New Helix PowerSnakes Cable From Shunyata ?

Hi Arnie,

Unfortunately, no. The DCCA Extreme Reference came about 10 days ago, but was SOOO thick and stiff, that I couldn't make it fit in my system. That's the first time I've ever had a cord like that. I've dealt with many Shunyata's, Elrod's, Electra Glide's, as well as cords from BMI, Virtual Dynamics, Tara Labs, Cardas, Nordost, and many more over the years. Nothing has come even as remotely close to being as stiff as the DCCA.

Don did offer to make a custom one for me to try, without the external sheilding, but the first one was so incredibly stiff, that I decided not to take him up on his offer. He did make good on his money back guarantee, but I have no comment about his cord sonically, since I still haven't heard it. I wished I could have tried it, but I wasn't going to jump through hoops to do so. There are so many good cords out there.

John

I had the same experience with the stiff DCCA cords. Don originally sent me two Extreme Reference power cords, and I returned them the same day because I couldn't install them.

However, Don then offered to make me a custom cord at a specific length including a crucial 90 degree bend and exact orientation of the plug and EIC connectors. Don's customer service was extraordinary, and the resulting cord is in my system powering one of my Hydra 2 conditioners.

The custom cord also included Don's MBG, by the way.

The moral of the story with DCCA cords is...they are very, very stiff, and therefore a custom cord is probably the way to go. Don will happily fabricate a cord to your specifications.

Terrific cords akin to Elrod EPS3 Signature, IMO, and worth the extra effort.

As with all aspects of this hobby, YMMV.

I would like to add some more comments about the perceived sound staging differences between Epiphany and Python Helix VX.
CMO Babybear and I agreed that the stage of Electraglide was huge and layered in the three dimensions. It appear to start perhaps slightly forward of the speakers and extend well behind, Left to right it also seem to exceed the speakers boundaries by several feet. There was finally a great sense of height of the stage. With the Python Helix the impression was that the stage had been pushed further behind, with the perceived width and height shrunk following the rules of perspective, the width now being that of the outer sides of the speakers and the height proportionally shorter.
However, while CMO and I perceived the depth and image layering only to have shrunk proportionally, Babybear felt there was a disproportionate collapse in depth and layering, and that the Python Helix soundstage had become essentially flat and two dimensional.
It will be interesting to audition the Anaconda Helixes, as one of the differences I recall between the original Anacondas and Pythons chords in the past was the perceivable differences in size, depth and positioning of the respective sound stage.

Guido,

I like your thoughts on the variation in sound between the two powercords.

I also noticed that you used an Exact Power EP15A ... why not a Hydra 8? ... I have some friends who've auditioned the 2 against each other and they greatly prefered the hydra in the system used ... just a thought on synergy, since shunyata does all cord testing with the hydras in the system.

Furthermore, Samuel brings a very good point in his posting ... let them settle in ... I can tell you from my own experience with the older anaconda vx, that even if it's fully broken in, it still needs about 1 to 2 weeks to fully settle in before it shows what it's trully capable of ... the vx is a cord that gets better and better as time goes by. Some previus owners have complained about the bass and the lack of body present in the anacondas ... that is not something I noticed in my system after I allowed it to settle in (I also use the hydra which may be a reason for my findings) ... of course now I'm curious to hear the Helix series ... Samuel is not a person that likes to throw words around in order to market his products.

Amperidian, good point about settling in. The Epiphany had been on the system for a few months, while our application of the Python lasted 3 hrs from start to end. In spite of the disfavorable test conditions I do prefer the Python Helix to the Epiphany. Yet, these are both amazing chords, and Babybear preference for the Epiphany on his own system is as valid as mine for the Python. When we finally test the Anacondas, I hope to do it also on my own system, without any power conditioning. My final testing will take place in several more months, after acquiring and dutyfully breaking in a new line stage, probably an ARC Ref 3.

Guido