Hydra Denali AudioStream Review

[GrantS]

Hi Everyone,

The first of several upcoming reviews of the Hydra Denali Series is now on-line at Audio Stream. Steve Plaskin is an articulate and descriptive writer, so there is a plethora of detailed information, listening notes and insight.

Shunyata Research Denali Series | AudioStream

Upcoming, will be reviews by Vance Hiner and Marc Mickelson of AudioBeat, Robert Harley of The Absolute Sound and Michael Fremer in Stereophile-- and one by Lee Scoggins of Part Time Audiophile. There will be no shortage of different system contexts and listeners to cover the new Hydra Denali Series of products.

Best regards,

Grant
Shunyata Research

[BuffaloBill]

Grant, how can one determine if there is noise, i.e., high frequency, in their power line?

[GrantS]

Hi Bill,

Anyone who has an electronics system whether medical, audio or studio-- where multiple components are all interconnected and in close proximity, feeding off common points for electrical delivery, has noise on their power line.

Noise doesn't come off the grid and pour into electronics as if from a stream. Components are not at the end of a long electrical supply chain, they are the beginning once switched on. Same principle for power cords. They are an extension of the primary winding of the power supply, not the last six feet of "hose". Noise surrounds electronics systems like a shroud and gets kicked back from electronics. Whatever you can do to isolate components in the system from one another, yields by far the best results.

From our point of view its the 80/20 rule. 80 % of the noise that affects system resolution is proximal, not external; meaning its not your neighbors wife's hair dryer or your washing machine that is the problem, its the components themselves due to their proximity and the volume of high-frequency noise generated and kicked back/shared with the other electronics in the system. This is what causes the resolution loss, not grid related noise (maybe 10-20% is off the grid-- and 20% being major metro cities like NYC).

My favorite anecdote is from the Electrophysiology labs I've visited, even in Israel. They all believed their iso transformers protected them from grid related noise--which does help to some varying degrees. I had to explain that the reason they still had endemic, intractable noise issues is because Iso-transformers, chokes, coils and regeneration operate from the same principle--block grid noise. Unfortunately, these devices are blocking noise in_two_ directions. They block noise from getting in and they block system-generated noise from getting out.

Once we replaced the iso transformers with Denali technology, the noise wasn't just reduced, it disappeared altogether. In fact, the drop in noise surpassed their measurement equipments ability to measure _any_ noise. This is well documented on our web and I've had the same result in all 7 EP Labs I've visited.

I've also done electrical consulting on the build out and electrical installations for new labs with Hospitals in Minneapolis, Louisville and Pennsylvania because we don't just manufacture products. Virtually all of Caelin's family are master electricians. His sister won electrician of the year in the US a few years back-- in a male dominated industry. Caelin knows electrical science better than anyone I've encountered and most of that knowledge went into Denali.

If you wonder whether you have a noise issue, borrow a power cord or two, or a PS8/Defender kit and give it a try. The best way to determine whether you would benefit from reducing noise from your electronics, is to borrow a few products from an amenable dealer.

Thanks, Bill.

Grant

[BuffaloBill]

Grant, to clarify what I think you are saying. The objective is to plug a Denali directly into the wall socket (where the noise between it and the wall socket is not an issue) and then plug all components into the Denali which will eliminate component-to-componet noise (which is an issue)?

[CGabriel]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Grant, to clarify what you are saying. The objective is to plug a Denali directly into the wall socket (where the noise between it and the wall socket is not an issue) and then plug all components into the Denali which will eliminate component-to-componet noise (which is an issue)?

The Denali has more than one method of dealing with noise. It absorbs noise from both the power line AND noise generated by the components in the system. Further the Denali firewalls one component from the other with our CCI (component to component isolation) filters. Then the patented NICs (noise isolation chambers) absorb high frequency noise using ferroelectric compounds.

And the answer to your question: How do you know if you have noise on your line? There is always noise present unless you live in a farady cage and everything in your system is battery powered. And even then the electronics create noise.

RFI/EMI and impulse noise is a systemic problem. There is no single component that can eliminate all forms of noise. Noise cannot be reduced to zero - it can only be relatively reduced.

That being said, the Denali does a pretty good job of reducing noise.

Watch this short video:

https://youtu.be/Z6f1kwyZbM8

[BuffaloBill]

Caelin, thanks for your response and video. I guess the next step for me is to determine if noise is being created from the connection of my McIntosh components.

[CGabriel]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Caelin, thanks for your response and video. I guess the next step for me is to determine if noise is being created from the connection of my McIntosh components.

You know I am having a tough time figuring out if you are being serious or poking fun. But to answer your question: Yes even the vaunted Macintosh generates noise. All power supplies generate noise primarily from the bridge rectifiers and digital DSP components.

[BuffaloBill]

Caelin, being serious. I would like to know if there is noise between my McIntosh components that the Denali would eliminate thereby improving resolution.

[CGabriel]

Originally Posted by BuffaloBill

Caelin, being serious. I would like to know if there is noise between my McIntosh components that the Denali would eliminate thereby improving resolution.

Sorry buddy it is difficult to read intention on forums. No worries.
The short answer is yes. But if you want to experiment for yourself you can get an Entech Noise Sniffer. They don't make them anymore but you can buy used ones online for about $75. It is similar to the one I used in the video. Of course it is a simple and crude tool but very useful. There are bands of noise that it doesn't detect and it is arbitrary in absolute measurement so you can't test in one location and then go to another and make judgements about the noise levels one to the other. But it works great for instance - plug it into an outlet in the kitchen and turn the flourecent lights on or worse LED lighting. I will probably do a video showing people some of the worst noise offenders in the home. In my house you can actually hear a radio station coming through the power line.

We are developing a more modern and capable version of the Entech for dealers and consumers so you analyze this yourself. We will make a announcement on the forums when it is available.

[Manbient]

Originally Posted by CGabriel

Sorry buddy it is difficult to read intention on forums. No worries.
The short answer is yes. But if you want to experiment for yourself you can get an Entech Noise Sniffer. They don't make them anymore but you can but used ones online for about $75. It is similar to the one I used in the video. Of course it is a simple and crude tool but very useful. There are bands of noise that it doesn't detect and it is arbitrary in absolute measurement so you can't test in one location and then go to another and make judgements about the noise levels one to the other. But it works great for instance - plug it into an outlet in the kitchen and turn the flourecent lights on or worse LED lighting. I will probably do a video showing people some of the worst noise offenders in the home. In my house you can actually hear a radio station coming through the power line.

We are developing a more modern and capable version of the Entech for dealers and consumers so you analyze this yourself. We will make a announcement on the forums when it is available.

I love that idea! I'm a geophysicist and deal with waves and measurement all the time, it would be very cool (for people like me especially) to be able to have a look at the noise in our systems directly.