Transparent Audio PIR exposed

[DesW]

Originally Posted by Face

There was a LOT more than just a couple of caps and resistors.

Aha--Do tell us more--I looked for the article and pics-but couldn't locate .

Des

[drummermitchell]

Also there was an article on 10audio site with a DIY hydra,
and what was inside a hydra 4,and people still purchase LOL.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Elberoth

$1500 Hydra 6 I once opened:



Shunyata even went as far as to claim 'no point to point wiring', 'solid copper bus bars'.

I talked to Shunyata two weeks ago on the phone and it turns out they can upgrade my Hydra 8 to a version 2. When I do that upgrade, I will have them send me the 8's ZrCa beads back (part of the upgrade is a newer bead) and I'll put them inside in my Hydra 4.

Photos aside, the Hydra 4 DOES work, and right now it's powering my HDTV setup, which looks better than ever.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Elberoth

$1500 Hydra 6 I once opened:



Shunyata even went as far as to claim 'no point to point wiring', 'solid copper bus bars'.

There ARE solid copper bus bars, look at what connects the receptacles....look at the rear view photo.

From what I know of Shunyata, they are not a company prone to exaggeration.

[Elberoth]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

There ARE solid copper bus bars, look at what connects the receptacles....look at the rear view photo.

From what I know of Shunyata, they are not a company prone to exaggeration.

Of course there are. The problem is that they claimed that there is 'NO point to point wiring' inside, and Hydra 6 is almost entirely hard wired !

Imagine a car manufacturer claiming that the entire car body is made of aluminium, only to discover that only the bonet is made of aluminium, and all other panels are made of cheaper pressed steel.

[drummermitchell]

Here's some older but interesting reading on two Hydra 4's and a DIY.

"DIY Hydra" Power Conditioner on 10 Audio

[MyPal]

What seems to be the upshot here...that some are skeptical about the merits of passive PC? An oversized, overpriced Merlin, powered by some ancient rocks...perhaps but...

I'll offer a real visual example that is not bias to subjective listening & recollection. My TV is wired to a Shunyata Hydra Talos using a custom length of Furutech FA-3TS20 terminated with a Furutech Flux FI-50M carbon/rhodium plug & Flexo conductive braided shielding. For Sony's flagship TV, the semi-fixed power chord was the nastiest, flimsiest cheap arse piece of Chinese floss that they could have possibly legally attached to an otherwise well made product. This combination along with engaging the "low" power saving setting on the TV has enabled "the black colour" to become totally black. Zero backlight bleeds, zero backlight blooming, zero LCD shimmer. The entire 65" is uniformly black when it is supposed to be black. Black as the gorilla glass border in a black room. Black as a black hole. Black. Unbleached blackness. Totally. A simple but effective test is the McIntosh logo for the MVP891 startup (which also feeds off the same Talos). I have never been able to achieve this on any other calibrated LCD TV I have owned whether it has been LED backlit or LED edge lit & this TV was no different. This is just one aspect of the improvement in picture quality. Consistent all hours every day. Go figure...

From my experience with the Hydra Talos', my MC2301s deserve their very own Hydra Cyclops, now on order. Shunyata
Passive PC works no matter how rudimentary they look naked to the untrained eye & there are plenty of naked Shunyata Hydra pics on the net too... If someone has the smarts to build a good PC from radio shack parts, refine it a little with some proprietary exotica through experimentation, slap it in a shiny aluminum embossed box & then able to sell it for 500% profit, then they are evidently in the know.

I can categorically say that I have seen & heard black. Black is good.

[GrantS]

Hi Adam,

There were no claims of "no point to point" wiring when the pictured Hydra was manufactured, which looks to be from 2002-2004. Of course, some wiring will ALWAYS exist in all power distribution products coming from the input IEC. All Hydras now use buss straps connecting outlets and have for quite some time. At the point that we changed to buss straps and no wiring, we began talking about that. There is no longer any wiring coming off of the outlets themselves and that is what's referred to as "no point to point".

I have answered these same questions every time someone decides to post open box pictures and when refrains of "nothing in the box" are repeated. It's a difficult proposition of "damned if you do...", but I feel strongly that uninformed comments should addressed.

I do understand people looking into a Hydra, then comparing that to a box with a ton of parts or a transformer, choke or coil and thinking "wait a minute?" If people look a little deeper at our approach, the materials or parts themselves and how they differ-- and the design credibility behind the products, there might be reluctance to so quickly judge.

First of all, there are filter networks in the boxes in addition to what is clear on the pictures. Currently, all Hydra models have a 30 element filter board in the units. These micro-filters are computer modeled to address the specific frequencies of noise that are common to power supply emissions and the power line. We developed that design point of view. We are also the only manufacturer in the industry using these unique components and approach. Our focus is to improve peak current transfer, eliminate the variable effects of common reactive devices and to provide passive means of eliminating system generated noise.

To DIY any current Hydra would be quite impossible, despite what the Ten Audio gent suggested in what, 2005? BTW, that entire article was written after he asked us for a sample "review" unit and I politely declined to provide one. What was to be a "review" if we went along with his give-me-your-product request, turned into a DIY project of a 2001 product when we declined. He made sure to tell me "we'd pay" for declining the product loan. And what did he make? A Home Depot strip with some capacitors for (his cost) $120? The unit he ripped open retailed for $695. Do the math on that. Time/Labor/Overhead on his power strip? That retail price would be $700 something.

We have used open box units for years at shows. We've posted pictures on our web and described our approach in great detail, which is a passive parts and material quality POV. Putting "more" in the box that could include chokes, coils, capacitors, transformers etc only complicates power delivery and adds performance variables/degradation-- again, from our perspective. If heavy, parts laden power boxes make more sense to some for delivery power to high-fidelity systems, that's fine.

Our pricing model is extremely aggressive. We do not compete (at all) using better dealer margins against competitors. We compete and have succeeded in the market ONLY based on performance, explainable technology and giving more for the money to consumers. Our products resale value, our professional resume and the support we receive from electronics and speaker manufacturers supports that assertion. The reviews from multiple US and overseas publications in wildly varying systems would also indicate we are not just blowing smoke.

This is a competitive business. In an era where real technologies are protected and held secret, we describe and say a lot about what we do, how we do it and what is in our boxes. I travel with clear top Hydras when visiting dealers, so this is hardly an episode of "exposed". It's just unfortunate that so much opinion gets tossed around without any real context.

If people have specific questions they are free to call or write to us and I'd be happy to help.

Regards,

Grant
Shunyata Research

[Still-One]

Grant
Thank you for taking the time to post. As consumers we are better off when we have all sides of a discussion before making our purchasing decisions.

Jim

[chessman]

Grant, yes, thanks for the post. I appreciate you taking the time to explain this. Very informative.