Has Anyone Found Shunyata Cables Sounding Thin?

Actually, no one has mentioned the most damning problem with Sabai's initial complaint about Shunyata cables. (Unless someone else commented and I didn't see it.)

There is no way to know the native sound of the Shunyata cable when used in series with another brand of cable. They are simply being misused. I would guess Shunyata would not agree that their cables are thin sounding, and not even Sabai could argue this when, in fact, he's using them serial with other cables. It's one thing to say, "X cable sounds thin," but it is an entirely wrong statement to say, "X cable sounds thin," when it has been used in serial, which is in no way representative of normal usage.

I suspect Sabai may not have even tried the Shunyata cable alone; from the lead post it appears he has inserted it into his serial cable system and weighed in on its sound. He simply is not using the cables correctly, according to the intent of the manufacturers, when he uses them serial. Consequently, he is most assuredly off base on describing the sound of any cables he is using in that fashion.

It's tough enough to zero in on the sound of a cable when used in a mix of brands; it is impossible to know the native sound when used in an unnecessary serial configuration.

Mixing cable brands as well as serial use leads to one thing: a sloppier sounding rig in which it becomes impossible to isolate the actual contribution of any cable used in series. It may sound good, but not nearly as good as if proper methods were employed. I have built hundreds of rigs and tried such things, and I don't need to hear anyone else's rig to state that as a principle of system building.

I think Sabai feels his philosophy of audio is superior to persons like me, and thus I don't think he will be open to such criticism. He proposes what he feels are superior methods, but when those methods come under scrutiny, he retreats to the, "... you can't judge because you haven't heard my system," defense.
There is no way to find solid ground with such methods and logic. :)

Regarding listing my system, no one will be able to do anything except speculate about my system if I go to the trouble of listing everything, which I will not do. I will say that I have Raidho C1.1 speakers, an Audio Horizons TP 2.3 preamp fully loaded, a PS Audio PerfectWave transport with PS Audio DS DAC on the way, an isolation transformer, a Monarchy power regenerator, a Shunyata Triton power conditioner, and an Atma-Sphere S-30 power amp.

You have very good components but IMO, the S-30 is too small to drive your speakers properly. Also, are you using Chinese or Russian 6AS7G? From my experience, Chinese version is leaner.

With your speakers and want to stay with Atma-Sphere, I wouldn't use anything smaller than MA-1.

"Every element in a system imparts tone -- components, cables, accessories. I have no idea why there is special emphasis placed on cables in this regard."

I'm pretty sure I know. When most people start out in audio, they are very surprised when people tell them that cables make a difference in sound quality. It sort of adds a bit of mystery to the experience. And not everyone hears differences in cables right away. It usually takes some time to gain the knowledge and listening experience needed to consistently pick out differences in cables. When it finally does happen, it can be viewed as an accomplishment. Something to be proud of. At that point, I think many feel, whether they realize it or not, they're more likely to engage in conversations that involve cables. If you look at the number of responses to threads, topics involving cables always have the most responses. Or I could be wrong, its just my theory.

"Its analogous to what the best designers of audio components do: they listen AND they measure. They stay away from things that don't make sense, regardless of how they may sound."

You hit the nail on the head with that one. They go for things that make dollars. The more the better.