acoustic revive rtp-4 or shunyata hydra 8

I have not A/B tested the Acoustic 4 against the Hydra , but I did drag home many conditioners and compare them to the Hydra 8 and V-Ray , the Shunyatas out performed the others in ever way . Silents and rhythm seemed the most prominent . I use P.S. Audio's Soloists on the power amps . I'm thinking of up grading to a couple of the new V-Ray Pro's . Even my fussy ARC Ref 3 ( tube preamp ) responded positively to the V-Ray . I think try before you buy is always essential . Have fun and good luck . MAX

Hi Pataldorr- I recently went to a Hydra 8 from a 4, which I had used for about four years. It is surprising how much of a difference the 8 makes. I'd say the improvement is as significant as when I went from a power strip to the 4. The entire system (CJ tube preamp and power amps, Linn table and AR PH3 SE phono) sounds better. Specifically, more/deeper/cleaner bass, fuller midrange and best of all a cleaner top end. No negatives. I'd also say the overall systme sound is more "toghether" with a cleaner attack and better pacing, although I guess this last part is pretty subjective. Once the 8 was in place I started playing things louder and didn't really know why. Then I realized that since the sound was cleaner I could play it louder without fatigue. I'd rate the Hydra8 an 11 out of 10 since it makes every component better.

I realize you posted this last year and probably own the 8 by now, but I'm putting this in just in case.

Have not heard the hydra 8 but own the 4. I bought it because a fellow audiophile along with his friend did compare the two and preferred the acoustic 4.

I would recommend it for cd players, preamps but not for amps. The dynamics will suffer if you use it on your amps. At least, that was my experience! The acoustic 4 does what it claims to do but its virtues i believe are best served if and only if you have a sophisticated enough system to reveal the benefits. Its gains are fine and i think for the very discriminating audiophile only.