New release - Shunyata Omega interconnects and speaker cables

I’ve had the Omega XLRs for 5-6 weeks. They are extremely transparent, and despite the different conductor material they are alot like the Sigma v2 in house sound, but more balanced frequency response, more detail, and less noise. Pretty much any and every technical attribute you could want is there and these are definitely in a neutral/"accurate" camp of sound. The level of detail is pretty insane, and I honestly don’t know if a cable can be more detailed. Speed and dynamics are extremely impressive. But besides ultra low noise and dark background, these don’t have a special sauce or coloration to wow you like some copper or networked cables. They are meant to sound like nothing, and I think they generally succeed.

The wild thing is (YMMV) it took an entire month of playing them to get them to sound right. Upon first arrival they had some characteristics of a silver cable, like Wireworld, were extremely detailed, but lean/restricted in the bass and midrange. Also the background wasn’t fully black. All of this was remedied eventually, the bass and midrange unwound and filled out, the noise dropped, and the sound become more relaxed.

Most vendors have a requirement from Shunyata that customers need to hear them in their own system, or in some cases a demo system, before they can purchase them. My speculation is that this is because of the high cost coupled with extremely long burn-in period. This is a good thing, so you know what to expect and aren’t disappointed after a week or two of it sounding lean.

I have never heard of them yet. I would like to demo them sometime. Right now I am using SHUNYATA  (2) King Cobra CX  - Sigma HC - Sigma Digital.   Love them. 

I found sigma v2 to be super clean but sort of bland in my system. Can’t imagine what omega is like. 

Cables are oh so very system dependent.   You just have to experiment.  The 
WEL Audioquest didn't do it for me in my system,..Cardas was just plain awful... but others have found them wonderful.  
 

I have a full loom of Sigma version 2 (latest) including a jumper cable for my Sonus Faber Il Cremonese speakers.

Over the last week, I have had the opportunity to compare my Sigma with the Omega speaker jumper cable (all other cables remaining the same, ie Sigma).

My findings, in my system, in my room,  the Omega jumper cable:

(1) has a slightly wider but MUCH deeper soundstage

(2) has more articulation and separation between musicians. Complex passages are not as "muddy" or confused.   I have been told that this equates to a lower noise level.

(3) has MUCH better high frequency (aka treble).  I thought I had long ago lost the ability to hear the very high notes that I now clearly hear and enjoy. The small triangle (instrument), the smallest pipe of the organ (I bet it is not more than a couple cm in length), the top notes of the piccolo, etc are clear, clean, not harsh or bright.

(4) is not as bright or harsh in the treble (not that the Sigma was, but just in comparison)

(5) has a more articulate bass. First impression is that this results in a "thinner" bass or less "impact"...  until that tympani or bass drum or the pedals of an organ hit a loud note or phrase.  Then, I realized just how nice the woofers are on the SF speakers;  didn't know they could present the music with such impact and yet distinguishable notes (especially true of a loud chord from the organ's pedals).

(6) has the same, perhaps slightly better, tonal characteristics.  Instruments certainly have correct timbre and tone.

(7) presents the venue more noticeably.

Since the Sigma is excellent, how much better is the Omega?  This does vary with the attribute being compared. In general, probably at least 10% and definitely in some cases 20%.

I can only wonder how much greater (or perhaps less)  the difference if I had an entire loom of Omega, and especially if the speaker cables were Omega. Sadly, given the costs, this question will probably remain unanswered.