Shunyata Zitron Cobra vs Transparent Reference G5

If you have not yet purchased that Transparent, might I suggest doing the 60-day trial at Music Direct and getting a Shunyata Delta NR? If you don’t like it, just return it before the 60 days is up. No re-stocking fee.

I say this because the Delta NR arrived. I had bought another one, but left it at a friend’s house for him to hear. Hadn’t heard much of it when I loaned it to him.
The Yggdrasil, I discovered a day or two ago, had been off: the Python power cord, at the wall socket, had come loose and so the whole system was off. Fortunately, reconnected it. Sounded great after 24 hours on again.
Put the Delta NR in the wall socket and connected it to the PS Audio Power Plant 300. Moved the Python to the Arcam FMJ, which is being used as a transport for the Yggdrasil. The Yggdrasil has the Shunyata Sigma attached to it. (Start at the Top, I always say!)
As soon as I pressed play, and the strains of Enescu’s Hungarian Dances launched itself (and "launched" is the only word for it), I was mesmerized. The Python is permanently consigned to the Arcam: the Delta made the system sound more like the Sigma was on the wall socket than I would have believed.
And the one niggling qualm I had had about the last two generations of Shunyata’s power cords was banished: the bass seemed a bit too "rounded," without genuine weight and power. I suspect this is more a trait of the Cobra power cable than anything else, as it is the one component I sold to buy the Delta, so it is the only change.
The bass is unquestionable, significantly more powerful. I actually now KNOW that I have Nolas Thunderbolt Subwoofers in my system. Hungarian Dances sounded joyous, and even majestic ( and majesty is really hard for a system to reproduce until you get into systems (these days around 40k or so). In old days, you could do this for 15k. Ah, well...

The Delta, just from Shunyata’s having improved (and not by a little!) the low bass thru the lower midrange in what is essentially a replacement for the Cobra is unbelievabale. (Now keep in mind that all the other cords are ZiTrons: Pyton, Alpha HC and Sigma). STILL,  the last time I heard this much bass power in a Shunyata-based system is when I had the King Cobra V2 and the very last iteration of the Andromeda Constellation speaker cable (2003 version), which was as thick around as MIT, not the slender, earlier generation of the Andromeda Constellation, which did not - at all - possess that bass power of the later Constellation.

Well, the Delta NR has the power of the Andromeda Constellation speaker cable. Now, I’ve had Python Zi-Trons (speaker cable) in my system, and I was disappointed that they did not restore that "kick" that made music sound like a daytime hoe-down. And this Delta NR cable is only 2 hours old. Yes, I know how Shunyata works (well, every older generation and I've had them since 2003, so I go waaay back): sounded good on  day 1, BAD on 2nd and 3rd days and then you waited for 400 hours (at least 300, but I think you’ll find a consensus that it comes alive around 400) for it all to come together.

You need not wait with the Delta NR. The bass thumps you upside your head. If I was still living in San Francisco and this was an earthquake, I would rate the Delta as a 4.5 strength. It shocked me - and I’m rarely shocked by my equipment. Delighted, thrilled, yes. Shocked, no. Like I said, it made the Nola subs sound like they existed. I truly wondered if my system just lacked low bass. the Cobra line, as fantastic as it is, is a bit weak in the mid bass. Placing an NR in its place will catch you completely off guard (assuming you had an integrated even as modest as the NAD C356BEE I’m using (just installed a new tube for the ET3SE, but haven’t put it back into the system). "An NAD with LOW bass?!?!." I gasped. Yes. But it wasn’t there with the Alpha HC, or the ZiTron Python, or the Cobra. And while I’m sure it will "calm down" the kind of "aliveness" it exhibits is a more fully artistic expression of the singer’s voice. Nobody miked Ella Fitzgerald or Sarah Vaughn or Billie Holliday, Frank Sinatra or Aretha, or Nina Simone, so just by listening to these artists, I can hear a far more lifelike rendering of their voice, one I’ve heard only twice before in my system - when I had a $70,000 system back in the 90s. The one I have is ironically more the 5 Shunytat power cords attached to 1) the afore-mentioned NAD C356 BEE and a 2) Schiit Yggdrasil and a d), Arcam FMJ 23 with Shunyata Cobra speaker cable and Nola Contders with Nola Thunderbolt subs. Stillpoints Ultra Mini Risers under the Arcama and NAD and a Transparent basic 75 ohm RCA cable. Finite Elemente Spikder Rack.
Shunyata has far surpassed itself by offering a cord with the performance of a Python Citron at the price of an older Venom.  I'll have to wait to see if it brings in the entire harmonic spectrum as well, but the fundamentals? Oh yeah, baby, it's ON.
The Delta (and the Simga, latest veriaon) seem to restore a subtly missing trait from past Shunyata (excluding the Constellation range power cords and speaker cable:  MUSICALITY (of the non-euphonic sort, since phasey Big Band recording still sound ...phasey, but much, much cleaner, less distorted (less noise) and  there is also more body (aka "dimensionality"). The Delta also unquestionably moved you from Row L to Row F. It’s in your face - in a good way. So, the dynamics "jump." This now means you are sitting 5’ from Ella as she croons, "Spring Can Really Hang You Up The Most." You can hear hear humming in her head - clearly - and the "p" "d" and "k" letters particularly clear without a corresponding "lift" in the lower treble or upper midrange. In fact, its’s nothing approaching "bright-sounding."
That’s it so far. I’m going to play the 1812 overture and hope my plaster doesn’t crack. I wasn’t this surprised with the Sigma. Actually, when I had the Cobra power cord in the same system as the Sigma, I didn’t heard it much, which is why I questioned whether the subs were working or not (I mean, they sounded "ok" on organ recordings, but not "special).
Hmmm...organ recordings...that should be fun....oh sorry, gotta go.
Try the Delta! And don’t play it less than 2 hours after you put it in or it’ll just sound great instead of "dazzling." All Shunyata power cords need to settle: play them 5 minutes after moving them around, and you’ll notice a lessening of you immersion in the music. Ta.

Thank you for sharing your impression of the Delta NR power cord.
You are suggesting Delta NR might be the better performer than Alpha HC, right?
Did you have a chance to compare Alpha NR vs. Delta NR by a chance?
I don’t think I will go up to Sigma NR, which is way above my budget.

One other question:
I have Shunyata Hydra 6 power conditioner with an old Venon 20A power cord, on which I hook up both DAC (Cary 200ts) and preamp (Audio Valve Eclipse) using Synergistic Research Element Tungsten power cords (15A). If I switch Venon to either Alpha or Delta NR, do you think I will have a substantial improvement in sound, or maybe it is time to replace the Hydra 6 all together? I am planning to connect the power amp (AR 75 SE) directly to wall socket without a power station in between.

So, I’ve had the Delta NR for around 10 days now. And I think I see the difference in the Alpha HC and the Delta NR.

The Delta NR has a slightly "fuller" sound. It is not at the expense of transparency at all: it is just more powerful-sounding than the Alpha HC. Bass has much more impact on the Delta NR than the Alpha HC. I moved the two cords between two positions only: Wall to PS Audio Power Plant Regenerator and from the regenerator to an NAD C356BEE.
Clearly, the NR has weighty kicka** bass that- in this system - eludes both the Cobra ZiTron AND the Alpha HC. (I have always thought the ZiTron Cobra to have less bass weight than any other generation of Shunyata cord, but then, this was the first generation of ZiTron technology, and one can clearly hear the improvements in sonics with even the non Zi-Tron Delta cable, the "baby" of the new line.

That said, the ZiTron technology evident in the Cobra, Python, Sigma and the Alpha HC, should not be undervalued. They have some very "real" lifelike sound capabilities that the Delta does not. I can hear a certain "stillness" to the NR that does not exist in (even) (older) ZiTron technology. In the old days, one would describe the Delta sound as not being quite "liquid." Maybe a better word is "dry." Not completely dry, but a touch of it.
Even the ZiTron Cobra - although it has a higher noise floor/has less bass clarity, weight and impact/ and certainly not the effortless with lyrics, dynamic kick, bang and boom of the Delta - has a sense of "life" that the Delta does not. I heard it pretty quickly, but thought the cord might still be breaking in. However, I’m assured that the break-in is over at 10 days, 24/7, so it’s a trait of the cord. If you have a more liquid system, this won’t bother you. When I insert the ET3SE, the sound is instantly more "alive," (but the CJ is considerably superior to the NAD, which is still VERY good). In THAT scenario, the Delta’s "stillness" is somewhat mitigated by the superior resolution of the CJ). And when I put in the Hurricanes, I’m sure there will be plenty of joy in Mudville. After all, ZiTron technology only came around 8 years ago or so, so if you liked Shunyata then, you’ll love it now. It sounds alive, has a lower noise floor, and a LOT more resolution of inner details (I forgot to say that about the Delta).

So, Sarah Vaughan - who does more with her voice than any other 10 singers around - more clearly swoops, shreiks, moans, and the other thousand things she does while singing - is considerably more clearly heard doing this with the Delta NR than with the ZiTron Cobra, or even the Alpha HC. (I haven’t put my ZiTron Python on the NAD because the cord is too short to reach between the NAD and the Power Plant).

Now, the Cobra ZiTron and the Alpha HC? They will breathe "the breath of life" into a recording in a way that the Delta NR does not. They’re both just slightly more "fluid," although, in this modest setup, they certainly do not edge out the Delta NR in other ways that I notice.

So, I’m a little torn here. Not between the Delta or the Alpha (I’ll take the Delta), but just that this is like getting a BIG raise - but you then have to give up your weekends and work late 1 night a week. I might actually have to exchange this for an Alpha - which I am sure will sound phenomenal - in exchange for getting back the ZiTron technology. Not sure yet.
I WILL say that I DO like the Delta on the NAD more than I like the Alpha HC on it: the suddenness of stop-start sound is dazzling (meaning it JUMPS dynamically and even the subtle, tiny, inflections are obvious), and when someone is hammering piano keys, it SOUNDS like they’re HAMMERING IT, not just hitting it forcefully. And the Delta NR’s really, REALLY, low noise-floor should not be overlooked: I can play songs at much lower volumes and maintain the clarity, losing only some of the sense of ambience (and that’s more due to the NAD’s not having a phenomenal sense of ambience anyway) that’s on the recording. But the "liveliness" of the song remains just that - lively - even at low volumes, while other cables (even other Shunyata cables) can make it sound like the orchestra is playing with less zest and bravura as the volume drops. That’s not going to be a problem people are going to be complaining about with the Delta, I’m thinking.
So, there you have it. To ZiTron or NOT to ZiTron.