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Shunyata Research Sigma V2 Cables

Shunyata Sigma V2

Shunyata Research is known mostly for its power cords and power conditioners (or “power distributors,” as the company prefers to call them). The firm started out as a power-products manufacturer in the late 90s, so it is entirely understandable that “power gear” is the primary subject most audio folk have filed under “Shunyata” in their mental catalog entry. I hope this review helps to expand those entries to include the company’s signal cables as more than mere “also makes.” In my opinion, to pass over Shunyata’s signal cables is to miss out on some excellent products.

Background

I reviewed the original Sigma cables in 2018 and have been using them as my references ever since. The current Sigma v2 represents a significant performance advancement over the originals, much more of an advancement than the simple “v2” designation might lead you to assume. The subject of this review is the Sigma v2 interconnects ($4000/one-meter RCA) and Sigma v2 speaker cables ($9950/two-meters).

Listening

If I were to distill my overall impression of Sigma v2 into a word, it would be immediate. By this, I mean the cables help my system deliver a listening experience of directness and responsiveness. The music has a straightforward liveliness and sounds less electronically processed. Indeed, my stereo’s sound quality has reached a level that I thought would only be possible in a much more expensive system, with the sort of top-of-the line gear one hears at trade shows or in dedicated rooms in a well-heeled audiophile’s home. While my setup is not exactly a starter kit, it certainly would not be characterized as “upper level” by most audiophiles. (Please see the Associated Equipment section.) And yet, I hear the kind of continuousness, dynamics, low-level detail, and tonal complexity that I normally expect from super-systems. Some of the sonic smearing that very good electronics ameliorate can also be cleared up by cables, and the Sigma v2 offerings are a case in point. If you already have a Goldilocks set of electronics and speakers but want to explore ways to wring more performance from them, consider some new cables before you buy new equipment and include Sigma v2 on your short list, even if you can spring for more expensive wires.

That immediacy I mentioned comes across as the ability of the system to closely track quick and subtle changes in a way that is much closer to how you hear them in real life. The absence of fuzziness on dynamic sequences allows hard transients, in particular, to emerge more directly, more intact as they unfold moment to moment. Much of what I used to consider “electronic noise” I am beginning to think has a lot to do with the improper timing of music’s constituent parts. I don’t understand, at a technical level, the cause of what could be referred to as this “timing smear,” but I can hear it when it happens and, more easily, when it is greatly reduced. And I believe others can, too. In a parallel sense, the quote attributed to Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart about pornography (“[I can’t define it], but I know it when I see it.”) applies to what I attribute to “timing disruption” (i.e., I can’t define it but I can hear it when it is meaningfully reduced). This “temporal confusion” can be more readily heard on upper-frequency hard transients and on instruments with unusual harmonic characteristics, like cymbals and saxophones when they are played with some oomph. There is a slight blurring of the sequence of dynamic events on the loud transients (cymbal crashes) and an irritating hardening on loud saxophones. Clarinets, flutes, and violins don’t make me unconsciously cringe when they are played loudly in the same way that cymbals and saxophones do. Has anyone else noticed how many sax players’ volume levels at concerts and on some recordings are set too high for the instrument’s sonic characteristics? It can be painful. (I have nothing against sax players. I admire all accomplished musicians.) Systems that more closely track the timing of these sounds don’t add their own layer of “confusion,” and so they sound less harsh. [It’s worth noting that the saxophone has the most complex harmonic structure of any instrument. —RH]

Our auditory systems are very sensitive to minute differences in the timing of sounds. (This is probably because we need to know the location of certain sounds so that we can flee or pursue things, depending on the situation.) The very small differences in the arrival of the sound waves on the fairly small contours of our ears (and the distance between our ears) cause our auditory system to convert those differences into a probable sound-source location. (I suspect that accurate timing in audio is actually as important as flat frequency response—possibly more so—provided frequency response is not grossly distorted, of course.) I might be misguided, here, but I think Shunyata is addressing the temporal domain as vigorously as it is other key areas, such as frequency response, noise-reduction, and clean signal and power transmission, etc. What I hear from the Sigma v2 is a clear, revealing, dynamically vibrant presentation without a hint of any part of the sound being forced or hyped up. Music just sounds more real and more alive. More immediate.

The Sigma v2’s tonal balance is neutral, as far as I can tell in the context of my system. The interconnect sounds a bit fuller in the bass than the speaker cable, but that does not mean the speaker cable is thin or zippy in anyway. Frequency extension is very wide. Bass is particularly robust. In my earlier review of the v1, I recommended the speaker cable—mostly because of its HARP technology—over the interconnects, if someone could only acquire either one or the other (because of budget constraints, for example). I no longer believe the speaker-cable advantage applies. Shunyata has advanced the v2 interconnects’ performance to a level that closely matches that of the v2 speaker cable. 

Sigma v2 helps my system’s soundscape expand in all three dimensions, especially depth, which is the trickiest of the three—especially when using all solid-state amplification, as I do. Soundstage width was already excellent with the v1, but the v2 extends it out even more. Height also extends a bit higher. But the depth rendering of v2 is really the most rewarding difference. To use a visual analogy, going to Sigma v2 is akin to peering into a tide pool after it has been exposed at low tide for some time, and the water has mostly drained out or evaporated. The 3D contours of the pool’s bowl and its contents of starfish, sea anemones, and other features are more readily apparent. When filled with water, you can see the starfish and anemones in the pool, but their contours usually appear to be rather flat and not distinctly full, 3-D shapes. The Sigma v2 allows my system to render images and soundscape depth with greater overall verisimilitude, more like the pool at low tide. Mind you, the v1 was already a very good imaging cable. Only in direct comparison to the v2 would I say the v1 is rather like a tide pool with a quarter of the water still remaining at the bottom.

It almost goes without saying that cables which can respond very well to subtle timing phenomena and recreate believable soundscapes and convey compelling musical information would likely also have very good resolution of fine details. This is, indeed, the case with Sigma v2. I could have just summarized this entire review with something like, “The Sigma v2 signal cables are masters of resolution. No tonal balance problems. Great dynamics and imaging. The end.” (Some folks may have preferred that!) Joking aside, the level of resolution of detail here is astonishing. I heard individual voices more distinctly in the chorus, as well as more air and hall space, in Ariel Ramirez’s Misa Criolla [Philips]. I heard better defined textures and low-level effects in the piano and electronic background tracks of Billie Eilish’s “Listen Before I Go” on When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? [Darkroom/Interscope]. Both singers’ voices (José Carreras and Billie Eilish O’Connell) were resolved so well that I could more easily “understand” how they were singing…using their mouths, their breath control, etc. The Sigma v2 allows my system to reveal more of the music not by skewing its frequency response to enhance detail, but by lowering the interfering noise and making dynamic behavior sound more lifelike. The result is a more musically interesting, revealing, exciting and, simultaneously, calmer listening experience. 

Conclusion

Shunyata has really improved its signal cables with the new v2. The performance advances in both the Sigma v2 interconnect and speaker cable over the already-very-good v1 are substantial, especially in areas such as overall resolution, dynamic agility, and soundstaging and imaging. The sonic improvements wrought by the Sigma v2 cables in my system are closer to what one would expect from a major electronics upgrade, rather than from new cables alone. 

Building upon the original Sigma’s technologies and construction, Caelin Gabriel and his team at Shunyata have brought to market some truly fine signal cables that, while fairly expensive, are not priced anywhere near the upper end of the market. I highly recommend Sigma v2 cables, even if you can afford the more expensive stuff.

Specs & Pricing

Pricing: Interconnect, RCA $4000/1m ($80 per additional 0.25m), XLR $4500/1.0m ($100 per additional 0.25m); speaker cable, spade or banana $9950/2.0m ($420 per additional 0.25m)

SHUNYATA RESEARCH
26273 Twelve Trees Lane NW
Poulsbo, WA 98370
(360) 598-9935
shunyata.com

Associated Equipment
Analog source: Basis Debut V turntable & Vector 4 tonearm, Benz-Micro LP-S MR cartridge
Phonostage: Simaudio Moon 610LP
Digital sources: Hegel Mohican CDP, HP Envy 15t running JRiver MC-20, Hegel HD30 DAC
Linestages: Ayre K-1xe, Hegel P30
Integrated amplifier: Hegel H390
Power amplifiers: Gamut M250i, Hegel H30
Speakers: YG Acoustics Sonja 2.2, Dynaudio Confidence C1 Signature
Cables: Shunyata Sigma v1 and v2 signal cables, Shunyata Sigma USB, Shunyata Alpha S/PDIF and AES/EBU, Shunyata Sigma v2 NR, Omega XC and QR power cords
A/C Power: Two 20-amp dedicated lines, Shunyata SR-Z1 receptacles, Shunyata Everest 8000 and Typhon power conditioners
Accessories: PrimeAcoustic Z-foam panels and DIY panels, Stillpoints Ultra SS

Tags: CABLES INTERCONNECTS

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