Shunyata Research recently launched their brand new Typhon T2 and I was lucky enough to install the first unit that arrived in the UK.
The Typhon T2 (TT2) is a very interesting product, it is essentially a 2 outlet power conditioner, each outlet is a high current design that is suitable for connecting large power hungry amplifiers, but it is equally adept at being used with source components such as a DAC and a Melco for example.
However, the TT2 isn’t just a standalone 2 outlet power conditioner – it can be combined with one of Shunyata’s existing power distributors to further enhance their performance. You simply connect the TT2 in-line with your existing Shunyata distributor via a dedicated umbilical cable and you are good to go. The power cable that you currently use on your distributor goes into the TT2 and the umbilical cable connects from the TT2 to the mains inlet on your existing Shunyata model, so very straightforward to get up and running.
The TT2 can be used with any of Shunyata’s models from the Venom UK6, Delta D6, Alpha A10 and even a Denali and it will improve the performance of all of them in addition to providing 2 further high current mains outlets to your system. The TT2 delivers a substantial sonic uplift to any of the previously mentioned Shunyata models and it is not a subtle change, quite the opposite!
The Denali and Everest sit at the top of Shunyata’s range of power distributors, anyone who has listened to the range before will have experienced each step and what happens sonically when move up from one model to the next. The steps between the models are easy to demonstrate in a good system and the move up to the Denali and then onto the Everest have always been particularly sizeable steps and ones which raise lots of eyebrows when experienced first hand. Like one customer said to me recently one you experience an Everest it’s rather difficult to go back.
One of the primary reasons for this is both the Denali and the Everest contain what is called a QR/BB module, this module is essentially a reservoir for storing current which can deliver it instantaneously to the connected equipment when required, when there is a large dynamic shift in the music for example. This module can deliver more current (and deliver it faster) compared to a connection direct to the mains or when used on another power distributor, including Shunyata’s other models. The QR/BB module has received a US patent (US patent number 10,031,536).
The TT2 is the first Shunyata power distributor other than the Denali and the Everest to contain this QR/BB module and is one of the primary reasons why it performs to such a high standard. The QR/BB module in the Everest is over 3 times large than the module contained within the Denali and to give the TT2 some context it uses the exact same QR/BB module as the one found in the Everest, so for those Denali owners who are out there you can potentially exceed the performance of an Everest by adding a T2 to your Denali.
The performance of all outlets (not just the 2 on the T2) get upgraded with the addition of the Typhon T2, although the 2 TT2 outlets should be regarded as the primary sockets for connecting your most important components.
The first Typhon T2 I installed was for a customer who owns an Alpha A10, it’s a dual purpose system which get used for home cinema as well as music and it gets a lot of use as result, it was installed just over a year ago and the it brought about a great improvement to system performance.
Fast forward to February 2023 and the unveiling of the TT2 had this customer very curious, after all ‘how much better can it get?’ he asked me on more than one occasion leading up to having a home demonstration.
The addition of the TT2 was a bigger, more obvious upgrade than the original Alpha A10, it’s impact was instant and within seconds of the music starting both myself and the customer were grinning from ear to ear, it changed everything the system was doing and in a very positive way – greater dynamics, improved timing and sn increase in bass weight, tone and texture and it gave the whole system a wonderful sense of calm and composure as well.
Installing it with the Venom UK6 and Delta D6 also yields superb results as well and for as mentioned above you may find adding a TT2 to a Denali will potentially outperform an Everest as you end up with a larger QR/BB module than the one in the Everest.
The TT2 is priced at £6250 including a 0.5m umbilical cable, with a 1m cable it is £6340 or £6430 with a 1.5m cable. If you intend to use the TT2 as a standalone power distributor it is £5500 excluding an XC C19 power cable, which start at £749 for the Venom.
Please don’t underestimate the performance the Typhon T2 can deliver, it is a very impressive product and what it can do is quite dramatic!
If you have questions regarding the Typhon T2 or Shunyata in general please get in touch.
