Samzx12, no, I must admit I never auditioned a Hydra. However, all power "conditioners" like Hydra, Monster, Panamax, PS Audio, etc., are variations on the same circuitry, and use the same kinds of components. They all present the same problem too, which is that in using passive circuits and devices to reduce noise, they slow down energy transfer.
Nobody realized this problem at first. Amps were less powerful and/or they didn't have detachable cords. Everybody was happy to have surge protection (they hoped!) and less line noise. Then, with the introduction of large conductor aftermarket power cords, folks began to realize that these power conditioners were choking their amps, which sounded better plugged right into the wall. In addition to that, today's components often already have built-in surge protection and some noise filtration.
Power REGENERATORS compare what's coming out of your wall (in terms of noise, sine wave accuracy, and voltage stability) with the ideal AC power profile, and corrects the wall current to match the ideal, using active amplification and feedback. The Exactpower unit does this very efficiently by "fixing" only the distorted parts of the incoming AC power and leaving the rest alone -- it doesn't throw out the whole signal and start over, which would waste energy and is how some other regenerators work.
Power "conditioners", regardless of brand, are IMO a thing of the past for serious audio. To quote a friend who designed the first line of super high-end DACs, "they do more harm than good."
And balanced power units, although they can be used as "stand-alone" devices (right from the wall) end up being unnecessarily large capacity if you want to plug everything, including your amp, into them. This might be OK for a recording studion, but completely unnecessary for a home audio system.
So basically that leaves the following options:
1. Dedicated circuits with or without a power regenerator or isolation transformer(s). A regenerator is necessary with dedicated cts. ONLY if your utility power fluctuates a lot or has noise in it before it even gets to your house (a common problem in New York for instance) With dedicated circuits alone, you get no lightening protection so unplug everything during T-storms.
2. Regenerator in lieu of dedicated cts. Even with decent utility power, this is the BEST way to insure an adequate power resevoir for your amp, plus quiet noise-free power and spike protection for your other equipment.
If you want, you can plug a (modest capacity) balanced power unit into the regenerator for the ultimate in quiet power for your source equipment. Another benefit of balanced power is it eliminates (cancels) the hum caused by ground loops. (It doesn't necessarily eliminate the ground loops themselves, but who cares!) Therefore, you don't have to worry about lifting the ground pins on any of your components' AC plugs -- thus improving both safety and performance.
Regenerators (NOT conditioners) are the ONLY logical solution for condo and apartment dwellers for whom dedicated circuits are out of the question.
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