord about 20 years ago. I really enjoyed building my own power cables with wattgate plugs. DH Labs used to sell bulk power cable for DIY’s, not sure if they still do. They were eventually replaced by Purist Audio Musaeus Loom :-) 

Just ignore the cable detractors and enjoy the music and your journey.