Revised Anaconda Digital Cable

[Glisse]

Wow - agree with all that this is exceptional customer service. You could have kept the existing and gone for King Cobra as the new one. To do a full swap is looking after your customers better than anyone else out there.

I don't have any to swap, but I will now definitely buy one of these new versions

[boilerkj]

Will these be in use at RMAF?

[Coopersark]

Originally Posted by CGabriel

Yes, the revised cable is available. Since we are working through the upgrade program dealers will not have any in stock but you can put in an order. It shouldn't take more than a week to process the order.

Caelin,

I borrowed the groundbreaking, game changing, spectacular sounding Berkeley Reference DAC from my dealer for a weekend audition in my main audio system. Bob Harley was right. When I saw him several weeks ago, he was raving about this DAC to me, and as he has written in his review, you have not heard digital, until you have heard this new DAC. My dealer just left with his demo model and an order/deposit from me for my own copy of this amazing, groundbreaking, and system transforming piece of audio gear along with an order for one of your new Anaconda Digital Cables. Richard will receive the order from my dealer tomorrow.

In my forty years in the audio hobby, I have never been so sad to see a piece of equipment leave my system. I hate to admit this, but the improvement, not difference, but improvement, was so spectacularly advanced, in so very many areas (This DAC is f*cking transcending!), over using my stock Spectral 4000SL CD player, that I was on the verge of tears after it was gone. Since I will have one in two to three weeks, this was like saying good bye to a loved one who is leaving on a trip for several weeks. Since I am always busy, the two to three weeks of waiting for my new DAC will pass quickly.

I auditioned this DAC with an installer grade digital cable of a ridiculous nine foot length and with a BNC adapter. I am sure that your new Anaconda cable will sonically trounce what I had used (again a dealer loan). The question for you is in what areas will I hear an improvement over the garbage cable that I used for my auction? What sort of improvements lie ahead and how long of a break in should I expect from this cable?

I want you to know that I am going the Shunyata Anaconda Digital route, without consideration of any other brand, due to the high credibility, strong reputation, and impeccable customer service that you and your company has had had with me in our extensive past dealings, along with perhaps most importantly the system transforming, extensive power conditioning/cabling of nothing but your brand, that I use and enjoy on a daily basis.

I look forward to your response!

With all my best regards and appreciation,
Rob

[CGabriel]

Thank you Rob, but I encourage you to compare the digital cable to other cables.

Thanks for the report on the Berkley DAC. I heard the same from Robert and now from you. So two people's opinion that I trust. I will definitely give one a try.

What to expect with Anaconda Digital cable. Surprisingly the bass power and coherency is quite noticeable. Across the spectrum improvement in clarity and articulation. A remarkable lack of digital fuzz on transients. Rather non-digital sounding.

[Coopersark]

Originally Posted by CGabriel

Thank you Rob, but I encourage you to compare the digital cable to other cables.

Thanks for the report on the Berkley DAC. I heard the same from Robert and now from you. So two people's opinion that I trust. I will definitely give one a try.

What to expect with Anaconda Digital cable. Surprisingly the bass power and coherency is quite noticeable. Across the spectrum improvement in clarity and articulation. A remarkable lack of digital fuzz on transients. Rather non-digital sounding.

Caelin,

Thanks! While, I look forward to hearing the increased bass power, improved clarity, and articulation from your Anaconda digital cable (over the very "low bar" cable that I had borrowed), I do not see how your cable will improve the Berkeley Ref DAC's "digital sound", as on most recordings, there simply is none! I suspect the few recordings that I have heard that have a small trace of "digititis", is embedded in the recording itself and is not a result of the playback system. I have never heard a digital playback system that is this smooth and harmonically rich across the entire frequency spectrum, focused, layered, and coherently detailed as I have experienced this past weekend. This was just sooooo easy to listen to or through....My rear end became tired from sitting too long before my ears did!

To put this in a perspective that you can relate to, in my secondary system, I use an Audio Research CD8 player. I believe that you use a CD8 or CD9 in your home system. You use it, as it is a great sounding unit. Very smooth and easy to listen to. I played a lot of music this past weekend through the Berkeley that I play on my Audio Research system. All of a sudden, by comparison, the Audio Research player now sounds threadbare, and hard! I know those are strong words, but you simply must experience this new and uncharted high level of digital reproduction for yourself!

While I appreciate your making the suggestion that I make the comparison to other digital cables, I am thinking that you already know the answer to the outcome of that (Shunyata Anaconda the victor!), and being as time constrained as I am, I simply do not have the time to mess with the experimentation. A good hard earned, credible reputation like Shunyata's counts for something, doesn't it?

A last question - how many hours for a full break in of this cable? Please let me know. I may take delivery before the DAC to start breaking it in.
Thanks,
Rob

[CGabriel]

Perhaps Berkley has found a solution to the inherent problems of the S/PDIF interface and cabling issues. I know that Bel Canto and dCS have not judging by the performance differences encountered by simply swapping out the digital cables. You can let us know what you find.

Burn-in: I think it sounds fine after a couple of days of burn-in.

[EfeTe]

My hat is off -both a generous and a clever decision by the company.

[analog brother]

Originally Posted by Coopersark

Caelin,

While I appreciate your making the suggestion that I make the comparison to other digital cables, I am thinking that you already know the answer to the outcome of that (Shunyata Anaconda the victor!), and being as time constrained as I am, I simply do not have the time to mess with the experimentation. A good hard earned, credible reputation like Shunyata's counts for something, doesn't it?

Thanks,
Rob

science mandates due and diligent experimentation.

[analog brother]

i have the original anaconda digital and have been testing it all this week and the next, against a competitor on 2 different dacs.
so far, it is definitely holding up it's own.

[Coopersark]

Originally Posted by analog brother

science mandates due and diligent experimentation.

I wish that I had the time to experiment! Time is my most precious commodity, and free time is rather scarce for me. My family, business, other obligations take up much of my time. When I do have some free time to spend with my audio system, I much prefer to listen to music rather than evaluate a cable.

In this instance, I leverage my time by using someone with expertise and credibility, like Caelin, who does his homework and due diligence when designing cables. That design expertise is a good part of what I am paying for in the price of a cable. I also learn from what others audiophiles have said about a given cable. I am sure at some point I will borrow another cable or two to evaluate (I would like to hear the Transparent Reference XL digital cable, when my schedule permits), but not in the here and now, again due to my current time constraints. I will report my findings of the new updated Anaconda digital cable with the Berkeley Reference DAC sometime before Thanksgiving.