Shunyata cables vs Nordost Frey

Albert's comments are spot on. Likewise to my ears the Shunyata cables sound more natural. I would up the ante and suggest their Antares interconnects if you can swing it. The Altair and Antares ICs may be one of the best kept secrets in the current crop of cables. They have that magic combination of speed and phase coherency while delivering a deep tonal palette across the frequency spectrum. The Nordost I've heard have excellent quickness and clarity though they tend to be a bit harmonically thin - this may work better in some systems than others. Imo, the story remains the same with the speaker cables.

Good luck with your cable choices.

Tim

PS - try a set of Stillpoints under that Ayre CD player.

I have a total Ayre System with Wilson Sophia 2 speakers. I have heard power cords and cables make subtle differences such as Shunyata in a friends system. BUT I feel I have made the discovery of ALL TIME in hi fi, and would love to share it. On a lark, I tried some VIRTUAL DYNAMICS power cords. The improvement in soundstage, detail, and musicality in my system was not subtle, but staggering, astounding. A whole new world opened up, and I am getting sound like I never thought possible!!! I now have my entire system wired with VIRTUAL DYNAMICS power cords and cables, which are a relative good deal financially, and my audiophile friends simply cannnot believe it. It is THAT GOOD. I recommend caling James in Sales at VIRTUAL DYNAMICS
http://virtualdynamics.ca/
(1-877-347-4489)
and chatting informally with him about trying some of their cable. It can't do any harm and you will never regret it. He is a really nice guy, and easy to talk with. Even their basic stuff is fantastic, and you will only want more of it. Could I be more enthusiastic? I DON'T THINK SO....... Ayre equipment and VIRTUAL DYNAMIC cable is a marriage made in HEAVEN! And NO they DON'T pay me to say this, LOL

Cables are so different that you really do need to listen to them before you buy. You might be very surprised at what you like and don't like about certain cables. It also
seems to take a lot longer than you think to come to any real conclusion (ie. thoughtful)about the merits of one cable over another IN YOUR SYSTEM. There is simply no shortcut to achieving what you hope to with other peoples recomendations. Find a dealer, ask for a weekend trial, and get ready for some long and thoughtful evaluation, then buy em.
Shortcuts just make the journey longer and longer with no REAL benchmark for you to sink your teeth into and ultimately end up in confusion and going in circles instead of forward.

The Shunyata Anaconda family AC cords work very nicely for me wherever I apply them. (VX on digital, Alphas on everything else.) 'kind of Goldilocks cables, not too dry or bright or bassy or anything... just right.