@mclinnguy Interesting. I just removed the ultimate cord and inserted the classic back into the PSM156 because I thought this comment was quite odd. I certainly don’t get any etched highs, if anything it is smoother and easier to listen to than the ultimate. Less resolved, less detail, less refined and not as nice sounding, but not terrible by any means. The worst part of the classic and the part I noticed the most was the bass was bloomy and very much uncontrolled with the classic vs. the ultimate. But I suppose the Shunyata is that much smoother by comparison? Which Shunyata cord is it?
Yes, it was definitely surprising that the Classic+ seemed to be the source of my issues. Substituting the Shunyata (it is just a Venom model) changed everything. I still plan to replace the Shunyata, as I think it is limiting. The only other time I had to remove a power cord from my system was when I used an unshielded cord on my amp and had similar results. I have no explanation for this phenomena, but it is pretty apparent and seems to be addressed with shielding.