Leema Acoustics Hydra Anniversary Edition Power Amplifier
The Hydra II Anniversary Edition is an intelligent, bridgeable stereo power amplifier incorporating many developments pioneered in Leema’s legacy reference-grade monoblock, the Altair IV. The Hydra II Anniversary Edition is both highly flexible and hugely powerful. Its dual-mono design uses two massive toroidal power transformers, one for each channel, together with a separate transformer for the control circuitry.
The highly refined output stage benefits from very low output impedance. This, coupled with a high current capability, ensures vice-like grip and precise control of loudspeakers, even at very high levels. Full LIPS® implementation (Leema’s proprietary communication system) allows for flexible integration with other Leema Acoustics products.
Anniversary Edition upgrades in detail
Internally, the amplifier features upgraded printed circuit boards with twice the amount of copper to further reduce the resistance of PCB traces and improve power delivery. All relevant capacitors have been upgraded to Nichicon’s high-quality audio-grade MUSE Series and the PCB-to- speaker-terminal wiring is Leema’s Reference 2 cable which features 16 woven cores plus multi-strand high-purity copper with individual strand silver-plate. All transistors are hand-selected and precision-matched in amplifier sets for optimal performance and the lowest distortion. The power amplifier transformers are Noratel ‘xtra quiet’ units, ensuring perfect power delivery without undesirable hum or excessive heat- generation.
In a further nod to the amplifier’s Anniversary Edition status, Leema has included a number of additional documents. Each amplifier will be supplied with a passport-style system of documentation integrated into the manual, where three key stages of production are signed off by the engineer responsible along with the inclusion of the unit’s measured results
