Ethernet cables in for audition

[Puma Cat]

So, I've been auditioning the new Shunyata Ethernet cables for some time now, from Venom to Alpha and finally to Sigma. I'll post my first impressions here of the Venom and Alpha Ethernet cables in the context of the other cables I've evaluated in this thread, which I had on-hand at the same time I was evaluting beta versions of the Venom and Alpha Ethernet cables. Of these other cables, the one I had preferred up to this point was the Audioquest Vodka, which, as Banter had mentioned, is nice, enjoyable and musical Ethernet cable.

Now for Shunyata Venom: I’m very reluctant to use terms with superlatives because I strive for my impressions/insights/observations to be objective and provide credibility and most importantly, allow end-users to make informed buying decisions, but sometimes a new product offering enters the market and completely re-sets the bar. A number of us have observed this with the new Shunyata Research USB cables. The new Shunyata Research Ethernet cables just extend that degree of improvement, verisimilitude and "engagement" even further up the digital streaming chain. Time after time, after installing the Shunyata Venom Ethernet, this cable is so superior to the other cables in this evaluation, in all respects, that it was...not even close. As Ivan would say, its not even in the same zip code! (I love that analogy). Virtually everything is better: the noise floor is notably significantly lower, the musical and vocal presentation is much more life-like, fullsome, clearer, richer, more transparent and detailed, but not etched or strident in any way, just airy, open, extended and gorgeous. The presentation is more "there" in the room with you. There is more immediacy to the presentation, and its much more engaging to listen to. The reknown Shunyata “listening ease” is there. The soundstage is significantly wider, deeper, and spacious but more fully defined and accurately rendered as well. String bass, e.g. Ray Brown’s virtuosity on bass on "Cry Me a River" on the wonderful Soular Energy had a beautifully articulated, textured and nuanced interplay with Gene Nelson's sublime piano playing (if you don't have this album...get it! ). Melody Gardot’s "So We Meet Again My Heartache" on My One and Only Thrill, is even more fully defined, articulated. All the subtle textures from her voice, phrasing and breathing are notably more natural and finely articulated than the Wireworld (which sounds a bit dry and 2-dimensional), as well as being “rounder” and more “tactile”-sounding. The cable that was closet to the Venom was the AQ Vodka, which is a fine-sounding cable, but its a distant second as there is just so more "you are there" there with the Venom.

Using an analogy from digital photography, its like looking at a digital 8-bit JPEG photograph from an APS-C camera on a on a laptop display with an 8-bit LUT vs a 16-bit RAW medium-format Fuji GFX50 photograph on an Eizo ColorEdge display with a 14-bit LUT. There is much more "there" there, in all respects. I know its a cliché, but the Shunayta Venom Ethernet cable sounds so much more like the classic goal of reproducing a live musical presentation with respect to any musical attribute you care to discuss than the other Ethernet cables, that it was almost...comical. I remember one evening that I literally laughed out after swapping in the Shunyata Venom Ethernet after listening to the Vodka. The overall presentation has the best attributes of fine analog reproduction as well the performance characteristics (eg. greater dynamic range, lower noise floor, etc) of a truly excellent digital system. While the Venom is the "entry" model in the Shunyata Ethernet line, don't let its price fool you. At $295 for 1.5M, its $150 less expensive than 1.5 M of Audioquest Vodka, but its performance and overall musical presentation is significantly superior. I'm sure Guilliaume would agree.

Summing up: The musical presentation on the whole is so much more natural and life-like its analogous to the difference between listening to a singer on a stereo system vs. the singer in the room with you.

My next post will be my observations on the Shunyata Alpha Ethernet cable.