Best connections for using Denali and DPC-6

stevebythebay

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2012
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I've set up the following:

Denali and DPC-6 are both plugged into a single 20amp receptacle.

Denali - grounded Spectral preamp / two Spectral mono blocks floated / a dCS DAC also being floated (current DAC Berkeley is floated)

DPC6 - Upsampler (dCS) floated / Roon Nucleus / WD USB drive / D-Link switch / Eero mesh WiFi access point / Synergistic Research Transporter Ultra
All but the Upsampler on the DPC-6 are grounded.

Reason for floating is two fold: the mono block amps simply need to be floated or they pick up low level ground and send it to the speakers. As for all other grounding, this was recommended by my dealer for minimizing noise generated by digital devices in the source chain, which processes the bit stream.

I'm about to deploy an additional element into my system: a dCS Clock. Two things emerge: ran out of receptacles on the DPC-6 which is meant for purely digital devices (the DAC being both a digital in / analog out seems best to connect into the Denali).

So, I'm suspecting I should plug and float the incoming Clock into the DPC-6. Just not sure what of the current items plugged into the DPC-6 can be moved into the Denali, without inserting noise into the system. Or if it might be better to extend the DPC-6 via a small power strip.
 
Last edited:

CGabriel

Industry Expert
Oct 31, 2013
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If possible move the WiFi and ether switch to a different AC circuit that is physical away from your audio system. The farther the better and just a few feet matters. You can plug them into a common power strip. Just run a longer Ethernet cable to get to your upsampler.
 
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stevebythebay

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Oct 21, 2012
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Thanks for your quick response. I'd had both on the same pair of DPC-6 ports, but I'll remove both and put them on a separate 4 receptacle power strip on another circuit. I wasn't at all sure about how these might interfere with the system.

That will free up a designated pair of receptacles on the DPC-6. And I suppose I'll use that pair for the dCS Upsampler and Clock. I will float ground on both of those as I'd been instructed by my dealer.

Not clear to me how you go about choosing what to float in the system. Would I want to do the same for the Roon Nucleus player/source as well as it's associated USB Drive???
 

CGabriel

Industry Expert
Oct 31, 2013
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I would NOT float grounds especially to the digital processors.
Unless you have an obvious audible problem.
Many digital devices use the chassis (earth) ground to dissipate noise.
I have yet to encounter any digital device that needed the ground lifted.

Some amplifiers need the ground lifted to stop a ground loop but you should exhaust all other solutions first before resorting to that. For instance, using XLR type cabling if the amplifier accepts them or using separate ground wires from the power distributor to the amplifier.

JMO / YMMV
 

stevebythebay

Well-Known Member
Oct 21, 2012
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Thanks for your guidance. I'll run this past Hugh of Music Lovers. It was at his direction that both the Berkeley DAC and dCS Network Bridge were floated.

It was never recommended that the Spectral mono block amps might require XLR speaker cabling as opposed to unbalanced cabling. I'm using unbalanced cabling for both speaker and preamp to amp interconnects. That has been the case with prior mono blocks and stereo amps and preamps from Spectral.
 

CGabriel

Industry Expert
Oct 31, 2013
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WA, USA
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Well my friend, I would ask other creditable and knowledgeable people about balanced and unbalanced connections and the possible effects on hum problems. IMHO, I would do a simple test with good XLR cables and see what you get. It wouldn’t hurt to try it. Any good dealer should have some used XLR cables lying around to do the test. If not, contact us, we could help you.
 

nonesup

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If possible move the WiFi and ether switch to a different AC circuit that is physical away from your audio system. The farther the better and just a few feet matters. You can plug them into a common power strip. Just run a longer Ethernet cable to get to your upsampler.

So is not it a good idea to connect the PSU of my Switch to the Denali, even if it is connected to an Alpha NR?
 

CGabriel

Industry Expert
Oct 31, 2013
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WA, USA
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As a general principle: It is best to separate computer related devices from your audio equipment. Separation both in physical space and electrically.

The absolute crap that computers, wifi, routers, monitors and disc arrays spew into the air and onto the power line is astonishing. This is the reason we created the DPC-6. The DPC-6 specifically “firewalls” the computer related devices from polluting your audio related equipment.

Even if you isolate the computer devices electrically (AC power line) computer devices radiate microwaves, radio frequencies and spurious electromagnetic interference. So, physically moving the computer devices away from the audio system will improve performamce.
 

nonesup

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Hi Caelin.
Should I consider my Melco (has two internal hard drives) as a Disck Array, which should not connect to Denali either?
Regards
 

CGabriel

Industry Expert
Oct 31, 2013
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WA, USA
www.shunyata.com
There are many “hybrid integrated” type devices today. Some are network connected music servers that have what is essentially a dedicated computer and internal SSD or hard drives and a DAC. My rule is that if the device has any analog component to it - then connect it to the Denali. This means that it includes a DAC. If it is a purely digital domain device then separate it from the audio component’s power system. An example would be a music server that requires a separate DAC or you may not be using the internal DAC, choosing to use a better external DAC. Understand?

The Denali does a great job of isolating electrical inference between devices but always remember that everything is relative and there is NO absolute isolation of any component regardless of what some marketeers might want you to believe. In other words there is no “perfect” power. The Denali reduces CCI (component to component) interference by more than 40db from 100 kHz-30 MHz. But running computer related devices on a completely separate AC circuit will always improve performance. And if possible connect these devices to a power conditioner that prevents them from dumping noise onto the home power grid.

Of course, every customer has different situations where this separation is not easy or possible. So best efforts apply. Some people only have access to a single AC power circuit. It these cases the Denali does a great job. Having something like the Hydra DPC-6 for the computer related devices is a step up in performance but at a price.

Specifically regarding the Melco, try it in a Denali Z1 or Z2 outlet.
 
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