A Diamond In The Rough-Snake River Audio

[Steve Williams]

There are several threads active presently in WBF regarding the integrity of the High End in our hobby. Questions have been raised as to whether the most expensive are always the top of the heap and the best of the best . There are are also very strong suggestions here that the less than the uber expensive often bring to market products that are so good that they give all of us pause in our collective beliefs.. Such is the case that came to my mind over the past several weeks that intrigued me so much that I felt I needed to compare such a product in my system.

I have known treitz3 since WBF started 14 years ago. We have never met face to face but have talked audio and our systems frequently over the years. Tom has an excellent system and a very good ear. Several weeks ago during one of our conversations Tom happened to mention that the cabling in his system has changed and he has close to a full loom of cable and cords from a company about which I had never heard, to wit Snake River Audio. I questioned Tom about the cable and told him I'm done with cable and cords as I have a full loom of Masterbuilt Ultra which took me the better part of 3 years to buy in many purchases and to my ears I haven't heard anything in my system which sounded as good . What caught my interest however was the metallurgy involved in these cables and the price of these cables. Tom told me that the Takshaka series consisted of a mixture of virtually pure extruded strands of silver, along with 24 carat gold as well as red copper. I must admit that I just had never heard of such a mixture in any cables I've owned or heard.

What really caught my interest was Tom's description of the Takshaka power cord in his system along with the MSRP of $2795 USD. I told Tom I was fascinated but had no desires to consider rethinking what I have in my system but he did convince me it would be interesting to get my thoughts of the power cord as it sounded in my system. Let me say that I was lukewarm, as I have been eternally happy with the MB Ultra loom in my system. Tom put me in touch with the owner and chief designer of Snake River aka "Johnny" who reached out to me. I told Johnny up front that I wasn't interested in any new purchase as I was satisfied with my MB Ultra.

Johnny is not an advertiser on WBF and had no desires to become such, so with the ground rules clear to both of us I agree to an audition of the Takashka Power cord. Johnny suggested I try it on either my DAC or Server. He actually felt amp would be best but my amps are dual mono dual power supply and he was only sending me a single power cord. My server consists of Taiko Olympus and IO which also employs 2 power cords so I told Johnny I would agree if he understands that I would be doing the audition using my LampizatOr Horizon 360 DAC. He was totally OK with that. He told me it would be a week or so until I received the cable as he personally burns in all of his cables for a minimum of 200 hours. He also said that even with 200 hours, the cable will need many more hours in my system to settle'.

The cable arrived last week and my first imopression was the packaging. Simply put I have never received a cable packaged as well as this. Everything was surrounded in bubble wrap and the power cord itself was in a vacuum tight bag which essentially rendered the power cord immobile in the package and thus prevents any damage

First impression was the build and finish was exquisite and much nicer in appearance than many power cords at far greater cost. This however has nothing to do with how it sounds.


So let me cut to the chase and describe how it sounded. Right out of the box the mid-range and mid bass was astonishingly good, The tone , timbre and dynamics left nothing out. I did find initially that the very top end was a little lean and the very deep bass was a little slow and missing the snap I was used to hearing with my MB Ultra. I reported these initial findings to Johnny and hard him chuckle as he said, give it a few days as he was quite confident my opinion would change. Well change it did. By the third day the top end was as good as my MB Ultra. There was no roll off. Everything was there. Nothing was missing. There was no apparent coloration. What really floored me however was how good the mid bass and now the deep bass was. It was tight, fast and explosive. I threw all of my demo disks at this and nothing proved a disappointment

Here is for me the revelation. .....I listened to this PC for a week and when all is said ane done it was my impression that if I had to do a blinded A-B test with it and my MB Ultra I truly would be hard pressed to distinguish one from the other. The midrange of this Power cord left me somewhat speechless

So at the end of this week I have to thank Tom for the suggestion and the kindness of Johnny to send me the Power cord with the understanding I had no desires to buy as I had never heard anything to my ears in my system as good or better than my MB Ultra

Well the moral to this story is that the high end indeed need not be represented merely by the uber expensive but can also be something so good that at the end of the day one has to wonder why this isn't priced higher. That was my take away from this audition. It was a revelation to my ears and proves the point that the high end comes in all shapes and sizes and can indeed be so reasonably priced that for the ultimate sound quality it would become an essential part to everyone's system.

I did not purchase this PC but if I were putting a system together and/or exploring cable options I would definitely give this cable and cord an audition. I have to give a big shout out to Tom who took the time to bring this to my attention as well as to Johnny who sent it to me with the understanding I would be happy to listen but I wasn't going to be making any changes in my system. I had to swallow a lot of pride in writing this thread but truth be told, it is that good

 

[Steve Williams]

 

[Kingsrule]

Thanks Steve..we could use more comparisons like this

So a quick question Steve, how flexible is it?

 

[GroovySauce]

Great write up! Jonny is a great guy to work with. I have a full loom of SRA cables in my system. Mostly Signature.

Excluding the Mamushi line, SRA are some of the most flexible high end cables I've ever used.

 

[Salectric]

I had a chance to speak with Jonny at CAF a few months ago, and he clearly knows cables.

One thing Steve did not mention is Snake River has a 30-day satisfaction period. If things don’t work out with his cables in your system, Jonny will refund the purchase price minus shipping costs, so there is less risk buying a Snake River cable than with many brands.

After talking to Jonny at CAF, I ordered a Snake River Signature power cord and it arrived just as Steve described. As it turned out, I preferred my existing cables over the Snake River Signature (not the model Steve tried) so the refund option turned out to be a real advantage

 

[treitz3]

Hello and good afternoon to you all. Just now had the time to finally sit down (busy day today).

First off to @Steve williams. Thanks so much for your kind words. Honestly, I would not have recommended for you to audition them if they didn't make such a profound difference in my own rig. I didn't actually discover Snake River Audio until January of 2023. I started with one IC and immediately fell in love with the sound (metallurgy mix). Next thing you know, most of my rig was outfitted with Mamushi, Boomslang, Cottonmouth, the Signature Series and even some custom cables that Jonny built specifically for my system and for my very specific sonic requests. It became very clear to me after a short period of time, that this man knows exactly what he is doing with his craft!

Fast forward a couple of years, Jonny and I have become very good audio friends and I was lucky enough to be the first person in the world (besides him and his lovely wife) to audition this new cable lineup, called the "Takshaka".

I knew it when I first heard the Takshaka's, that Jonny had hit a grand slam with these cables. While I had, nor have any business affiliation whatsoever with Snake River Audio, the end result to what hits my ears makes telling folks about them worthwhile to me. To me, these are like a slice of audio heaven, here on Earth. I had read something that Steve had written about the slam and mid-bass on another product he had tried out, and it was that post that prompted me to suggest trying out the Takshaka on his system. Because I knew what he had mentioned in that post, was exactly what the Takshaka's strong points were. It's almost as if they corrected the timing, if you will. Not really, but that's what it sounded like to these ears.

The midrange of this Power cord left me somewhat speechless.

I had to swallow a lot of pride in writing this thread but truth be told, it is that good

I apologize profusely for even the thought of you feeling like you had to swallow some pride. That was clearly not my intention. What was my intention was to showcase what I have been privy too, in my own system. You mentioned the mid-range leaving you somewhat speechless. That's one of the wonderful things about what these cables deliver to myself within my system. Yes, it does wonders with all of the other aspects but that tone/timbre (to me and in my system) is to die for. Background singers being just as detailed, present and palpable as every other instrument, along with the lead singer. Spooky real at times.

Anyhoo, since I first discovered Snake River Audio.....and especially the Takshaka's? Now, all of my rig has Takshaka's in all of the critical parts of the system (minus the SC's, which you will read about below), with the rest of the Snake River Audio products I have enjoyed since discovering them supplying the LPS', clocks, switches, sub,s and other not so critical gear. The end result for me, is breath taking, to say the least.

@GroovySauce - I do agree with this observation. They are very flexible. The only exception would be the Takshaka IC's (because of the stout connectors). You do want to reserve a little bit more room behind the gear before you change direction. I would say, about 4 to 5". Otherwise, you may be stressing the cable out to much. Less, much less for the PC's. No worries with the other products Jonny offers but I did want to mention that, just in case that is a concern.

Also worthy of note - The Signature cables are currently hooked up to my speakers. They are tri-ampable, so I also have Tara Labs and Front Row jumpers assisting in these position(s). The Takshaka Speaker cables are still not available for now, but Jonny expects them to be available late spring, FYI.

Steve, I cannot express my gratitude enough for you taking the time to listen, evaluate and post your thoughts on these. It is very much appreciated and I know full well that you had every right to decline the offer. I took a gamble that you would be impressed, and it sounds like you were. Going head to head with cables that are over 6x the cost, along with observations like you have stated? There are indeed things out there that give all of us pause in our collective beliefs.

Tom

 

[Steve Williams]

These are really a diamond in the rough and truly what I heard in comparison to what I have now tells me that they are greatly underpriced.

 

[facten]

These are really a diamond in the rough and truly what I heard in comparison to what I have now tells me that they are greatly underpriced.

or maybe other cables are greatly overpriced

 

[treitz3]

These are really a diamond in the rough and truly what I heard in comparison to what I have now tells me that they are greatly underpriced.

Steve, as mentioned on the phone the other day, I completely agree. Jonny is not like other cable designers though. He is not interested in making a killing on cables. This is his livelihood, his passion and what he loves to do. I have also personally told him that his pricing is too low for what he has to offer with the Takshaka's.

At the end of the day? Jonny will be Jonny and he is just (enthusiastically) happy hearing about the positive aspects of what his cables offer folks. I don't think I have ever ran across a more genuine and down to Earth character in all of my audio travels. He's just a great guy.....and stunningly awesome at his craft.

I have a close friend that has some QSA power outlets and PC's he just invested a HEFTY amount of money on, within his great system. We listen to each other's system's often. The difference between our respective systems doesn't offer much of a change, in terms of resolution, visceral impact or the gamut of other audiophile terms. What mine does over his, is that beautiful tone/timbre that the Takshaka's have over his. I personally believe that it is the metallurgy blend Jonny uses.

I have heard silver, copper and a host of other metallurgies over the years. I have 2 or 3 boxes worth of cables just sitting in a box, completely worthless to me. Many with as much deficiencies, as their are attributes. When I first read about SRA and Jonny's offerings, I was "hoping" that some of the deficiencies of certain metallurgies would be thwarted/enhanced by the blend/combination between other metallurgies. I was fortunately correct. The use of quality materials and a careful blend between all of them, truly can make or break a system. One of the things that I have learned since discovering SRA, is that many of the "known" or preconceived notions about metallurgies are thrown out of the window when listening to his offerings. For me? It started with the Signature.....the rest? Well, you are reading about it live time here.

The metallurgy is what first got me interested in SRA to begin with. Since then? My system has catapulted me into not "just" listening to a reproduction, but truly experiencing a peformance that sucks me into it.

Tom

 

[markramler]

I use SRA Signature Amp power cables on preamps and LPSs as they performed better than any other PC I tried. I am expecting delivery of the Takshaka PC on Tuesday and I plan to demo it on a number of different components. I am very excited because of how good the Signature PCs are.

 

[BruceD]

Sounds like Steve's just put Mr Snake River's kids through school--Steve's recommendations are gold!
Excellent write up and honest as a confessional.
Mr SR Sir-- your top of the line cable should be the TAIPAN--the Inland version is the world's most venomous Serpentes.
He sits atop the Mountain in Snake world.
GWTS's
BruceD

 

[treitz3]

Sounds like Steve's just put Mr Snake River's kids through school--Steve's recommendations are gold!

Excellent write up and honest as a confessional.

Hello and good morning to you, @BruceD. Just as an FYI, Jonny is a proud Veteran and retired detective from the Sheriff's office. So, his kid's are long past schooling at this point. Agreed on Steve's write up. Steve is a great gentleman with a superb audio system.

Mr SR Sir-- your top of the line cable should be the TAIPAN--the Inland version is the world's most venomous Serpentes.

Here's the thing with that. There are a number of other companies that already have cables named Taipan. As you may know, all of Jonny's products are going along the lines of a snake or snake theme. In the case of the Takshaka, they were named after a God. In Hindu beliefs, Takshaka is a snake God.

@markramler - Congratulations on your latest purchase! As good as the Signatures are? The Takshaka's are on a completely different playing field and you should be excited! I am excited for you. Just as an observation I'd like to relay to you, if you don't mind. The Takshaka's do sound great right out of the box, but IME, they do change around the 3 to 4 day mark (much more about almost every aspect comes into fruition). After that, they just keep getting better with very mild to negligible swings after that. I would advise putting it somewhere where you can keep it powered up and running, until you hit that 3 to 4 day mark. I was pleasantly surprised how much more of a change it made in my system (going from the Signature to the Takshaka) when I switched my first PC from my DAC to my Lumin UX1 source, so you may want to try it there first.

Tom

 

[Steve Williams]

Thanks Steve..we could use more comparisons like this

So a quick question Steve, how flexible is it?

Im sorry for the delay as I am just seeing this as I was out of town for a few days....This cord is extremely flexible . The build is impeccable. The packaging was the best I have ever seen when it comes to receiving cables. Vacuum sealed so that zero movement in transit

 

[Steve Williams]

I had a chance to speak with Jonny at CAF a few months ago, and he clearly knows cables.

One thing Steve did not mention is Snake River has a 30-day satisfaction period. If things don’t work out with his cables in your system, Jonny will refund the purchase price minus shipping costs, so there is less risk buying a Snake River cable than with many brands.

After talking to Jonny at CAF, I ordered a Snake River Signature power cord and it arrived just as Steve described. As it turned out, I preferred my existing cables over the Snake River Signature (not the model Steve tried) so the refund option turned out to be a real advantage

I can only speak to the Takshaka Power cord. I have zero experience with any of his other cables

 

[KPC]

Many thanks Steve. Been struggling figuring out PC upgrades but within my budget. So many other rabbit holes to fill.