Audience AR6-TSS vs. Shunyata Triton

[BlueFox]

Does the Audience use any active components; capacitors, inductors, coils, etc? If so that is a negative. Adds DTCD. The Triton, along with Shunyata power cords, are designed to minimize DTCD.

[The Attorney]

I'm pretty sure the Audience does not use any active components. My 1% of doubt is becuase I don't know what the spike supression components are. My Audience runs stone cold despite being in an enclosed space.

[Xuxa]

Where can I find the meaning of the acronym DTCD? Is it an internationally recognised electrical standards definition?

[Frank750]

Originally Posted by Xuxa

Where can I find the meaning of the acronym DTCD? Is it an internationally recognised electrical standards definition?

From the Shunyata website. There is additional info there if you want more;

DTCD (Dynamic Transient Current Delivery)

DTCD is a method of current analysis that measures instantaneous current delivery in the context of a pulsed current draw. In layman's terms, it is a way of measuring current performance into typical electronic component power supplies.

The DTCD Analyzer allows the measurement of pulsed transient current through a variety of AC power products, including power cords.

The measurements represent three critical performance criteria:
1. The quantity of instantaneous current available through a specified power device or circuit. Measured in amperes.
2. The amount of voltage drop across the device during the conduction period.


DTCD Current Measurement:
This measurement depicts the difference in available impulse current between Shunyata's VENOM-3 power cord ($99 retail) and a standard black component power cord. Note the enormous difference in the quantity of current available compared to the stock power cord. The stock power cord delivers only 47% of available current compared to 84% with a VENOM-3 power cord. By any standard of measure, this is statistically significant.

Voltage Drop Comparison:
The voltage drop depicted for the stock power cord was so profound that several models were tested to validate the standardized measurement. A 15 volt drop in voltage during the conduction period compared to only a 5 volt drop with a Shunyata VENOM-3 power cord represents a night to day objective difference. This magnitude of difference is certainly significant in a high performance entertainment system.

[Xuxa]

Thanks. Sorry to go off track but I think it is important for people to understand all these acronyms & where they originate from.

So the definition was created by Shunyata to describe a methodology that they use to compare their cable performance to a stock black power cord?

Is it an industry recognised methodology or standard of measurement?

How would another manufacturer's product compare to theirs using their method of analysis? Would such a measurement prove to represent anything meaningful to anyone? If so, has anyone else done it?

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by BlueFox

Does the Audience use any active components; capacitors, inductors, coils, etc? If so that is a negative. Adds DTCD. The Triton, along with Shunyata power cords, are designed to minimize DTCD.

Hi Bud,

According to Audience, their power conditioners are passive devices. They do not use transformers, power supplies, integrated circuits or performance degrading protection circuitry in their design. They do use teflon capacitors and inductors. Current delivery is not restricted as the maximum impedance is less than 40 milliohms. I obtained this information from their website and various reviews.

Best,
Ken

[BlueFox]

Originally Posted by Xuxa

Thanks. Sorry to go off track but I think it is important for people to understand all these acronyms & where they originate from.

So the definition was created by Shunyata to describe a methodology that they use to compare their cable performance to a stock black power cord?

Is it an industry recognised methodology or standard of measurement?

How would another manufacturer's product compare to theirs using their method of analysis? Would such a measurement prove to represent anything meaningful to anyone? If so, has anyone else done it?

Go to Shunyata's web-site and read the technical section. They are not shy about explaining how they use science, technology, and engineering to achieve their high level of performance.

In regard to DTCD, the way I understand this is that there is still a lot to be discovered in regard to understanding why equipment sounds the way it does. Apparently, there is more than just our rudimentary understanding of resistance, capacitance, inductance, etc. to the science of sound reproduction.

Their insight and research led to the discovery of how the ability of any device (power cord, power conditioner, wall outlet, etc.) to restrict instantaneous current will have negative sonic effects. The power supplies of gear need more than voltage to do their job. They need instantaneous current to accurately respond to the demands of the musical signal, and this applies to amps and low level source gear. Increase DTCD and reduce sound quality, reduce DTCD and increase sound quality. This discovery led to the invention of a tool to measure DTCD.

In my mind, this gives them an incredible competitive advantage. They can now easily create products that out perform the competition since they can measure something that the competition cannot, although I suppose at some point the competition will also develop this tool. At least those competitors who do more research and engineering than those who just slap together a mixture of metals, wrap it up in a pretty sheath, and charge an arm and a leg for it.

[Xuxa]

Seems to me that George Ohm & Gustav Kirchhoff have already been there & done that some 170+ years ago.

I haven't heard the scientific buzz & cannot seem to correlate what you are saying elsewhere. Somehow, I don't think there is a Nobel prize waiting for this 'discovery'.

[tima]

Originally Posted by Xuxa

Seems to me that George Ohm & Gustav Kirchhoff have already been there & done that some 170+ years ago.

I haven't heard the scientific buzz & cannot seem to correlate what you are saying elsewhere. Somehow, I don't think there is a Nobel prize waiting for this 'discovery'.

Shunyata likely prefers their stable of patents to meaningless prizes. Why snark on a company trying to be transparent about what they're doing - okay maybe there is marketing there but it doesn't seem like marketing fluff. Did you have a bad issue with their products?

There seems to be enough skepticism about the effect of cables and conditioners that you'd think using repeatable tests of known electrical properties is good for all manufacturers of these products to the point of demonstrating what their products do or don't do. I think Bud is right to point out that establishing there is some real science behind a set of claims is a competitive advantage for whomever is in a position to make them. We audiophiles seem to appreciate knowing there are demonstrable reasons why different gears sound different to us.

I think we should applaud manufacturers who are at least trying to be open about what's in their products and Shunyata seems to be making a genuine effort to educate about why they do what they do and why it works. YMMV

[Xuxa]

Thanks "Tima" for your clarification & "BlueFox" too.