May 1, 2012

• Shunyata Research Hydra Model-8 Power Conditioner, Part 1

  I thought I would split the Shunyata Research Hydra Model-8 Power Conditioner review into two parts.  The first installment deals with the physical description of the unit and the second will cover how the power conditioner affects the sound of my system.

  NB:  The material used for this part of the review has been gleaned from online sources.  The snide remarks, however, are mine.
   

  Physical - Outside

  The Hydra Model-8 measures 13"W x 9 1/4"D x 5 3/4"H and weighs in at 17 pounds. 

  The fascia is ¼ inch aluminum and the chassis is also made of fairly thick aluminum painted a basic black.  Four rubber feet support this passive power conditioner that’s made in Poulsbo, Washington.

   

  There is just one user-control and that is the on/off switch on the rear right side (as you face the rear) of the Hydra Model-8 just above the 20 amp IEC connector.  I guess the IEC connector could be seen as a second “user-control” since you get to pick the power cord.  There isn’t one included with the $1,995 (at time of purchase) unit.

   

  Continuing with the outside of the Hydra Model-8, there are four duplex electrical outlets that are made to specification for Shunyata by Hubbell Incorporated in Connecticut.  The Venom outlets (I know, enough with the snake references) are triple-plated in silver and rhodium and are made by Hubbell without any ferrous materials and all carbon has been removed.  Once Shunyata gets their hands on the outlets, they are then cryo-treated.  

  Although the Venom outlets appear correctly oriented to me with the grounding plug below the twin electrical blades, the Hubbell name reads upside-down on the top of each outlet.  The Venom outlets are also grouped in two pairs for analog and the other two for digital sources.  Presumably the internal wiring is also separated to prevent noise from the digital outlets from entering the analog ones.

   

   

  Physical – Inside

  The Venom outlets are housed within a separate enclosed chamber inside the Model-8 and are surrounded by Shunyata’s proprietary Fe-Si 1002 ceramic compound.  This is said to passively reduce electromagnetic interference in a way similar to ferrites although it has no metallic content.  That being the case, I think including “Fe” (the chemical symbol for iron) in the name of the compound causes confusion.  Unlike ferrites, FeSi-1002 does not dampen high frequency energy, blunt transients or darken the overall sonic landscape, according to Shunyata.  And, they make a slithering sound when you move or shake the unit.

  The Hydra Model-8 utilizes a three bus layout, each weighing two pounds, made from pure CDA-101 copper ingots.  This is the same copper that Shunyata utilizes in all their products.

  The passive power conditioning is comprised of a three-prong approach, appropriately named the Trident Defense System.  Besides being the name of a US submarine launched ballistic missile, there’s a Trident Bangor Base located a few miles from Shunyata’s Poulsbo facility.  And finally, the trident is the logo for the Italian pasta rocket manufacturer, Maserati, which can’t hurt your image.  So we have three phallic symbols wrapped into one product:  snakes, missiles and cars.  I wonder who comes up with their marketing?

  As you might expect the Trident Defense System (TDS) encompasses three parts. 

  First, there's the Venom filter, Shunyata's four-element capacitive array designed to eliminate over-voltage spikes of only a few volts to beyond 1,000 volts on transients. 

  Second, there is a six-element array of thermal metal-oxide varistors (TMOVs), that provides 6,000 volts of over-voltage protection and up to 60,000 amps of peak-current protection. The TMOVs are, according to Shunyata Research, "next-generation devices" -- "20mm varistor discs that have integrated, internal thermal protection" and can't "explode or catch fire in the rare event of a catastrophic over-voltage condition."  I would hope not.

  Third and finally, the Hydra Model-8 uses a Carling electromagnetic circuit breaker with large-surface-area contacts to allow for unrestrained current flow but also shut down in the event of over-current episodes that exceed 20 amps.

  For those of you who have made it this far (thank you), I’m not sure what the difference is between 60,000 amps of peak-current protection versus 20 amps during over-current episodes, but then I’m no electrical engineer.  Shunyata Research also points out that the Model-8 is rated for 2,400 watts of continuous power delivery.

   

  Next installment:  so, alright already, how does it sound?

  • 12:10 pm
  • 3 Comments