Shunyata Research

The big news from Shunyata Research is that they've upgraded all of the models in the Taipan, Python, and Anaconda PowerSnake (power cord) lines to the Taipan Helix, Python Helix, and Anaconda Helix models. These new models use more complicated and sophisticated braiding geometries with increases in the numbers of conductors used as compared to the prior models. The Helix Series cables use a complex helix design that has been granted a patent for its ability to minimize the effects of electromagnetic interference and self-induced inductance. The dual helix, counter-rotating braid brings individual conductors together at ninety degree angles, eliminating the sonic degradations that occur when electromagnetic fields propagate along the lateral length of a single, heavy gauge, bulk wire. The advanced braiding geometry also greatly reduces the susceptibility to incoming radio frequency interference that can degrade audio or video quality and prevents the power supply noise that is generated within every audio and video component from being radiated to other components in your system. These design elements allow sound to be rendered with infinite speed and dynamic contrast while preserving the delicate structure of tones and fine detail that are critical to listening involvement.

What's really exciting about the new Helix models is that each series now gives better performance than the models of the next higher, older series. Thus, the Taipan Helix models are better than the old Python models, and the Python Helix models are better than the old Anaconda models. This means that Shunyata Research has significantly improved the performance you get at each price level and has brought superb performance down to lower prices than were previously possible. As for state-of-the-art, the Anaconda Helix models break entirely new ground in the performance they bring to your system.

Of course, there's a lot more that goes into the PowerSnakes than just how the wires are braided. For example, PowerSnake conductors are drawn from solid ingots of CDA-101 copper, certified with papers ensuring it to be the highest purity copper available in the world. The CDA-101 copper ingots are then melted down, and drawn into various PowerSnake wire configurations to meet designer Caelin Gabriel's exacting specifications. Shunyata Research then insulates with the highest purity “medical grade” dielectrics before treating the wires in their own, computer-controlled, deep immersion, cryogenic lab. The extremely cold temperatures of this cryogenic treatment actually rearrange the molecular structure of the wire in beneficial ways. Many of the design parameters used by Shunyata Research are unique and covered by U.S. patents. The many awards, reviews, and professional endorsements earned by Shunyata Research's Helix products confirm the superior technology within these patented designs.

There are many, many more aspects to the design of these fabulous power cords, and one of the interviews in our online lecture series covers them in much more detail than is possible here. To listen to this interview, please go to the Online Lectures page of our website. For those who are interested in experiencing just what the PowerSnakes can do, please come into the store for an audition or to borrow some to try at home.