Shunyata vs PS Audio vs Pure Power vs Eqi-tech

spiritofmusic

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Just recently. This enables me to power all the components via balanced right out of the wall. Although I am considering toying with an Entreq Powerus 6 socket block/Cleanus for the tt psu/cdp/dac/preamp/feed to av components, with SET monoblocks and integral Zu spkr sub amps still fed from the wall. My Straingauge SG-200 energiser box (in effect phono stage) is going to have it's own battery psu (Red Wine Audio Black Lightning), replacing twin 24V DC power to bypass mains completely.
 

Nyal Mellor

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I've moved from untreated power w/distribution block, to Burmester 948 conditioner w/distribution block, to Airlink 3kVA balanced transformer w/distribution block, to Oyaide radial mains cable hard wired into a Westwick 85kg 8kVA balanced power transformer and 4 hard wired 20A-32A Oyaide lines out to 4 Furutech Rhodium plated unswitched double sockets from which I can power directly my 8 components. This final option is streets ahead of anything I've tried esp. mated with my Entreq Silver Tellus/Apollo grounding - massive decrease in noise and increase in dynamics.

What's inside those Entreq boxes?
 

RogerD

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spiritofmusic

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Hi Roger, it's your right to think these things are all gimmicks, but with all due respect, I believe you're mistaken. I've tried a few highly priced "black boxes" in my room that made no discernable difference eg Blackbodies, Stein Music Harmonisers etc, but Entreq grounding is the real deal. It appears to balance impedances of components across the system, and provides a sophisticated star grounding system. I live in a highly mains polluted area, and first the introduction of balanced power and now Entreq grounding has transformed my pretty reasonable system into a killer.
Entreq stuff is heavy amp sized wooden boxes filled with large amounts of copper and silver interspersed with insulating material, and from the Silver Tellus box one can attach Apollo grounding leads to spare sockets on different components, from just preamp, to my configuration to incl pre/phono/cdp/both SETs.
Please check my thread on "General Audio Discussions".
 

Peter Breuninger

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Speaking of conditioning or lack there of...

 

MylesBAstor

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Hi Roger, it's your right to think these things are all gimmicks, but with all due respect, I believe you're mistaken. I've tried a few highly priced "black boxes" in my room that made no discernable difference eg Blackbodies, Stein Music Harmonisers etc, but Entreq grounding is the real deal. It appears to balance impedances of components across the system, and provides a sophisticated star grounding system. I live in a highly mains polluted area, and first the introduction of balanced power and now Entreq grounding has transformed my pretty reasonable system into a killer.
Entreq stuff is heavy amp sized wooden boxes filled with large amounts of copper and silver interspersed with insulating material, and from the Silver Tellus box one can attach Apollo grounding leads to spare sockets on different components, from just preamp, to my configuration to incl pre/phono/cdp/both SETs.
Please check my thread on "General Audio Discussions".

And I've heard a few that actually degraded the sound. :(
 

Jazzhead

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Peter .... Thanks for the review and feedback . It corroborates most of what I have managed to garner on the 'Marble" . I also see a Stage iii 'Kraken" sprawled besides you , scary good monster. I have 2 in my rig and am in the process of outfitting my entire arsenal with Kraken . Have you by any chance heard an all Kraken set-up . By far the most impressive A/C lead I have experienced, and I have gone thru a few . It does what you mention the Marble to do , pushes the walls and expands !!! the stage . One would look at the Kraken and feel it is all about the bass , however imbibes finesse and delicacy as well , just plain cutting edge . I have been told that the Marble + Kraken is a lethal combo , maybe you could fill us in here . Thanks again and look forward to more of your informative reviews..... Cheers !
 

treitz3

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Hello and good morning to you, Peter. I remember seeing this in your last video but I had no idea that it was actually as large as it appears in this video. Thanks for sharing by the way.

Tom
 

RogerD

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Hi Roger, it's your right to think these things are all gimmicks, but with all due respect, I believe you're mistaken. I've tried a few highly priced "black boxes" in my room that made no discernable difference eg Blackbodies, Stein Music Harmonisers etc, but Entreq grounding is the real deal. It appears to balance impedances of components across the system, and provides a sophisticated star grounding system. I live in a highly mains polluted area, and first the introduction of balanced power and now Entreq grounding has transformed my pretty reasonable system into a killer.
Entreq stuff is heavy amp sized wooden boxes filled with large amounts of copper and silver interspersed with insulating material, and from the Silver Tellus box one can attach Apollo grounding leads to spare sockets on different components, from just preamp, to my configuration to incl pre/phono/cdp/both SETs.
Please check my thread on "General Audio Discussions".

One must remember one thing here,these devices do not involve the signal path directly,so using precious metals is of no value. The other thing is all these designs are limited,real noise mitigation is depended on the amount of pathway needed to drop the noise down to a noiseless level. I say Gimmick because it's a poor design and only gives you limited performance. Then again the high end is built on limited performance and more hype. IMHO
 

spiritofmusic

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Roger, I salute your skepticism, my usual approach to life. I sat in my living room with my arms firmly folded as the Silver Tellus was installed, my hype detector on max, Second song in, with my preamp grounded, I had to unfold my arms to lift my jaw off the floor! Maybe my skepticism jumped out the window, but I have to say I became a convert.
I'm not going to argue too much since my tech knowledge is limited, but I do believe the equalising of impedances and draining of RF/EMI likely happening is lifting a further veil of noise beyond the impvts from balanced power, with a real stabilising of the soundstage, allowing details to emerge, and dynamics to swing unfettered.
We WILL agree on the overwhelming hype infecting most of the high end, however.
 

RogerD

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Roger, I salute your skepticism, my usual approach to life. I sat in my living room with my arms firmly folded as the Silver Tellus was installed, my hype detector on max, Second song in, with my preamp grounded, I had to unfold my arms to lift my jaw off the floor! Maybe my skepticism jumped out the window, but I have to say I became a convert.
I'm not going to argue too much since my tech knowledge is limited, but I do believe the equalising of impedances and draining of RF/EMI likely happening is lifting a further veil of noise beyond the impvts from balanced power, with a real stabilising of the soundstage, allowing details to emerge, and dynamics to swing unfettered.
We WILL agree on the overwhelming hype infecting most of the high end, however.

spiritofmusic...We agree on two things,real noise mitigation is and can be jaw dropping,as the word spreads it will probably level the playing field somewhat. Most high enders think they need to empty their wallet...that is not the case when it comes to this subject.
 

spiritofmusic

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Ha ha, i HAVE emptied my wallet somewhat to go down the balanced power/grounding route, to the tune of the cost of a new amp upgrade. Personally, the Entreq grounding solution is giving my system a new dimension of quiet that I can't imagine I could replicate elsewhere, cheap or expensive. I'm sure spending 3x this amount on an uber amp, or on cables/PCs wouldn't have achieved the same level of improvement.
You need to specify what your inexpensive solution is, and before you suggest burying a copper bar in earth (if cheaper star grounding is your cost effective tweak), be aware I'm on the 2nd floor of an apartment block with the nearest earth in a park half a mile away.
Interesting that when the tech guy demonstrating his 8kVA balanced transformer in my system looked at the Entreq grounding solution, he felt it was a totally valid way of providing effective grounding, based on good scientific principles, and didn't feel the cost was out of proportion to the materials involved/potential results possible.
 

Jazzhead

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RogerD

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Ha ha, i HAVE emptied my wallet somewhat to go down the balanced power/grounding route, to the tune of the cost of a new amp upgrade. Personally, the Entreq grounding solution is giving my system a new dimension of quiet that I can't imagine I could replicate elsewhere, cheap or expensive. I'm sure spending 3x this amount on an uber amp, or on cables/PCs wouldn't have achieved the same level of improvement.
You need to specify what your inexpensive solution is, and before you suggest burying a copper bar in earth (if cheaper star grounding is your cost effective tweak), be aware I'm on the 2nd floor of an apartment block with the nearest earth in a park half a mile away.
Interesting that when the tech guy demonstrating his 8kVA balanced transformer in my system looked at the Entreq grounding solution, he felt it was a totally valid way of providing effective grounding, based on good scientific principles, and didn't feel the cost was out of proportion to the materials involved/potential results possible.

Spirit,

My goal is to get the best possible level of reproduction from my system. The number one way to do this is to get rid of noise. On some "live" recordings mastering engineers need to fix anomalies in the master,sometimes when their system isn't that high resolving it get's into the final mix,on noiseless audio system you can hear it. I'll leave it at that.
 

spiritofmusic

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That's not really very clear, Roger. Do you mean that you believe the best route is to have bought components of a certain quality where noise isn't an issue, components that are designed to combat noise, or some other noise busting option?
 

Jazzhead

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Peter ..The very fact that you hear the qualities mentioned and so do I , the common factor being the Kraken . Also the Marble as you mention is not as superlative with the HB in house cable . Makes me wonder if it is the Kraken more than the Marble which contributes to the associated benefits , of soundstage expansion , lower noise floor and tonal density . How much of a drop in performance is there , with another cord attached to the Marble is the question ?
 

mep

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Speaking of conditioning or lack there of...

$9K for essentially a power strip with 8 power receptacles? That's $1,125 for each component that you plug in. No power conditioning/filtering or waveform reconstruction, just some fancy looking power receptacles in a fancy looking marble enclosure. Besides adding mass and looking cool depending upon your taste, does marble help the sound of AC? I think that if this fancy power bar actually does make your stereo system sound better than plugging your gear into numerous wall outlets on possibly numerous different circuits, what this really means is that your gear will sound better if it's plugged into the same circuit with each outlet being at the same ground potential. What this also means is that the total current draw of your entire stereo system can't exceed the rating of the circuit that your $9K power bar is plugged into minus whatever else is still plugged into that same circuit in your room. Otherwise you will be tripping breakers at best and starting fires at worst.
 

spiritofmusic

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That price is too rich for my tastes. Just spent same cash on a beast of a 200lb 8kVA balanced transformer, and 50 feet of Oyaide radial mains/4 Furutech double sockets. I know I'm getting more out of this than a solitary power strip.
 

Geardaddy

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anyone have specific intel on what's inside of Shunyata's new magic box? Passive filtration using a material science approach to RFI/EMI???
 

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