Has anyone heard the Shunyata Cables?

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.

Nighthawk:
I agree with the tonality statement. I have never been that interested in "detail" for its own sake: I'm listening to music, not "sound." It seems to me that there is a great deal of focus on aspects of sound more than on the musical experience, although, of course, one leads to the other.
I'm suspecting, since the volume level is exactly the same even with a different preamp, amp, inteconnects and CD player, that it is the Hale Rev 3s. I remember asking before I bought them if they were "bright" and was told no, they weren't. Yet, I perused a thread (later on, when I used this site more) of the former owner, and unless I misinterpreted his threads, he indicated that the speaker could be a bit bright. So much for getting it straight.
Nonetheless, I suspect it is the speaker doing it, so I'll have to lug a pair of Sound Dynamic RTS 3s out of storage and listen to the system on that to see if the brightness on brass is still there. I don't recall hearing any edginess on my Audio Artistry Speakers (also stored in the shed)on the Mercury Living Presence CDs when I heard them years ago, but...
I don't think its the Shunyatas, as, with the system wired with the Nordost Quattro Fils, the same effect exists. And, I put a Modulus 3A in yesterday, and heard close to the same effect, so, unless the Hurricanes,First Sound Presence ('96 vintage), Marsh A400S, Arcam, PS Audio Power Plant et al have the exact same weakness, with nearly the exact same degree (and volume!) of edginess, it is likely the speakers.
I still like the Hales, but it's the last time I buy used speakers on Audiogon.
Thanks for the suggestions on interconnects, but between the Nordost and Shunyatas, I may want to listen to speakers first (now, where are those Sound Dynamics??)...

The best cable in the world.I tried lot of hi-end cables over the 20 years,last one was Transparent reference.Aries is simply the best,like no cable in the system.My current system:Audio Aero Capitole mkII cd player directly into the C-J Premier 12,Audio Physic Virgo II,A.P.Luna active subwoofer,API Power C.116,speaker cables-TA Reference,DNM solid core cable for Luna.Shunyata sidewinder gold power for Audio Aero+T.A.Reference powerlink for C-J,API and Luna.