[TheGhostWhoWalks]

I've been thinking for a while about buying some Hydras to semi-complete my system. I've been debating about whether to get a Hydra 6 for the player and Hydra 2 for the amp or a Hydra 8 for the player and forget about the amp. I know some people don't like plugging amps into power conditioners but I've heard great things about those Hydras and I wonder if the Hydra 2 would have much of a detrimental effect on my SDS-XLR - plus it would be nice to have the surge protection. I've wondered if some of the detrimental effects people talk about have to do with the power cords people use for them. It makes sense that if you're using a conditioner to treat the power then you'd want a great power cord in combination with them.

I think the main complaint about conditioners is they take away some dynamics and cut off the bass/treble extension a bit so my mind actually jumped to my reference cables which are the Virtual Dynamics cables (probably Masters as that'd be alot to outfit two Hydras with Revelations) which have excellent extension and dynamics up the whoo-ha. But it also struck me that that cutting off of of the extremes and dynamcis could be because of the filtering it does and that a power cord with a lot of speed, top/bottom end, and transparency might help alleviate some of that. So then I thought about the higher end Nordost power cords (or even Shunyata Anaconda Alpha cables maybe).

Any thoughts/opinons?

 

[Konig]

They have gotten great reviews. Their fuses in the ground plugs are said to be the best in the world. I have seen better power cables than shunyata and nordost, but that is in a military radar station. If im not wrong, the government bought it at US$28000/metre. I think it will be a great cable for audio. Cant recall the brand though.

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Konig They have gotten great reviews. Their fuses in the ground plugs are said to be the best in the world. I have seen better power cables than shunyata and nordost, but that is in a military radar station. If im not wrong, the government bought it at US$28000/metre. I think it will be a great cable for audio. Cant recall the brand though.

After looking up Isoclean it seems they're located in Japan? All the reviews and dealers are written in Japanese (I think). Can you get them over here?

As for the cables you're referring to, where can you get them? The best cables I've heard yet have been my Virtual Dynamics Revelations but it would be prohibitively expensive to outfit two power conditioners with them and I was wondering if a faster cable with a brighter, extended top end and quick, powerful bass (like the Valhallas) might work better anyway.

 

[grandenigma1]

Volex

 

[Patrick82]

Nordost Valhalla if you want both bass and highs. Check part2 of my review where I compared amp and power conditioner.

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 Nordost Valhalla if you want both bass and highs. Check part2 of my review where I compared amp and power conditioner.

How is the speed, dynamics, and transparancy of the Valhalla - especially speed? I've heard they're one of the best.

BTW, you should really try a side-by-side comparison of the Valhalla and Virtual Dynamics Revelation PCs - they're surely two of the absolute best out there. The VD Revelation IC's are easily the best out there I've ever heard (even trumping the Valhalla and Indra's for my money).

 

[Patrick82]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGhostWhoWalks How is the speed, dynamics, and transparancy of the Valhalla - especially speed? I've heard they're one of the best.

Valhalla is THE cable for speed. Transparency and dynamics is as good as the rest of your system. The "problem" with Valhalla is that it's too revealing for most people. I had to use 2 step power conditioning and 3 step vibration isolation until the background was as black as I wanted it to be.


Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGhostWhoWalks BTW, you should really try a side-by-side comparison of the Valhalla and Virtual Dynamics Revelation PCs - they're surely two of the absolute best out there.

The Virtual Dynamics looks similar to my modded Vishnu. It sounds better with less resistance than the opposite. The Vishnu gave a smooth, detailed and non-fatiguing sound like tubes, but it was too flat without dynamics and layering.

After some experiments I found that Valhalla is best for below 80 watt current draw.

 

[markl]

Out of over 20 power cords I've owned, the best to me is the Black Sand Violet. And it's cheap, too ($249).

http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....owr&1156861887

 

[Sovkiller]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGhostWhoWalks I've been thinking for a while about buying some Hydras to semi-complete my system. I've been debating about whether to get a Hydra 6 for the player and Hydra 2 for the amp or a Hydra 8 for the player and forget about the amp. I know some people don't like plugging amps into power conditioners but I've heard great things about those Hydras and I wonder if the Hydra 2 would have much of a detrimental effect on my SDS-XLR - plus it would be nice to have the surge protection. I've wondered if some of the detrimental effects people talk about have to do with the power cords people use for them. It makes sense that if you're using a conditioner to treat the power then you'd want a great power cord in combination with them. I think the main complaint about conditioners is they take away some dynamics and cut off the bass/treble extension a bit so my mind actually jumped to my reference cables which are the Virtual Dynamics cables (probably Masters as that'd be alot to outfit two Hydras with Revelations) which have excellent extension and dynamics up the whoo-ha. But it also struck me that that cutting off of of the extremes and dynamcis could be because of the filtering it does and that a power cord with a lot of speed, top/bottom end, and transparency might help alleviate some of that. So then I thought about the higher end Nordost power cords (or even Shunyata Anaconda Alpha cables maybe). Any thoughts/opinons?

Oh no!!! Now we have two problems to worry about, instead of one, the power cord before the power conditioner, and the power cord after the power conditioner, so now we need to get two expensive power cables instead of one....besides the power conditioner itself, that BTW is not a bargain neither....OMG!!!! there is no doubt that in the audiophile world we need help ASAP, as our common sense goes out of the window sometimes...I see a black future for us, spending our life in misery later on...if this madness keep on going, pretty soon I will be manufaturing power cords for a living....

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 Valhalla is THE cable for speed. Transparency and dynamics is as good as the rest of your system. The "problem" with Valhalla is that it's too revealing for most people. I had to use 2 step power conditioning and 3 step vibration isolation until the background was as black as I wanted it to be.

I think some people's problems with the Valhalla's is they sound a little cold and mechanical. Tons of detail, not enough warmth and musicality - which is probably why I prefer the Virtual Dynamics on my player and amp and for ICs.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Patrick82 The Virtual Dynamics looks similar to my modded Vishnu. It sounds better with less resistance than the opposite. The Vishnu gave a smooth, detailed and non-fatiguing sound like tubes, but it was too flat without dynamics and layering. After some experiments I found that Valhalla is best for below 80 watt current draw.

Don't go by looks. Virtual Dynamics make some of the absolute best cables out there at all price ranges. Their Revelations series are just stunning and definitely comparable to the Valhallas.

Here's a great review by someone who's tried a ton of cables: http://www.stereotimes.com/cable122905.shtml

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl Out of over 20 power cords I've owned, the best to me is the Black Sand Violet. And it's cheap, too ($249). http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....owr&1156861887

Interesting. What have you compared them to?

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sovkiller Oh no!!! Now we have two problems to worry about, instead of one, the power cord before the power conditioner, and the power cord after the power conditioner, so now we need to get two expensive power cables instead of one....besides the power conditioner itself, that BTW is not a bargain neither....OMG!!!! there is no doubt that in the audiophile world we need help ASAP, as our common sense goes out of the window sometimes...I see a black future for us, spending our life in misery later on...if this madness keep on going, pretty soon I will be manufaturing power cords for a living....

Hey, I have a friend who's into watch collecting. He's spent upwards of $100k on watches. What does he do with them? He keeps them in cases, in a room, and rarely takes them out and wears them. That's alot to spend on a hobby, don't ya think?

That's all audiophilia is, a hobby. And it's an expensive one. But it's no more expensive than automobiles, collecting *insert just about anything here*, taking vacations, etc. And we get the added bonus of being able to continually get pleasure out of the gear we buy, as opposed to just collecting it and having it sit in a garage or room collecting dust.


Though I do agree that the world of cables in the audiophile world is ridiculous. It seems rather silly to spend $400 or so on a Hydra 2 then (what would amount to, but I'd buy it used) a $2k+ power chord for it.

I might just go with a Hydra 8, which would save me the hassle of having to buy two chords.

 

[markl]

Quote:

Interesting. What have you compared them to?

http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ht=power+cords

 

[Todd R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheGhostWhoWalks I've been thinking for a while about buying some Hydras to semi-complete my system. I've been debating about whether to get a Hydra 6 for the player and Hydra 2 for the amp or a Hydra 8 for the player and forget about the amp. I know some people don't like plugging amps into power conditioners but I've heard great things about those Hydras and I wonder if the Hydra 2 would have much of a detrimental effect on my SDS-XLR - plus it would be nice to have the surge protection. I've wondered if some of the detrimental effects people talk about have to do with the power cords people use for them. It makes sense that if you're using a conditioner to treat the power then you'd want a great power cord in combination with them. I think the main complaint about conditioners is they take away some dynamics and cut off the bass/treble extension a bit so my mind actually jumped to my reference cables which are the Virtual Dynamics cables (probably Masters as that'd be alot to outfit two Hydras with Revelations) which have excellent extension and dynamics up the whoo-ha. But it also struck me that that cutting off of of the extremes and dynamcis could be because of the filtering it does and that a power cord with a lot of speed, top/bottom end, and transparency might help alleviate some of that. So then I thought about the higher end Nordost power cords (or even Shunyata Anaconda Alpha cables maybe). Any thoughts/opinons?

I would suggest Shunyata's cords to go with their conditioners.
I'm using the Copperhead on my Hydra 6 and am pretty happy with it.
I tried the Taipan on it for a while, and while it very noticeably made the sound fuller, richer, and bigger, I preferred the lighter faster presentation of the Copperhead (and it's a whole lot cheaper).

FYI, I do not have my amp plugged into it, but everything else is.

 

[TheGhostWhoWalks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by markl http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showt...ht=power+cords

That's alot of cables!

I noticed you used the old VD line for comparison though. The newer line is quite a bit better than their old line. It's the same house sound but they upped the dynamics, speed, transparancy, and detail quite a bit. The Nite IIs are the biggest improvement in the line. Compared to the old Nites... well, there is no comparison. I also think the Testament is perhaps the biggest value in their sub-$1k line now. Great cords.

And the biggest jump in their line is from the Nites to the Masters/Revelations. The Masters really pull everything together. I owned the Nite IIs for a while before upgrading to the Masters. It really was the equivalent of a major amplifier upgrade (and I swear I'm not exaggerating). It retains that great, musical, dynamic VD house sound but the micro and macro details, speed, and transparancy was jaw dropping - it sounded like real music. I didn't think it could get any better than that until I heard the Revelations which, I think at that point you cease to hear cables and just hear pure music (for example, everything you say about the bass being one note and "fizzy" with their lower end cables I GUARANTEE you couldn't say about the Masters and Revelations which have incredible, mouth watering bass).

Eventually I'll probably have my amp and player outfitted with Revelation PCs too.