Delta NR impressions

[ChrisMag]

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.