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6Moons.com vs. Stereo Times

I was looking for RMAF 2012 reviews today and my search led me to the Synergistic Research site. I noticed their Home Page announcement that "6 Moons.com just reviewed our Tranquility Base." When I clicked to read more I found that the review in question is of Ed Meitner's EMM Labs XDS1 SE SACD Player with the Tranquility Base being used in the context of the EMM product. Let's have a look at how 6Moons.com reviews this audio equipment.

On the first page of the review there are two page-wide views of the Tranquility Base but there is only a single brief paraqraph about the Tranquility Base, highlighted by this statement, "The Meitner was tested in tandem with an anti-vibration/noise-reduction platform." The reviewer then defers to a lengthy explanation from Synergistic Research on page two of the review, accompanied by one more page-wide view of the Tranquility Base. So far, the only "review" here consists of quotes from Synergistic Research literature and prominent photos of the Tranquility Base. I used to be in the advertising business. So far, this looks more like advertising to me than a review.

But wait. On page 3 of the review the comments about the Tranquility Base finally appear. But, as is typical of many 6Moons.com reviews, where twists and turns and tangents abound, couched in florid prose and convoluted phrasing, the review introduces a third product to compare with the Tranquility Base. This third product is a Japanese platform called the RAF-48. At this point things become muddied:

"The Meitner atop the RAF-48 platform was more austere. It was perfectly audible that the Synergistic created a golden glow which clarified but also saturated the top end. This lacked with the AR. Meanwhile the bass seemed better articulated and differentiated with the Japanese platform. The difference was not significant but repeatable and audible with each record ..."

Until we arrive at the very end of the review where we read, "This platform [the Tranquility Base] is manufactured with unique attention to detail. It is not very high and its outer edges are trimmed out with aluminum banding ...", along with more information taken from the Synergistic Research site about the physical features of the Tranquility Base.

The most important thing that the review had to say about the Tranquility Base was found on page 3 of the review smothered by the accompanying prose:

"The Synergistic Research Tranquility Base is a very interesting product. It clearly influences the sound in a good way. It is prohibitively expensive but worthy at least a listen just to be aware of what’s possible. I think it will be very versatile and improve the sound for any type of component sitting atop it."

In other words, the Tranquility Base does something good but it is way overpriced for what it does. On 6Moons.com you often have to wade through the mire to get to the point. What took them so long to get to the point?

This review confirms why I am not a fan of 6Moons.com reviews. In my opinion, their reviews are characterized by florid prose that is ostentatiously literary. And their convoluted comments are pockmarked by comparisons, digressions and tangents that twist and turn, ending by often obscuring more than they reveal.

In comparison, I find Stereo Times' reviews a breath of fresh air. 6Moons.com reviews make me feel like I am trying to unravel a puzzle wrapped in a mystery couched in an enigma. How do you feel about 6Moons.com and Stereo Times?
sabai
newbee
4,767 posts
 
Tab110s, Thank you - I missed Chip Stern's piece. It is very interesting, even if long. :-)

Sort of validates my opinion of SE which I formed from a meeting with him when he worked for Mesa promoting the Baron. LOL when I look back - no one warned me and I mispronounced his first name! His reaction was IMHO appropriate to the size of his ego and self appreciation. Doesn't look like much changed after he created 6moons so much as evolved when he had something other than his self to control.
nonoise's avatar
nonoise
10,833 posts
 
Sabai,

The clarification I needed was when I needed to know if, say, a speaker would be compatible with an amp. From two separate reviews I'd try to glean what I could and then ask Srajan about it.

I've only done that a couple of times and he, like the better reviewers out there, would reply. I'd never write him to explain what he wrote about a particular piece: I'd just reread the article until it sunk in.

Sorry if I confused you.

All the best,
Nonoise
david12
1,454 posts
 
The hope that E-magazines were more indipendent than paper ones, seems, I am afraid, a delusion. I enjoy both ST and 6moons from time to time, but not as a purchase guide. They are useful to make you aware of products, but I do'nt believe they are unbiased.

They do have one real use, allowing small manufacturers some media exposure. The many direct sale, one man speaker and cable companies, are'nt going to get a look in at Stereophile or Absolute Sounds, but they will be reviewed on line.

I think only the no advertisement sources like Bound For sound in the US, HiFicritic in the UK, are going to be independent. The problem then is getting stuff for reviews. Manufacturrs seem wary when the lack of an advertising budget, gives them no feel of control over the result of the review. Just me being cynical, I suppose.

Maybe I am deluding myself, but I would trust StereoMojo more than the other online sites.
podeschi
303 posts
 
Well said Sabai
sabai OP
2,027 posts
 
Podeschi,
Here's another example of the same component reviewed by both 6Moons.com and Stereo Times.

6Moons.com review

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/synergistic/powercell.html

Stereo Times review:

http://www.stereotimes.com/acc012811.shtml

The Stereo Times review was written in 2011 and compares the Synergistic Research Powercell with the SR Powercell 10 SE MKII. The review states that the two versions "sounded very much alike" and gives examples, using various recordings, of the improvements he found in the MKII version.

The Stereo Times review is sober, balanced and positive. It is clear and to the point. It does not go over the top with effusive audio-speak that makes the reader dream that the audio version of Marilyn Monroe has just arrived at the door to transport you to audio nirvana. It is down to earth and balanced in its descriptions which are overall positive. It sounds like a review -- not an advertisement.

The 6Moons.com review is of the first version of the Powercell, the Powercell 10. It compares the Powercell 10 to a Furman unit. Look at all those gigantic photos in the 6Moons.com review. They dwarf the text. This is the rule rather than the exception with 6Moons.com. Their reviews look like ads.

The 6Moons.com review quotes SR as saying, "The device works "outside the signal path to condition AC current with differential electromagnetic fields"." But since everything in your system is supposed to be plugged into the Powercell 10, I don't understand this.

In his review, the 6Moons.com reviewer mentions a number of other power conditioner makers and compares his Furman with the Powercell 10. Conspicuously missing, for me, is the name Bybee. He then he drowns us in superlatives and other eye-opening adjectives such as "dramatic" to describe the Powercell's attributes. And this is with the Powercell 10 -- never mind any of the 4 newer iterations that have appeared since he wrote his review in 2009. I would like to hear what he has to say about more recent versions of the Powercell that might exceed his gushing remarks about the first version of the Powercell 10 that leave no superlative unturned.

Reading his review, you would think that the gates of audio heaven had opened wide with the arrival of the Powercell 10. The review does not lack "beguiling and seductive" adjectives to lead us in that very direction. Furthermore, all the details about the alleged sonic attributes of the Powecell 10 make you think you really know what you will be getting when you purchase the Powercell 10.

Of course, you have no idea what you will be getting because this is advertising copy. I used to be a copywriter. I was in the advertising business for years. What masquerades here as a review is nothing more than an advertisement. In fact this text could have been taken directly from Synergistic Research's own site.

I have the Powercell 10SE MKII. To tell you the truth, it brought positive results to my system. It improved the refinement of the sound but in no way did it compare to the results brought to my system with my Bybee Stealth, my isolation transformer and my power regenerator. It did not bring to my system "transformative sonic capabilities". The Powercell "removes any hint of AC-related grunge, haze or blurring and unmasks the full harmonic complexity and richness of the music."? Not even the Powercell 10SE MKII has done this in my system.

The bottom line: don't believe everything you read in reviews -- especially in the effusive Never Never Land of 6Moons.com.
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