February 14, 2013
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Guardian Pro 6, Pt 3 & Other Topics
The story continues.
Year of the Snake
We recently ushered in the Chinese New Year on February 10th: the Year of the Snake. Depending on the scholar, that's the year 4711, or 4710, or 4650. You pays your money and you takes your choice. Judging from the number of new power cords that have made their way into my system, I celebrated early this year.
The Shunyata Guardian Pro 6 was purchased as a package deal that included a 20A DiamondBack Platinum power cord and the power conditioner sounded darn good with the DiamondBack. Never leaving well enough alone, I decided to try an original version Shunyata Taipan Alpha cord in its place. All-in-all, I'm happy that I did. To sum-up the changes once the original Taipan replaced the DiamondBack: an across the board improvement in dynamics, clarity, soundstaging and frequency response. The change was not subtle.
However, there was a lesson I learned from this E-bay purchase and that was to pay attention to not only what the seller is saying and showing you in the advertisement but perhaps more importantly, what isn't being said or shown. The original Taipan power cord that I purchased for $299 (including shipping) was to all intents and purposes, a functioning Taipan power cord and visually was a Taipan in all respects except for one. Shunyata always includes a barrel on the power cord which has the model name and serial number on one side and the person who actually constructed the cord on the other. For the original, clear jacketed version of the Taipan, this barrel is always white in color.
What I didn't notice or pay attention to in the ad was that for this particular cord, the barrel was a greyish-blue color. And once the power cord arrived, I didn't initially notice that it also read "Copperhead" instead of Taipan. In all other respects, the power cord in question is an original model Taipan including the male and female connectors and the actual cable itself reads "Taipan". A call to Richard (who is the nicest person) at Shunyata revealed the following story.
Reverse of Copperhead Badge
Just before discontinuing the original model Copperhead power cords, Shunyata ran out of the cable they had always used. Coincidentally, they were also discontinuing the original model Taipan Alphas and were preparing to introduce the Taipan Alpha Helix power cord. So, for the final Copperhead production run of 500 to 1,000 power cords (Richard didn't remember the exact number), Shunyata used the original Taipan Alpha cable for the Copperhead production run. Their customers were receiving a real bargain since, in fact, although they were purchasing a Copperhead cord at the retail price of $400, they were in fact getting a Taipan power cord which retailed for $600 - $650. And that's what I had purchased from the Ebay seller.
I find it interesting that in one of the photo's supplied, the seller shows the reverse side of the badge which shows the maker's name and not the obverse side with the model name and serial number. In defense of the seller, he did offer to refund my purchase price. However, he never did respond to my e-mail recapping what I had learned nor has he ever left feedback for the transaction.
I realize this is a long-winded recounting and isn't intended as an ad hominem towards the seller. But it was an educational experience for me and that's why I'm sharing it with you.
During my discussion with Richard, I reported to him that for a number of reasons, I preferred the CA200 plugged into the Guardian Pro 6 as opposed to Shunyata's Hydra 8 power conditioner. He replied that the Guardian Pro was a stripped-down version of the Hydra with simpler, more direct wiring and circuitry and that Shunyata recommends using the Guardian Pro over the Hydra for power amplifiers for just that reason. Needless to say, I was pleased that what my ears reported is what the manufacturer also relates to be the case.
More to follow.
Comments (2)
I'm sure, when the Taipan was in production, I had one of those with the Copperhead plugs.
Gotta sell that 20A Diamondback
@rpghero27 -
Do you mean the connectors said Copperhead? I've never had one like that, just this one with the Copperhead identifying barrel/badge. The male and female connectors look just like all my other original model Taipan Alpha power cords with the exception that the female end has the horizontal slots for a 20 Amp configuration.