Has anyone tried the Shunyata Diamondback PC?

I have the Diamondback. I don't think it is materially better than what you can get for $10 at Radio Shack. I also agree that the IEC connection is looser than it should be.

Although somewhat more expensive, the Audio Arts Power 1 and/or Black Sand Violet Z1 are both real upgrades. Audio Arts is good if you are looking for a bit of warmth, Black Sand is good if you are looking for great dynamics.

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>>> have the Diamondback. I don't think it is materially better than what you can get for $10 at Radio Shack."<<<

You are welcome to your opinions about performance, applications, comparisons and suggestions, but your comment about material value is way out of line and grossly misinformed.

First of all, find another power cord that uses 12 gauge wire and has molded connectors. I'll save you the trouble, there are none and there is a reason for that. The molds had to be created from scratch to accommodate a 12 gauge conductor set. The cost to manufacture custom IEC and AC molds for production is between $15k-$20k--each. Do the math. Try amortizing those costs into low-priced power cords over time. There is a reason no one else custom manufactures molded connectors for cords at these prices and its not because they are cheap.

The connectors are gold plated over brass with crimped and soldered connections. The conductors are pure CDA copper and are shielded twice, once with a foil shield, another time with a tinned-copper braided shield. I am not sure which part of that you consider to be cheap radio-shack $10 construction?

The DiamondBacks, Venom and new Venom3 are all UL Listed. Care to guess what maintaining a UL listing costs a company? How many UL listed aftermarket power cords do you see out in the market? That may give you some idea on UL Listing's cost and its complexity to achieve.

The shielded power cords in our line are _extremely_ high cost, low margin products, meaning they cost a great deal to manufacture and maintain and do not represent any reasonable profit for our business. They exist almost solely to get our brand better known and into applications that may not otherwise consider aftermarket cords at higher prices. We pay a premium to make them high quality so that our reputation is maintained even at entry level prices.

>>>" I also agree that the IEC connection is looser than it should be. "<<<

The 15A IEC inlet connections on electronics vary so widely almost no two are alike--which is why we use a C-19 IEC on our power distributors. We chose the most common 15A IEC circumference for the DBack connector but certainly it will not fit the wide variety of different spec connectors the same way. No 15A IEC ever will. We get some complaints they are too loose--which can be worked around and some complaints they are too tight.

With the hundreds of different power cord models out there and the mix & match nature of power cords/conditioners in many systems its no surprise that preferences and recommendations vary so widely. That is expected. There are certainly many choices available, especially on the web.

I understand that. What I don't agree with is pot-shotting products material value with no idea what that cost might actually be. Like them or not, the DiamondBacks are precision made, high-cost items to manufacture. If you think differently, head out and try to copy its spec's and offer it at a better price. I am sure your experience will enlighten your opinion a bit.

Regards,

Grant
Shunyata Research

Dear Grant of Shunyata Research,

It is very nice to have a manufacturer in the discussion.

I am from europe, and the Diamondback PC I have evaluated was without advertised IEC and AC custom molded connectors - I assume the molding machine at your company simple said not capable to produce SCHUKO europe type AC connectors? Cable was fitted with really low-grade SCHUKO (rubber type) and IEC connectors.

My second concern was about cable length, local dealer was left with only 1 m-type of Shunyata leftovers, and I was bit surprised to see that there is not price difference between 1 m and 2 m Power cords. When everyone around charges more for longer lenght and less for shorter, i found Shunyatas position interesting. I bet there is a reason for this.

mjordanas

Grant,

You and so many other manufacturers are simply missing the point that, just because something is expensive to manufacture, doesn't necessarily make it _materially_ BETTER. Better constructed perhaps, but not necessarily with audible effect - this is what 'materially' refers to. Otherwise, take it as a challenge to provide measurements. I use your Sidewinder CXs in my Spectral system which offer absolutely no improvement over the stock, UL listed, power cord, and simply bought them for looks. Perhaps that stock PC was of very good quality???

Moving on to the Helix construction which allegedly reduces induction-based resistance - perhaps this is applicable to signal cables, but when applied to power cords, it does nothing to improve on the induction-based resistance of miles worth of average-quality wire leading up to our homes. Again, take it as a challenge to *prove* me wrong (not just *claim*).

I use a mix of Shunyata Copperhead, venom and Dioamondback power cords in my system. The only component that isn't using a Shunyata cord is my Magnum Dynalab tuner because there is no IEC connection. I also use Shunyata Guardian 2 and Guardian 4 power conditioners in my system.

I have had Shunyata in my system for 2 years. One day I decided to go back to all stock cords and no filtering. The result was a very bright sounding system with more background noise. I think the lower priced cords give a lot of bang for the buck and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend Shunyata products to anyone.

Anyone who thinks their cords are cheaply made can'
t be from this planet! All their products ring of high quality. I have seen many cords from other high end manufacturers that could learn a lesson from Shunyata. They will stay in my system forever.

Bob