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
Grant. thank you for the interest.

RE: Contacting shunyata directly...
After three phone calls and as many emails... without a response, I simply gave up trying to ascertain the bonafide answer.. and accepted the current 'norm', or practice of Hydras being sold sans cords. so it wasn't for lack of trying, I assure you of that. That indeed though did play a good part of my buying decision, I must say.

I didn't think what I was being told by the one dealer made sense - "No cord?" At all? "Nope." then asked another Shunyata dealer and got the same answer. With the affirming statement "Because of the varied applications one may put the Hydra (s) to use with various components." following. Well. OK. Sort of made sense...

When I was in retail, I was at point of sale the 'representative of the manufactuers products I sold. A direct reflection of them and to some degree their agent. I made it a point to relay only the manufacturers position as to available options, and warranties. If I didn't know, I would ask either thier local sales rep or them directly. I also made a point of regular contact with the manufacturers' reps so no misinformation could be passed to the consumer that would reflect negatively either upon the manufacturer or my company. That notion is simply put, 'Good business.' ... for everyone concerned.

I can not count the number of people with whom I spoke over the past few months that indicated a likewise statement about no cord accompanying Hydras. Given those experiences along with my interest, and desire to find 'the' fit... I've rented, experiemented, tried several Shunyata products, and bought and paid for at least the one I own... taking into consideration price, 'support', or in my case at least, it's lack.

I do appreciate this, the latest bit of info from a most responsible Shunyata source to the contrary - however belated. Thank you. Perhaps some promulgation and stressing of what is common sales tactics versus the truth of things is in order.

Consumers do like having a choice.
I had my favorite power cable (Kubala-Sosna) build it with the plug needed to fit my original Hydra. The other option would be to replace the plug on the Hydra.


Jim,

If you contact us via our cservice@shunyata.com account, or via phone at 360 297 8960, I guarantee you will have a reply within the same day most likely, or certainly within 24hrs. We have over 22 people at the factory most days and several dedicated to customer service. Please send me the number or e-mail that wasn't working for you and I'll try to find out why.

Regarding the stock cord, I have already sent reminders to our dealer base. In your case, however, as I said before, if you have HE cords upstream, I would not recommend the 12 gauge stock cord for the Hydra, and neither would our dealers.

I already sent you my contact details and you may contact me directly.

Grant
"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."
-Jtinn
Dumb question, but I'll ask it anyway: Could you please explain why this is true in more detail? I have a dedicated line with four outlets, and the two monoblock amps, the preamp, and the Powervar (a 10 amp model) are all plugged into the wall outlets for that dedicated line. Everything else except the sub bass unit and the television is plugged into the Powervar (which is plugged into the same line, as stated). Is that bad????????

{The TV is plugged into the main house circuit directly into the wall, not into the dedicated line. The sub bass unit (Rel Storm III) is plugged into the wall also, into a different outlet, and not into the dedicated line.}

Why I'm asking: I am considering upgrading to a multi-outlet Hydra to replace the Powervar, but have limited options for where to plug it in.

Thanks.

-Bill
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