I have not tried a Hydra with other than Shunyata cords but I will share my experience. I was generally dissatisfied with CD's and digital playback. In the past year I purchased about 400 LP's to about 10 CD's because the sound of the CD's was so, flat and lacking in musical depth. I did listen to a $6000 BAT CD player with about $30,000 worth of other equipment and it sounded so good I thought maybe one day. Well a freind brought over a demo Hydra 4, some python, tiapan, copperhead and diamondback cables to play with. I was not planning on buying anything but what the heck, I was going to give it a try. The results were amazing. I tried every combination I could think of and came to the following conclusions. The Hydra was the biggest difference and it affected the sound quality, depth, base extension and soundstage of the CD player more than anything else. I was not able to tell much difference between the Python pc and the copperhead pc, but ended up with the Python at a demo discount. I used diamondback to connect the hydra to components. I was and still am amazed at the improvement in my system with the Hydra and upgraded powercords. I think that it tripled my CD players value, (it would have cost me at least 3X the cost of my CD player to make similar gains) and at least doubled my amplifier value. If you can demo a hydra I would recommend it, just balance your check book first.
Shunyata Hydra Users....Your Opinion please...
I am thinking of obtaining the Shunyata Hydra. The Hydra takes an 20 amp iec vs the more common 15 amp iec variety. When I was in California recently, a Shunyata dealer stated to me that "the Hydra is pretty much a high end power bar/surge protector, and that it's the power cable that creates the magic...". I thought his statement was rather simplistic. Working on a tight budget, my plan originally was to buy a used high quality cable from Audiogon from either Audience or Cardas (with a 20 amp iec) to mate with the Hydra 4 instead of the rather expensive Shunyata power cords. I was wondering if there are any Hydra owners out there that have paired their Hydra's with other company's power cords....and what was the result? Is it the Shunyata power cords that create the magic? ....or can the magic be created with another power cord? Is the Hydra simply a glorified power bar/surge protector?
FYI...I currently own the PS Audio P300...and love it...but my room is rather small...and the fan noise is something that I want to get rid of....thus wanting to move to the Hydra.
Thank you!
Tony
FYI...I currently own the PS Audio P300...and love it...but my room is rather small...and the fan noise is something that I want to get rid of....thus wanting to move to the Hydra.
Thank you!
Tony