Mating power cords with APL 3910

John, are you stuck on the Hydra 8 for a particular reason, or would three Hydra 2 or some combination of Hydra 2 and Hydra 4 work?

Also, the Running Springs conditioners are interesting, but there's a dearth of user comments available here. Almost the only mention of them is from Dedicatedaudio, who is a dealer for the products.

Ozzy,
I'm curious about your experience in using two Hydras instead of one. What sonic and musical benefits do you notice when you plug in the amp into the Hydra 2 and the APL into the Hydra 8 instead of plugging in the amp and APL into the Hydra 8?
John

Tvad, At each step, as you go from Hydra 2 to 4 to 6 to 8, additional filtering is available that is not available in the previous. According to the reviews, each successive model provides additional sonic benefits. If I recall correctly Hydra 8 is especially favored with digital sources. It's a game of trade-offs. For me, Hydra 8 or 6 with the APL, and 3 Hydra 2s on the 3 amps would solve the daisy-chain problem and provide filtration. But, when you add 3 additional quality PCs, the total price is high. With a single Hydra 8, the sonics will be slightly compromised but my wallet won't be as thin.

I was pleased to hear that you are getting good benefits with the Hydra in your system. Have you done any comparisons by adding other Hydras to your system? I'm also curious to hear Ozzy's experience with one verus two Hydras.
John

As per Sean's description of the Hydra 8's architecture, a while ago I posted my opinion that the analog outlets sounded better (tighter bass, more relaxed & integrated sound field) for all components, digital ones included. The analog ones are the first in the chain, so this seems to explain it.

John, other than the use of FeSi-1002 compund on the Hydra 8, I have
not read of filtering increasing through the Hydra product line either on
the Power Snakes website or in reviews, although I have read Clement
Perry's Stereo Times review in which he expresses his subjective opinion
that the Hydra 8 sounds better in some respects than the lower models.
Then, later in the review, he writes of the wonders of using two Hydra 2
conditioners together. That's safe reviewing, wouldn't you say? I believe
the rest is marketing strategy.

Why would anyone pay a premium to buy an 8 outlet power conditioner
for digital sources, which would at most utilize only 2 outlets? Doesn't
that seem wasteful? I'm also dubious of the real world effects of current
limiting unless one is using two enormous 600 wpc power hungry amps
at the first two outlets. This Shunyata web page talks
specifically of the non current limiting aspect of Hydra conditioners. Are
the marketing folks at Shunyata blowing smoke? After all, the
recommended configuration per Shunyata is to plug the amp into the
duplex closest to the IEC, followed by the preamp and finally the source
components. The reason being that amps require the most juice, and
source equipment requires substantially less juice, hence the rationale
for plugging the least power hungry components into the duplex
farthest down the chain. Unless one were to inexplicably plug an amp
into the duplex farthest from the IEC, I cannot fathom current limiting
being an issue.

As you might expect, I'm not of the opinion that two, three, or four
power conditioners are necessary. I believe that idea is solely born of
marketing and misinformation.

To answer your question, I have not tried more than one Hydra...or more
than one of any power conditioner I've owned, and if I were to do so, I'd
certainly try two Hydra 2 or two Hydra 4 conditioners first. If you are
inclined to try multiple conditioners, I hope you do so with an objective
ear, and please report back.