February 26, 2012

  • Shunyata Antares, Part 3

    10 years ago, one of my co-workers, a Chris Isaak fan, went down to Rasputin Records on Powell Street, and bought Always Got Tonight.  We just love "Let Me Down Easy."  In autumn 2004, when I moved to San Leandro, I listened to Always Got Tonight a few times.  And that reminds me.  One of the interconnects I had then was the Shunyata Antares.

    Now that both of the samples I have in-house have been Cooked, it's time to give them regular playing time.  The Antares is quite good.  Despite not being shielded, its braided construction must be doing a good job of keeping noise out.  It's a very quiet, grain-free listen.  It doesn't have the warm coloration of, say, the similarly-priced Kimber Select models.  The Antares doesn't sound ragged, disjointed, bloated, or hard.

    The audiophiles ask, "So why did you get rid of the Antares?"

    Now I remember.  Because the Antares has fat-barrel RCAs [the XLRs were fine], it won't fit onto tightly-spaced jacks.