Is There Some Problem With Shunyata's Everest Power Conditioner

@tomcy6, I have been looking for a Denali v2 which is substantially less expensive than the Everest.  Neither the Denali nor the Everest use chokes, and all of that. They both appear to have some real technology, not mumbo jumbo.  Whether that tech works or not is a different story.  Probably comes down to how resolving the system is I suppose.  This seems like something that one should demo if at all possible.  Would you say that your Denali was worth the cost?

I suppose that there are always more expensive anything out there, no matter what.  If cost is no object, there is always something to blow money on.  At $8k plus the cost of a PC, it’s hard to envision spending much more on a power conditioner.  However, that is beside the point.  I guess that no one is aware of problems with the Everest that would account for so many being available at one time.  The extent to which the Everest makes a substantial difference seems to be a matter of system integration and, I suppose, quality of the power coming in.

@yoyoyaya, how did you arrange an audition of the Typhon? And why the Typhon instead of the Denali or the Everest?

@wokeuptobose, someone is obsessed with power, LOL!  How did you feel about the performance of the Everest, and did you do all of the dedicated lines before or after the Everest?  What PC did you use for it? Also, I currently have a TippLite Isolation Transformer for my preamp and DAC, Pass 250.8 into the wall and I have a Puron plugged into the TrippLite and into a wall outlet.  Did you try putting one of the Purons into the Everest?

So after cogitating about it and reading everyone's input, and most important, finding a very nice deal on a used one, and no Denali v2's for sale, I bit the bullet and bought a used Everest and Sigma v2  power cable with it, incoming on Saturday, so I will post my impressions after it is hooked up and settles in from its trip!  Hype or real . . . I'll soon see!

FIRST IMPRESSIONS: So I have put the Everest and Sigma v2 power cable (used, so already broken in) into my system and have put about 24 hours of listening in over a week. To recap, my system consists of Sabrina X speakers, ARC REF 6 pre, Pass 250.8 amp, and MSB Discrete DAC with a Premier Power Base, and a full Shunyata loom.

The day I installed it (and ground the components to it), the first thing that I noticed was a "blacker background." The best way to explain this is analogizing it to a picture that is slightly overexposed, and adjusting the white balance. The background was darker black than before, which gave the music a more vivid sound. The other thing that I noticed was that the music was somewhat smoother -- not rolled off, but as if a thin layer of glare was removed. Another thing I noticed right away was negative. It seemed like the soundstage on some recordings collapsed to coming out of the left and right speakers rather than locked into the middle. This varied from album to album. Some still had that "locked in" spatial quality, others were markedly lacking that spatial effect that we refer to as "soundstage." I did not notice any particular change in depth or width of those recordings that still had that spatial effect. Overall, I had mixed feelings. For $7000+, it was by no means "transformative," night and day, or like a new system. The effects described were subtle -- audible but subtle. I began to seriously doubt my decision to blow a wad of cash on this latest manifestation of audiophilia nervosa, and believe, me, I really wanted to like it and think that I made a smart purchase.

So I powered through all week, listening carefully and trying different recordings that I knew had an excellent soundstage to see if it was still there or whether the Everest was actually having a negative effect. It wasn’t, but subjectively it seemed to reduce the soundstage in those recordings that did not seem to have it originally, but left it alone in those that did. Still on the fence about it but thinking more seriously of putting it up for sale.

So, Friday night, I put on a Led Zep soundboard bootleg from their 1975 Fort Worth show, which was pretty well-recorded for a boot. To my surprise, it sounded like a commercial live release. Soundstage was wide and deep, Robert was right in front center although he moved somewhat on the stage. Jimmy was to the right, Bonzo up and behind Robert. The soundstage had real depth and width. Saturday morning, I decided to throw my whole batch of test recordings at it again. Good stuff, medium stuff, bad stuff, stuff I knew lacked soundstage on the recording and stuff that I knew had excellent soundstage. To my surprise, and I really have no explanation for it, everything had good soundstage, wide and deep. The same black background and the music sounded "clearer" and smoother, sort of like silver with a slight tarnish removed. The recordings that had a good soundstage had a great soundstage. The recordings that really didn’t have a good soundstage baked into the recording had a decent soundstage, where the music still came out of the right and left speakers in an identifiable way, but some instruments crossed over into the middle, giving the recording that illusion of dimensionality that I personally love. All of my recordings, good, mediocre or bootleg, sounded better, and particularly my bootlegs (Led Zep and Pink Floyd) sounded better. On the live recordings, such as Bill Evans’ The Complete Vanguard Recordings, I could hear more of the audience chatter between songs that was not there before. Overall, the instruments sounded clearer and did not bleed into the other instruments as much. I left that listening session very pleased.

I cannot explain the improvement from the day I installed the Everest, yet it was there. Mind you, it was a subtle, not a "blow your socks off" type improvement. It is noticeable to me, as I know my music and system inside and out, and would likely be identified by any other critical listener, but as I said, it is not a "wow, what did you do to your system" type change. There was a very noticeable improvement over the week that I found to be unmistakable. People have said that after shipping, a component needs to "settle in." I always thought that was inexplicable BS. But that is really the only explanation that I have for the change after about 24 hours of listening to music and the Everest being left on for a week so far. I don’t know if there is more improvement coming or whether this is it. Whether these changes are "worth it" for $7K+ is a personal thing, but so far, I am pretty happy with the addition to the system!

@audioquest4life, I have Shunyata Alpha v2 power cable from the Pass Labs to the Everest, not the NR version (actually for the DAC, amp and pre) and Alpha v1 speaker cables. You are correct, NR is not necessary when using the Everest.

@aolmrd1241, I have a Sigma XC feeding the Everest.  The Omega XC is another huge ticket item and so it is highly unlikely that I will spring for the Omega any time soon.  I would rather upgrade my speaker cables from the Alpha v1 to Sigma v2 before I do that!  Interestingly, some people have written that the Omega is perhaps too revealing for some systems, but as with anything, the proof is in the listening.

@steakster, I understand the concept of burn-in, of course, but I purchased both the cable and the Everest used and already broken-in.  The effect that I experienced can only be chalked up to "settling in" after shipping -- a different concept than "burn-in" in my vocabulary, unless one must "re-burn-in" a used component after it has been shipped.

NEW UPDATE:  I have had the Everest in my system for 10 days now.  It is hard for me to believe, but what the Everest is doing to my system is continuing to improve!  Today, everything sounded even better than when I posted my semi-review.  Of particular note is the improvement in spatiality of the music, what we refer to as soundstage.  Even on albums that I listened to critically on Saturday, a week after install, they have improved, with a more 3D sound and more nuances to the various instruments, like stand-up bass strings vibrating and being plucked, breathing through the reed on sax, etc.  The soundstage is easily noticeable.  The nuances -- well, they are nuances, subtle improvements that contribute to the overall realism of the music.  Perhaps I am getting more used to what the Everest does so I am noticing it more, but it is approaching "transformative" at this point, and no way would I want to take it out of my system now that I have it in there!  As I said in my "semi-review," is this worth $7K+?  The answer depends on your budget and disposable income.  Some people who only spend that on an entire system are not likely to find that the improvements are worth the price of their whole system.  For people who can and do spend tens of thousands on their various components and cables, deciding to purchase the Everest is an easy one.  DO IT!

@audioquest4life, I wonder if the whole “settling in” phenomenon has any scientifically explainable basis.  I am no electrical engineer — far from one — but it doesn’t make much sense to me that an already burned-in product will sound better after it settles in after moving it.  But nonetheless, I can’t argue with it, since I too have experienced it with the Everest!  

Off-topic but 80+ tubes?   That is quite an impressive complement of tubes! It must suck when you have to buy a new set!  I think about availability of the measly 8 tubes in my ARC REF 6 in the future, and although I have a replacement tucked away, which should be good for another 4000 hours or so, I still wonder about the future availability of tubes, not today, of course, but say, 8 years from now.  Logically, I know that if you can buy NOS 1960’s tubes, it should be pretty likely that I will be able to get recently manufactured tubes, but still, I have contemplated going SS for the pre because of that . . .