Shunyata Denali

[DMelby]

Just wanted to add my experience to the community - this site has been especially helpful through the years in sorting through equipment and especially Shunyata purchases - figuring out what is best for my system.
As most would echo I've found every new Shunyata power conditioner has superseded the prior and often at less cost.
I had reached a state of audio bliss with the combination Triton V1 which I later upgraded to V2. And adding finally the Typhon. This combination produced the quietest blackest background and allowed voices, and instruments to emerge with outstanding resolution, imaging, and lack of harsh treble. I felt that the sound achieved was about as good as I could hope for - and now limited more by the limits of my other equipment. So with the announcement of the Denali, and some prior comments that the Denali would not supersede the Triton V2/typhon combo I was not especially motivated to trial the Denali.
Well just by chance I was offered a trial of the Denali - not much to lose so I enthusiastically said yes, but I was not planning to purchase - just wanted to hear what the differences are. I have tried the hydra DPC 6 which improved resolution but was a bit harsh compared to my Triton / typhon combo. So I figured perhaps the Denali may be similar.
The Denali has a really nice vertical design which I liked a lot. Easier to get at the plugs, and I also appreciated the power cord holders in the back which prevent my heavy Shunyata power cords from pulling down and pulling out.
I started by transferring my Berkeley reference DAC into the Denali, but left my Aurender N10 and Cavali headphone amp in the Triton/typhon.
First impression right out of the box was - wow, what in the world? The background took on a much blacker, quieter character. Significantly better even out the box to the Triton/typhon.
Intrigued, I plugged my other equipment into the Denali and let it power for 4-5 days.
On return all I can say is Darn! this sounds good! Appreciably better resolution, quieter background, soundstaging/imaging. Even the little bit of further treble harsh I had from before is diminished. The improvement is not subtle - and is in all the right ways that give the music a more satisfying - real quality. Honestly, there are now many of the subtle ques that give me the most pleasure listening - and now they are front and center, not obscured by the usual audio haze that most systems have trouble eliminating.
Ultimately, my Dac and Cavali amp love the Denali. My Aurender prefers the triton/typhon - but only by the smallest of margins.
So I would say that contrary to some prior suggestions- the Denali in many ways surpasses Shunyata's prior state of the art Triton V2. For the right equipment, I would go so far as to say it as the best available power conditioner from Shunyata - or from anyone. A true triumph of engineering.

- A short comment on break in- as a veteran of breaking in many Shunyata cables through the years I would guess I have spent more than 2000 hours of hard break in. The Denali is the first to change that and thank goodness! It sounds great right out of the gate. Yes, it sounds noticeably better after a week, but the journey is so much easier compared to what I was used to.

[CGabriel]

The DENALI Series has been listed in the new issue of The Absolute Sound 2017 Buyers Guide. RH's new reference.

[Still-One]

After auditioning the Denali 6000T was the easiest purchasing decision I have made in this hobby in a long time.

[musicargyle49]

For starters: System, Revel Salon 2/bi-wired, Jeff Rowland 625, J. Rowland 525 mono blocks for LF, J .Rowland Chorus preamp, Berkeley Audio Reference DAC,Esoteric PO5 transport, Triton V1/Typhon, Audience AU24 SE IC, Cardas Clear IC, Cardas Clear speaker 2x for L and High and new Shunyata Anaconda AES/EBU digital. Still points throughout.
The 2 new dual outlet Denali replace 2 Cyclops unit used for the amps.

What I hear:
Blacker backgrounds, more subtle musical detail/timbre and pitch definition in LF range. A slightly better (than Cyclops) sound stage definition w/ individual instruments being a bit more focused & stable. I hear a greater range in dynamics which I attribute to the lowered noise floor. Highs generally appear as slightly louder & brighter w/ a tad of glare on some female vocals , which again may likely be the Revel upper mid drivers themselves which were otherwise less obvious sans the Denali upgrade.
The Denali addition is difficult to access: Overall the Denali units in my system application are objectively superior to the twin Cyclops at the cost of a small degree of warmth. The Denali units do indeed clean the power but may sound just slightly dry & dull w/ musical decays (HF) being somewhat truncated/short. This I feel is an artifact of the excellence of the Denali units which reveal more information about IC cables, isolation and PC. AS well, I do hear the Berkeley Reference DAC's slight brittleness which is otherwise buried in the spurious noise before the Denali.
The best qualities: The gestalt effect x2. Simply put whatever the differences or trade-offs of adding the twin Denali's (running the power amps) the overall experience of listening to recordings is one of greater engagement, emotion and an enhanced feeling of timing. The pace is realistic, tempo more unified & even small expressive gestures such as a singer turning ever so slightly away from the mike during an live recording. Pretty impressive stuff.
My next step is to play w/ the Denali units running the DAC and Transport.
All in all beautifully built power conditioner, handsome, aesthetic in a form- follows function context and clearly at the price point a great investment. FYI: The packaging & shipping containers speaks volumes about the companies commitment to quality. Just done right!
Update coming!

[CGabriel]

Originally Posted by musicargyle49

For starters: System, Revel Salon 2/bi-wired, Jeff Rowland 625, J. Rowland 525 mono blocks for LF, J .Rowland Chorus preamp, Berkeley Audio Reference DAC,Esoteric PO5 transport, Triton V1/Typhon, Audience AU24 SE IC, Cardas Clear IC, Cardas Clear speaker 2x for L and High and new Shunyata Anaconda AES/EBU digital. Still points throughout.
The 2 new dual outlet Denali replace 2 Cyclops unit used for the amps.

What I hear:
Blacker backgrounds, more subtle musical detail/timbre and pitch definition in LF range. A slightly better (than Cyclops) sound stage definition w/ individual instruments being a bit more focused & stable. I hear a greater range in dynamics which I attribute to the lowered noise floor. Highs generally appear as slightly louder & brighter w/ a tad of glare on some female vocals , which again may likely be the Revel upper mid drivers themselves which were otherwise less obvious sans the Denali upgrade.
The Denali addition is difficult to access: Overall the Denali units in my system application are objectively superior to the twin Cyclops at the cost of a small degree of warmth. The Denali units do indeed clean the power but may sound just slightly dry & dull w/ musical decays (HF) being somewhat truncated/short. This I feel is an artifact of the excellence of the Denali units which reveal more information about IC cables, isolation and PC. AS well, I do hear the Berkeley Reference DAC's slight brittleness which is otherwise buried in the spurious noise before the Denali.
The best qualities: The gestalt effect x2. Simply put whatever the differences or trade-offs of adding the twin Denali's (running the power amps) the overall experience of listening to recordings is one of greater engagement, emotion and an enhanced feeling of timing. The pace is realistic, tempo more unified & even small expressive gestures such as a singer turning ever so tightly away from the mike during an live recording. Pretty impressive stuff.
My next step is to play w/ the Denali units running the DAC and Transport.
All in all beautifully built power conditioner, handsome, aesthetic in a form- follows function context and clearly at the price point a great investment. FYI: The packaging & shipping containers speaks volumes about the companies commitment to quality. Just done right!
Update coming!

DENALIs genrally allow you to hear more clearly into the inherent characteristics of the source components and the speakers. Try fine tuning the positioning of your speakers. Nothing radical, just some subtle left-right positioning or toe-in.

[Masterlu]

musicargyle49... Welcome to AA!

[Chad.Wagner]

I test drove a Denali 6000T on the weekend.

I have my left and right speakers connected directly to the wall with Sigma HC cables.

With Alpha HC 20 the Denali's improvements were subtle. I found it needed Sigma HC 20 cable for it to come alive. I found having my C500T and my MCD1100 connected to the HC receptacles was magical. On the 15 amp receptacles there was something lost.

I wish they would have a 4000S with four HC receptacles or 6000S with four HC receptacles instead of two.

[CGabriel]

Originally Posted by Chad.Wagner

I test drove a Denali 6000T on the weekend.

I have my left and right speakers connected directly to the wall with Sigma HC cables.

With Alpha HC 20 the Denali's improvements were subtle. I found it needed Sigma HC 20 cable for it to come alive. I found having my C500T and my MCD1100 connected to the HC receptacles was magical. On the 15 amp receptacles there was something lost.

I wish they would have a 4000S with four HC receptacles or 6000S with four HC receptacles instead of two.

You can achieve what you are seeking by using 1 D2000/T and plug a VENOM PS8 into one of the HC outlets. Then you have up to 8 high-current outlets available.

[musicargyle49]

Thanks all. Great site & very informative. I did indeed tweak my set-up by adding Still Points to every last thing with electricity flowing through it (I was at app. 75% SP.) After reading several older sources I began by reversing the orientation of the Ultra Mini risers (all 3xtripodic) :With bearing facing up rather than down (Skinny point up OR down to toward the shelf) starting w/ the Transport & working downward to the amps.
Simply remarkable results: BY flipping the orientation on the Transport, DAC & preamp I was able to smooth out the highs, produce far greater image separation, deeper & higher sound stage & lock in instrumental location. Actually I was very surprised it mattered.
With some playful non-intutive flipping, the sounds improve vastly (banished the dry & brittle HF.) I reinserted the Cyclops units to compare w/ the Denali's: NO contest!
The Denali's are in every respect superior w/ an overall improvement especially in fine micro detail & and "live performance" sparkle. The harsh overtone's in the HF were mitigated if not simply gone by virtue of taking th time to play w/ the Still Points (5 hours of playing.)
Even after decades of tuning my system I was humbled & charmed to learn that the physics of the system still can be fine tuned in such a meaningful way.

[Chad.Wagner]

Originally Posted by CGabriel

You can achieve what you are seeking by using 1 D2000/T and plug a VENOM PS8 into one of the HC outlets. Then you have up to 8 high-current outlets available.

Interesting suggestion.

What type of cable would be needed into the PS8 to keep the magic? Would I need another Sigma HC20? I think my Venom HC is only 10 gauge, but my Sigma HC is 6 gauge. What gauge are the wires in the PS8?