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Shunyata Research Everest 8000

Shunyata Research Everest 8000

Shunyata Research’s Everest 8000 power distributor is ideally designed to work in lock-step with the company’s Omega XC power cord. But we’ll save the pythonesque (as in ‘like a python’ and not ‘My hovercraft is full of eels’) power cord for a later date; the conquest of Everest is hard enough for one issue!

Shunyata Research’s designmeister general Caelin Gabriel has a very particular set of skills. Skills he acquired over a very long career. Skills that make him a nightmare for noise. When Gabriel stopped designing [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] [REDACTED] for the [REDACTED], he turned his attention to civilian life. His uniquely well-engineered products became noticed by record producers (delivering cleaner power to lower noise, thereby making the recording more precise and your music sound better) and cardiologists (delivering clean power to lower noise, thereby making medical imaging more precise and patients more likely to survive). At the same time, Shunyata Research was building a commanding reputation as audio’s chief noise-buster.

Peak performance

As the name suggests, the Everest 8000 is the peak of Shunyata Research’s line. It’s a synthesis and distillation of all the best bits of what has gone before. Sometimes, this means adding more of the same; for example, there’s three times the amount of the company’s patented QR/BB modules that act like a power reservoir, compared to the already excellent Denali 6000/T tested in issue 162. Others have been significantly improved, such as the CCI (Component to Component Isolation) combo of zoning and filtration, the monolithic construction of the design, the use of the company’s patented ArNi VTX ‘virtual hollow tube’ wiring throughout (even in the bus connectors).

It’s very easy to get wrapped up in the technology and patents, but they are all directed toward two long-standing Shunyata Research goals. The first is a recognition is that a lot of what we think about power is wrong; we think those power ‘nasties’ come from the miles of cable leading up to the system, but in fact, Shunyata Research argues the culprits are the system itself as each power supply in your system generates its noise. By recognising that noise goes both ways and the more important way to treat this is to limit the pollution of one power supply on another, Shunyata takes the road less travelled in audio, and the Everest 8000 is perhaps the finest proof of concept you’ll hear on the subject.

Instant power

The other big concern is to ensure there is enough instantaneous AC power on tap for a system. This is a problem that plagues power conditioners and distributors; yes, the signal is cleaner, and clarity is improved as a result, but if it comes at the expense of the dynamic range and rhythmic ‘bounce’ of a system, for many it’s too big a compromise. This is why many audiophiles eschew the benefits of a power conditioner or distributor, even when the need is significant. In fairness, this is a problem that most power companies are addressing.

Still, few have ‘nailed it’ like Shunyata Research; the company has developed its measurement protocol to test what it calls DTCD (Dynamic Transient Current Delivery) and applies the measurement system to everything from plugs to whole devices like the Everest 8000. The net result is devices that leave the dynamic range entirely uncompromised, but that depends on the use case. When it comes to the Everest 8000, that use case is the whole of audio! That might be overkill if you are using a comparatively small system with relatively small loudspeakers that don’t deliver massive dynamic swings. Still, the Everest 8000 offers benefits over and above that to justify its use in high-performance metropolitan systems.

Why You Can’t Have Nice Things!

Shunyata Research’s Everest 8000 comes supplied in a range of power connection options, to suit US, EU, UK, Asia and Australian plug systems. If you are reading this from the US, the Everest 8000 includes a figure of eight ‘Cable Cradles’ that each hold a pair of power cords in place. UK plugs are larger than US ones, and such strain-relief holders are not available here. The sockets must be angled because most UK plugs have pins at 90° to the cable.

And ‘it doesn’t suit right-angled plugs for the fashion-conscious’ is the nearest you’ll get to a criticism of the Shunyata Research Everest 8000. It’s a remarkable performer in so many ways, far more so than the clichéd ‘reduces the noise floor’ epithet that’s applied to every power conditioner and distributor, ever. Yes, it does that, but it also gives the audio electronics permission to deliver sound as intended. Individual notes have a more clearly defined ‘space’ around them, both in terms of dimensionality but also in attack, decay, and release. You hear the most subtle of reverb tails (whether applied naturally, electronically, or digitally… and you can often hear the difference in small-scale recordings).

Further into the mix

So far, so ‘audiophile’. We love a bit of additional ‘microdynamic shading’ and the ability to reach ever further into the mix for additional hard-to-find details. And if the Shunyata Research Everest 8000 did that and that alone, it would be deserving of high praise. But there’s more. Stopping all those power supplies from clashing with one another makes them get out of the way of the sound in some surprising ways. Bass lines aren’t just cleaner. They are funkier and more menacing when (and only when) required. You hear more of the body of the instrument and the player behind that instrument too. This creates a more lithe and natural performance. Even when those instruments are electronic, you get more sense of musical order and verve.

I’ve long played the get-out card with power conditioners and distributors; I live in London! Houses polluting the mains and radio frequency environments surround me. Your Mileage May Vary. But no such weasel words are needed with the Shunyata Research Everest 8000 power distributor. It makes your system sound better no matter the system and regardless of where you live. It’s a game-raiser and a game-changer in one. To quote a tagline from a well-known UK supplier of double-glazed windows “Fit the best: Everest!”

Technical specifications

  • Type power distributor
  • Maximum Continuous Current 30A (US), 16A (UK, EU)
  • Maximum Current/Outlet 20A (US), 16A (UK, EU)
  • Maximum Transient Protection 40,000A @ 8/50µs
  • Isolation Zones 6 (across eight sockets for US/EU, seven for UK)
  • Power Inlet IEC C19R
  • Dimensions (W×H×D) 20 × 53 × 37cm
  • Weight 16kg
  • Price £9,950

Manufacturer

Shunyata Research Inc.

shunyata.com

UK Distributor

Boyer Audio

boyeraudio.com

+44(0) 330 223 3769

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Tags: EVEREST 8000 POWER DISTRIBUTOR SHUNYATA RESEARCH

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