Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Mains Cable Alternatives?

Try Ansuz or their more budget friendly Axxess product.

To your knowledge, do such Meridian owners opt for the standard Shunyata power cables or their NR (Noise Reduction) variants?

Russ Andrew's Kimber Cable is used across the piece. I believe they will be supplied on trail basis too.

Shunyata recommended the NR variants for DSP speakers.

I use both Alpha NR and Delta NR in my setup.

Before purchase I home trialled for 2-3 months and regularly swapped out the regular M kettle lead, with both NR variants.

There was always an audible change.

As an outgoing model, there’s discounted prices on the entry-level Venom V10 NR.

As a Shunyata dealer I never had a Alpha or Sigma cable come back from a trial. I cannot say the same for the Venom series.

On further research, the recently introduced Gamma looks like the direct replacement for Venom - and isn’t too dissimilar in price.

One rule of note with cables, minimal cost generally equates to minimal benefit. The middle of the road is the best bang per buck. The law of diminishing returns bites fast beyond that level.

This assumes that there is any benefit whatsoever. It's certainly not measurable or explainable. That doesn't stop people believing power cables make a difference. Let's not try to establish a "truth" by repeating our own beliefs without qualifying them, i.e. I can't explain and I can't demonstrate in a scientific way. This "truth" doesn't benefit a newcomer, it only provides comfort for those who have already bought the idea or those who sell the idea.

Puritan Audio have good rep. If I wanted to try any more, having done the rounds more the once, I'd try them. For clarity, I don't sell this idea and I haven't bought.

To each their own. There are usually three different reactions to cables, your equipment is not of sufficient quality to resolve the difference, your equipment is so good that it cannot be improved upon or your hearing is not able to discern the difference. I, too, was very cable skeptical until the folks at Shunyata sent me tens of thousands of dollars of cables to try. I had reference grade equipment with a 818v3 and 8000SE and the differences made by the cables were distinct and immediate. Unless you have made the commitment to try these things in your system, your comments can only be taken with a grain of salt. Not everyone can appreciate the difference between box wine and fine wine but it is there and you may not be able to measure it. The CMB Integrations demo room in Greer South Carolina boasts the largest installation of Audioquest Dragon cables in the world along with the largest HRS rack built to date. In a room such as this, the benefits of cable and system equipment synergy can be clearly and repetitively demonstrated.

Since you mentioned Audioquest, I had also considered their Monsoon cable. Have you tried it?