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Applications for Shunyata Hydra ?

New to powerconditioners. Did some research thru friends and dealers and the shunyata Hydra seems to get a popular vote.
My question is, considering the Guardian and the Hydra series. the price of the hydra seems to be double over the guardian series. Is the difference well worth it ?

If to use hydra /guardian, which of the components are best plugged in there ? I have a cd player, pre-amp and a power amp.

I also read that hydra/guardian has to be used with the shunyata 20 amp powercords. Which model of their 20 amp cord is best place to begin ? and does it make a whole lot difference using the higher model up which can cost as much or more than the hydra unit itself. Also if i already have some aftermarket power cord (other brands that are used in my components ) would it be compatible with the hydra ? ex. PS Audio powercord from cd player plugged into hydra 8 ?

Last but not least, what are the improvements expected from using hydra/guardian ?

Thank you for inputs.

Noli
nolitan
Post removed 
jbecker
22 posts
 
Hello,

I have a Hydra 4 which I plug my mono blocks and Vandersteen Quatros. Recently my house experienced a power surge from the Electric Co. It was substantial. It took out the Hydra and one of the Quatro amps. The monoblocks suffered a blown fuse. It also took out my microwave, surge protector for my computers, my external modem.

I can't imagine what damage I would have incurred if the Hydra hadn't take the blunt of it. (e.g., amps and speakers plugged into the wall.)

We all buy protection, hoping we won't need it, assuming if we do, it will do its job.

The Hydra did its job.
mid40sguy's avatar
mid40sguy
162 posts
 
I had the Hydra 6 a year ago with the cheaper powercord. I can't remember the model but it was the $250.00 one with 20 ampers.

I plugged in one component at a time starting with my Marantz sacd player, then my pre-amp, then my power amp.

This is what I noticed:

a.) with the cd player into the hydra, I find it a bit closed in, shut in as we say. The sound was not veiled but somewhat lost is liveliness. I did not like it plugged to the hydra, preferred straight to outlet with the Audience Powercord.

b.) the pre-amp on the hydra was better. It somewhat made the sound refined. More focused.

c.) On my power amp-- it was just struggling, sounded muffled, congested and shut it. No way.

In the end, i seem to prefer my components plugged into a strip bar (powerbar) with no lights, fuses, power on switch, etc than using the hydra.

I ended up selling the hydra.

Perhaps your mileage may vary!

good luck.
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samzx12
1,218 posts
 
I have a Hydra 2 and I am tickled to death with the performance on my amp. I borrowed a Hydra 4 before buying this one and one at a time I plugged the preamp and CD player into the Hydra 4. I did not like the sources plugged into it. Only the amp. I had better results with the Ultimate Outlet for sources. The Hydra needs a good PC for ultimate results. I am using a Taipan Alpha.
Just my experience.
joeyboynj
621 posts
 
Try a PS Audio regenerated power supply if you do not have dedicated outlets. There is much information on their products here.
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