Venom 14 Digital hooks up with the Brick Bithouse

[jimtranr]

Nearly 70 hours of settling time have elapsed since a Shunyata Venom 14 Digital C5 (“Mickey Mouse”)-terminated power cord arrived at my doorstep and I installed it as the final cable upgrade to my laptop-sourced bedroom audio system. It complements earlier-acquired Venom NR v10s that feed AC, respectively, from the wall to an original-version Hydra power distributor and from the Hydra to a TEAC UD-501 USB DAC. If you’ve read my posted-elsewhere-on-this-forum impressions of the latter two cable installations, you know that each effected a significant sonic improvement, most notably in transparency, foundational heft, dynamic contrast, and performer and venue dimensionality.



Frankly, I didn’t know how much more, if any, audible improvement I could wring out of my modest rig after what each Venom 10 delivered to the performance table. In ordering the 14, I was winging it (you may have guessed that from my “frosting the cake” post). That’s because that power cord would feed current from the Hydra to the laptop’s AC charger “brick”, which on its output side is captive-corded Lilliputian-gauge for nearly two meters to the laptop’s input jack. How much, I wondered, of whatever current-delivery and noise-reduction magic the 14 could conjure up front would be dissipated in that final six feet of Honling-labeled wire? And beyond that, would however much of Shunyata sorcerer’s dust that might remain really impact the data transiting from an external hard drive through the JRiver Media Center-driven laptop to the Alpha USB cable that feeds the DAC?

Color me surprised. Especially after I’d given the 14 a few hours to pass some current and settle. I heard a bit more transparency. A bit wider and a bit deeper soundstage. A bit more instrumental decay. A bit more venue ambience. And a bit tighter bass. Among other things. The individual improvements were in and of themselves not as huge as what I’d experienced with each iteration of the NR v10. But “a bit of this” and “a bit of a lot of thats” added up in a hurry to a cumulative sensation of freer-of-the-speakers engagement with a given performance that summed out unequivocally as more than subtle.

Case in point: A 16/44 rip of “Captain Blood: Classic Film Scores of Errol Flynn”, one of that iconic series of George Korngold-produced 1970s RCA releases of Hollywood “Golden Age” film score suites conducted by Charles Gerhardt and engineered to the nines by Decca’s Kenneth Wilkinson. I thought I’d milked the atmospheric everything I could out of that recording—and it sounded damned up-close-and-personal good—once I’d finished putting the Venom NR 10s in place. Uh-uh. Adding the 14 Digital to the mix rendered the instruments more believably sonorous, while the broader, deeper, and airier recroding venue fused more organically into my listening space, with a strikingly more palpable reach-in-a-few-feet-and-touch-someone presence. Bozhe moi strikingly, at that.

In short, cake frosted. Deliciously.

[prepress]

Good to hear this, jimtranr. I wonder if a C7 version of that Venom would be suitable for my laserdisc player, which has a C7 IEC. It would buck the aesthetic of my other cords, not being black and braided, but perhaps it might wring something out of the old Pioneer Elite DVL-91. I don't have any complaints now, and the LD player isn't a priority component, but it does offer good sound when I use it.

[kennyb123]

I also received a Venom 14 Digital last week - though mine was terminated with a C7 connector. I was curious if this would improve the sound if swapped for the regular Venom 14 that’s connected to the “brick” that’s powering my Chord Hugo TT2. While I would expect that the V14 Digital would more likely than not improve the sound of most components, I was dubious that it would make a noticeable improvement with my TT2 for a few reasons.

First off, the “brick” isn’t really the TT2’s power supply as inside the TT2 are super capacitors. I would have thought that these might offer some isolation from AC. In addition, the TT2 is plugged into a Denali v1. How could a small CCI filter inside the plug of the V14 Digital improve upon what was coming out of the Denali?

And yet with the V14 Digital in place of the regular V14 …

• I heard improved clarity especially in the upper frequencies
• I heard slighly improved image separation and dimensionality
• It seemed as though a slight bit of grunge has been stripped away

No way I can return to using the regular Venom 14 with my TT2. Only downside is that I now have better insight into how sensitive the TT2 is what's powering it. Down the road that's gonna cost me. For the time being though I'm very pleased with the improvement I got from this relatively affordable power cord.

Last night I decided to watch a movie, so I connected the V14 Digital to my Xbox One S, which serves up 4K discs to my LG OLED TV. I watched John Wick 3 on 4k disc for the first time, so it was impossible to determine how much the power cord improved the picture or sound quality. The picture color was stunning through, as was the audio quality. I’ll have to swap back in the OEM power cord and watch a bit of that movie again. Great movie BTW.

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by kennyb123

And yet with the V14 Digital in place of the regular V14 …

• I heard improved clarity especially in the upper frequencies
• I heard slighly improved image separation and dimensionality
• It seemed as though a slight bit of grunge has been stripped away

Tallies with what I'm hearing, Kenny. The improved upper-frequency clarity unmasks previously-veiled higher-harmonic information, resulting in a more accurate rendering of the timbral nuance that defines the specific tonal character of individual voices and instruments. I suspect that in turn that enhances what we hear as imaging, dimensionality, and ambient cues.

Given what I have to contend with in terms of dodgy brick-to-laptop cable run, that "small" CCI filter appears to punch well above its weight, and in an "entry-level" cable, no less.

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by prepress

I wonder if a C7 version of that Venom would be suitable for my laserdisc player, which has a C7 IEC.

While I'm always hesitant to spend anyone else's hard-earned bucks/euros/pesos/yen, I suspect that you'd notice improved LD player performance with an appropriately-configured 14 Digital, especially since the direct power distributor-to-player route to your LD is a lot less convoluted than my Hydra-to-brick-to laptop lash up.

[kennyb123]

Originally Posted by jimtranr

Tallies with what I'm hearing, Kenny. The improved upper-frequency clarity unmasks previously-veiled higher-harmonic information, resulting in a more accurate rendering of the timbral nuance that defines the specific tonal character of individual voices and instruments. I suspect that in turn that enhances what we hear as imaging, dimensionality, and ambient cues.

Very well said, Jim! I heard this as well - but no way I would have been able to explain it as well.

Originally Posted by jimtranr

Given what I have to contend with in terms of dodgy brick-to-laptop cable run, that "small" CCI filter appears to punch well above its weight, and in an "entry-level" cable, no less.

My impression too is that it punches well above its weight.

I wish Shunyata would offer this CCI filter in a plug that could be used with captive power cords. I’m thinking my LG OLED TV in particular. I would plug the captive cord into this and then plug it into the outlet.

[Puma Cat]

Great info, Kenny and Jim!

Your observations and experiences are very comparable to my own with the Venom 14 Digital power cords.

These power cords were designed for all the devices we need nowadays with computers, NAS', routers, ethernet switches, and network bridges, etc. In addition to the CCI functionality, the Venom 14 suppresses parasitic noise and overall noise (including AM radio RF) on AC mains (my YT video demonstrating this is here: https://youtu.be/42hmSXhiblc)

As Kenny has mentioned, they also improve the performance of video devices.

Kenny, with respect to your comment about captive power cords, this is a good idea, and you might reach out and inquire if its possible to build a Venom 14 Digital "extension cord", with the noise filtering module on the AC plug end. You could then plug the captive power cord on your HDTV into this. This wouldn't provide as much CCI as when on the device, but it would lower overall noise of your HDTV and also, any other device that is plugged into the same outlet or power strip. I also have a custom V14 Digital, like Jim's, for my Mac Mini, with a standard molded C7 plug on the Mac Mini end and the NR filter on the AC plug end.

[kennyb123]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Kenny, with respect to your comment about captive power cords, this is a good idea, and you might reach out and inquire if its possible to build a Venom 14 Digital "extension cord", with the noise filtering module on the AC plug end. You could then plug the captive power cord on your HDTV into this. This wouldn't provide as much CCI as when on the device, but it would lower overall noise of your HDTV and also, any other device that is plugged into the same outlet or power strip. .

Great idea!

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

I also have a custom V14 Digital, like Jim's, for my Mac Mini, with a standard molded C7 plug on the Mac Mini end and the NR filter on the AC plug end.

I believe that this is now the "standard" model. Per my dealer, Shunyata found that their supplier could not provide C7 (and other small) IEC connectors with room for NR in sufficient quantity.

[jimtranr]

KPIP or no KPIP, something happened once the Venom 14 Digital crossed the approximately-200-hours-of-playing-time threshold. I'd made no changes or even minor adjustments to the system, the room, its treatment, or my nearfield listening position. But suddenly there was more spatial bloom in the overall sonic presentation...and, with it, more palpable "body" emanating from voice and instruments.

I put on Leonard Bernstein's reading of the last part of Hector Berlioz' "Symphonie Fantastique" (Sony 16/44 rip), beginning at the "March to the Scaffold", and the New York Phil's frequent invocations of the "Dies Irae" from that point on damned near scared hell out of me. I chalk the "fright" up to expanded dynamic contrasts, sharper transient attack, more touchy-feelly imaging, and a sense of increased liberation of the musical program from both speaker and wall boundaries.

That wasn't a one-off. On went an exquisitely-engineered 24/192 download of Sir Adrian Boult conducting Gustav Holst's "Fugal Overture" (Lyrita), and the opening passages triggered a Heather O'Rourke "they're HERE" moment more potently in my face than the already impressive auditions I'd had earlier with the same track some time after the Digital 14's arrival here.

And it's been that way since, with virtually every rip or download I've fed to the bedroom system. At some point I have to build a new equipment rack to reduce clutter and tidy up the place. But I'm in no hurry. It's not that I'm lazy. I'm just afraid that if I touch anything...

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by jimtranr

KPIP or no KPIP, something happened once the Venom 14 Digital crossed the approximately-200-hours-of-playing-time threshold. I'd made no changes or even minor adjustments to the system, the room, its treatment, or my nearfield listening position. But suddenly there was more spatial bloom in the overall sonic presentation...and, with it, more palpable "body" emanating from voice and instruments.

I put on Leonard Bernstein's reading of the last part of Hector Berlioz' "Symphonie Fantastique" (Sony 16/44 rip), beginning at the "March to the Scaffold", and the New York Phil's frequent invocations of the "Dies Irae" from that point on damned near scared hell out of me. I chalk the "fright" up to expanded dynamic contrasts, sharper transient attack, more touchy-feelly imaging, and a sense of increased liberation of the musical program from both speaker and wall boundaries.

That wasn't a one-off. On went an exquisitely-engineered 24/192 download of Sir Adrian Boult conducting Gustav Holst's "Fugal Overture" (Lyrita), and the opening passages triggered a Heather O'Rourke "they're HERE" moment more potently in my face than the already impressive auditions I'd had earlier with the same track some time after the Digital 14's arrival here.

And it's been that way since, with virtually every rip or download I've fed to the bedroom system. At some point I have to build a new equipment rack to reduce clutter and tidy up the place. But I'm in no hurry. It's not that I'm lazy. I'm just afraid that if I touch anything...

Very cool, Jim.

So, IIRC, this Venom 14 Digital is powering the TEAC, correct?