My third Shunyata power cable

[darrell]

OK, let's get real for a moment: first off, anyone can fabricate an 'official' email that he has received from some representative (and if not fabricate, then at least doctor that email). So I wouldn't put too much stock into the quoted email.

Secondly, and assuming that the above quoted email is legit and unaltered, are you honestly that naive to buy into the assumption that a Bryston representative would openly admit that the product they're building is less than perfect? Why would a marketing department ever do that, admit that a super expensive product they're selling is shipping with certain sub-standard components? It is only natural to see them deny that any improvement to their flagship product could ever be achieved in the aftermarket.

If Bryston is shipping ultra expensive amplifiers, they're than expected to claim how all the parts are as good as they possibly can be. They will never, under no circumstances, admit that a power cable that ships with their amp is a terrible plastic piece of shit. Nor would they ever endorse a product that is being offered by another vendor on the market.

If this fellow Chris Russell indeed wrote that email, I'm sure if we were to put him on the lie detector, those needless will be going off the charts like crazy!

Admirable scepticism, albeit a little intemperately expresssed. But shouldn't the same be applied to the people who have sold you 3x$99 power cables over the past few days (in the absence of blind testing, etc)?

I also wonder why Bryston would cripple the sound of their amplifiers, risking less positive reviews and poorer performance in demos, by not including such power cables as standard, if they do indeed do what you think they do, especially as the material cost to them of including the equivalent to a $99 (retail price) power cable is likely to be negligible compared to what they ask for their amplifiers?

[vett93]

I had a few Shunyata Venum power cords in my main system a few years back. Since then, I have retired them to my HDTV and 2nd audio system. My 65" HDTV looks better now than when I bought it years ago. Using it on HDTV would be a quick and easy test to see the effect.

[magiccarpetride]

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[magiccarpetride]

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[vett93]

Let me share the cheapest tweak I have implemented in this area. I first found this info from audiogon and it costs about $3. You can find the product in a nearby hardware store too....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piPI_ByD0Q0

[darrell]

Good points. Regarding point #1, we've already discussed elsewhere how difficult it gets to match the wine with the meal. Different connoisseurs will have different experiences when pairing different wines/meals. Same goes for power cables. On my system, which is biased toward punchy, resolute, dynamic sound, Nordost power cables only exacerbate that quality, rendering it caricatural. Because of that, I've discovered that Shunyata plays very nicely by making the sound sweeter, more liquid, while at the same time clearing it up. Other people's system may not respond to Shunyata favorably, but may welcome Nordost as a much needed boost in dynamics and torque. Blind tests are absolutely useless there.

No, a blind test will establish whether you *really* hear a difference between different power cords - you may have fallen victim to the placebo effect, or some variant thereof. Of course, if you are able to distinguish between them under blind conditions, you can then decide which you prefer at your leisure.

Re #2, when was the last time you've heard that an audiophile component was offered on the market by combining parts from various high-end vendors? All the components we see on the market today were made in a monolithic fashion, meaning that a Bryston amplifier was made by Bryston Ltd. For them to say "oh, and by the way, we have partnered with Shunyata to give you even better experience" would be unthinkable. For two reasons:

1. They'd be admitting that they are incapable of manufacturing high quality power cable, and if they can't do that, what are the odds that the rest of their product is any good?

2. They cannot guarantee how will Shunyata pair with other components in their customers' audio chain.

It is much safer and less controversial for them to just deny that there is any possibility of improving the sound of their amp. It's already exorbitantly expensive, so it must sound amazing right out of the box.

Plus they know that 95% of their customers are incapable of hearing any difference between their high end product and some dinky Best Buy home theatre AV receiver, so why bother?

I'm sure that many, many manufacturers supply other manufacturers, unadvertised, with OEM parts. But you misunderstand me, If I were Bryston, and I *knew* that a certain power cable improved the sound of my amplifier, I would buy a single example of said power cable and reverse engineer it.

[Mnyb]

Hmm in a credibility contest I think Bryston thrumps shunyata whatever vested interest they may have

It is one the really well engineered brands left , and they have the curage to build voodoo free products.

[magiccarpetride]

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[magiccarpetride]

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[darrell]

But you miss my point. I am not a machine, and to me 'objective' measurements mean dick. Placebo is what I'm after. Let me put it this way: suppose I'm in pain, and some placebo pill makes the pain go away. At the same time, some non-placebo pill, containing scientifically measurable, statistically valid effects, is given to me, but it does not make the pain go away.

Guess which pill I'll be taking.

I'm not talking about measurements here. Blind testing is not about measurements, it's about confirming (or not) that the effect is still (subjectively) detectable, once as much as is humanly possible is done to remove possible sources of bias.

I find this discussion taking a strange turn - you seem to positively want to be hoodwinked by, in this case, a power cable manufacturer - "Placebo is what I'm after"? Normally, a Placebo works because the subject believes it to be the real thing. For example, a patient taking part in a drug trial will be led to believe they are taking the real drug, but will be given a sugar pill. But here, you seem to know it is a sugar pill, but you still feel (hear) the benefit. I must say that your admission is disarming.

You then must be a genius. Reverse engineering some patented feat of engineering is most certainly easier said than done.

Only if you believe there is more to it that some basic measurements of the electrical characteristics of the cable, which would be trivial to a company such as Bryston. I understand (see above) that you don't much care for measurements when appraising a cable, but surely you accept that measurements are the basis for any (sensible) design? You could get into all sorts of trouble when dealing with potentially lethal currents, otherwise.