Shunyata X series power cords

The Theta is an excellent cable. I had bought one when it came out two years ago, and thought it was a fantastic cable. I bought another one last month, and it just confirmed my confidence that it was great.

I didn’t think going to the Alpha was worth it to me, and besides, I’ve always found Alphas to be slightly "cool" - sounding. And I no longer have the kind of state-of-the-art system I used to have, so I am content with the Theta level of cables. 

That said, I did listen to the Alpha X earlier this year- as I noted in another post - courtesy of The Cable Company. I liked it, thought it did everything great, but not enough for me to swap out my Nordost Tyr interconnects, so while everything else in my system is Shunyata, the interconnects are still Nordost.

@ryder

Can you share a few observations on different gear in regards to the known combo DPS4.1 and NCF50 with the Alpha X PC?

I also have a mix of Furutech DPS 4.1/NCF50(preamp/processor, Meridian active DAC speakers) and Shunyata Alpha V2 NR on streamers/switch/clock.

Thankyou!

@crion that’s slightly difficult as I only have one cable each Furutech DPS/FI50NCF(R) and Shunyata Alpha-X NR. I compared both these cables solely on integrated amps, while Wireworld Silver Electra 7 and Acrolink Mexcel cords are used with the streamer and DAC respectively. 

The results are rather conclusive after I swapped from the Shunyata Alpha-X NR to the Furutech DPS4.1 on the Luxman integrated. Everything else remains the same. In short summary, the magic is gone. Longer summary below.

Furutech DPS4.1
Sound is more dense, less detailed, less expansive, less 3-dimensional and slightly smaller soundstage. Bass sounds slightly more punchy and impactful but magic is gone. With Ken Navarro music, there is a certain thickness causing guitars to sound warmer and bunched up.

Shunyata Alpha-X NR
The opposite of the above. Overall sound is more open, more expansive, more 3-dimensional, more detailed and revealing all the layers and nuance in the music particularly in the midrange and bass. Bass sounds slightly leaner and lighter but more detailed and layered unlike the DPS4.1’s warmth or thickness masking the detail and nuance in the music. The Shunyata made the Furutech sound slightly muddy and congested in the midrange.

A note is the DPS4.1 is already considered to be rather top in the Furutech line and is a good cable. If it’s a lower range Furutech such as TCS31 or lower, the difference would be even more remarkable as music will sound even warmer, more congested and less open and detailed (I have made the comparison several years ago).

@ryder What was wrong with your D300? Looking forward to hear how the Alpha X  sounds on the Diablo.

@swede58 I just received the Diablo 300 but will need some time to compare the Alpha-X NR and Furuteh DPS4.1/FI-50 NCF(R). I’ll report back in due time perhaps by end of the week. I briefly swapped the mains power cables and music sounds less open and dynamic with the Alpha-X NR but that may be inaccurate since I just listened for about two hours comparing the cords. I hope The Alpha-X NR will sound better than the Furutech DPS4.1/FI-50 NCF(R) on the Gryphon Diablo 300 but if it's the other way round, I guess the NR version doesn't suit the high current Diablo 300. With the Luxman L-590AXII I can conclude that the Alpha-X NR sounds noticeably better than the Furutech, direct connection from the wall outlet to the amp. 

@ryder 👍

Some users report that the v2/X-series can sound a bit lean, and I experienced this firsthand with a v2 XLR interconnect. I am currently interested in the Alpha-X speaker cables, but only if they don’t suffer from the same slightly thin lower register as the v2 XLR I auditioned. Has anyone here tried the Alpha-X speaker cables, and how would you describe their bass performance compared to the v2 generation?