February 13, 2013
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Guardian Pro 6, Pt 2 & Other Topics
Well, it's been over a month since my last entry, so let's start to catch up.
Shunyata Guardian Pro 6 with DiamondBack 20A Power Cord
The following is based on connecting the conrad-johnson CA200 to the Guardian using the DiamondBack power cord that was purchased together with the conditioner.- Listening to disc 2 of the American Acoustic CD, the sound is richer and smoother. This is also the case with Bach Works for Solo Violin by Lara St. John where there's none of the occasional stridency I'd heard previously and the acoustic is clearer.
- Dynamics do not appear to be limited in any way, which was not the case when I'd previously plugged power amplifiers into Shunyata's Hydra 8 power conditioner. In fact, the Guardian seems to convey all the advantages of the Hydra without any of the latter's downside.
- The sound stage is wider and projects a little more into the room - which is something I like although not everyone's preference.
Conclusion so far, the CA200 is a better performer when plugged into the Guardian Pro 6.
Footers, Mounting Changes, and Vibration Control
BDR Pucks
Up to this point, the Guardian was placed on the floor directly upon the nylon carpeting in my apartment. I then placed three #4 Black Diamond Racing pucks under the Guardian to elevate it a bit off of the carpeting. If there were any changes to the sound, I didn't notice them.Rack Mounting
The Guardian had been positioned face-down so that its electrical outlets were facing up. I then mounted it on my Sanus Rack without the BDR Pucks, on its four rubber feet and facing out so the outlets were directly accessible from the rear. There was a small, but noticeable, increase in detail and air around the musical instruments. Listening to Bach's Oboe Concertos on the Naxos label, the presentation continued to be light and airy but no longer sounded tipped-up in frequency. A definite improvement. Differences in the presentation of CDs between my Oppo BDP-95 and modified Music Hall CD-25 were clearly delineated.Vibration Control
A six pound Mapleshade Megamount brass footer was placed on top of the Guardian in order to more securely couple it the the rack shelf. The SACD of Getz/Gilberto never sounded clearer to the extent that I noticed, for the first time I think, distortion on the master tape that would occasionally pop through. Two additional results of placing the brass weight on the Guardian were an increased purity of tone coupled with a wider sound stage.More to follow.
Comments (2)
So if you use the GP6 and H8, will you move the PS Audio strip somewhere else? How does the GP6 compare to that PS Audio strip?
@rpghero27 -
That's a couple of good questions. The PS Audio power strip is currently inactive. It's been so long (7 or 8 years) since I've heard it as a standalone, I no longer remember what it sounds like. For most of that time it was plugged into the Hydra with the PS Audio's stock, generic power cord. More recently with a Venom3.