Shunyata Research Altaira

REVIEW
Alan Sircom
Apr 08, 2025

In a remarkably short time, Shunyata Research has become high-end royalty. The brand’s power products and cables are synonymous with high-performance audio systems. And now, with Altaira, the same approach comes to system grounding.

‘Altaira’ is an Arabic girl’s name meaning ‘high-flying bird’; the first-magnitude star ‘Altair’ is derived from the same root. However, due to persistent autocorrect issues, ‘Altaira’ was repeatedly changed to ‘Altair’. The resulting frustration, evident in the angry typing sounds from my keyboard as I manually corrected this whole document – twice – could be heard two rooms away. And that’s the criticism done with!

It’s complicated!

Audio reviews want things neatly tied up. Add X to Y to get a great sound. But sometimes, life isn’t that simple, and when it comes to grounding, a cookie-cutter approach results in cookie-cutter performance. I’ve used grounding products with a more ‘one-size fits all’ approach, and while sometimes they work wonders, other times they fall flat. They never seem to undermine the performance, but sometimes you are left wondering what all the fuss is about. A degree of necessary complexity is required to match the range of earthing options in audio electronics.

The further up the audio food chain you go, the more complex the approach required. When dealing with the constraints imposed by price, manufacturers must refrain from taking elaborate floating ground approaches in mid-priced audio equipment. On the other hand, when you get into the highest of high-end, such considerations are baked into the manufacturing decision-making processes of many audio companies. Often, these requirements differ from product to product (occasionally even within the same brand) and that requires a more tailored approach than simply adding a grounding tag to a case screw.

Shunyata Research takes a more considered, case-by-case approach with Altaira. Well, almost; in every system, the Altaira components are connected to the distributor or the wall itself. Most prospective Altaira owners are likely already familiar with Shunyata Research, so this means ‘connected to the Shunyata Research Everest’ (tested in Issue 210). The juice aside, how you configure a system largely depends on whether the electronics have fixed or floating grounds. For example, products from Soulution or Constellation Audio have a floating ground and often require a dedicated Altaira box per product. Other systems – such as CH Precision – take an even more complicated approach to grounding, allowing more user interaction and requiring a different Altaira pathway.

A system with good ground continuity might require one Altaira box with everything connected. Most start at the preamp, and their grounding schema radiates from there. In addition, if there is a call for more than one Altaira, the breakpoint is often between digital and analogue electronics… but not where you might expect. After many listening tests, Shunyata Research realised that a Digital-to-Analogue converter should sit in with the rest of the analogue kids. In contrast, the rest of the Digital Crew (transports, clocks, etc) all hang out together. Regardless, the Altaira boxes are joined in almost every case, and the ‘primary’ one (typically the analogue side) then connects to the power.

Dealers undergo extensive training to develop good pathways for systems and have plenty of datasheets that work with known conditions (such as the Soulution, er, solution mentioned above).

Chassis and Signal

In the most basic terms, the Altaira system breaks down into two components; the Chassis Hub (CG-NR) and the Signal Hub (SG-NR). The Chassis Hub is the nearest Shunyata Research gets to ‘My First Grounding’ as it’s a six-terminal unit designed for simple systems. Each terminal has its own dedicated ‘zone of isolation’ (I would have preferred ‘Fortress of Solitude’ but some damn Kryptonian already took the name). Each of these zones is filtered, and tuned to the frequencies most commonly found riding the chassis grounds of components.

For more elaborate systems, the Signal Hub is also a six-terminal unit, but is designed to filter frequencies that plague the signal ground of components. This is the hub best used for systems where you might want to separate blocks of components (such as analogue and digital). The grounding cables themselves come in all grades, and there are additional Ground Tail adaptors that can be used with practically everything. There is a wealth of information about planning and building a grounding solution, which could be summed up by the phrase ‘let the dealer do it’!

Shunyata Research Altaira is a robustness test on a dealer’s claims. If a high-end dealer not only supplies Altaira devices but has analysed the different requirements of each product in their portfolio, you know they have taken ‘due diligence’ to new levels. If they show up at your doorstep armed with Altaira products and a multimeter to establish the right way to work on your system, they are going the extra mile as standard… they are far more likely to go the extra mile to build you a better system.

Get Grounded

When done correctly, grounding is a very positive step forward for a system. It reduces audio ‘ bad hair days,’ even on relatively humble systems. For example, the Chassis Hub makes a Primare I35 Prisma-based system sound more coherent and poised. But as you raise the audio equipment stakes, the performance improvement increases. That coherence and poise always shine through, but the sense of order and balance this brings to a system and far greater bass definition makes for a more ear-opening experience.

The best way to judge this is with Taylor Swift records. While I can almost hear the sharpening of pitchforks at the mention of ‘Tay-Tay’ in an audio magazine, Midnights [Republic] is one hell of a good recording marred only by slightly over-rich vocals. Tracks like ‘Anti-Hero’ can sound slightly flat on good but ill-matched equipment, swamped by the mix, but here you get that thumping LinnDrum and retro-synth backing track, and her voice is clean and extremely articulate, with the reverb no longer swallowing her up. It’s like your whole system went on an extensive fitness regime to cope with dance music.

The same applies to whatever albums you played that attracted you to that system. They sound better; more composed, exciting, better recorded. You feel a closer connection to the music, whether that be the stadium introspection beloved by Swifties or some never-ending modulation on a Beethoven piano sonata.

Instrument tonality and space within a mix is notably improved with the judicious use of Shunyata Research’s Altaira in a system. Those instruments are rooted in space and have a sense of harmonic and tonal structure, even when playing with very different instruments in the same band. This is especially prominent in ECM recordings where they blend instruments from around the world; Zakir Hussain’s Making Music from 1987, where his tabla playing is at once a fine counterpoint to Jan Garbarek’s soprano sax, John McLauglin’s blindingly fast guitar runs and Hariprasad Chaurasia’s ethereal flute. When it melds perfectly, it’s a work of spell-binding wonder, and it melds perfectly with Altaira. You reach deeper into your record collection for longer periods as a result.

More realism

Typically, when it comes to grounding devices, we sit on the ‘try it before you buy it’ fence. For a good reason: what might work in one system might not work in another. With Shunyata Research’s Altaira system, the chances of a grounding system not working in your system are reduced because of the degree of analysis that goes into setting up your system’s grounding approach. That can only happen with a system as flexible as Altaira and with people willing to determine the requirements of your audio equipment.

Ultimately, these products spread way beyond a single review. Shunyata Research is providing an integrated approach to improving the performance of all systems, from the down-to-earth to the stratospheric. Altaira is a big part of that integration; the results are remarkable. This grounding system demands attention to detail, but the rewards are more than worth the effort.

Technical specifications

Chassis Ground (CG-NR) and Signal Ground (SG-NR)

Ground posts: Six for component connection, one master ground post
Dimensions: 36 x 9 x 14cm
Weight: SG-NR, 3.4kg, CG-NR, 3.6kg.
Price: £3,000, $2,998, €2,998 per hub; ground cable price range from £300, $300, €300 to £1,290, $1,290, €1,290.