Denali/Venom NR Overload?
 

On Tuesday, I received a Venom V14 Digital Power Cable to use with my Lumin T2 music streamer/DAC. (Up to now, I have been using a Venom 14 Power Cable between my Denali 6000/S and the Lumin T2 and a Venom HC Power Cable between my Denali 6000/S and the wall socket.)

After burning the new V14 Digital Power Cable in for 48 hours, my wife and I sat down to listen. What a disappointment! The lusciousness of the sound (for example, Barbra Streisand singing "Memories" -- from the musical "Cats") was gone, replaced by a much thinner, albeit recognizable, variation of human voices and what seems to be an exaggerated tilt towards treble. This effect was consistently evident track after track regardless of whether the data was 16/44.1, MQA, 24/96 or DSD128 and whether the source was Tidal or ripped albums on my attached hard drive. The sound quality was constantly shocking, terrible, and very disappointing. Rather quickly, out came the V14 Digital Power Cable and back in went the prior Venom 14 Power Cable. Ahhh -- all was good again.

This condition has caused me to wonder whether: (a) my V14 Digital Power Cable is defective, which is unlikely given it underwent a comprehensive QC prior to shipment; (b) the overall power conditioning provided by the Denali 6000/S combined with the further digital noise reduction provided by the V14 Digital Power Cable is simply too much of a "good thing"; or (c) somehow my audio system's combination of components and cabling, when the Digital Power Cable is included, simply doesn't work due to some mysterious adverse synthesis.

This post is not a slam on Shunyata. I employ numerous Hydras, Denalis and cables of various generations and sorts in my system and credit Shunyata for its significant contribution to the wonderfully satisfying end result. The sonic impact I have described is, I believe, a surprising anomaly. While I suspect the culprit is "b" above, I am very curious about the opinions of others as to the cause.

Is is possible that it requires some additional burn-in?

Jonathan... please give it some more play/break-in time. If it does not improve, let me know so I can arrange for a refund. :ok:

I think your cable needs additional burn-in, what you describe sounds very much like a un-burned in power cable.

Still, I'm sure Ivan will make it good for you.

Jonathan, when I reviewed the Venom 14 Digital feeding my music-source laptop power supply "brick" a couple of months ago, I posted my initial favorable impressions after about 70 hours of settling time. Then I followed up, noting "KPIP or no KPIP", after about 200 hours, at which point--and with no other changes to the system--the musical presentation "opened up" substantially.

I don't know if my experience is applicable to your situation, given the differences in our system configurations, but I second the suggestion to burn the 14 Digital in for a longer period to see if it likewise "opens up".

This cable was designed primarily for computer and network peripherals. For audio components like preamplifiers and CD players and DACs the Venom V14 or Venom NR cables will usually perform better. While the Lumin is a streamer it also functions as a DAC and should be treated as such for best performance.

That's exactly been my experience. FWIW, I use a Venom NR-V12 for my Gungnir MB DAC.

I've also found the Venom V14Digital works really well on the external power supplies for computing and networking devices, e.g. the Uptone Audio LPS-1.2, Keces P3, etc. that power things like routers, Ethernet switches, network bridges and fiber media convertors.

Thank you, Caelin. I’ll use it with either my external hard drive or my AV Ethernet switch. Has this cable been used more successfully with one over the other?

Either or both or those are perfect candidates for the cable.

I thought about your system a bit more and a really great cord for your Lumin would be the new Venom HC v2. It is reasonably priced and I think there are some good deals on it right now.