Synergistic Research Galileo SX Power cord. (Opinions on sound quality appreciated).
Synergistic Research Galileo SX Power cord. I know this cord is pricey, but can anyone share opinion or experience on the sound quality with this power cord? I have owned in the past Synergistic Master Coupler (about 20 years ago) and the Apex. It would be connected to a Lumin X1 into my Audioquest Niagara power conditioner.
I would appreciate experienced comments. Thank you.
I can’t tell you about that particular power cord, but I can suggest an alternative and provide 2 questions for you to ponder about.
Hospital-grade power cords. Do they sound better? I don’t think so. But they are higher quality than standard power cords.
1. What about audio gear (and other electronics) with inbuilt power cords? You know, power cords that are soldered onto the board and go straight to the power transformer.
2. Power cords that come with the stuff you bought. Is the manufacturer of said product expecting you to upgrade the power cord for better performance?
Once you understand the relationship between AC and DC in electricity, it all starts to make sense. If you’re just looking for higher quality copper as something you want, go for PCOCC copper. Made in Japan is the best.
So, I have 3 dedicated 10 Gauge lines that are terminated with Furutech NCF outlets. I then have on each line a Niagara 7000, 1200 and 1000 power conditioners. I do totally agree that clean quality power is the foundation of my systems sound quality. Since I am only using a Lumin X1 Dac/ Streamer direct to mono amps (no preamp or other sundry equipment is added), I therefore believe that the power supply and the interconnects (in my system) to be of the upmost importance.
So, to take one for the team, I went ahead and ordered a Synergistic Galileo SX power cord. We shall see. I will compare it to a Shunyata Sigma V2 and to my own DIY version that beat out the Audioquest Hurricane and several others.
@steakster : so do you take a custom hose with you when you go to add gasoline to your car? In the belief that it will improve gas mileage? That is exactly what the belief in an "improved" AC cord is: A DELUSION!
Jason, Terrible analogy. As we continue down the road of better equipment we become aware of how many items including how cables, (especially power cords) highlight our systems performance.
I suppose if you have a system that just plays songs via i tunes, etc. and that appeals to you then there is no point in discussing the benefits of further system improvement, i.e., cables, platforms etc.
But, if you ever truly become interested in the best lifelike performance of your favorite tunes then you will get it and understand. It is the never ending search for the ultimate sound.
In my system power cords sometimes makes a difference, but sometimes not. I always test for sound quality and test with full measurements. Always eye opening.
Make sure you always test new cables. Use your ears. Good luck.
I also have an Analysis Plus Ultimate power cord, SR Euphoria power cord, SR Alive power cord and an SR Excite power cord to test with. All cords are setup approximately the same(5-6ft, 15amp iec).
I tried all cords in the following: McCormack DNA1 Deluxe amp, SimAudio Moon 390 preamp/DAC and an MSB Reference DAC.
For some reason no matter what cord I used on the amplifier it pretty much sounded exactly as it always had. I really heard very little difference with any of the cords on the amp. I am a little baffled as to why.
With the Moon 390 and the MSB DAC things are different: SR Alive sounds very similar to the stock cords which hides details and blurs the soundstage. Not a lot of improvement over the stock cord. SR Excite with shield activated(red bullet) sounded worse than the stock cord. Soundstage blurred worse. Edges of musicians were hard to define. Instruments were not natural. Everything sounded digital or hard edged. For some reason I could not make this configuration sound good. SR Excite with no shield sounded way better. It is a pretty good cord with a good soundstage and the definition of separate musicians is pretty good. I would not activate the shield, but maybe it works for others. SR Euphoria with shield activated(red bullet) is a great cord that really helps define all instruments and the players that are playing them. Sound is awesome. Dynamics are great. Bass is solid and well defined. Drummer is in the room. SR Euphoria without shields still betters all of the cords listed above except it's shielded self. I would describe this cord with the same attributes as the shielded version above but the music is just a hair less dynamic. SR Galileo SX is a outstanding power cord which flushes out details none of the other cords could produce. It was slightly better overall than the Euphoria. Dynamics were the best I have heard on this system. The presentation is completely natural with no digital glare with well recorded music. Analysis Plus Ultimate power cord is the equal of the SR Euphoria without the built in filtering. Everything I said about the Euphoria applies to this power cord.
I want to say that the SR Galileo SX & the SR Euphoria are both excellent cords that have the ability to filter other devices on a circuit. Another words you just plug in one of those SR cords in to an open plug and it reduces EMI/RFI in other connected devices. You do not have to have the IEC connected to a component for this effect. I found that both of these cords are built like a power conditioner. Amazing!
For the OP, I would say you cannot go wrong with SR Galileo SX cords. Please remember that they do seem to be device dependent.
For anyone else looking at purchasing power cords, the AP Ultimate, SR Euphoria and the SR Galileo SX are all fantastic cords with very small differences in the way they sound. The AP Ultimate power cord would be my choice if starting over because it is cheaper/more cost effective for what you get.
jasonbourne52-so do you take a custom hose with you when you go to add gasoline to your car? In the belief that it will improve gas mileage? That is exactly what the belief in an "improved" AC cord is: A DELUSION!
No one here does that. But you keep on using retard metaphors like that and we might just start to think you are dumb enough to try it.
I am gonna explain some things now, and in reading it if you think wow who is dumb enough not to know this stuff well the answer apparently is: YOU!
With gasoline the gas itself is the store of energy. Combined with air under pressure and ignited in the combustion chamber then and only then do chemical reactions generate the energy to move the car. It does not matter where the gas came from or how it was stored or delivered. All that matters is it is mixed with air and ignited. So please don’t try your garden hose trick, it will not work.
With electricity everything is completely different. Electrical energy is not created by some magical interactions within the component as you seem to think. Diode rectifiers convert AC to DC that is stored in storage caps. But these caps store only a very small amount, enough to run for only a short amount of time. That is not their true function. What they really do is smooth out rectifier diode ripple in order to serve as a stable source of pure power. So you see with electricity it is very much the case that the power is being used almost exactly the same as it is being delivered, and so the "hose" does matter, very much indeed.
Everyone here knows what I just said. They may not be able to explain it so clearly but they all know it. The fact you know so little about it, and assume everyone else here is equally ignorant, tells us more about you than anything else.
You have in a fairly short amount of time established yourself as a source of much inanity. You are doing this on the internet, connected to it same as all of us, so you are out of excuses. It is not easy learning to not be a dolt. But you could try. Please. For your own sake. Try.
I hear all kind of dumbassshit from cable deniers and snake oil screechers who typically never try any power cords because likely their Salvation Army branded “gear” comes with a captive power cord, but this analogy surpasses all of them
jasonbourne52312 posts04-09-2021 11:08am@steakster : so do you take a custom hose with you when you go to add gasoline to your car? In the belief that it will improve gas mileage? That is exactly what the belief in an "improved" AC cord is: A DELUSION!
It’s a pattern. Just joined Audiogon, zero feedback, dozens of posts in Forums per day, all snake oil screeching. Typical. Clearly coming here for the sole purpose of spreading their venom and toxicity in the AG forums, like they do in every single audio forum in Internets, and FB audio groups. Idiots
Wow that could be a Who's Who of the most aggressively ignorant posters of the last year or so. Could it be he is now jasonbourne52? After being the clown with the Ducati? Who knows? Who cares? Ignore the ignoramuses. Just ignore them.
I have not heard the Galileo but I have a couple I'm evaluating right now and one of them is so good I can hardly even believe it. I mean yeah I know power cords are important. But a power cord so good it transforms your whole system???!
Thank you for taking the time to cite various SR PC and their effects in your system. I can address the part regarding McCormack DNA1- amp, Steve voices his creations in a super neutral way. Most owners do indeed stick with the stock PC. I enjoyed reading about the AP PC as well. I think that the creativity behind SR designs can act in a confusing manner, especially, those bullets (filters). In concept, very cool.
birdymaker, Thank you so much for your impressions of various power cords including the SR Galileo SX. I think SR said the power cord will be shipped next Thursday or Friday. Looking forward to sharing.
Ozzy, eager to hear your review - I am using an ADD-powr Sorcer now because of you! What a great addition - I am eying the SX and interested in your thoughts on the sound/difference it makes. I have other SR products and find them very helpful, but they are not inexpensive...
I’ve got SR power cables in all ranges and while they range from good to very good, check out the new MIT 2C3D power cords. Bruce has knocked it out of the park in this price range. Total game changers IMHO...
nmmusicman, I have only owned one MIT cable and it was a speaker cable. I think it was called the M-750. Never tried the power cords. Their design approach has always interested me. Thank you for your post.
In my system power cords sometimes makes a difference, but sometimes not.
Been there, done that. Had a guy years ago, had a whole electronics test bench in his basement. He was a variant on the snake-oil theme. He would admit some wires were better, but not much, and insisted they could all be made at home for a tiny fraction anyway. One time he calls up all excited, comes over so I can hear his fabulous wire that he compared and cannot hear any difference between his and the $7k wonder that he was able to somehow borrow. (He would gladly spend $500 on parts but never more than $50 on an actual power cord.)
Anyway, point is, in my system the huge difference between them was easy to hear. I mean it was obvious, night and day. He was floored. Kept saying over and over again, "They sounded just the same in my system! I really thought they were the same!"
Now here's another point. There will be those who will use this to push the canard that this stuff is all system dependent. Hogwash. Only thing system dependent about it is if your system, or ears, aren't up to resolving the differences. Because trust me, the leopard does not magically change his spots.
I remember way back in the "Stone Age" I was a power cord doubter. One of the local dealers let me borrow a Synergistic Master Coupler power cord.
Expecting absolutely nothing I plugged it in. And son of a gun I did hear much better bass performance. How could just a power cord change do that I wondered. From that day on, I have always been impressed with the changes a power cord can make on a component.
Some are more impressive or different than others. Some do nothing different. I guess it depends on the cable design and the component. I do however believe that as our systems and the source music become more defined the more changes in cables become apparent. Class dismissed...
As with just about everything in the SR line, wait a short time until they come out with new (and improved) stuff and buy it used for pennies on the dollar. This is also a good time to catch dealers blowing out their new older stuff for a deep discount.
audition__audio, That is true, and actually true for many other companies. One thought is they are always advancing the technology, and the other is, there are only so many of us Audiophiles, once the market cools for a product they must continue to reinvent the wheel to stay in business. But, I hear ya. ozzy
I would recommend demo cables as well. I do not like synergistic cables and found Shunyata Research line with Delta D6 power distributor/conditioner outstanding. I personally have the Delta NR cables for my equipment and XC for power to the conditioner. They have serious research by a real scientist. Look at their site and videos.
I have a Galileo SX AC. I compared them with JPS Aluminata, Kubala Elation, Nordost Odin. The results of my subjective tests: For transport (Esoteric P-03)-for my taste one level with Aluminata; for DAC (Esoteric D - 02)-out of competition; for preamp (Classe CP - 700) - for my taste one level with Odin. Over the weekend, there will be a comparison with Valhalla for monoblocks. Although the winner is known in advance))
As I mentioned earlier in this thread, I have tried a Shunyata Sigma V2 NR and the XC version power cord. Neither cord worked well with my Niagara 7000 and the Sigma V2 NR was just a little bit better than ok on my Lumin X1. Though, I think I would have bought it if the dealer would have negotiated better.
I was able to snag a used Audioquest Dragon for my Niagara 7000 and it works well. Made for each other! And, I have purchased the Synergistic Galileo SX for the Lumin at I think is a good price, and I am waiting for its arrival.
drpie, The Aluminata was about a 10-15 year model, not sure if it is still being made. My past experience with Kubala is they were kinda dark sounding. I have not tried the Odin.
So, are you saying you preferred the other cables over the Synergistic?
I chose the Galileo SX for my DACs as the best. On the transports, the Aluminata (reterminated with Oyade M1/F1) remained, the pre-amp remained with Odin.
brubin, To me it all starts with the AC power. From dedicated lines, quality outlets, power conditioners and then power cords. If (when) I change equipment I will still have the foundation of quality AC and that will allow the equipment to perform as designed. At least IMHO.
Agreed, power is where it is at....we are after all listening to what is coming out of the wall and er, um, unfortunately, everything that is also attached to it....ughhhh....
The Galileo SX power cables are fantastic on sources and solid state amps wonderfully rich detailed. In my system I greatly preferred the silver bullets as the the gold was too warm.
I prefer the SRX cables as they are more flexible and are even more transparent but of course pricier still....
I don't think you can go wrong with the Galileo but for the cost...
The SX and SRX are awesome ....the original LE version is very warm and would only recommend on a forward sounding system where you want to balance it.
Holy crap! I hope the new cable is worth that hassle.
I had a similar issue with something I bought last week. UPS delivered it to another house in the neighborhood. Fortunately the resident of that house was nice, and brought it to me. Two days later. While I kept dealing on the phone with clueless UPS reps
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