Power cord for a newly-arrived Hydra 8 v2

[jimtranr]

This Hydra 8 v2 arrived this afternoon packaged with a Black Mamba HC CX power cord. It replaces the Venom NR v10-linked original-version Hydra in my bedroom system. (That combo now heads to my home-office system.)



Even with only a few hours of settling time, the "new" Hydra setup offers some clearly audible improvements (e.g., bass definition and sustain, soundstage "aeration", vocal articulation), but I'm wondering how much more I could expect by replacing the Mamba with a Venom NR 10. I can't do a comparison with what I have here because the input connectors differ for the two Hydras (twist-lock vs. C19).

If anyone has made a power-distributor Black Mamba-Venom NR 10 comparison, I'd appreciate your observations. Thanks in advance.

(The current Hydra mounting atop four Stillpoints Ultra Minis on carpet-covering two-inch-thick maple butcher block cobbled together from workshop scraps is temporary. I'll build a new equipment rack after taking care of a cranky hip in a couple of months.)

[tima]

I'll offer a different option for replacing your Mamba - the Shunyata King Cobra, top-of-the-line in its day. I'm guessing ~$1500 for the Zitron version. I used it with the V8 v2. This is a 5 gauge (!) cable for power distributors and high-current amps.

[oddeophile]

I once had an entire loom of thesein my system. 10 I I recall when they were king of the hill about nine years ago. They were superb then and still are.
You’re referring to the King Cobra CX.

[jimtranr]

Let me pose the question this way: In the context of Shunyata's current power cord lineup and given the Hydra 8 v2's performance chops, should I stretch my vise-jaw budget to consider the Delta NR PC as the dollar-wise best fit for the wall-to-distributor link? In other words, how much, if any, improvement could I expect over what the Black Mamba, Venom NR 10 (and, yes, the King Cobra) bring to the sonic-bliss table?

Thanks.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by jimtranr

Let me pose the question this way: In the context of Shunyata's current power cord lineup and given the Hydra 8 v2's performance chops, should I stretch my vise-jaw budget to consider the Delta NR PC as the dollar-wise best fit for the wall-to-distributor link? In other words, how much, if any, improvement could I expect over what the Black Mamba, Venom NR 10 (and, yes, the King Cobra) bring to the sonic-bliss table?

Thanks.

Hey Jim,

I can't give you a direct comparison for your application, that is, to power a conditioner as I don't have an NR-V10 C19 for powering a Hydra, but I can say unequivocally that my NR-V10 considerably outperformed the Black Mamba HC/CX for my power amp when I was using my Triton V1.

The biggest gains I observed, and they were LARGE, was in DTCD (dynamic current transient delivery) and also noise reduction. The increase in DTCD really drove the dynamic slam and speed of my system to capabilities I simply had not experienced before, particularly on wide-dynamic range classical music. The noise suppression also really opened up the presentation, making it considerably quieter, but also more natural and organic-sounding, spacious, open, extended, with better focus on voices and instruments in the imaging.

The BM provides no inherent noise reduction, and I would imagine the Hydra 8 V2 itself provides less than 20dB of noise suppression, so your Hydra 8 and system overall would benefit from the ~14dB or so of additional noise suppression that an NR power cord would bring.

So, if it were me recommending the NR-V10 as opposed to the BM HC/CX that came with your Hydra 8 V2, unquestionably the NR-V10 wins here hands-down.

As for the Delta NR, I don't know specifically, but I would surmise that the magnitude of the noise suppression for the Delta NR is the same for the Venom NR. But, my hypothesis is you'd get even more DTCD performance from the Delta than the Venom and same degree of noise suppression. Which, for you, with the classical collection you have and listen to, would prove of benefit.

So, to answer your original question: Yes. I'm very confident you'd obtain considerable and significant benefits in getting an Delta NR over the Black Mamba, but I also know for a fact that even using a C19 terminated Venom NR-V10 would significantly outperform your BM HC/CX for powering your Hydra 8 V2.

Lastly, just a note for similar Hydra 8/Triton owners considering an upgrade to Denali: If one is considering upgrading to Denali and the power cord for that, I'd recommend a Delta EF or Alpha EF for powering Denali as those power cords would provide maximal DTCD performance. As Denali itself provides >60 dB of noise suppression, it would benefit from the (higher level of) DTCD capabilities of the EF-series of Shunyata PCs. I'd then recommend folks consider using NR-spec power cords on the components connected to Denali to prevent noise from their power supplies coming "back out" to be distributed to rest of the system's components (not forgetting that Denali provides CCI as well).

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Hey Jim,

...I can say unequivocally that my NR-V10 considerably outperformed the Black Mamba HC/CX for my power amp when I was using my Triton V1.

The biggest gains I observed, and they were LARGE, was in DTCD (dynamic current transient delivery) and also noise reduction. The increase in DTCD really drove the dynamic slam and speed of my system to capabilities I simply had not experienced before, particularly on wide-dynamic range classical music. The noise suppression also really opened up the presentation, making it considerably quieter, but also more natural and organic-sounding, spacious, open, extended, with better focus on voices and instruments in the imaging.

The BM provides no inherent noise reduction, and I would imagine the Hydra 8 V2 itself provides less than 20dB of noise suppression, so your Hydra 8 and system overall would benefit from the ~14dB or so of additional noise suppression that an NR power cord would bring.

So, if it were me recommending the NR-V10 as opposed to the BM HC/CX that came with your Hydra 8 V2, unquestionably the NR-V10 wins here hands-down.

As for the Delta NR, I don't know specifically, but I would surmise that the magnitude of the noise suppression for the Delta NR is the same for the Venom NR. But, my hypothesis is you'd get even more DTCD performance from the Delta than the Venom and same degree of noise suppression. Which, for you, with the classical collection you have and listen to, would prove of benefit.

So, to answer your original question: Yes. I'm very confident you'd obtain considerable and significant benefits in getting an Delta NR over the Black Mamba, but I also know for a fact that even using a C19 terminated Venom NR-V10 would significantly outperform your BM HC/CX for powering your Hydra 8 V2.

...

Right on point, Stephen. And a big help. Thank you.

Now where's that jar of pennies I thought I'd squirreled away?

[Masterlu]

Just let me know if I can help.

[crion2]

To supercharge a Hydra V2 I would get the best C19 NR cable the budget allows. A used sigma analog/digital is another excellent value for example.

If NR technology is off the table then wire gauge and connector quality usually gets the job done. Anaconda or King Cobra are a nice visit for DTCD performance but King Cobra contains absolutely no Noise reduction.

[jimtranr]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

Just let me know if I can help.

[AVphile]

An alternative addition you might try -- providing you have an available complementary wall outlet -- is plugging a Venom Defender into the socket adjacent to the one which the Black Mamba cord is using.