The Altaira hubs are approximately $3K USD. The Altaira hubs are also fairly small and designed such that you can simply place them on top of a component already in the rack. You don't need a dedicated shelf or space for them.
As shown here: one of my SG hubs, solely dedicated to the "source" components, my Lumin P1 and EAR phono stage, sits on top of the Lumin P1. The source components are the only components connected to this specific SG hub Altaira.
The other Altaira, on the bottom shelf, just sits on top of the Constellation Inspiration integrated amp, so it doesn't require any additional rack shelf, either. The Inspiration integrated amp is the only component connected to this specifc SG Altaira. Because the Inspiration is fully dual-mono, I have two separate pairs of L/R grouding cables for unused input ports (a pair of unused RCAs and a pair of XLRs) connected to independent zones on this Altaira, for a total of four cables in all. Each Altaira SG hub is connected to a GP-NR terminal on my Everest power distributor with an Omega CGC ground cable.
I would not make that assumption if I were you.
I would actually go
down on the specification of the preamp/amp or integrated and put those funds to an Altaira if I had to allocate those funds one way or the other. That's how
foundational Altaira is, in my experience.
Let's consider a real world example: since I'm fan of integrated amps, let's say you've got $9K to spend on an integrated amp, and you decide to invest in a Hegel H590 integrated amp. A really nice integrated amp at a price point that many folks in our hobby could afford and would consider. So: 1) you could put your $9K into a Hegel H590,
or 2) you could spend $6k on a Hegel H390 and use the remaining $3K to purchase an Altaira CG hub. And, if I were considering these two choices, that's
exactly what I would do, choose "Door #2".
Here's why: a lot of folks (most, probably), think that the "noise" rides "down low", at the bottom of the "signal + noise" component of the source "information" being amplfied. This is not true: the noise actually rides "on top" of the signal...as such, its deteriorates and degrades the integrity of signal
itself. As shown here with a digital signal source.
This is
reality...., here's a graphic depicting 2 and 5 noise components riding on top of the analog voltage square wave that
actually comprises a digital signal (BTW there are NO 0's and 1's, that is
only how the original digital information is
encoded, but I digress).
So, to my mind, why would I spend that extra $3K on the H590 only to have it amplify all the noise (which we hear as "grit, grain, grunge, hash", etc.)
that is still there, mind you, BETTER than the H390? When, alternatively, I could buy an H390 AND an Altaira and have it eliminate the "grit, grain, grunge, hash" up front, and thus allowing the less-expensive H390 amplify a much quieter, much cleaner, more accurate, and truer-to-the-recording signal?
Which would you rather listen to?
To my reasoning, that's a simple choice.