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Shunyata Research
Power Snakes AC Power Cables
PowerSnakes AC Cords from Shunyata Research changed my perception
of what to expect from an AC cable. Uh, oh, I hear you say,
not another AC cord! Yes, there is indeed an over abundance
of power cords on the market these days, and I need another
cable line like I need a hole in the head. Yet, I’ve
always been open to sampling new offerings so, after a very
enthusiastic recommendation from a trusted source, I decided
to give them a go.
Caelin Gabriel
of Shunyata research, a congenial and very understated fellow,
arranged to send me the three cables his company produces.
A few days later I received the Mamba, Black Mamba
and King Cobra (fortunately not the biting varieties,
though every bit as sinister, as you soon will read).
Immediately upon
connection I was amazed at what I was hearing - FAR more
detail, greater clarity and resolution, a much quieter background.
Shockingly, the
improvements I’ve just described occurred before
the power cords were connected to the components - they
were simply plugged into the wall! No, I am not kidding,
and no I haven’t lost my mind (though not everyone
around here will agree with that!). Caelin had faxed me
some information describing the design philosophy of his
power cords prior to their arrival. In it, he pointed out
that the PowerSnakes actually absorb power line noise,
improving the sound of any component on that circuit. Thus,
they can better your system without being connected to a
component. This effect was immediately obvious in my system,
but Caelin tells me that characteristic will vary system
to system.
But hold on to
your hats, it gets better, much better. After the minimum
recommended 100 hours of break-in (4-5 weeks is required
to realize full performance - Yikes!), I connected a Black
Mamba and King Cobra to my components. The improvement
was startling, a marked advance over the very good AC power
cables already in use. In fact, the amount of difference
was at least as great as you would expect when upgrading
from stock power cables to a good aftermarket unit. The
changes in my system were far from subtle and bordering
on the profound. There was a dramatic increase in both background
silence and resolution of fine detail. The bass, oh my,
the bass was literally transformed! I have never heard such
a remarkable improvement in extension, power, and accuracy
from a simple cable change. The improvement shocked even
these jaded ears.
Ok, so just who
Caelin Gabriel? Trained as a physicist by the US government
(with a specialty in quantum physics), he spent ten years
developing low-level signal acquisition devices for the
National Security Agency (ooh, secret spy stuff!). After
leaving the NSA, Caelin worked as a lead designer within
the computer industry before opting to explore a field of
work that held great personal interest - audio. There is
no one within the music or audio industry that has Caelin
Gabriel’s textbook knowledge of power supplies or Electro
magnetic field effects. PowerSnakes products are a testament
to his skill in these areas.
Many years
an audiophile, Caelin began independent investigations and
experimentation which led to the discovery of substances
that couple to radiated magnetic fields. Three years of
research with these materials, in various audio related
products led to the introduction of PowerSnakes.
Yet, the absorptive materials are just one of the secrets
behind the remarkable performance of PowerSnakes.
Caelin has also developed a complex three stage soldering
process employing two different types of solder, and all
contacts have been gold plated to aerospace standards. Understandably,
Caelin is cautious about providing further detail on his
unique technologies until the multiple patents (currently
pending) have been granted. Suffice it to say that PowerSnakes
represent a fundamental break from current design philosophy
for AC power cords. No conventional filtration (resistive,
capacitive or inductive) is used and PowerSnakes
do not limit current transmission in any way. They can thus
be used on any component, including large power amplifiers.
Loads of well known
folks in the industry have fallen prey to magic of PowerSnakes,
purchasing them for their own use. An incomplete list would
include: Art Audio, Arcici, Audio Research, Ayon,
Balanced Audio Technology, Dodson Audio, Edge
Electronics, Electrocompaniet (Jason Scott
Distributing), Halcro, Immedia, Impact Technologies, Jeff
Rowland Designs, Lumen White, Musical Fidelity, Pass Labs,
Plinius, Simaudio, Stillpoints, Tenor, Wilson Audio, Wisdom
Audio and Verity Audio.
Probably even more
impressive are the growing legions of people in the
professional audio industry that use Shunyata products. The
pro audio folks are particularly wary of audiophile or
consumer products in general, but particularly skeptical of
cables in general, ac cables in particular.
Many of the industry's luminaries have listened and have
become believers in Shunyata's technology and benefits. A
number of recording studios and mastering facilities have
adopted Shunyata cables as their reference.
Crest National Studios
Located in Hollywood
California, Crest National is one of the largest music and
film industry studio chains in the United States. Crest
National consists of motion picture film labs, digital
restoration services, DVD authoring and design, editing,
sub-mastering and media encoding among a host of other
professional services. They are a partner of Philips
International and remain one of the world's top providers
of DVD Audio and CD replication. Due to their exceptional
reputation and prolific manufacturing capability, Crest
National was selected by Philips to be the only
United States SACD replication plant.
Crest National's dedication to
quality control led them to construct a state-of-the-art
5.1 channel quality control playback studio. Crest spared no
expense to obtain the finest electronics from Halcro
(amplifiers), Meitner Labs (switching controls) and
Eggleston Works (speakers). Based on the recommendations
of top studio executives and mastering engineers, Crest sought
out an evaluation of a complete Shunyata Research power and
signal cable system. At the conclusion of their testing,
Crest purchased Shunyata Research's Hydra power
distribution system, Anaconda and Taipan power
cables and the Constellation Series interconnect and
speaker cables. Like many studios and music professionals
before them, Crest's principles have become avid supporters of
Shunyata Research products and will be implementing new
products as they are released.
Astoria Studio
Astoria Studio, located in the UK, is
unequivocally one of the most respected recording studios in
the world. Owned by David Gilmour of Pink
Floyd, Astoria has served as recording venue to some
of the most recognized recording artists in the music
industry. Anyone familiar with the state of the art
production values on Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You
Were Here, Animals, The Wall, Momentary
Lapse of Reason, The Division Bell, and David
Gilmour in Concert 2002 DVD can appreciate the meticulous
nature with which the Pink Floyd albums are put together.
Astoria Studio's principles review every aspect of their
recording chain continually. It was this perfectionist
approach that led Astoria to seek out and
implement Shunyata Research’s Hydra power distribution
system, PowerSnakes power cables and Constellation
Series signal cables to their state-of-the-art
recording equipment.
Doug Sax and James Guthrie
Very little else can be
written about the stellar reputations of Mastering Engineers
Doug Sax and James Guthrie that hasn't already been said. They
are unequivocally two of the most experienced and sought after
mastering engineers in the music and recording industry.
Doug Sax's work includes
recordings by James Taylor, Pink Floyd, Dire Straits, Allison
Kraus, Diana Krall, Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, Aaron Neville,
Chris Isaak, Ray Charles, Chet Atkins and countless others.
James Guthrie's resume is no less impressive, having been
credited with work on 6 Pink Floyd albums and dozens of
popular recording artists.
James and Doug were made
aware of Shunyata Research's products through David Gilmour's
Astoria recording studio in the United Kingdom. After
listening and recording with Shunyata Research products both
Guthrie and Sax were so impressed that they implemented them
into their Sonoma digital re-mastering chain. Shunyata
Research products were most recently utilized at Guthrie's
Das Boot Studio, for the re-master of Dark Side of the
Moon on Sony's SACD format.
Shunyata Research products are also used within recording
studios in Japan and Germany. Ken Takashi, recording engineer
and artist for the Japanese Super-group Spanova,
had this to say about adding Shunyata products to their
recording systems:
"The Python is a super power cord of the
highest quality overwhelming all the cables I've ever tested
(Synergistic Research, PAD, S/A LAB. Camelot Technology, etc.)
at every point, such as the width of the sound stage, accuracy
of the sound focus, or the energetic and expressive sound it
brings out. I use it connecting to AD/DA converter at the
recording utilizing Pro Tools, and am planning to install some
more PowerSnakes at Macintosh or Mic preamp and others. I
usually work at my own studio, but when I happen to do some
recordings at other studios, I always bring my Python there.
The so-called "Professional Engineers" here have little
knowledge about cables, and they use the cable that came with
the products for their system and equipment. Well, you can
imagine how astonished they were to hear the PowerSnake's
sound!"
---Ken Takashi--- Recording artist/Engineer
The Japanese group Spanova.
The Lineup
(click on the links for detailed information on each cable)
The Pacesetter range of
cables
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Diamondback - Shunyata's entry-level
cable is an outright steal at only $248. A totally
custom made cable, the Diamondback features
cryogenically treated copper, 100% foil shield, gold
over copper plating on solid brass contacts, beefy 12
gauge construction. A remarkable cable at a remarkable
price, a great choice for a wide range of value-priced
electronics. [more
here]
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Copperhead -
10 gauge CDA-101 high purity
cryogenically treated copper conductors, copper
braided shields medical grade clear dielectrics finished
with the Shunyata proprietary Vevom IEC connector with
pure silver plated contact surfaces. A great value at only $395. Great on amplifiers, preamps
and powered subs, but a very component-friendly design
that can be used almost anywhere in the system.
The following cables in the Shunyata
line are available in two versions: Alpha and Vx. The
Alpha cables are designed for use with all analog
components, while the Vx versions (which contain the
patented FeSi-1000 Noise Reduction Compound) are superb
on digital gear (CD player, D/A converters, transports,
DVD players, surround processors and video
displays of all types).
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Taipan Alpha Helix
- PatentedAll copper triple braided shields, 10 gauge high
purity, cryogenically-treated conductors using pure
CDA-101copper. Fast, articulate, dynamic and transparent. Excellent on power amplifiers
and front-end components alike. $700
[more here]
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Taipan Vx Helix -
Patented Twist-Lind braided CDA-101 cryogenically
treated copper conductors. Tipped with the superb
Shunyata Venom AC and IEC connectors with silver and
rhodium contact surfaces. $820
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Python Alpha Helix-
Five conductors of super pure CDA-101 copper (said to be
the purest form of the metal available), cryogenically
treated and wound using the Patented Shunyata Twist-Lind
geometry. Silver and Rhodium plated AC and IEC
connectors designed by Shunyata. An ultra-fidelity cable
that can be used in the finest systems. A phenomenal
cable that blends refinement and resolution. $1100 [more
here]
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Python Vx Helix -
Recipe for success: Take the Python Alpha and add the
incredible FeSi-1000 patented noise reduction compound.
Great on digital gear of all kinds. $1220
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Anaconda Alpha
Helix
- A phenomenal cable for its resolution, power and
dynamics. Great on the best amplifiers and
preamplifiers. $2000. [more
here]
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Anaconda
VX Helix - Establishes a new benchmark in AC cable performance;
simply magical in a high performance system. A
remarkable amalgam combining subtlety and resolution
with power and weight. $2250. [more
here]
You simply must check out the full range of
Shunyata line conditioners. One to fit any budget, these
superb devices are sure to improve any system.
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