[edwardsean]

http://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/shunyata_python_helix_followup.htm

This one can be had well under your budget and is I believe the one they may suit your needs. With your attitude, I now know why they say romance is dead!

You just want to get straight down to business....

Yeah, that would work just fine budget wise, but back down to business.

I don't mind buying the Shunyata roses and chocolates. But, I don't want it to just spout poetry at me in response. I'd like to discuss theorems of physics and math alongside reading Rilke and Oscar Wilde together.

Boy, I think we may all have been in Covid isolation too long.

At any rate, I know Shunyata cables are well regarded, and Music Direct has a sale on them right now. But I'm trying to get a sense of whether their sonic signature will suit my taste for something smooth but clear and resolving.

 

[CRITICALSHOT]

Yeah, that would work just fine budget wise, but back down to business.

I don't mind buying the Shunyata roses and chocolates. But, I don't want it to just spout poetry at me in response. I'd like to discuss theorems of physics and math alongside reading Rilke and Oscar Wilde together.

Boy, I think we may all have been in Covid isolation too long.

At any rate, I know Shunyata cables are well regarded, and Music Direct has a sale on them right now. But I'm trying to get a sense of whether their sonic signature will suit my taste for something smooth but clear and resolving.

Did you read the review? I read the review you mentioned and I know the sound sig of the Shunyata Cable you are referring to. They are two different cables with different sound signatures. The one I recommended is clear and resolving.

 

[edwardsean]

Did you read the review? I read the review you mentioned and I know the sound sig of the Shunyata Cable you are referring to. They are two different cables with different sound signatures. The one I recommended is clear and resolving.

So, I read the review, and the cable sounds promising. But, that review was from 2006. The Python Helix Vx is no longer in production is it? So, I would be looking for it somewhere in the used market? I don't mind that, but I rather not wait for one to turn up.

Music Direct has the current Delta NR in my price range. Would you happen to know its sound?

 

[CRITICALSHOT]

So, I read the review, and the cable sounds promising. But, that review was from 2006. The Python Helix Vx is no longer in production is it? So, I would be looking for it somewhere in the used market? I don't mind that, but I rather not wait for one to turn up.

Music Direct has the current Delta NR in my price range. Would you happen to know its sound?

You would need the Alpha and not the VX. The VX is for CD Players and Transports. It is old and not in production and can be had used for $350-$375. I don't know how that one sounds. Go to AudiogoN and search by Cable->AC Cables and just read the reviews of the ones in your price range.

 

[CRITICALSHOT]

So, I read the review, and the cable sounds promising. But, that review was from 2006. The Python Helix Vx is no longer in production is it? So, I would be looking for it somewhere in the used market? I don't mind that, but I rather not wait for one to turn up.

Music Direct has the current Delta NR in my price range. Would you happen to know its sound?

https://www.musicdirect.com/cables/shunyata-zitron-alpha-digital-power-cable

I use the above cable with the Dave, I got it much cheaper though. I use the Shunyata Python Helix Alpha on my Lumin U1.

 

[STR-1]

https://www.musicdirect.com/cables/shunyata-zitron-alpha-digital-power-cable

I use the above cable with the Dave, I got it much cheaper though. I use the Shunyata Python Helix Alpha on my Lumin U1.

It was in the final days in the life of the Shunyata Alpha Analogue/Digital/HC range that I first looked at trying upgrade cables with my DAVE. At the time people who tried these cables seemed mostly to like the HC cable with the DAVE, and that was the one I bought at ex-demo price not having heard either the analogue or the digital cables. Today, my Alpha HC has been demoted to secondary duties (like powering my SR4T power supply), and DAVE is now powered by a Shunyata Alpha NR. As lockdown begins to ease I am looking forward to very soon trying an Reference NR v2 from the recently launched 2020 range. Certainly in my system, DAVE does seem to benefit from a little filtering, the Alpha NR is plugged into a Shunyata Venom UK6 distribution block.

 

[Glossator]

It was in the final days in the life of the Shunyata Alpha Analogue/Digital/HC range that I first looked at trying upgrade cables with my DAVE. At the time people who tried these cables seemed mostly to like the HC cable with the DAVE, and that was the one I bought at ex-demo price not having heard either the analogue or the digital cables. Today, my Alpha HC has been demoted to secondary duties (like powering my SR4T power supply), and DAVE is now powered by a Shunyata Alpha NR. As lockdown begins to ease I am looking forward to very soon trying an Reference NR v2 from the recently launched 2020 range. Certainly in my system, DAVE does seem to benefit from a little filtering, the Alpha NR is plugged into a Shunyata Venom UK6 distribution block.

Agree - DAVE seems to like Shunyata Alpha NR and Venon UK6.

 

[muski]

Hi. I'm getting a DAVE in next week sometime. I'm looking for a best value in a power cable upgrade around $500. I prefer a resolving, airy, and transparent sound rather than warm and thick, but still smooth and liquid as I can find in my price range.

I was looking at the Vovox Excelsus (previously Textura) based on Jay Luong's power cable shootout on Audio Bacon. However, the more I look into that cable I think it may be too warm and not best suited for digital components.

I'm hoping to find a cable like it though that punches well above its price point.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks!

Dan from Audiowise put me onto an interesting “alternative” that I really like:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Schaffner/IF13-US3-H05-3100-WF-200?qs=gTYE2QTfZfQlQ%2BHLhXJiSA==

Filtered, shielded and $37. I have three of them now.

cheers
Muski

 

[edwardsean]

Dan from Audiowise put me onto an interesting “alternative” that I really like:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Schaffner/IF13-US3-H05-3100-WF-200?qs=gTYE2QTfZfQlQ%2BHLhXJiSA==

Filtered, shielded and $37. I have three of them now.

cheers
Muski

Muski, are you saying that this $37 cable competes with the cables that have been recommended that go for 10X to 50X the price?

I wouldn't entertain this except that you mention Dan's recommendation, and that I see you're using his Opto -DX system.

So, you're using some pretty pricey, state of the art, isolation to feed the digital to your DAVE, and a $37 Mouser cable to feed it power.

Please share more. That's a sincere request. I've been on a deep dive into the world of power cables and dizzy from it. If I can toss out $37 to try out a different solution that makes sense, I'd be grateful!

 

[edwardsean]

@muski what's the actual length of the cable you linked. Mouser has it 200 meters, which is a "little" more than I need. Of course that would come in handy if I wanted to steal power from the mains of the house next door.

Just kidding, I'm not sure where they're getting that number, but I can't seem to find the correct one.

 

[DaveRedRef-III]

Just for a bit of fun, what would be the new product you would most covet if released by Chord Electronics?

For me top 3:
1) Active Loudspeakers with Dave DAC inside and DSP room Frequency adjustment for perfect flat in room frequency response. (Like Dutch & Dutch 8c)
2) Dave MkII
3) Davina

 

[edwardsean]

Just for a bit of fun, what would be the new product you would most covet if released by Chord Electronics?

For me top 3:
1) Active Loudspeakers with Dave DAC inside and DSP room Frequency adjustment for perfect flat in room frequency response. (Like Dutch & Dutch 8c)
2) Dave MkII
3) Davina

4) Chord DAP

 

[STR-1]

Just for a bit of fun, what would be the new product you would most covet if released by Chord Electronics?

For me top 3:
1) Active Loudspeakers with Dave DAC inside and DSP room Frequency adjustment for perfect flat in room frequency response. (Like Dutch & Dutch 8c)
2) Dave MkII
3) Davina

Being a headphone user, active loudspeakers would be of no use to me, and the benefits of Davina to us end-users are probably too far off to get excited about.

Not a strong desire, but a DAVE Mkll with more output power would be nice, if only so I could then contemplate headphones like the Abyss and Susvara without needing an external amp.

A 2m Tap M Scaler has been speculated on for a while now, and I suspect is quite doable with currently available components (incl. fpga), but I can’t help feeling that diminishing returns would really set in and that such a product would not be quite the significant step up that the Blu 2/M Scaler was.

I think I would be most interested In further developments at the other end of the Chord range. A more advanced Mojo (and more stable Poly) would be very welcome.

 

[muski]

A real Chord DAP with a slick & delightful UI and offline Qobuz support (I can dream, right?)

 

[edwardsean]

Well, I just went on a tear reading everything I could find on the Denafrips Terminator. There are a few users on the Terminator thread that compare it to the DAVE. As can be expected, they like the Terminator. One user borrowed a friend's DAVE for a week, and ended up keeping it in the closet after A/Bing it against the Denafrips.

Both are top tier DACs, but I'm having trouble getting a fix on the sonic differences. What is clear is that the Terminator has the more dense presentation. That makes sense to me, esp. as "thinness" can be a characteristic weakness of the DAVE, and the Terminator has those massive, back breaking, toroidal transformers.

What has me a bit confused, and frankly unnerved, is that I would then expect the DAVE to counter with greater transparency, clarity, and resolution. However, Jay Luong, over at Audiobacon believes that this is where the Terminator excels as well. Comparing the two specifically he writes,

"The Terminator does so more with spatial clarity, vividness, and air. You hear deeper into the trinkets, layers, and grooves of the sound. From the leading edges of a violin, drum skin flex, and finger movement on a trumpet. All are placed in plain view with uncanny control and speed. It just sounds more tonally “elegant” and agile.
The DAVE takes a more naturalistic approach. Its greatest strengths are timbre and coherence...."

At the end, he actually prefers the DAVE for its timbral accuracy. Yet, the way he describes the Terminator's superiority is what I'm accustomed to hearing as one of DAVE's signature strengths.

There are not a lot of posts comparing these units here. Has anyone had time with both, especially in the context of headphone listening?