Has anyone heard the Shunyata Cables?

NightHawk is correct. We learned that there were consecutive trials where the cables exhibited this behavior, and a subsequent test at the cable company affirmed this.

We requested the Aries cables return after this and we noted the same issue NightHawk describes. After discussion with the principles at the cable company, we learned that the Aries they had were extensively burned in on a cable cooker prior to being shipped out. for trials.

For most cables this would not be a problem, but the Aries uses a micro-thin litz conductor design that does not respond well to "cooking" or, especially over cooking. After 100 hours of continuos play the characteristics we noticed, and as described by NighHawk, subsided and confirmed our suspicions. We provided new sets of interconnects to the cable company and the issue noted by NighHawk and confirmed by us did not reappear.

I am aware this may raise an eyebrow in propeller-head land but there are a number of people who noted the before and after differences. The cable cooker products can be very effective, but it is wise to under, rather than over do the process.

I hope this helps support that NightHawk did indeed have an accurate impression of what he heard.

Grant:
Thanks for the clarification. However, I'll note that I did NOT burn my cables in on anything except music. As such, there was no sense of a 'rising high end.'
Having said that,I'm curious as to the conditions of Nighthawk's listening session. Does this mean you (Nighthawk) heard cables that you KNEW were burned in on a Duotech-type cable enhancer, or were the circumstances different?
My reference was to my own system, of course, with the cables arriving with no burn-in (as I prefer: I prefer to hear changes in equipment with my own ears. If it takes a thousand hours, then it takes a thousand hours). That way, I can assess the stages of improvement personally rather than using someone else's experience (and system) as a barometer. I clearly did not hear this; I indicated as much.
This just goes to show that what many people hear is not an intrinsic trait of the component inserted into the system, but a synergistic interaction. I expect this happens more frequently than we believe.
It seems another mystery has been cleared up. Perhaps Shunyata might wish to suggest on its literature sheets that its consumers dispense with Duotech-type devices? It is certainly not on any of the literature in my possession, and I own the Aries interconnects, the Andromeda and for a while, the Phonenix speaker cables. How would one know not to do this??

Gbmcleod, I had no idea of the prior state of the Aries cables I auditioned. They were one of many I tried out from the Cable Co. I do know they were one of the first ones available and were probably the ones Grant described that were returned to Shunyata. I agree with your position on burn-in. I would prefer to always get cables in their virgin state. However, with the Cable Co.'s library you don't know what has been done to the cable. Another renter can cook a cable and nobody will know it. This is not meant to knock the Cable Co. I think they provide a great service. There is no way I could have tried as many cables as I have, with as little expense incurred, as I have by going through them. As a result, the cables I have are the most synergistic with my system.

That IS fascinating, Nighthawk.
May I ask what type of music (or musical instruments)you believe to be the most enlightening in determing the rising high end you heard? I tend to use brass, triangles, percussion and higher strings to determine this. Interestingly enough, there is a slight hardness in my present system which I cannot dial out, but the Aries is actually less present in the treble than the Nordost Quattro Fils. That was an indicator that the Aries was not likely the culprit for me. One thing about the Hale Rev 3s, they will definitely demonstrate a rising high end!
I understand how people can believe that what they hear is a characteristic of a component. Now we have to worry about whether or not a dealer used the wrong gadget for burn-in. Is audio not complex enough already??? Component interactions galore and not even ones in the system, but something as innocuous as a burn-in device.
Ay yi yi...

Gbmcleod, I listen almost exclusively to acoustic instrument recordings, primarily jazz, classical, bluegrass, and some new age. Jazz big band at a reasonably high, but not deafening, volume is the acid test for me. It tests the balance of each part of the spectrum all at once. I am a former trombone player, and am very sensitive to the tonality of brass instruments. If it sounds harsh, edgy, or thin sounding at all I notice it. For me, instrument tonality is more important than the ultimate level of detail (but you have to have some of that, too).

Besides big band, solo trumpet, violin, and soprano sax can also sound unbelievably bad if there is any brightness in the chain. These instruments seem to produce a lot of harmonics which shows up harshness easily. Of course cymbals and triangles can give you an idea of the absolute level of the high frequencies and are valuable references also.

You're right, it is really tough to isolate the offending component when there are so many variables in the chain. In my experience of auditioning cables, I have found they make as much difference in the sound as any electronic component. When you think you have achieved a neutral and accurate sound, its hard to know if you did it by having all neutral components or if they simply complement each other well.

The only way I know of ascertaining which components are neutral is by trying out many types of each component in your system. Persistent colorations will stand out using this approach. For instance I know my speakers have a slightly soft treble. This is because after trying many combinations of components, this coloration has persisted. However, if the other components are very neutral, it is not a problem. It is only a problem if another soft component is in the chain, which exaggerates the coloration.

If you want to try some other ICs to see if your hardness problem persists I would suggest the following cables. None of these is perfect, but they are all basically neutral instead of acting as tone control cables.

Audience AU24 - the most neutral I've heard in the bass and mids. It has a soft treble, though, which was not compatible with my speakers.

Cardas Neutral Reference - Slightly warm in the mid-bass, but overall nicely balanced. One of these somewhere in the chain gives instruments their natural resonant sound, but two of them is a bit too much mid-bass. Far more neutral than Cardas Golden Reference.

Nordost Valhalla - Similar to Cardas NR except the lower bass and mid-bass is very slightly lean. Overall probably the best balanced cable I've tried but the others are so close, I don't think it's worth the money.

Nirvana S-X - Sounds almost identical to Cardas NR, but costs 3x as much.

Luminous Audio Sychestra Signature - slightly soft in the upper octave, but overall well balanced. The RCA version has less roll-off than the XLR version. The RCA version is a very dimensional cable. Soundstaging is among the best I've heard.

Good luck.