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 - Warrenh

Tvad. got it. I suppose there would be far less threads if the underlying answer was always to be "..try it in your system if you really want to find out how good it is." ...and I do see the value of that statement. Really. but let's pause for a moment... ever count how much junk is out there to try? Lots.

Rather than take the 'scenic' route in buying/renting & trying just everything on the mkt. I use the threads I post to 'cull the herd'. Limit the area I need to prospect for gold in. Already in this post thanks to you, I now know getting a cord for the Hydra is easy enough. . . and it seems best suited to digital gear... for the most part. I tend to agree with that.... as Warren said. If in fact the amount of change that comes from the addition of the Python VX to my CDP is indicative of the type of change/improvement Hydras provide, perhaps one is in my future.

A fair amount of concern revolves around 'conditioning' for the amp... right now it's the vk500. The plan is to go to the vk600 at some point. That's a fair amount of current draw with eighter amp. With just a preamp & CDP, (I'm going to add a tuner & multiformat player later), I don't need tons of outlets... but will need ample wattage supply... and I'd not wish to 'change' the sonics any more than I have to which set me onto the 'passive' path rather than the 'active' one in conditioning.

It's likely just my inclination, and past notions from previous work experiences that have me seeing how much money to put where.... Like warrenh said... Putting the 'money' onto the cords attached to the components and not onto the conditioner would be what I think should be the best way to go. My analogy of the 'rims and old car' may not have been the best. All I am saying is "if it takes one to spend a likewise amount for power cords as it does for components or even near their price... just how good is the component? ...if it needs thousands of bucks of power cords to sound great... somethings wrong with that picture. There needs to be limits. there should also be options available to the consumer. Proper marketing strategy would be to allow for inclusion of a cord with any conditioner at a reduced price at point of sale. That's the way American retail has always worked... buy more - pay less.... it's the way of things. that won't change... and consumers, by and large, expect it.

As the tone of my post seems demonstrative add most forward, do not take it as such. It's my displeasure with being forced to accommodate peripherals to extract a level of quality & performance from highly regarded items in the first palce that continually irks me. It is not your sage advice, or thoughts I take issue with. Not at all. My position may change in the future if money no longer reamins quite so scarce, though it's not likely. all things considered, it is a shame that one needs not only to spend copius bucks for supposedly top flight gear, but additional bucks to have it perform as it should in the first place. Guess it's just like racing. When I raced bikes the saying was, "If you want to go faster the real race is which one crosses the finish line first... the scooter, or the money?" It costs a lot to go faster. In that hobby or this, there is a "point of diminishing returns'. I'll be happy to live right there. Right at that point. No further. For me, as you said about perspectives, "That would be my perspective'.

Tvad, and Warrenh - you're both right... I'll lean towards Warrnh's notion for the most part though...especially with conditioning devices. All your insights are most appreciated and very valuable to me... as always. Sincerely, I thank you.
Post removed 
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
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.
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.