Touche, John.
I was specifically referring to non-established brands that pop up all the time. Get some stock wire, put some pretty techflex on it, slap some ends on it and you have yourself a cable business. yeah, they have to start somewhere, but more often than not, there isn't really anything there that's different than the next guy.
This is something an engineer worked up and I think they are potentially partnering with a larger cable manufacturer to offer the design through their brand. Nothing set in stone. So I can't really say yet the brand or give details.
Until I get my hands on it and listen myself for a period of time, it will remain the mystery cable. The only reason I even mentioned it was for the locals as several have indicated they were still looking for a power cord upgrade from their current stuff.
I know several of the folks that listened to the cord at the shootout meeting and know their ears. The list of cables used in the shootout was pretty extensive and well respected. If they said it was better and by a wide margin, it's worthy enough to give it an audition and see if it's just another fly by night fad or if there is something to it. I don't often pull any punches. If I like it, I like it. If I hate it and think it sounds like crap, I'll let everyone know it sounds like crap. As Rich says, I hate everything. So my list of dislikes is a whole lot longer than my likes. This may end up in the like column, but I doubt it....
I found it intriguing because of its price point. It's not a $20 "miracle" cable. It isn't exactly super cheap. However, it's not $1500 MSRP like a JPS Kaptovator either. I have a pretty healthy dose of skepticism going into this. But if it sounds better than JPS, by all means, I'll let folks know and we'll give it a whirl in a shootout or pass it around to some of the locals to try in systems to compare with what they are currently using. I don't like to spend money any more than the next guy. So I'm always on the lookout for value stuff.