ricred1, I just don’t think you can know what you’re listening to without sufficient burnin of all the cables. It’s one thing to get a general sense of a cable 2 to 24-36 hours in, which I’m able to do (HP also used to say something similar), but with the kind of system and the price of these cables, you do yourself a disservice with this kind of quick judgment.
I first heard of the Sigma cables from this article: http://donaldscarinci.com/three-best-power-cords-audiophile-sound/. I hadn’t been thinking about Shunyata since a few years back I found its much ballyhooed Venom model to be more low-end tricks than quality sound in my desktop system. Over the past year in my living room system - lots of PS Audio, Oppo 203 and ATC SCM19A actives, I’ve used or auditioned a number of power cables: HiDiamond P3/P4, Snake River Cottonmouth, Sablon Reserva, Triode Wire Labs Digital Americans, HC version and Obsession, and counterfeit PS Audio AC-12’s (!). Each model/brand has its strengths and all affect the system’s sound very differently than the next. The differences are readily apparent, no blind testing needed. This week, in the first 24-48 hours since receiving genuine AC-12’s (5 cords), there’s been no question that overall they are in a different league in my system than the others. However, I would never compare them directly to something similar or better without a full burn in. There’s too much change in tone, tonal balance, "temperature," sound stage, etc., that occurs during the first three weeks or so to know for sure what one has. Why set up the possibility of buyer’s remorse from a decision made too quickly.
About the Sigma, a number of users elsewhere have commented that the Sigma Analog was the superior cord for just about all applications, that is, before the introduction of the NR. They noted that the High Current model was overkill for all but truly high current needs. It seems Shunyata consolidated the line from three models - HC, Analog, Digital - to one. It'll be interesting to see if that's a good thing for sound with different kinds of components. It's definitely not good for customers' pocket books.
I first heard of the Sigma cables from this article: http://donaldscarinci.com/three-best-power-cords-audiophile-sound/. I hadn’t been thinking about Shunyata since a few years back I found its much ballyhooed Venom model to be more low-end tricks than quality sound in my desktop system. Over the past year in my living room system - lots of PS Audio, Oppo 203 and ATC SCM19A actives, I’ve used or auditioned a number of power cables: HiDiamond P3/P4, Snake River Cottonmouth, Sablon Reserva, Triode Wire Labs Digital Americans, HC version and Obsession, and counterfeit PS Audio AC-12’s (!). Each model/brand has its strengths and all affect the system’s sound very differently than the next. The differences are readily apparent, no blind testing needed. This week, in the first 24-48 hours since receiving genuine AC-12’s (5 cords), there’s been no question that overall they are in a different league in my system than the others. However, I would never compare them directly to something similar or better without a full burn in. There’s too much change in tone, tonal balance, "temperature," sound stage, etc., that occurs during the first three weeks or so to know for sure what one has. Why set up the possibility of buyer’s remorse from a decision made too quickly.
About the Sigma, a number of users elsewhere have commented that the Sigma Analog was the superior cord for just about all applications, that is, before the introduction of the NR. They noted that the High Current model was overkill for all but truly high current needs. It seems Shunyata consolidated the line from three models - HC, Analog, Digital - to one. It'll be interesting to see if that's a good thing for sound with different kinds of components. It's definitely not good for customers' pocket books.