Delta NR impressions
 

I had considered buying a S Booster linear power supply (the Mytek Brooklyn has a 12v input for an external supply) but US availability is spotty. On a whim, I swung by my local Shunyata dealer and borrowed their demo Delta NR to try on the DAC+.

My amp and preamp already have Alpha HCs which I picked up on closeout. The rest of my IEC-equipped gear has Venom 14s, and the entire setup terminates into an AQ Niagara 5000, connected to the wall with a Venom HC.

Overall impression is very favorable. Better instrument separation, lower noise floor, less grain and better bass (not more bass, just more articulate). Overall, more musical with a wide range of music types. I will definitely be ordering one.

I'd qualify all of this by saying that I have always been a skeptic of aftermarket power cords. That was until I tried the Alpha HC. When I plugged the first of the 2 I bought in, I had a "how the #$%^ is that possible?" moment. I have also found power conditioners to be a mixed bag. What I have learned recently is, that there are products on the market which are a straight improvement without the typical downside.

I read a post by Grant recently where he opined that signal cables are important but that power was a higher priority. I'm inclined to agree. I think that when I got into hifi in the late 80's/early 90's, this might not have been as true. Part of this might be down to the (much higher) level of the equipment I own, but also that A/C power is simply not as clean as it used to be. I might be wrong, but it seems reasonable given the amount of high frequency noise which surrounds us all the time, especially in the city.

Anyway, kudos to Shunyata and other companies who are attempting to address these concerns.

Delta NR impressions
 

Curious why you chose an AQ Niagara 5000 with a loom of Shunyata power cords. Did you try one of the Shunyata power distributors such as their Triton?

I did not. I borrowed the AQ Niagara 1000 which really impressed me and and later bought a demo Furman Elite 15 PFI because the power factor correction and outlet capacity. However, I was disappointed with the performance of the Furman unit... the Niagara 1000 was significantly better. I returned the Furman and put the $ toward the Niagara 5000.

Before the Furman return, I checked with my Shunyata dealer. Their demo Denali 6000 was checked out for a few weeks. I ran across Michael Fremer's "audio porn" experiment and realized that Garth Powell's new designs were likely the real deal based not only on the reviews but also my previous experience with the 1000 model.

Ultimately, I wanted 8+ outlet unit under $4000. The Triton v3 was outside my budget as was the Niagara 7000. The Niagara 5000 seemed like the best compromise.

I'm in this same situation; I love my Shunyata cords but will likely stick with an AQ cord like the Tornado if I decide to get a Niagara 5000 (the sweet spot in Niagara pricing, IMHO.)

I am considering the Niagara 5000 because I can connect my two monoblocks and my source components to it; to do the same I would need to spring for a Denali 2000T and a 6000S, and the 6000S alone costs the same as the 5000. (I also don't have space for a 2000T.)

I'd prefer the Denali solution, since I have dedicated separate outlets for source components and my amps, but I can't afford the extra $3500 for a 2000T even if I could find a place to put it.

Yeah, that's the problem isn't it Bill.

For me, it was the # of source components - DAC, turntable, pre/power, TV, DVD, streamer and phone stage is 8 components. I've since swapped from separate phono preamp to the Mytek which incorporates the DAC and phono, but I still have 7 items I want to run through the filter.

Shunyata has affordable solutions for the that number of outlets, but it doesn't look like a "high-end" solution relative to the Denali line.

The AQ1000 is 8-outlet, but lacks the power factor correction and isn't as advanced of a filter. I thought about just buying 2 1000's for $2000.00 MSRP, but I didn't want 2 of them sitting on the floor behind my rack, and there's still a potential for voltage potential between the 2 separate banks of outlets (I think).

Yeah, my biggest concern is whether being able to plug the amps and components into one protector is better or worse than being able to plug them into separate outlets with dedicated runs back to the breaker box. (Believe it or not I had them do that back in 1990 when I bought my house.)