Well, darn that is a sobering point of view! Especially since I just paid around $1500 for three Shunyata power cords and one RCA interconnect. And I was planning to save up to buy more. They haven’t arrived yet. I bought from Music Dirext and they have a 60 day return policy. I hope that I’ll be able to report I hear an unmistakable improvement in SQ. I certainly hope so!
I am not about to read all 111 pages of snake oil comments. Will someone please direct me to some OBJECTIVE proof they Shunyata products DO or DON’T sound as advertised?
Firstly, make sure that your power cables are correctly certified. I'm in Australia, but I understand that the cables should be UL Listed and marked as such for use in the US. Here, we see any number of power cables that aren't certified for use. Safety is more important than sound quality, especially if an insurance claim may also be rejected.
Secondly, get in touch with Amir and see if you can get one of those power cables to him, tested, and returned if needed within the 60 days. I suspect he may well be prepared to accommodate this, given the reputation of Shunyata. Maybe do the same for the interconnect. If you can arrange a blind test on one of the other power cables, see if you can tell the difference between this and a standard cable that way.
If they show a measured difference then you have your objective evidence. If you can tell the difference between the cables blind, then you have at least some reason to believe the cables do something and that can be further investigated.
Unfortunately, even those reviewers and publications that provide measurement for active components, don't do the same for cables, Given the negative results for difference of so many measured cables tested independently, it is probably because there is not that much to measure.
Of course, most users plug them in, "hear" a difference, and aren't bothered: or don't hear a difference but keep them anyway, oddly enough.
