A couple weeks ago several of us (Mad Dog, Sa-Dono, Shokunin, etc) got together to listen to the VMPS 626R/FST and the Onix Reference ONE.
I think our listening experience has been pretty well posted relating to the speakers and what we heard, but we also switched out a couple other components in the chain that offered some quite astonishing changes in the sound.
The first significant change was adding in the "Shunyata Hydra"
http://www.powersnakes.com/secthydraelectric/hydram8/hydram8.htmlinto the mix.
Now in general I really don't subscribe to significant sonic improvement to a system by simply adding a power cord or conditioner, but in this case all four of us noticed the improvent within seconds of repeating the track we were listening to.
The bass of the 626, which we had all been listening to intently since we were interested in seeing the differences in the two speakers, was now "definately" deeper and more full.
The same carried over to the Ref Ones. Now I must say that in the previous listening of the two we did not notice any deficiency, but this single addition certainly yielded a discernable difference.
The bass was now deeper, more defined, tighter and fuller.
It was not fatter, rubbery, bloated or boomy.
The improvement was so startling that I immediatly contacted Shunyata the following day to see about becoming a dealer.
In order to ascertain if that improvement would also be noticed in "my" system, Shokunin brought his equipment over to my house to try it in my system.
Now in my system, the difference was not quite as dramatic, but it was evident and "measurable".
In the original session, we immediatly added in other components (BottleHead tube pre-amp, Sony SACD player) which also changed the sound. (actually making the highs rather strident on the 626Rs which must have been the Sony, since in my system when we added the Bottle head the sound did not become strident, but more silky with more inner detail)
When we added the Hydra into my system we could also hear an improved bass and cleaner mids and highs. The "blackness" between sounds got blacker and depth seemed to get thicker.
The primary cut used was Stevie Ray Vaughan's "Tin Pan Alley" which has all these qualities in the first place.
Shokunin and I both agreed that the difference was less striking than at Mad Dog's place with his system, but it still was present.
In order to "prove" to ourselves that the differences we were hearing (especially in the bass) were real, we pulled out the old Digital SPL Meter and ran some Bass Test tones, with and without the Shunyata.
From 100Hz down to 20Hz the readings were exactly 1db higher with the Shunyata in the system. While that doesn't sound like much, it is distinguishable and it is caused by the Power Conditioning that the Shunyata does.
I would guess the difference at Mad Dog's was easily 2-3db.
We also surmised that the difference between the two diferences (does that make sense) was that the power in my building is better and cleaner to start with, thus the improvement was slightly less.
In any event, if you have an urge to extract the absolute maximum your system can deliver, I think this is an area, that could provide a large step.
Mad Dog was so impressed, that he said he "thought" he was done upgrading for a while and silently "cursed"
Shokunin for causing him "knowledge" of this improvement.
While the exact Hydra Model that we used has been discontinued, Shunyata has introduced an "improved" AND "less expensive" Hydra Model 8 which replaces it.
To say I was impressed is an understatement. To hear that much difference with out changing the "major" components is remarkable.
In visiting the website, you see that they are well regarded by the "Audiophilia" and several prestigious manufacturers use their "power snake" power cords as standard equipment.
It was very interesting
