Shunyata Research Hydra Alpha A12 Power Conditioner and Venom NR-V10 Power Cord

I go way back with Shunyata Research, and fondly remember the days of The World’s Best Audio System (TWBAS) events — gatherings of manufacturers at my home for which I’d chosen and assembled into amazing systems the best audio components then available — and the sense of discovery we all felt. My first TWBAS, in 2004, included products from Wilson Audio Specialties, EMM Labs, and Shunyata Research. TWBAS 2004 was a watershed for me — at the time, it was, by far, the best sound I had ever attained in my home. Although that system’s sound would be greatly surpassed by subsequent TWBAS systems, the bar set by that first one was already very high. Shunyata was represented in TWBAS 2004 by their Hydra Model-8 power conditioner ($1995 at the time; all prices USD), various models of power cord from their Anaconda and Diamondback lines, and their Constellation Aries and Andromeda signal cables (these models were discontinued long ago; see archived articles for cable prices).