Don't forget their power conditioners! Shunyatas signal cables have not received the same universal acclaim as their power products. As someone who uses their signal cables, along with some of their power products, I must admit that this is a bit of a mystery to me, as I find them to be very good. The interconnects I use are Aries S from their original constellation series. These are the shielded version of the Aries. I also use Gemini speaker cables from their second generation series of signal cables. While these cables ,the original constellation series in particular, received some excellent reviews from the mainstream press, most feel, although they are quite good, they don't match the performance of their power products and are overpriced. There have been much fewer reviews of their subsequent signal cable releases. I'm not sure why that is. Each new series, they are on their third series now, have progressed ,in quality and performance, and accordingly in price. The general buzz, and the opinion of my dealer is that the new Aeros series are world class and will compete with the very best cables on the market, but their prices are extraordinarily high, when compared to their power products. There are more expensive cables out there for sure, some much more expensive, but most of the companies that produce these mega buck designs also make less expensive entry level products as well. The Shunyata line only consists of three models each for the speaker and interconnect cables, with even the entry level models carrying a fairly hefty price tag. Unlike some hi-end cable manufacturers however, Shunyata seems better able to justify the pricing of their signal cables with the amount of research and testing they do, the custom made conductors,(no off the shelf wire), an advanced cryogenic process, and the painstakingly complex and time consuming hand assembly of their speaker and interconnect cables with very complex helix braids. All of this info is of course available from the company's website, and I don't want to sound like a commercial for Shunyata. So how do they sound?
Extremely neutral, to be blunt. Lots of companies claim that their cables are neutral but I haven't heard any that are as truly neutral as the Shunyata cables.Their signal cables are not tone controls like so many of the mega buck cables of today. This may have something to do with their not enjoying the same position in the market as their power cords. If there is anything upstream in your system that isn't right these cables will let you know. If that certain recording is less than state of the art these cables will let you know. No sugar coating, no covering up of the truth. Possibly in the majority of systems today this is an unwanted characteristic. I mean no one wants to be reminded, every time they listen to their system, that there is some glaring deficiencies. Also their cables tend to be very well balanced. This can sometimes have the effect of making their cables sound plain or uninvolving in a short audition. The type of audition usually undertaken by a customer when looking for cables. Long term use will reveal that the cables are in actuality very well balanced. They do dynamics very well, but probably not as well as some cables. They reproduce soudstage and depth cues very well, but possibly not as well as some cables. They allow you to hear fine detail very well but maybe not as well as some cables. I think you get the message, that as an overall performer they are much more balanced than the majority of the competition. If your system is well thought out and put together and free of any glaring weaknesses the Shunyata Research cables should perform extremely well in your system. Since the introduction of the new Aeros series excellent deals are now available on their second generation Constellation series cables, Altair, and Antares interconnects along with Gemini,and Andromeda speaker cables, both new, demo and used. If you are not afraid to hear what your components and loudspeakers really sound like then I think the Shunyata Research signal cables make an excellent choice. I have owned cables from many of todays most respected cable manufactures, including upper end Cardas, and Harmonic Technology, Kimber Select, and so on, and I won't be selling my Shunyata cables anytime soon. Of course it is important to point out that signal cables are always very system dependent. Just because one make or model of cables works well in one system does not guarantee that they will work well in another, especially if the type of components are very different, say one system being completely solid state as opposed to the other being say, flea powered SET driven ,with hi efficiency horn loaded loudspeakers. Always do everything possible to attain an in home audition with your own system before committing to a purchase.
