Nordost Vishnu or Shunyata Copperhead Power Cord

To respond as directly as I can to the question, both of the cables are good. I've never owned the lower-tiered generation of Shunyata, but I've had most of them, from the Black Mamba (first generation) to King Cobra (first generation) and usually have Pythons of each generation up to the Python CX (current) and Black Mamba CX (I also had the Viper - the most recent iteration - before it was replaced by the Black Mamba CX.
For Nordost, I've had Shiva, Vishnu, Brahma and Valhalla (still have the Brahma).
The two lines have different "sounds," generally speaking.
Nordost is usually fast, lean, great transients and details abound. Shunyata has (usually) great body, focus, weight, tonal richness (but not TOO rich, at least as far as in comparison to hearing, say, a trumpet in Carnegie and a trumpet on the recording). Shunyata has an EXTREMELY low noise floor - one of their hallmarks - so that instruments are not surrounded by interstitial matter (grain).
I can't say that I agree with the "we all hear different" comment. I COULD agree with either A), we may hear music in different halls than each other (in which case, it depends on how good your listening venue's acoustics are: Carnegie Hall sounds great -- at least, in the balcony, where I listen from; Davies Hall in San Francisco, where I USED to live: stinks. Maybe they've improved it, but a friend and I, when I wanted to test the acoustics, changed seats at intermission. I had bought first tier AND balcony seat tickets, and so we both heard different compositions on the same night in two different sections. His assessment (he had been a concert pianist) was that the "double bass seemed to disappear" from where he was sitting (pre-intermission). I just found it boring. Davies' highs are the opposite of Carnegie's: there's no airiness in the highs in Davies.
SO, if live music is the reference, combined with venue, then yes, we hear differently. Otherwise, the question is: what's the reference? Our components over the years? That's a poor reference, almost like thinking digital photography is equal to film (not really: it still doesn't "do" 46 shades of green in a be speckled forest. It's lucky to get 6 shades of green in one single photograph). Film will do all the shadings (within the (dynamic) light range it captures, of course).
Shunyata can sound jaw-droppingly "real", period. BUT. I'm talking about its better cords. Can't speak for the copperhead. The Vishnu, on the other hand, is a very decent cord, but, like the Shiva, still very lean. (I wouldn't use Shiva again if you GAVE it to me. Waaay too lean, and I had an entire system of both Shivas and Pythons simultaneously. Many cable that are lean are "fast"-sound, because they leave off the "body" of the instrument. Think of a room filled with 100 Kate Moss(es) and then 10 0Cindy Crawfords. You can see further "into" the room with a lot of stick figures OR you can see not QUITE as far, but there's more there "there." Moss: Nordost. Crawford: Shunyata. Both valid approaches. I'll take Shunyata.
Conversely, when I moved East and reassembled a new stereo in 2003, I had Quattro Fils interconnects, Shunyata Andromeda speaker cable and Python and King Cobra (V2s, not V1s). My opera singer friend, who'd heard the system before and wasn't much moved (the amp he'd heard it with, previously, was the Marsh A400. This time it was the Antique Sound Lab Hurricanes) was now dazzled (part of this was the Hurricanes, but everything else had to be doing its part, remember, or he wouldn't have heard what he heard). He kept saying on Bill Evan's Waltz for Debby, "I can SEE the drummer. He's RIGHT THERE, RIGHT NEXT TO YOUR DRYER! RIGHT NEXT TO IT!!!" So, even with ONLY Nordost interconnects and everything else Shunyata, it was still dazzling. It's not really a contradiction, it's just that even with a combined loom, it could still sound "right there, right now." (That was, by the way, the most REAL my system EVER sounded, but you know what? It was the fact that the basement, where the system was, at that time, was 23' wide and 46' long (the length of my mother's ranch house). In other words, wider rooms (with Tube Traps and covering the concrete walls -- which harden sound, so the delicacy disappears -- everywhere) allow better sound reproduction. So, it's not just the components, I'm afraid. It's also the room.
Still, for me? Shunyata

P.S. Brahma is ALSO a great cord. I'm a Shunyata fan, but the Brahma is an excellent cord as well. My post must have posted immediately after you posted, because your comment about trying out the Brahma wasn't there when I started writing this (shows how long-winded my posts are). I could suggest Brahma, but I would NOT go lower in the Nordost line. I would also then suggest you audition the Python CX power cord. The lower line of Shunyata compared to a Brahma is NOT a fair comparison, no matter how good the Shunyata's lower line is. Brahma vs. Python? That's a more level playing field.

Hi Ken/Gbmcleod: First of Ken I've just looked at your system - great taste. Gbmcleod - thanks for adding your voice to this topic, as it's always nicer to hear from people whom have actually owned/listened to something in question as opposed to someone chiming in whom doesn't have a clue on what's going on. As mentioned I'm trying to rotate a single power cord between my two different Integrateds ones Solid State while the other is Tube based, and having done the math - I'm not affair to invest in a $1.500 power cord in the least, as I'd rather do it right the first time around and be content. I'll certainly be taking into account what you've added as well, as it appears I've to set my sights a little bit higher............, so I shall. Here's wishing you and yours a pleasant Hoilday as well. And both of you guys have been very very helpful to say the least. Regards, Oscar

I hadn't seen Ken's system when I wrote this. I like his components and share a few of them: the Quantum units and, as previously mentioned have had the Vishnu power cord. My system is a First Sound Deluxe MK 1 1/2 (I haven't fully upgraded to a Mk II or MK III THIS time around (I had a Mk II before, but sold it), ASL Hurricanes, Odyssey Khartago amps, Shunyata Andromeda speaker cable (their first generation speaker cable), Alpha Core Goertz AG 2, Shunyata Gemini, and, until a year ago, Transparent Audio Ultra MM2 (also a killer speaker cable!), Shunyata Python CX power cords (4) and Black Mamba CX (1), Arcam FMJ 23 CD player, Sony DVS 9000 (with so many letters after it, I can't even recall them all) SACD player, JVC 1050 (still a phenomenal player and one that showed that the CLOCK in a CD player made all the difference and trust me, it can sound QUITE realistic for a $700 player), a Teres turntable (I think it's the 135, which they don't make anymore), Nordost Quattro Fil, Tyr and Valhalla interconnects, Shunyata Aries interconnects (with WBT connectors), Finite Elemente Spider equipment rack. Nordost Sort Kones....oh, right, speakers: Hales Revelation 3, Alon Viper Plus (alnico magnets on tweeter and mid drivers), Mirage 490s, Sequerra 7.7, Usher 718 (non-BE) and a few others, including Nola Thunderbolt subwoofers. And 6,000,000 tube traps. Only slightly joking here. The room is constructed with ASC's Iso-Wall Damp system throughout.
Heading over towards acquiring Magnepans if only because it would be great to have a non-cone speaker, and because the 1.7/3.7 are reference-quality speakers and they sound like the actual instruments as I hear them live. I think I can make them sound superior to what I've heard in dealer showrooms, but then I don't have to keep 8 difference sets of speakers in the same room (not good for the sound) and owned enough top-tiered stuff in the past (Watt/Puppies, Versa Dynamics 2.3 turntable, Goldmund Mimesis 9, to name a few) and wrote for a couple of mags (TAS briefly -- VERY briefly) Fi, and Ultra Audio, that I think I can reliably tell the difference between what sounds good to me (we can ALL be fooled by some aspect of sound dazzling us) and what sounds more real (meaning, has 7 out of 10 qualities that one experiences live as opposed to 4 out of 10 qualities one experiences live. (Especially bass "slam" which seems to knock some people out of the park so far that they ignore things like grain, and worst of all, assuming that fullness of tone is a "tubey sounding attribute. It is not, unless you don't hear instruments in person, only thru equipment)

Just getting back to this now as the holiday kept me otherwise occupied. Thanks for the compliments about my system guys.

In terms of the Vishnu being thin, I think it depends on which direction one is heading. If using cords at or below the Vishnu's retail price, I suspect one won't consider the Vishnu thin at all. The increase in low end weight was one of the improvements that most impressed me about the Vishnu. That quality improves dramatically as you move up to the Brahma, of course. I'd expect this would be true for just about any manufacturer's power cord when moving up to one that costs around twice as much.

Interesting comments about the Shunyata cords Gbmcleod. If I wasn't already so heavily invested in Nordost & Quantum products, Shunyata cords would be at the top of my list.

Gbmcleod mentioned the Magnepan 1.7/3.7. A friend upgraded from the 3.6 to the 3.7 not too long ago. The 3.7 was a huge upgrade from the 3.6. The 3.6 couldn't disappear - all too often the drivers would call attention to themselves. The 3.7 disappears completely. I'd say that the 3.7's greatest strength is treble and midrange purity. The treble in particular is excellent. Ultimately though, I could not live with the 3.7s due to how it performs in the lower frequencies - unless maybe I added a pair of subs. The 3.7 certainly lets you know low bass is present in recordings, but it does not deliver the weight I'd expect to hear in real life as very little air is moved. This may be partly due to my friend's electronics or cabling, or the fact that he tends to listen at moderate volume levels. I'm a drummer and get easily distracted when drums aren't properly reproduced. Bass drums just don't sound right to me from the 3.7s. I hear the frequencies that suggest a certain size bass drum, but the heft I'd expect to hear from that drum just doesn't follow. The beater hitting the head doesn't carry the weight I'd expect either, particularly at lower volume levels. I'm guessing a pair of subs would remedy this. Or maybe a full loom of Brahma. :-)