Thread: Does Shunyata quantify speaker + interconnect cables they way DTCD is used for power?

Posting this here because if there is any company that would have or does have this ability , I'd think it would be Shunyata Research.

Given that this past year saw the launch of the new V2 line and perhaps 2021 will bring the Omega line as the new Flagship for Speaker cables and interconnects.

That being said, has or does Shunyata quantify the performances of these products? Even if only an internal development tool.

For example, we have DTCD we is the ability of a power cord to transfer current to a component.

What exists in the speaker and interconnect cable world?

Finally, I believe MIT Cables (Networked Cables) to this day, are the only manufacturer , regardless of technology to quantify the performance of their products.

As an example, they call it Poles of Articulation in their speaker and interconnect cables.

Anyone know of the Shunyata does similar ?

Maybe, but isn’t distorsion more detrimental on IC’s? I bet it’s not easy to come up with something on IC’s that would correlate perfectly with humanly perceived soundquality.

Originally Posted by mep

Can you explain what poles of articulation are?

Multipole Technology - MIT Cables - Music Interface Technologies

MIT Cables’ core audio cable technology is our exclusive Poles of Articulation, named after the fact that every audio cable has a single point where it is most efficient at storing and transporting energy. At this point in the audio frequency spectrum, the cable will articulate best, and represents the cables’ particular Articulation Pole.

Theoretically, if you could use three different cables at the same time, each with a different Articulation Pole, to interconnect two audio components together, you would have an interface with three Articulation Poles; one for the highs, one for the mids, and one for the lows. Together, they would work to transport the audio signal from component to component with more articulation. This is what MIT Cables accomplishes with its patented technology, to a much greater extent, within each engineered interface. We call this Multipole Technology.

The benefit is more lifelike vocals and instruments, mid and high frequencies become less bright or tiring, voices are clear and understandable, and bass frequencies become tight and deep.


Music Interface Technologies ACC 268 Articulation Control Console and MA-X SHD Interconnects - The Absolute Sound

Can you explain the concept of “poles of articulation”?
A pole of articulation can be thought of as a pole that is holding up a tent in the center.

The tent will have a slope or skirt associated with it on both sides of the pole. Electrically, a pole has a magnitude and it stores energy. How much energy the pole stores is determined by the size of the storage elements—linear capacitors and inductors. Capacitors store voltage for a period of time and return that voltage back to the cable or network. Inductors store current for a period of time and return that current back to the cable or network. If the capacitor or inductor is larger it will store more energy. An articulation pole stores energy and then over a predetermined amount of time can deliver energy to the load.

All cables have one articulation pole, the point where it is most efficient at transporting energy, which is usually around 1500Hz. This is why most cables sound OK at about 1.5kHz but sound brighter at high frequencies and muddy at low frequencies. With just a single articulation pole the first few harmonics of middle C and A are not correct with regard to timbre, and won’t image properly. We end up with an articulation response in conventional cables that is shaped almost like a bell. The highest point in the bell-shaped curve is the highest articulation frequency of the cable, again, about 1.5kHz. We add more poles of articulation above and below that frequency by adding additional capacitive and inductive elements to produce a straight-line articulation response. The first technology we invented that helped overcome these issues was our MIT 2C3D Technology. I wrote a paper about this in 1991 called “Transportable Power in Audio Cables and Energy Storage Elements.”

Going back to our Jitter Free Analog technology, the new version of that, JFA-2, is the primary reason the Articulation Control Consoles are so sonically superior to the Oracle products before them. The Articulation Control Consoles also use a very improved 2C3D technology, which also helps imaging and soundstaging within the very important frequency range of 80–800Hz.

Originally Posted by mep

That’s just marketing jargon, not a real explanation.

I guess you aren't familiar with the engineering credentials of Bruce Brisson? His resume speaks for itself.

Originally Posted by mep

I am familiar with Bruce and I have owned a pair of the network speaker cables and I still have some of his ICs. The more poles of articulation you buy, the more expensive the speaker cables are. It’s basically a filter network in a box that your amp is looking into before your amp sees the speaker crossover network. The only amp I’m aware of that was designed/required to be used with MIT cables is Spectral.

Great. That being said, I don't want to get into a debate about MIT cables. But, my original question was regarding quantifying performance to the customer.

Shunyata does it with DTCD and their power cables.

I was curious if such an objective measurement existed for speaker cables and interconnects.

A pair of Sigma V2 cables is almost 10k retail.

What or how can the performance difference be quantified over the Alpha V2 as an example?

If we take power cords. They mention DTCD or the how much better a cable is at transferring current than their lower model and or a competitor.

I was just curious if this kind of metric exists in speaker cables and interconnects.

Originally Posted by BlueFox

Is MIT still in business? I read someplace, maybe here, they were struggling.

They are doing fine to my knowledge. That turned out of to be fake news that started I believe on Audiogon a few years back.

That being said, take MIT out the equation.

Outside of Synergistic Research and their “tweaks” , I don’t think I’ve came across more oh wait there is MQA lol

Skepticism on the “forms” and community with regards “Network” cables . Although many members here are MIT and Transparent owners.

Btw, you can check out the older threads where the owner was an MIT non believer at one point and was proven wrong.

So, that being said, he did carry the line at some point in time.

I love both brands but, just pointing out from MIT was an that they can quantify the performance of their interconnects and speakers via poles of articulation.

If you believe that is BS or not is your own opinion.

Just curious if Shunyata did similar that is all.

So I would imagine it is very, very, difficult to come up with such a revolutionary product, not to mention profitable ($80,000.00 box with a few feet of speaker cable on both ends and a few knobs to adjust the impedance).

I imagine reviewing such a device and actually putting something meaningful down to read is perhaps the hardest part of all.... Music Interface Technologies ACC 268 Articulation Control Console and MA-X SHD Interconnects - The Absolute Sound

I find myself at odds with such a product to say the least. One the one hand I truly do not believe a word of the pole articulation BS as it applies to audio frequency spectrum... On the other hand, I do not see how pole articulation is helpful or what it solves with speaker cable pigtails still on both ends of the box, as any other speaker cable out there...

Perhaps I am simply not smart enough or worthy of admiring the Emperor with his new clothes. Oh well, I don't have to worry or lose sleep over $80K worth of eh.... "something"??

Everything that can be measured in cables and how it effects the sound has been long covered in pro-audio and recording industries. Cables over hundred feet long for sensitive microphones...

That is the source of input into our systems or the recorded music itself.

There is no reinventing this wheel with fancy marketing... 20-20Khz is a very narrow range of the "electromagnetic" spectrum that extends up into the Gigahertz ranges and beyond into the cosmic Gamma Rays... Since audio waves from our speakers require a medium such as air or water to pass, (no sound propagates in the vacuum of the outer space) they are no considered part of the electromagnetic spectrum. But cables only have to deal with the very narrow range of frequencies.... 20-20Khz or less depending on the age of the audiophile..

So it went that audio gear worked just fine with lamp cords before Noel Lee of Monster Cable showed the world how marketing and better yet, trademark name infringement lawsuits of any brand attempting to or using the word "Monster" are extremely profitable. The madness continues...