[Gopher]

I'm interested in thoughts of the performance of the Bybee Purifier conditioner (the Mini which Tweekgeek sells in particular) in relation to the Shunyata Hydras (old and new).

I've been deeply impressed by a friend's system which uses a Bybee Purifier v2 (and he attributes greatly to the overall SQ) to the point that I secured a Mini to try for myself.  I'm only on my 4th day with it now, but I'm wondering what can really be expected with burn in.  [NOTE:  I found out this unit is burned in]  I've heard second hand information of these Bybees Purifiers being completely uninspired for the first 2 or 3 weeks, but is this realistic? 

Yesterday, with only 48 hours on the unit, a buddy came by with his old model Shunyata Hyrda (the wood and stone model with the Snake on it) and it was no comparison.  Much smoother, relaxed, equally black sound that sucked me in.  I hear some positive things with the Bybee so far, but not this positive...

Is burn in really a big factor for the purifier or is the Shunyata just a better sounding piece?  I don't want to judge the Bybee hastily, but I do have Hydra on the brain...  unfortunately, I don't really see the old model Hydras used, just the new ones.

I did come across a review that compared the old Hydra (one I heard) to the original model of Bybee Purifier, and it seemed the Hydra was the only conditioner the reviewer preferred to the bybee...

Any thoughts or information guys?  I was able to make sure I negotiated a trial period into this purchase, so I have a back door if its not right, but I do want to give it a fair shake and the price was very right.

[Wayne1]

Fred,

I feel that the Bybee Purifier products and the Shunyata Hydra are apples and oranges. The Hydra works on cleaning up the gross noise products and the Bybee the subtleties.

I think the Bybee Purifiers are the final touch on a system that is "almost" there. I use a Equi-Tech Balanced Power conditioner to take care of the "big" problems in my AC and finish it off with the Bybee Purifiers. In my opinion they should not be thought of as either/or but use both to work on different problems.

[JDUBS]

Not a lot to a Hydra:

http://www.10audio.com/diy_power_conditioner.htm

-Jim

[wywires]

Fred,

I feel that the Bybee Purifier products and the Shunyata Hydra are apples and oranges. The Hydra works on cleaning up the gross noise products and the Bybee the subtleties.

I think the Bybee Purifiers are the final touch on a system that is "almost" there. I use a Equi-Tech Balanced Power conditioner to take care of the "big" problems in my AC and finish it off with the Bybee Purifiers. In my opinion they should not be thought of as either/or but use both to work on different problems.

Correct...The Bybee QP and SP work in the range of DC to 2KHz and solve a totally different set of problems so the Hydra and the Bybee are totally different animals. Any comparisons between the two are bound to cause confusion.

[roscoeiii]

Perfect timing for me to bump my Shunyata Guardian 4 (Hydra internals, but less fancy exterior), I think. Shoot me a PM if interested Fred (or anyone else).

[Gopher]

Thanks, Alex & Wayne.  I recognize the Bybee and the Hydra go about 'conditioning' in very different ways, but what interests me is that they are both passive/non-current limiting.  I have very poor power in my condo and want to put my whole system on a conditioner (amp included).

I'll also admit to not really understanding what Bybees are or what they do, but I have had my system (speakers, most cables, amplifier--his source) in a friends listening room, plugged into his Bybee Purifier v2 and been floored by the SQ.  I recognize his room is inherently better and was fully treated while my room is only partially treated, but he strongly believes the Bybee is just as crucial in his rig.  Theres also the variable that his power is likely much better than mine to begin with...

I've had a few PS Audio units and ultimately disliked what the regenerators did for the music.  I've got an APC S-15 presently as well which I don't really like either.

Wayne,  how do you use them together, exactly?  Did you install purifiers within your Exact Power or are you running a Bybee from  your conditioner?

JDUBS,  thanks for the link--I'd actually come across that a few times previously.  Pretty interesting perspective it gives...

[Big Red Machine]

That is also the way I have come to know them. 

Fred,

I feel that the Bybee Purifier products and the Shunyata Hydra are apples and oranges. The Hydra works on cleaning up the gross noise products and the Bybee the subtleties.

I think the Bybee Purifiers are the final touch on a system that is "almost" there. I use a Equi-Tech Balanced Power conditioner to take care of the "big" problems in my AC and finish it off with the Bybee Purifiers. In my opinion they should not be thought of as either/or but use both to work on different problems.

[jtwrace]

Why not contact Dave and try his PI Audio Uberbuss (which is a free demo)?

[Triode Pete]

Why not contact Dave and try his PI Audio Uberbuss (which is a free demo)?

+1 with an enthusiastic recommendation... or give Charles Rollo (AC member: rollo) a shout. He has an Uber buss available for audition...

I also have a Rev. B if you'd like to try...

Pete

[roscoeiii]

It is worth pointing out that the Uberbuss doesn't provide any surge protection, so you would have to use it in conjunction with a surge protector of some sort if you want that sort of protection. I used a RevB and the Shunyata Guardian together because I didn't trust the power coming into my apt.

[jriggy]

I use a RevB and a Bybee V2 conditioner together. I realize that can get up there in price but hunting for used can help that out quite a bit...
With that said -- and judging by your described issues -- I too would start by trying a BUSS!
Pete is right, Rollo has one available for people in his area and I think that includes you! 

EDIT: And maybe you can get a BUSS to try in time to hear it with the Bybee you are demoing...

[Gopher]

Wow, it seems a lot of you guys that do use a bybee, do so in conjunction with other conditioning.  Very interesting...

I think when I get home from work tonight I'm going to try plugging my Bybee Mini Purifier into my APC S-15 (and vice versa) to see what it yields.  I didn't much care for the S-15 but everyone else seemed to love it--maybe together it will be something special--if nothing else it will address more issues.

I will give an uberbuss a listen as well.  Exchanged PMs with Charles and we'll try and get it over while I am still within the demo period for the Bybee. 

Honestly, I've gotta say I think I'd like a ONE BOX solution, but we'll see where I end up.

[jriggy]

gopher,

 FWIW, my BUSS is on the floor over by its wall outlet, kinda away from the system. Its a unit that does not call for a space in a rack. And I use one of Triode Petes PC's -- which are priced great and have the workability/synergy "ok" from PI Audio.

[zybar]

Wow, it seems a lot of you guys that do use a bybee, do so in conjunction with other conditioning.  Very interesting...

I think when I get home from work tonight I'm going to try plugging my Bybee Mini Purifier into my APC S-15 (and vice versa) to see what it yields.  I didn't much care for the S-15 but everyone else seemed to love it--maybe together it will be something special--if nothing else it will address more issues.

I will give an uberbuss a listen as well.  Exchanged PMs with Charles and we'll try and get it over while I am still within the demo period for the Bybee. 

Honestly, I've gotta say I think I'd like a ONE BOX solution, but we'll see where I end up.

I would like a one box solution too! 

Unfortunately, my testing has shown that combining an Uberbuss with a FurmanSound IT-REFERENCE 20i balanced power conditioner produces the best results in my system.  The combination of these two products is better than either one on its own and is worth the extra cost.

In my setup, I go from the dedicated 20amp line -> Uberbuss -> Furman.  All of my gear (amps, preamp, digital front end, speaker sub amps, and even the HD's) are plugged into the Furman.

I hear great things about the Bybee products, but I have never had a chance to try them.

George

[mgalusha]

FWIW, the Bybee conditioners have shunt mode filtering in addition to the Bybee purifiers. The filters in the mini version are not as extensive as the V2 versions. The filter circuit in the larger units is licensed from John Curl and is considerably more robust than the mini versions. The "stealth" vs the regular versions have different Bybee purifiers in them as well. They all have non MOV surge protection as well.

I am not posting this as a sales pitch, just to clarify what is in the pieces.

[morganc]

Fred, you can also get a nice in home demo of an UberBuss now that there is a demo available on the East Coast.  I would highly recommend it

[Gopher]

Thanks for the info, Mike.

I know Bybees are capable of great things--I guess I'm trying to figure out now if my system is 'ready' for that yet.

Morgan,

I'll be trying an uberbuss later this week in my own rig.  Probably on Friday.  It should be educational.

[Gopher]

I had the opportunity demo the uberbuss in my own rig for a couple hours today and I will say the thing is damn competent.  I definitely experienced an uptick in bass slam and harmonic richness and possibly clarity. 

After the demo though I quickly reinserted my bybeeand played back the last couple things is been listening to and the gap wasn't as big as I had felt it was and I might have been more pulled into the sound with my digital.

One interesting thing I think I've notedis that the uberbuss seemed to sound better on my analog with my bybee being very close but with a slightly stronger pull factor on digital. 

Ill have to do some thinking on this one as the bybee is 1500 and a stock cable sounds good while the uberbuss is 1100 and seems to need a PC.

I've got chewing to.do, but I think the bybee is definitely waking up.

A big thanks to Rollo for coming out hereand letting me hear it for myself.  He even kept my toddler busy so I could give it my full attention. 

[jimdgoulding]

Ok, for the rest of us, what is a Bybee Purifier?  Please tell what you know.  Thanks, seriously.

[Big Red Machine]

Ok, for the rest of us, what is a Bybee Purifier?  Please tell what you know.  Thanks, seriously.

http://www.tweekgeek.com/bybee-power-purifier-mini/