Shunyata interconnect cables experience

Cables can be system dependent. I have ARC tube gear and use all Shunyata Zitron Cobra Interconnects with Zitron Anaconda Speaker Cables. They are just wonderful sounding. Similar in sound to Synergistic Research cables. I tried quite a number of cables when I was looking and Shunyata were some of the best I heard. If you Shunyata power cords, than you might want to try their interconnects. Their customer service is also excellent.

Ozzy,

How much of a difference is there between the Sigma V1 and V2? When I compared my Zitron Cobra Interconnects with the Anaconda, I felt the difference was slight. I only got  Anaconda for my speaker cables. I have thought about the Sigma but I have no Shunyata dealer anywhere near. So I would have to buy a pair to try them in my system.

The V2 cables are a revelation. The added silver to the copper hollow tube design elevated the performance unbelievably.  Try a pair of Delta V2 and Alpha V2 from The Cable Company and hear for yourself what they do.

Personally I believe that interconnects don’t have as much effect on the sound as speaker cables. Currently in addition to some other well known brands I am using Shunyata which were a revelation as I always thought of them as a power cable company. Installing a pair of the Comp Sigma 1 speaker cables in my system quickly made me buy a pair of the same interconnects which were also very good but not the game changer the speaker cables were. I should have known better but I borrowed a pair of the Shunyata Comp Sigma 2 speaker cables from the cable company. The Sigma 1’s have a midrange to die for but the top end although good was not quite as as good as the midrange and low end.. The 2’s are disconcerting as they are almost too revealing which I find surprising in a speaker cable. Needless to say, I ended up buying the 2’s but if you find a good deal on the 1’s buy them as they were as good or better than speaker cables I tried and owned that cost quite a bit more.

I had Venoms with my ARC LS 17 SE and Parasound JC5. Excellent interconnect for the $. I make my own now, but those were some of my favorites.

I'm a believer in cable quality for interconnects and somewhat with power but within the digital realm you're mostly chasing ghosts in USB cables given error correction built into the standards and the strength of signal that allows for very, very long runs (on the Ethernet side). 

 All cables matter. I have found that power cables make the most difference. Then speaker cables, ans finally interconnect. I have not try an expensive USB cable yet. But I have a couple of different ones I have had for quite awhile. Some work better than others and I can definitely hear a difference between them. 

The Venom cables were made to fit an inexpensive price point. They are good but nowhere near the sound quality of their regular cables. Shunyata regular line cables are just superb.

Hello jmphotography. The usb cable does make an amazing difference. They carry very high frequency information. Audio interconnects do not. There will not be the stunning difference, but better cables will improve things. Try used ones from Used Cables.com. They have been very helpful to me in my cable education.

Would you recommend Shunyata or Synergistic Research for ARC and Wilson speakers. Thanks

The Sigma IC's are outstanding. I have been at this obsession for almost 50 years and they are the best I have heard -- and I have had many of the greats. Bought one pair of used XLR's for VTL 7.5iii preamp to Krell FPB 300cx amp; in a week I bought another XLR pair for PS Audio DSD Dac to pre. Eerily silent, full bodied and natural cables. Highly recommended.
Neal

I had the Sigma V2 XLRs here for a week from The Cable Company lending library, and they were extremely impressive. They didn’t jive with my system in every respect, but when I went trying out alternatives like an even more expensive Transparent Audio Reference Balanced, I realized that you have to spend way more money with other brands to get the low noise, deep soundstage, detail and dynamics of the Sigma V2. The TA didn’t even come close in terms of overall fidelity, but did have some strengths of its own. I’ve actually never heard anything else with so much detail, dynamics and soundstage, nor with such a deep black background. I’ve never heard any interconnect improve the fidelity of my system to that degree.

If I had one complaint it was that the midrange was a bit recessed and the lower treble was intense and biting in my system. The speed was also sometimes a bit much because all the edges were very sharply defined rather than round or soft. When I went back to my previous Wireworld Platinum Eclipse 8, the WW was better tonally balanced and more relaxed, but so much of that resolution and transparency was lost. The Sigma V2 is just on another level. 

I actually found that even the demo cable changed in sound significantly over 5 days. It’s possible that the tone would have settled even more over an additional week or two. If they are anything like the Sigma V2 power cables, of which I have 3, they take a really long time (weeks) to mellow on the top end because of the silver in the cable.

Nonetheless, I am realizing that it is pretty unlikely that I’m going to find anything that can compete with the Sigma V2 for less than 10k, and I’m just not going there. A $5k set of interconnects is already insane, if a level of insanity I will accept for the audio quality. More than that, I just can’t do. There isn’t a whole lot of buzz or marketing about these cables yet, but if they match well with your system, they are a ridiculously good.

@ianb52 Have you ever tried Purist Audio? I use their Venustas speaker cables and they are dead quiet and very open and big soundstage.

I haven't tried them in my system, but have heard good things. Ive heard they might be a little warmer in their balance than Shunyata. Those and Tara Labs are the only others in this price range that I haven't explored.

I do want to give the Shunyata interconnects a go, but the most I can wrap my head around is the Alpha V2 $$$. I did try a Delta NR V2  pc connected to my integrated. It was nice, but didn’t have much of a step up from the Venom I own. I suspect if it had been plugged into a separate DAC/preamp, there would be more benefit. Same goes with their interconnects I’d imagine.

I agree that these interconnects might be some of the best on the market, but the PCs get all the attention. Supposedly the V2 speaker cables are also very impressive, but starting at $2500, no thanks

If anyone is interested, I have a 1meter pair of Sigma RCA interconnects for sale. I switched to the XLR version. Incredible interconnects!
gfroman@yahoo.com