Shunyata Hydra

Posted by: John on 05 December 2002

There has been a lot of posts referencing Hydras, fuses and dedicated lines on the forum. The #1 issue with my system (52/Supercap/135s/SBLs) is on the AC side. My system is unbelievably magical when it's on but it gradually changes to a high fi sound and then it becomes slightly hard sounding. The magic usually stays for about 2 months. I usually clean all of the contacts and the magic is back within a day. I have a 20amp dedicated line which was a significant improvement over my standard line.

Some members have suggested either changing the fuses or increasing my dedicated line to 40amps. I am very concerned about the safety and insurance issues if I had a problem.

I noticed the Shunyata Hydra listed on audiogon. Is this the same as the typical Hydra discussed on the forum? Or are members typically talking about home made hydras? Does anyone know anything about this product and would work well with a Naim system? Is the Hydra the answer to my issue? If not what is?

John

Posted on: 06 December 2002 by Simon Crosland

quote:
I noticed the Shunyata Hydra listed on audiogon. Is this the same as the typical Hydra discussed on the forum?

The Shunyata Hydra is a power conditioning and distribution unit, see a review on soundstage.com for more info. These types of power conditioners and filters are generally regarded as "A Bad Thing[TM]" for Naim systems, though I have never tried one myself.

The hydra that people talk about round here is much simpler. Imagine a single 3-pin power plug wired with several power cables coming out of it, each ending in an IEC plug (and hence powering a piece of equipment). That's a hydra. There are multi-cable plugs available from places such as Maplin to make this easier for the DIYer to have a go.

Cheers,
Simon