Shunyata PS8 with Defender Review

I have em. They are purty!

 

I'm passing on the feet, but I'm going to get the receptacle. I'll tackle vibration control someday, but I'll want to address every component at once with a well thought out, comprehensive solution.

My contact at Cable Co said they'd break in the power cords for me, but we haven't nailed down the final price just yet. I'll be sending the bill to a few of you trouble makers if my stock cords match the Venom. LOL.

 

I'm not sure the feet make any sonic difference but they look good.

 

How does running a fan for five days break something in? Once a fan is up and running, it draws next to zero current.

 

Large box fan is ok for this application but just ok. Short of using something like the Audiodharma Cable Cooker the best household available burn-in device for power cords or receptacles is a refrigerator or chest freezer and you're likely looking at two weeks to get the job done. And that's on each half of individual receptacles if you're doing receptacles.

Chest Freezer or Fridge will draw more on idle than the box fan but the real deal is the massive surge of current that occurs when their compressors kick in. It's significantly more than the cable or receptacle will see in virtually any audio system.

If you've never really burned in a cord this way, a very interesting experiment is to take a good aftermarket power cord, particularly one that's been on a low current component like a CD player or preamp (even for years), stick it on the fridge for a couple of weeks and then slot it back into the system.

 

I've owned some Shunyata in the past and thought it quite good. I will be in the marketplace for an entry level product like this in the not too distant future. There is one minor concern for me regarding layout and that is the position of the ports (end to end) would seem to make it difficult for plugging in wall warts (i.e. The two Lacie HDD I use) rather than a side by side layout. I guess it is a marketing position and price point to not simply build a more functional (to my mind) layout and include The Defender technology.

 

When I received my Hydra 4, I run four 100W light bulbs through it to burn it in.

 

Had so many types of conditioners and the like in that the best sounding if you will are the Shunyata Defender plugged directly into the wall and all my components are equiped with Venom HC and the Venom 3 power cables. The sound is phenomonal and its highly unlikely that I will ever change a thing.
Just the Defender in the closet outlet and the power cables all in good quality outlets. No Venom PS8 used. Very Pleased.. John M.

 

Maybe one way around that is to plug one of those octupus cords into an outlet on the Shunyata for the lacie drives.

 

This is really what we cheapskates would like to know - - would the Defender alone, either in a power strip or in the wall, be helpful without all the rest of the accompaniments?

 

Email Shunyata, but the way I see it is that plugging the Defender into the duplex receptacle along with a power strip will give surge protection and conditioning to components plugged into the power strip. The next upgrade would be to replace stock power cords with Venom. And then upgrade the power strip for another incremental improvement.

Come to think of it, I think I'll use the Defender with cheap power strip myself and then swap in the PS8. In this configuration, I think I'd plug my power amp into the duplex along with the power strip and then plug the Defender into the power strip along with my source and line pre. When I asked a Shunyata rep about the power amp he suggested plugging it into the PS8 first, but then to switch to the other configuration at some point to see which sounds best.

 

Like I said the Defender is placed in the outlet about two outlets away. The components are in the outlets nearest them , venom HC and 3 cables. No need for the power strip other than for convienence if you need it, I dont. Even Shunyata admits this in their own way. It seems that placing the Defender closest as possible to the stereo affects the sound or noise in the best way. The power strip is more for accomadating many componenets if needed.
The stereo room Im in is on its own line but no special wiring or its own junction box, just a home like most people. The room is by itself but ofcourse can and does get polluted by the fuse box its tied into.
The cheapest and most sound improving change I ever had and Im not exagerating. John M.

 

I placed an order for the Venom series products. I'll have the 3s for my source and line pre and the HC for my power amp. Defender. PS8 (with HC). I'm a little concerned that I won't experience a lower noise floor and perhaps slightly better dynamics. I've never invested in an upgrade that didn't bring a smile, so I hope this isn't a first.

 

Why not try the BPT? It's less than half the price of the Venom PS8 and seems to be as well made, the chassis does not look as cool, but it's solid copper so it is actually the better material.

 

It made a significant difference on my system if that gives you any comfort.

 

I have a Defender (no PS8, though) arriving tomorrow...

 

Let us know how you like it.

 

I have a Defender plugged into my power strip. The power strip is a prototype that some company (I think it is JOB) was developing and has no filtering or surge protection. My pre-amp, Mac Mini, and DAC are all plugged into it. I was going to get the BPT power strip or try to make my own using cryoed Hubbell outlets and copper chassis but this showed up on eBay and seems to be the real deal. It works well and is definitely a step up from the entry level Furman device I was using.

When I was experimenting with that, I also upgraded all my stock power cords to the Shunyata Venom 3. (pre-amp, DAC, and power strip). The power cords provided a bigger improvement in sound quality than the Defender. It was money very well spent.

The power amp is on its own circuit and plugged directly into the wall. For an experiment, I plugged the Defender into the same outlet. There was not a noticeable difference for me. However, it also did no harm which is one of the bigger complaints that people have about power conditioners.

I have since upgraded my amp and have considerably more dollars involved now. For peace of mind, I may get another Defender and plug it into the amp outlet for surge protection. This amp (Rogue Medusa) also has a detachable cord so I will get a power cord also. To try something different, I may go away from Shunyata. Tempo Electric and Cabledyne make silver power cords that look interesting and are relatively well priced.

 

The BPT Pure Power Center can be upgraded with surge and filtering protection, there is a slew of upgrades that can be performed on it that would easily approach $1500 or more depending on what can be added including some very esoteric stuff such as Bybee Quantum Purifiers. I would enjoy hearing one all topped out compared to the stock one which looks like no slouch to begin with. But by then it makes me wonder if one shouldn't be moving over to their Ultra Isolators at that price point.

There's a lot of interesting stuff to read on Tempo Electric's site, their power cables cost quite a few bucks more than the Shunyata Venoms though. I also enjoyed reading about naked terminations for speakers in comparison to bananas and spades.

 

The article on connectors does seem to make a lot of sense. It makes me question if we should focus on the connectors more than the wire.

It would be cool to hear the BPT with all the accessories added but it is a matter of priorities on allocating the budget.
Assembling a system on a budget is a balancing act. Right now I am trying to budget $500 to $600 for speaker cables and a power cord. Choices....

 

Interesting, plugging the Defender into the other half of the wall outlet as my power amp, one can immediately hear the difference (very slight but still there) between having the Defender plugged in or not. This is on a dedicated 15A circuit with a $30 Hubbell outlet.

 

It made a difference on my system with a dedicated line and Oyaide outlet.

 

I wonder if the Cyclone would be more worthwhile?

 

You mean the Cyclops?

 

Right, iPad autocorrect I'm going to turn it off...