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Is a Hydra the real deal? How do you know?

yeah, I know it sounds wierd. A friend of mine recently suggested one of the pieces in his system is a Hydra conditioner. . .and a valued item.

I'm not disagreeing with his information.... my question is this... "As the Shunyata Hydra's need to have a cable specially made to fit/operate the conditioner, and most folks choose to use one made by shunyata, how do you know if it's the conditioner or the power cord doing the job?

I spent some time recently asessing various power cords. Right off I saw the need to buy some adapters for the cords to decrease the wear and tear on my gear, and speed up the process (run in time of the cords). I put the cords + adapters onto some other gear in a secondary system... things changed sonically almost immediately... as it would have with use on my main system. No other items in the mix. Just the adapter, power cord, and the unit (s).

I'm wondering how one can determine the advantage of the hydra's if no cord - even a cheap one - comes supplied with the units? Apart from the ability to plug in more items than a single adapter gives... it just seems like a lot of money to spend for a multi outlet center..... if of course I was told wrong about the Hydras not being supplied with cords.... I apologize profusely. But a dealer told me Shunyata does not provide a cord with their conditioners.... it must be purchased separately. I guess he's correct as I see many questions about which cord for Hydras for either this or that applicaton... and that different Hydras' have different sonic attributes... Well how do you know if right off the bat you gotta add a Shunyata cord to it... Oh, by the way... I own a Shunyata Python VX, and I do dig it. ...just curious about adding a Hydra elsewhere in the system for one or two other pieces that are not 'conditioned'..

Thank you very much for your time.
blindjim
tvad
9,467 posts
 
I'll simply add that I have always tried to be frugal when it comes to tweaks..and I regard conditioning and cords as tweaks. Somewhere in these threads I have written about and supported using $7 Volex 14gauge, shielded power cords as upgraded aftermarket power cords. I still own one today, and I'm presently using it on my $6500 digital source while my Cadillac cords are on duty elsewhere. I put my money where my mouth is and rarely recommend anything I haven't personally tried. Finding inexpensive and good 20a cords is a little more difficult, but I'd try Radio Shack or Fry's Electronics. If you don't have success there, then you can purchase an ErnieM DIY cord as sold by Audiogon member "Subaruguru". I used one of Ernie's 20a cords on my Hydra 2 for over a year, and had outstanding results.

So, I also generally start at the bottom of the dollar ladder and move my way up. Warrenh is using $500 cords, by the way...at least the one he purchased from me. He happened to pay much less because he bought it used. I'm sure he would agree that any extra money he has spent on more expensive cords has paid dividends.

Look, I'm not trying to sell anyone on more expensive power cords. I'm simply trying to make an argument for not dismissing their performance benefits out of hand because of their price tags. Like most tweaks, the benefits received never seem to be commensurate with the admission price, but that's the way it is.

Whatever you decide, I wish you enjoyment on the journey.
warrenh's avatar
warrenh
2,286 posts
 
Tvad, I would love for you to hear my Harmonix power cord with your APL. And their Golden Performance ICs, as well. Oops, don't want to get off the power cord track. By the Summer I hope to give you a full report how they sound with the APL. Of course I don't have anything to compare them to. peace, warren
blindjim OP
2,837 posts
 
Tvad. I meant nothing untowards. My position remains that a seller of components should supply what it needs to operate with as standard proceedure. That's all. Period. Without even some baseline item to compare to one has no refference.... apart from their own endeavors and the experience gained from them as the result. It's a poor statement to require one purchase additional items for operation of the gear at the onset. ...but as their bread and rests in power cord production, it is understandable. Just eletist... and a poor precedent. Hope none of the other manufacturers get together with that notion... sure would hate to buy tube gear without even OEM tubes in them. . .or components without stock power cords on them. I just like having a choice. I hope nothing I've posted was taken personally as it was not intended that way. Simply a broad staatement regarding Shunyata's propensity to grab as much as they can from the consumer. and again, I bought some of their stuff already and may buy more... so the answer to the question remains without resolution. Apart from this: You can't ever know until they present the item with what it takes to function right off the bat. Too bad. I simply hope they're listening. Sure couldn't hurt their PR.
jtinn
1,123 posts
 
The main reason for a Hydra 2 is to take advantage of dedicated lines. Most people have dedicated lines and then plug most of their gear into a Hydra 6 or 8 or other conditioner and totally miss the benefits of the dedicated line. The Hydra 2 is good, but extremely expensive if you consider that you need two power cords per conditioner, per component.

While I have always been a great fan of Shunyata, I would highly suggest looking into the Jena Labs Fundamental Power One (I sell them). This is a single power cord with a built in line conditioner. It retails for less than a single Anaconda. It contains the same level of line conditioning that is in the $6300 Fundamental Power 6.1.
samuel
266 posts
 

Just as an FYI. There is a quality 12 gauge 20A cord included with Hydras upon the customers request. All dealers should be aware of this and inform the customer.

Often the reason better power cords on Hydras (or most other power distributors)offer improvement is that the cord to the wall is often supporting the current load for more than one component. It doesn't make sense to have high quality cords going to indvidual components if you have zip wire on the power center that feeds all or multiple electronics. There are certainly many options.

Regards,

Grant
Shunyata Research
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