The likely reason you note greater "ease" when plugging components into the H8's analog outlets is that there is additional filtering on those outlets and some components may respond more favorably to this. Caelin felt that placing the additional filtration tin the analog section would better isolate that bank from the digital section.
None of the Hydras are in any way current limiting, however the Hydra 2 may in some instances be preferred with high-current products because it does not incorporate a Carling Breaker, which means one less contact point for the AC signal to traverse.
Sean, you are certainly entitled to your opinion and I do enjoy reading most of your informed posts. You have however, made a number of statements related to construction costs, voltage sag, wiring and "design compromises" that are off the mark. I know our pricing model intimately and it is roughly a 5-1 ratio for *all* products. If a part costs a penny, we charge a nickel --and that's considered an antiquated pricing model by todays standards. Every part in the Hydras, from the wiring on to the plated buss systems are custom designed, and then either manufactured by or exclusively for us- even the wiring- excepting the thermally insulated MOV's which are commercially available. You may view some of the parts as over-rated or over-engineered and that is your right, but they are extremely costly to produce--forgetting even the cost or research and design. Our dealer margin is the same as that of speaker and electronics manufacturers. We cannot afford "special price incentives", sales person spiffs or 70%+ overseas margins. This often puts us at a serious disadvantage when competing with "specialty" cable and power companies that offer a great many "breaks" and incentives to dealers.
All Shunyata designs focus on using hand applied, custom made parts and proprietary terminations that reduce contact impedances and present no-limit to the instantaneous current demands of electronics. This is where a lot of money gets spent rather than on isolation transformers, chokes, coils or other reactive devices. Using conventionalyl available power-line caps, a choke, coil or iso-trannies were all considered and rejected because of issues related to reactance, non-linear current flow (such as thermal breakers) and restricted instantaneous current delivery.
If you decide to manufacture your own products and attempt to set up a network of specialty parts vendors, a US based factory, in-house cryogenic facilities and enough staff to run a company, you will likely learn that our retail prices are very reasonable.
Regarding the technical, buss core and wiring issues raised, I'm afraid Caelin would be best equipped to answer those questions, but he long ago gave up trying to answer critical points on the internet. Too often they are loaded with baiting for 'ether-sport' or an agenda, not simple fact finding--he simply does not have the time or inclination. We do not hide any design or construction elements, and anyone that cares to look can decide for themselves whether these make sense to them.
With regards to other comments people made about "marketing fluff and hype", we do very little of either. Forget the reviews, there are many accredited engineers, electronics manufacturers and professionals who understand perfectly what we do and are willing to speak for us. Most of our business is referred from manufacturers and professionals that use the Hydras.
My interests in responding are only related to reading so much opinion--some of it poorly informed, presented in a somewhat pointed way, when much of it runs contrary to what I know to be the truth.
We run an honest business staffed by good people. The products all use solid engineering principles and are purposefully uncomplicated--at a casual glance. Opinions about what might be a better performer or more economical are fine. When serious questions are raised about the integrity of the products or the people that make them however, I feel the need to at least weigh-in.
Regards,
Grant
Shunyata Research
