Has Anyone Found Shunyata Cables Sounding Thin?

"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.

"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."

I won't speak for him, but his first post was pretty clear about that.

"They are great cables but they need help in my system. I run cables in series to solve the problem and the results are stunning"

That sounds to me like he tried the cables both ways.

Zd542, you may be correct about that, but it seems that Sabai has been using cables in series for a long time. If you are right, and he tried the Shunyata cables, but they were not to his liking, then I'm sure you would agree the proper solution is to eliminate them, not add additional cables. All an individual is doing when adding more cables in series to correct a perceived problem is making a potentially better system worse; unnecessarily doubling the length of the interconnect, which deteriorates the sound, adding unnecessary connections, which deteriorates the sound, and mixing a so-so wire with a better one, which also deteriorates the potential. Not a good solution at all, and this is so whether in Sabai's rig or anyone else's.

If his ears like what he has done, great! But it's not a better way to build a rig.
A better way to build a rig is to find a better/more appealing cable and lose the series approach.

Psag,

I love it -- "It may sound good, but its not." I got a good laugh when I woke up this morning.