Does a good sounding surge protector exist?

It wasn't until I compared the Hydra to other conditioners, that I determined the dynamics deficiency in my particular setup. The Hydra actually did some nice things also. Warmer and very musical presentation for instance.

I bought the APC unit to address issues that I have with the power company. So far, I am very satisfied. I might consider piggy backing another conditioner just for kicks and giggles.

When I had the Hydra 8, my power cord compliment was: 2 Kubala Sosna Emotion cords to my power amp. To my preamp I applied the Isoclean Superfocus. I first employed a Shunyata Anaconda vx from the Hydra. Then I tried another Kubala Sosna Emotion cord. Cords were not the issue. The Hydra just wasn't the right match for my system.

John, yes I think that is a better way of putting it. Alot of this equipment we buy is system dependent.

As for lack of surge protection on the Shunyata where is this coming from. Here are the specs on the Hydra 8:

Hydra Model-8
• 8 Shunyata Venom Silver outlets
• “Trident Defense System”
• 2400 watts @ 20 amps continuous
• Surge protection (40,000A)
• Four individual, isolated circuits
• 16 element Venom Noise Filter
• Massive CDA-101 copper buss bars
• FeSi-1000 noise-reduction compound
• Detachable 20A inlet
• Aluminum chassis
40,000A protection is enough for me but hey what do I know.

I am using the APC to bridge the gap with power fluctuations. Mainly brownouts that occur during peak usage, generally in the mid to late afternoon during hot summer months. It is working well thus far, as it is very hot and humid in Metro Detroit now.